'praṇava, mahÄ-vÄkya — tÄhÄ kari' ÄcchÄdana
mahÄvÄkye kari 'tat tvam asi'ra sthÄpana

 praṇava - oá¹kÄra; mahÄ-vÄkya - principal mantra; tÄhÄ - that; kari' - making; ÄcchÄdana - covered; mahÄ-vÄkye - in place of the principal mantra; kari - I do; 'tat tvam asi'ra sthÄpana - establishment of the statement tat tvam asi.


Text

“Praṇava [oá¹kÄra] is the mahÄ-vÄkya [mahÄ-mantra] in the Vedas. Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya’s followers cover this to stress without authority the mantra tat tvam asi.

Purport

The MÄyÄvÄdÄ« philosophers stress the statements tat tvam asi, so ’ham, etc., but they do not stress the real mahÄ-mantra, praṇava (oá¹kÄra). Therefore, because they misrepresent Vedic knowledge, they are the greatest offenders to the lotus feet of the Lord. Caitanya MahÄprabhu says clearly, mÄyÄvÄdÄ« kṛṣṇe aparÄdhÄ«: “MÄyÄvÄdÄ« philosophers are the greatest offenders to Lord Kṛṣṇa.†Lord Kṛṣṇa declares:

tÄn ahaá¹ dviá¹£ataḥ krÅ«rÄn saá¹sÄreá¹£u narÄdhamÄn
ká¹£ipÄmy ajasram aÅ›ubhÄn ÄsurÄ«á¹£v eva yoniá¹£u

“Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among mankind, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.†(Bg. 16.19) Life in demoniac species awaits the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« philosophers after death because they are envious of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.34) man-manÄ bhava mad-bhakto mad-yÄjÄ« mÄá¹ namaskuru (“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Meâ€), one demoniac scholar says that it is not Kṛṣṇa to whom one must surrender. This scholar is already suffering in this life, and he will have to suffer again in the next if in this life he does not complete his prescribed suffering. One should be very careful not to be envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the next verse, therefore, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu clearly states the purport of the Vedas.