Gaudiya siddhanta - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

yada bhramam bhramam harirasagalad-vaisnavajanam
kadacit sampasyamstadanugamane syadruciyutah
tada krsna vrttya tyajati sanakairmayaikadasam
svarupam vibhrano vimalarasabhogam sa kurute
"After repeatedly wandering in the path of mayik existence, a fallen soul may meet a pure Vaisnava
from whom trickles the nectar of the mellows of pure devotion to Lord Hari. By following that pure
devotee, he becomes attracted to imbibe the sweet principle of devotional service. By constant study of
Krsna-bhakti, he slowly abandons the mayik condition, and in the end obtaining his true nature, he
enjoys the sweetest unalloyed rasa, which is the ultimate status of the soul."
It is to be understood that there is a progression in the descent of divine knowledge. Sri Madhva
preached the philosophy of Dvaitavada in order to counter the widespread Mayavada doctrine of Adi
Sankara which was prevalent at that time.
It is acknowledged by the Gaudiya school that the doctrine of Dvaita is an intrinsic part in the evolution
of theism. It was propagated according to kala and patra (time and circumstance) and was not meant to
be the last word in the Absolute Truth.
Rasa-tattva is a very subtle truth and could not have been taught during that period of India’s history.
The necessity of the time demanded that a powerful acarya boldly expound the basic beliefs of the Vedic
scriptures and burn the weeds of Advaitavada to the roots. It is only fitting that the incarnation of
Bhima performed this task. How could such a forceful personality explain the subtle divine mellows of
madhurya-rasa? This would be inconsistent with his character. Therefore the intricate concepts of rasavicara
were later expounded by Sri Caitanyadeva and His followers.
Our Tattvavadi friends raise the question as to why Baladeva wrote a commentary on the Brahmasutras
when Sri Madhvacarya had already done so. It is understood that Srimad Bhagavatam is the
natural commentary on the Brahma-sutras. This is stated in Garuda Purana —
artho ’yam brahma-sutranam
bharatartha-vinirnayah
gayatri-bhasya-rupo ’sah
vedartha-paribrmhitah
grantho ’stadasa-sahasrah
srimad-bhagavatabhidhah
"The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the authorized explanation of Brahma-sutras, and it is a further explanation
of Mahabharata. It is the expansion of the gayatri-mantra and the essence of all Vedic knowledge. This
Srimad-Bhagavatam, containing eighteen thousand verses, is known as the explanation of all Vedic
literature."
However, since Sankara commented upon the pristine teachings of Vyasa found in the Brahma-sutras, it
was the duty of the Vaisnava acaryas such as Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhva to counter his doctrine of
illusion and present their own commentaries.
Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva