Of all the doctrines centred around Vishuddha Advaetaváda, Máyáváda is considered to be the most important. Let us see how far it is possible to analyse Párthasárathi Krśńa from the viewpoint of Máyáváda or Vishuddha Advaetaváda.

The life of Párthasárathi Krśńa was intensely practical, whereas Máyáváda is an impractical, visionary philosophy that floats in the air. Many take delight in moving in this world of fantasy, the world of Máyáváda, and losing all contact with the world of reality. Although the role played by Vraja Krśńa extended throughout the three spheres of existence, His sweetness was felt most in the spiritual sphere. Yet even so, when I analysed Him in the light of Máyáváda, Máyáváda suffered an ignoble defeat. How then will it be possible to judge Párthasárathi in such a light? Though it is an extremely difficult thing, still I must make the attempt, but the question is, how? One idea comes to mind.

The Vivekacud́ámańi and the Mohamudgaraka

People generally consider the two books Vivekacud́ámańi and Mohamudgaraka to be something related to practical life, or to the materialization of Máyáváda in the quinquelemental realm.

Párthasárathi, as we have already observed, was an intensely practical man. He worked hard not only to promote the spiritual elevation and psychic welfare of human beings, but also to satisfy their needs for food, clothing, education, medical care and accommodation. He tried to bring all rational people, kings as well as commoners, together under one banner for the establishment of dharmarájya, the rule of morality, so that all could live in peace and prosperity. How can we judge the life and personality of such an intensely practical man in the light of Máyáváda? It is like trying to measure milk with a tape measure. Of course there are things that can be measured with a tape measure, but how can we measure liquids in that way? And how can we measure Parama Puruśa with the tape measure of Máyáváda? Párthasárathi represents the universal existence of Parama Puruśa; He is the Sarvabhaoma Sattá [Supreme All-Pervasive Entity].

You know that the word bhúmi [the root of sarvabhaoma] is synonymous with vasu. Vasu or bhúmi means a land which people can inhabit without any difficulty. And where people live their mundane existence is this quinquelemental world. And who is the Entity who makes suitable arrangements for human beings and other jiivas in this quinquelemental world? It is Parama Puruśa who does, so He is surely the Bhaomika of the physical world. [And sarva means “all”.]

You all know that in ancient and medieval Bengal, the landlords used the surname Bhaomika.⁽¹⁾ In modern Bengali it is Bhuniya. They are both derived from the word bhúmi. Parama Puruśa is called the Bhaomika of the quinquelemental world because it is He who holds the key to the solution of all mundane problems.

There is another world, the psychic world, the psychic bhúmi, which lies beyond this mundane world. It is a world of innumerable feelings, emotions, sentiments, etc. From where do people draw their inspiration for these things? From Parama Puruśa, certainly. So Parama Puruśa is not only the Bhaomika of the physical world, He is the Bhaomika, the Lord, of the psychic world as well.

Beyond the physical and psychic spheres lies the spiritual sphere. A person, whatever may be his or her degree of spiritual elevation, possesses an átmika sattá [unit consciousness] which shines out like a diamond in a heap of coal. But where does the effulgence of that átmika sattá come from? Certainly from Parama Puruśa, Párthasárathi. So He is Lord, or Bhaomika, of the spiritual realm as well. His existence is tribhaomika.

If Máyáváda is the tape measure, how will it measure that Parama Puruśa who is the Lord of the three realms?

Still, we have to try to measure Him in the light of the so-called practical interpretations of Máyáváda. They say:

Pitá kasya mátá kasya kasya bhrátá sahodará;
Káyapráńe na sambandha vrthá ká parivedaná.

[Father, mother, brother and sister are non-existent, so where is the relationship between the káya (body) and the práńa (vital energy)?]

“Who is one’s father, who is one’s mother, who is one’s brother, and who is one’s sister in this world? No one exists.” Look, human beings come into this world and attend to so many duties. Among so many fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, you will come across some who spend their whole lives maintaining their younger brothers and sisters. There are others who spend their lives caring for their ailing parents. Many people look upon human beings as God Himself and throw themselves into the service of humanity abandoning their families and personal comforts. Defying all obstacles – the dense forests, the towering mountains, the stormy oceans – they travel throughout the world promoting the welfare of all.

It is the sense of duty that causes one person to renounce everything; and it is the sense of duty that inspires another person to readily accept the burden of caring for his or her family. It is the sense of duty that makes a person great. Of all bonds, the bond of duty is the strongest, and the bond of moha [blind attachment or infatuation] is the worst. Humanity will have to break the bonds of moha and increase the bonds of duty willingly and consciously. This is the law. So if we say that human beings, our friends and relations, have no existence, are all Máyá and as such unreal, then whom shall we serve? If you tell a teacher that all his or her students are unreal, then why should he or she devote six hours a day to teaching them? Even to take care of one’s family goes against the doctrine of Máyáváda – as does the life of renunciation, cutting off all relations with the worldly family in order to serve the world – because the family does not exist, nor does the world. If one sincerely accepts Máyáváda, then the only thing to do is to adopt the Pi-pu-phi-shu policy,⁽²⁾ that is, remain inert and do nothing at all.

