Sri Caitanya Caritamrita. Madhya-lila

Chapter 25: How All the Residents of Varanasi Became Vaishnavas. Text 91

prabhu kahe, — "Ämi 'jÄ«va', ati tuccha-jñÄna!
vyÄsa-sÅ«trera gambhÄ«ra artha, vyÄsa — bhagavÄn

 prabhu kahe - Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu replied; Ämi jÄ«va - I am an insignificant living being; ati tuccha-jñÄna - My knowledge is very meager; vyÄsa-sÅ«trera - of the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra, written by VyÄsadeva; gambhÄ«ra artha - very grave meaning; vyÄsa - VyÄsadeva; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Personality of Godhead.


Text

ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu replied, “I am an ordinary living being, and therefore My knowledge is very insignificant. However, the meaning of the Brahma-sÅ«tra is very grave because its author, VyÄsadeva, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

Purport

An ordinary living being cannot actually understand the meaning of the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra. One can understand the meaning if he hears it from the authority, VyÄsadeva himself. For this purpose, VyÄsadeva gave a commentary on the Brahma-sÅ«tra in the form of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. He had been instructed to do this by his spiritual master, NÄrada. Of course, Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya distorted the meaning of the Brahma-sÅ«tra because he had a motive to serve. He wanted to establish Vedic knowledge in place of the atheistic knowledge spread by Lord Buddha. All these necessities are there according to time and circumstances. Neither Lord Buddha nor Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya is to be blamed. The time required such an explanation for the understanding of various types of atheists. The conclusion is that one cannot understand the meaning of the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra without going through ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam and rendering devotional service. Caitanya MahÄprabhu therefore further explains the matter in the following verses.