Dangers of Mayavada Philosophy – Bhagavan Acharya & Bengali poet
[Antya 2 & 5]
Bhagavan Acharya was a renounced resident of Jagannatha Puri who would regularly invite the Lord for prasadam. His brother, Gopal Bhattacharya, had comprehensively studied Vedanta philosophy according to the impersonal interpretation. When Bhagavan Acharya suggested that Gopal Bhattacharya’s commentary was worth studying, Svarupa Damodara immediately corrected him. Shri Chaitanya had repeatedly denounced mayavada philosophy: an advanced Vaishnava feels afflicted in heart by hearing such misleading commentaries, while practitioner devotees can easily become philosophically confused by such impersonal word-jugglery.
On a separate occasion, a brahmana residing with Bhagavan Acharya requested Shri Chaitanya to hear his poetic compositions. Svarupa Damodara would inspect such writings before they reached Shri Chaitanya, ensuring that each word was in line with bona fide scriptural conclusions. After hearing the first verse, Svarupa discovered that the poet had made a distinction between the body and soul of the Lord, indicating an element of mayavada philosophy. This was a grave offence, and Svarupa strongly advised the brahmana to avoid such misunderstandings by learning the Shrimad-Bhagavatam from a Vaishnava. As a consolation, Svarupa gave an alternative meaning to the original poetry which appropriately glorified the Lord. Thus humbled, the Bengali poet took full shelter of Shri Chaitanya.
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