Then the question arises whether or not adherents of Máyáváda should eat. I suggest that they should not eat, because the rice, dal, rasagollá and rájabhoga that they will eat are also Máyá. I will go one step further and say that they should not live either, for in order to live one must breathe in and breathe out, and air is also Máyá, so they should stop that breathing in and out.

It is said, káya práńe na sambandha vrthá ká parivedaná.⁽³⁾ Káya means “that which is collected from different sources”. Our human body is composed of water, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, iron, a little gold, minute quantities of silver, and a considerable amount of calcium. As our body is a collection of various elements coming from various sources, it is known as káya in Sanskrit.

When the world itself is non-existent, then how can there be any carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc? They must also be non-existent. The fundamental tenet of Máyáváda is that your body has no existence and thus you have no connection with the rest of the world, for human beings are connected to the rest of the world through their bodies. How can there be any practical application of Máyáváda without the existence of the physical body? There cannot be. Moreover, as I have already said, the Máyávádins should give up food, since they have no body. Thus it follows that the practical application of Máyáváda is impossible; it is a mere fantasy.

Our next point of discussion is práńa. In Sanskrit, when práńa is used in plural form, práńáh, it means “vital energies” or “life”, and when used in the singular form, práńa simply means “energy”. The Máyávádins do not explain this point clearly, nor is it necessary, because vital energy is the transmuted form of different physical energies. They assert that the physical body has no relationship with the various forms of physical energy. A sensible person may raise a point here. When the physical body itself is non-existent, then the question of it having any connection with the external world does not arise. Then is it not redundant to use the term práńa? – for práńa does not exist either.

Obviously, in the absence of energy, its acoustic root ra does not exist either. In ancient times, a section of Máyávádins would never utter the sound ra because there was no such thing as energy; they would say it was all Máyá. For instance, they would pronounce “Rámacandra” as “Ámacandra”. However, the days of such crazy notions are long gone. The human beings of today have made enormous intellectual progress. They will no longer accept any illogical or irrational proposition.

According to the previous shloka, the human body and its vital energy have no relationship. If that were so, how could that gentleman who advances such peculiar ideas operate his vocal cords? The vocal cords operate with the help of vital energy. A healthy person can speak clearly; a sick person will mumble some words in a feeble voice due to the shortage of vital energy. What does common sense suggest? It suggests that people have both life and a physical body. Nothing is permanent in this phenomenal world, neither the body nor the vital energy, but at this moment they do exist. “Do not be concerned about anything in the world. Do not bother unnecessarily as to how human beings will progress or how collective development can be brought about. All these do not actually exist,” is the practical application of Máyáváda.

Ká tava kántá kaste putrah saḿsáro’yamatiivavicitrah [“Who is your wife? Who is your son? The world is very strange.”]. Kasya tvaḿ vá kutah áyátah [“To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?”]. You should think only this, that nothing really exists. You should think only about where one has come from and to whom one belongs. But when nothing really exists, questions about one’s origins do not arise. Even the questions do not exist. When no one really exists, then you also do not exist, so where will any questions come from? The entire philosophical discussion becomes meaningless. This is a kind of nihilism that limits the scope of human expression. It is something that people must carefully avoid. They should remember Shiva’s statement in this regard, Lokavyámohakárakah, which means that such people create disease in the human mind by their high-sounding words. One must keep aloof from such things.

Look again at how they contradict themselves,

Naliniidalagatajalamatitaralaḿ tadvat jiivanamatishayacapalam;
Kśańamiha sajjanasauṋgatireká bhavati bhavárńavatarańe
naoká.

It is said, “Human life is fleeting, just like the momentary pause of a drop of water on a lotus leaf before it slips to the ground. Thus, the most important thing in human life is satsauṋga [keeping good company], even for a short time, because satsauṋga is the boat which will ferry human beings across the ocean of bhava [the unrequited saḿskáras which cause rebirth].” I must ask, when no one exists then how can good people exist? How can the ocean of bhava exist, much less the boat? Only if the physical world, the ocean and the boat exist can satsauṋga be compared to a boat. If one denies the existence of any of them, how can one make analogies with them? Thus, Máyáváda has bound itself up in a net of self-contradiction. It has become the cause of its own demise.

