vaiṣṇava haÃ±Ä yebÄ Å›ÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya Å›une
sevya-sevaka-bhÄva chÄá¸i' ÄpanÄre 'Ä«Å›vara' mÄne
vaiṣṇava haÃ±Ä - being a Vaiṣṇava; yebÄ - anyone who; Å›ÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya - the MÄyÄvÄda commentary ÅšÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya; Å›une - listens to; sevya-sevaka-bhÄva - the Kṛṣṇa conscious attitude that the Lord is the master and the living entity is His servant; chÄá¸i' - giving up; ÄpanÄre - himself; Ä«Å›vara - the Supreme Lord; mÄne - considers.
“When a Vaiṣṇava listens to the ÅšÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya, the MÄyÄvÄda commentary upon the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra, he gives up the Kṛṣṇa conscious attitude that the Lord is the master and the living entity is His servant. Instead, he considers himself the Supreme Lord.
The philosophers known as kevalÄdvaita-vÄdÄ«s generally occupy themselves with hearing the ÅšÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya, a commentary by Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya advocating that one impersonally consider oneself the Supreme Lord. Such MÄyÄvÄda philosophical commentaries upon the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra are simply imaginary, but there are other commentaries on the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra. The commentary by ÅšrÄ«la RÄmÄnujÄcÄrya, known as ÅšrÄ«-bhÄá¹£ya, establishes the viÅ›iá¹£á¹Ädvaita-vÄda philosophy. Similarly, in the Brahma-sampradÄya, MadhvÄcÄrya’s PÅ«rṇaprajña-bhÄá¹£ya establishes Å›uddha-dvaita-vÄda. In the KumÄra-sampradÄya, or NimbÄrka-sampradÄya, ÅšrÄ« NimbÄrka establishes the philosophy of dvaitÄdvaita-vÄda in the PÄrijÄta-saurabha-bhÄá¹£ya. And in the Viṣṇu-svÄmi-sampradÄya, or Rudra-sampradÄya, which comes from Lord Åšiva, Viṣṇu SvÄmÄ« has written a commentary called SarvajñabhÄá¹£ya, which establishes Å›uddhÄdvaita-vÄda.
A Vaiṣṇava should study the commentaries on the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra written by the four sampradÄya-ÄcÄryas, namely ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnujÄcÄrya, MadhvÄcÄrya, Viṣṇu SvÄmÄ« and NimbÄrka, for these commentaries are based upon the philosophy that the Lord is the master and that all living entities are His eternal servants. One interested in studying VedÄnta philosophy properly must study these commentaries, especially if he is a Vaiṣṇava. These commentaries are always adored by Vaiṣṇavas. The commentary by ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« is elaborately given in the Ä€di-lÄ«lÄ, chapter seven, text 101. The MÄyÄvÄda commentary ÅšÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya is like poison for a Vaiṣṇava. It should not be touched at all. ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura remarks that even a mahÄ-bhÄgavata, or highly elevated devotee who has surrendered himself unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, sometimes falls down from pure devotional service if he hears the MÄyÄvÄda philosophy of the ÅšÄrÄ«raka-bhÄá¹£ya. This commentary should therefore be shunned by all Vaiṣṇavas.
