Vedanta Only Describes Bhakti

Srila Gurudeva: Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and gave up His mother, His weeping mother. He also gave up Visnupriya, His wife. At that time she was very beautiful and very young, not more than twenty years old. With no children, nothing, no way to support them, Caitanya Mahaprabhu left them and came to Jagannatha Puri. When He reached there, He saw Jagannatha-deva and at once cried out, “O Vrajendra-nandana, after a long time I have met You.” Then He ran towards Him to embrace Him.

Tears were coming from His eyes, He was senseless, and just as He was going to reach Jagannatha, the protectors of Jagannatha-deva stopped Caitanya Mahaprabhu with sticks and He fell down there. At that time, a very learned and very good scholar, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, came there. He saw Mahaprabhu and thought, “Oh, I am seeing all the sentiments of a very high class of devotee. These are the symptoms of prema. More than prema, these are the symptoms of mahabhava. I have never seen anything like this in this world. I have only ever read about this in scriptures, but today I am seeing it myself. Who is He?”

Then Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya took Mahaprabhu to his residence with the help of anyone. When Mahaprabhu came back to His senses, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya told him, “You are related to me from Navadvipa. Your father was very much related to me and thus You are so much related to me. I want to purify You.” Like Prakasananda wanted to purify Mahaprabhu, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya wanted to do the same thing. He told Him, “You should read Vedanta. I will teach You Vedanta.”

Mahaprabhu told him, “Yes, I am very ignorant. I want to learn Vedanta from you. I love Vedanta.” So continuously, for seven days straight, he was explaining ‘athato brahma-jijnasa,’ ‘janmadyasya yatah,’ and all important sutras of Vedanta. Seven days went on like this and on the last day, he thought, “This boy, this new sannyasi, is only hearing. He is not asking anything. He does not smile to hear my classes. He is not energetic. He is only hearing me like a statue.” He was in wonder and asked, “I have been explaining these Vedanta-sutras for seven days. Do You understand something or not? You are appearing like a statue, so that must mean that You are not understanding. So why don’t you ask any question? Do you have any doubt in my explanations?”

Then at last Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “The meaning of this Vedanta-sutra is like sun, it is self-effulgent. But your explanations are like clouds always covering the sun. In these sutras it has been clearly written, it is revealed like the sun that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has some form and so many qualities, but you are explaining that He has no form, no attributes, no power, nothing. You are saying that He is like zero. But Vedanta is clearly saying that the Supreme Lord is a person, not impersonal.”

Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya replied, “Oh, I am a very old person. I am such a high class learned person that all the renounced order sannyasis who are all very learned in all the Vedas and Upanisads, they come to me and I reform them. But you are telling me that I do not know the real meaning of Vedanta? I have never heard anything like this. Where is your doubt?”

Mahaprabhu said, “You are covering the real truth of Vedanta with the clouds of your explanations. Everywhere in all the epics it has not been said that the Lord is impersonal. In the Vedas, Upanisads, Chandogya Upanisad and all other Upanisads, in the Gita it is clear, mam eva ye prapadyante (BG 4.11), ‘I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead, having this transcendental body and having these qualities. I am so merciful.’” It has been said:

nayam atma pravacanena labhyo

na medhaya na bahuna srutena

yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas

tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam

Katha Upanisad 1.2.23

[The Supreme Self cannot be known by any amount of discourse, intelligence or learning (hearing). Rather, He fully reserves the right to reveal Himself to whom He chooses.]

“Those who are surrendering to Me, I give darsana to them.” Mam ekam saranam vraja (BG 18.66), “Those who are taking shelter of Me and are offering themselves at My lotus feet, then I may be realized. Otherwise not.” It is vividly described like this everywhere. Hearing all of these things, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was at once reformed. He fell flat on the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he was convinced totally that Krsna has form, He has so many attributes, He has so many qualities, and He is so merciful. He realized everything. How?

Mercifully, Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave him darsana of His six handed form. What form? Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself holding a danda and kamandalu, also two hands were holding a bow and arrow like Rama and then two hands were holding a flute like Krsna, Sad-bhuja rupa. Then he realized everything. At once he fell flat on the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu and all doubts went away. We should know that Sat-sandarbha and all our books are true to the fullest extent, they are bona fide.

Vedanta is a bona fide Vaisnava book and bhakti-grantha, bhakti scripture. Only bhakti is described there, everywhere bhakti and bhakti. But how was Sarvabhauma explaining all these things? In his own mood. All his arguments were like clouds covering the real meaning of Vedanta. So if you will go to read Sat-sandarbha, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, and all other books, if you will go to sahajiyas or others, or only to panditas, those who know only anusvara and visarga, those who are conversant only with grammar, then you will not be able to understand the real meaning of all these things.