Párthasárathi

Now, what about Párthasárathi? What did His worldly existence signify? He was an embodiment of tremendous karma shakti [energy for action]. He was determined to destroy whatever was harmful and undesirable for humanity by application of His indomitable strength and commanding force, and at the same time facilitate the growth of all that was good and helpful. Those of noble intentions who are weak and lack the ability to provide for themselves should be supported and cared for by the society as a whole. This was the theme of Párthasárathi’s life.

There are many people who remain weighed down by numerous cares and anxieties as well as the lack of the basic necessities of life. Párthasárathi took birth at a critical juncture in the history of human society, towards the end of the Vedic age, when exploitation had reached its zenith, with opportunists finding ample scope to prey on human society. At such a moment in history could He afford to teach people that all was Máyá? That their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters did not really exist? Rather, He expected people to sympathize with the poor and the miserable and help to alleviate their suffering.

Párthasárathi never preached the vaerágya⁽⁴⁾ message of the Mohamudgara. This nihilistic philosophy has made the people of India and Southeast Asia averse to reality and has been the cause of untold misery in their lives. The life of Párthasárathi was the antithesis of this nihilism. He advised people, “Move collectively; look after the welfare of all; develop yourselves in the physical, psychic, and spiritual planes while maintaining proper adjustment among them; follow the dictum Varttamáneśu vartteta [‘Live in the present’], meaning that while you go on solving all your mundane problems collectively, you should direct your minds towards subtler spheres.”

There is a close relationship between the body and vital energy. The body you possess in this relative world requires food, water, etc., in order to maintain its existence, and vital energy in order to function properly. To increase your vital energy you need a suitable quantity of food. If you cannot provide food through your own efforts, then society should do it for you. For this, dharmarájya [the rule of morality] must be established, and that is why Párthasárathi devoted His entire time and energy to establish it.

Kśańamiha sajjanasauṋgatireká [“Even the momentary company of good people is the medium to uplift you”]. Párthasárathi does not support this sort of philosophy. Párthasárathi’s message is, “Do all your mundane duties with utmost sincerity, but keep your mind constantly engaged in the thought of Parama Puruśa.” Why “momentary” only, why just for a moment? To make significant progress you must remain in the company of Parama Puruśa not just for a fleeting moment, but constantly, round the clock. But if you look upon this world as mithyá, then your existence will also be unreal, and then to whom will you turn for company with your heavy load of unreality? What is the benefit of keeping company with good people only for a moment, if your very existence is negated?

Párthasárathi taught people that this body exists, and the vital energy also exists. People should always try to develop the body, mind and vital energy that they have been endowed with, and should always bear in mind that Párthasárathi is always with them.

Your hands may be weak but His hands are strong. Párthasárathi has gone on playing His flute to draw your mind towards the internal world, and He who held the flute also caught up the sword to promote the greater welfare of humanity.

O human beings, be fearless. O human beings, do not worry unnecessarily and destroy your future. O human beings, move ahead with smiling faces. Párthasárathi is always with you. One who is devoted to Iishvara [the Cosmic Controller], one who meditates on Parama Puruśa with madhura bháva, need not go on a pilgrimage, for he or she remains constantly with Parama Puruśa. Such a person will say:

Nitya áchi Vrndávane, ámi to nai Hari cháŕá;
d́ákle Hari ásbe káche, d́ákle pare-i dey se sáŕá.

[I am always in Vrindavana, I am never without Hari, the Lord. If you call Him, He comes near. If you call, He will respond.]

This is the philosophy of Párthasárathi. There is not the slightest relationship between Máyáváda, or Vishuddha Advaetaváda, and Párthasárathi.

Footnotes

(1) Bhumi + suffix snik = bhaomika.

(2) When a fire broke out in the Pi-pu-phi-shu residence, the backs of those idlers soon started to be licked by the flames. One of them said, Pi (in spite of his pain, he was too lazy to utter the full word pitha, “back”). Another said, pu (instead of saying purche, “is burning”). A third said, phi (short for phire, “turning over”). And the fourth said, shu (“lie down”). In this way, through a concerted effort, they more or less completed the sentence Pitha purche, phire shu – “Our backs are burning, so roll over, but remain lying down.” –Eds.

(3) The word káya [body] is derived from the Sanskrit root verb ci and the suffix ghaun (finally passing from the ca varga [group of letters] to the ka varga). Káya is grammatically correct; káyá is incorrect. Of course, it can be káyáh in Sanskrit when used in the plural, but káyá in Bengali is altogether incorrect. But the poet Hemachandra Bandopadhyaya in one of this poems rhymed káyá with cháyá. Since then, káyá has been used in Bengali literature. In Sanskrit, káya is used in the singular and káyáh in the plural.

(4) Renunciation, meaning here renunciation born out of negativism. –Eds.