05/09/98 - 1790

Refutation of the Vrndavana Antiparty

USA (VNN) - by Premananda Das (see also VNN story# 1756)

Swami Narasingha wrote an article here on VNN called 'The Vrndavana Antiparty, Part 1'. He encouraged devotees to help him refute the misconceptions of what he calls 'the Vrndavana anti-party', represented by Satyanarayan Das. Here is a humble attempt to refute one of their misconceptions about the teachings of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, my paratpara-Gurudeva.

In the article by Swami Narasingha, Satyanarayan Das was quoted as follows:

24) "The Jaiva Dharma written by Bhaktivinode Thakur is full of contradictions, misconceptions and apasiddhanta. One of the examples is that it has been written there that the catuh sloki of Srimad Bhagavatam lies inherently dormant within the heart of the living entity." (Satya Narayan further argues that this is apasiddhanta. If the catuh sloki of Srimad Bhagavatam is lying dormant within the heart of the living entity, then why Lord Brahma, after a thousand celestial years of tapa, receives them from outside, from his guru, Sri Krsna)?

However, if one reads the part in Jaiva Dharma mentioning the Catuh-sloki, it becomes clear that Satyanarayan Das has misunderstood Srila Bhaktivinod completely. Here´s a translation of the above mentioned part of Jaiva Dharma:

Nyayaratna: 'If the Vaisnava religion is thus coming down from time immemorial, then what new light has Chaitanya Mahaprabhu given, for which He should have particular regard?'

Vaisnavadasa: 'The Vaisnava religion is like the lotusflower, gradually unfolding itself in course of time. First it is a bud. There comes a little blooming state. Gradually comes the fully blossomed stage. At the time of Brahma, the knowledge of God, the practice of devotion and love as mentioned in the Catuh-sloki of Srimad Bhagavatam, were only germinating (growing) in the hearts of men. At the time of Prahlada they took the form of a bud. At the time of Badarayana or Vyasa the buds gradually began to open and at the time of the Vaisnava teachers the buds became flowers; and last of all when Sriman Mahaprabhu arrived, the flower of love unfolded its petals and began to diffuse the sweetest fragrance to the people of the world. Sriman Mahaprabhu distributed among the fortunate people of the world the Vaisnava religion. Did anybody prior to this bring to light that the chanting of the Divine Name is such a beloved thing? Though it was confined within the four walls of the Sastras, it was not brought to the knowledge and notice of men. Oh! before the advent of Sriman Mahaprabhu was the treasure house of Love opened to the people at large in such a way?' (Jaiva Dharma, Gaudiya Math 1994)

Thakur Bhaktivinod is not saying that the Catuh-sloki 'lies inherently dormant within the heart of the living entity', which Satyanarayan Das claims. What Srila Bhaktivinod is saying is that the knowledge of God and the practice of devotion and love mentioned in the Catuh-sloki, which Brahma passed on through the disciplic succession, was in the first stage not fully developed in the hearts of the living entities, it was germinating or growing. This does not mean that the Catuh-sloki is eternally dormant within the heart of the jivas. The knowledge was given by Lord Brahma to the jivas and since that time it has been in the hearts of those jivas that have received it through the Divine Succession of Brahma.