The chief preceptor of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Ācāryas, Śrī Śrī Dāmodara Svarūpa Gosvāmī, has stated — The Supreme Lord, full in six opulences, is none other than Śrī Caitanya Deva. The effulgence of Śrī Caitanya Deva’s body is indeed Brahman. The Antaryāmī who is manifest in three eternal forms as Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī, Garbhodakaśāyī, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī and who pervades both the transient creation of material universes and the eternal manifestation of Vaikuṇṭha; that same Paramātmā is the manifestation of fragmental opulence of none other than Śrī Caitanya Deva Himself.
Śrī Svarūpa Gosvāmī has further stated — Śrī Rādhikā is the hlādinī-śakti, the transformation of Kṛṣṇa’s love. Although Kṛṣṇa and Rādhikā are one in essence, they assume two separate forms and have been eternally performing their divine pastimes even before the existence of any creation. At present, in Gaurāṅga’s pastimes, that same Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa have combined into one form, wherein Kṛṣṇa is adorned with the deep internal moods of Śrī Rādhikā’s heart and the golden radiance of her external bodily complexion. Thus, Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa, assuming the transcendental, original form, manifests His eternal Gaura-līlā, adopting the activities of the supreme shelter-giving object i.e. Śrīmatī Rādhārānī.
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated that for the purpose of showing His eternally manifested form of Śrī Gaura-rūpa, His quality of supreme magnanimity and transcendental pastime of bestowing Kṛṣṇa-prema, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-candra has appeared in the material realm under the name Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya. Śrī Gadādhara and other confidential devotees have stated — Śrī Gaurahari is the very life and treasure of the people of Vraja.
The karma-jñāna-miśra (devotion mixed with fruitive work and speculative knowledge) bhakta-sects such as that of Nābha-dāsa have concluded that Śrī Gaurāṅga is merely a non-different partial incarnation of Nārāyaṇa. Sects that are devoid of devotion do not hesitate to even describe Śrī Gaurāṅga as a vibhinna-aṁṣa (separated living entity) propagator of religion who had some opulences. Sects that oppose pure devotion do not find any fault in disregarding Śrī Gaurāṅga in various ways, considering Him as an ordinary human being.
Each individual perceives the transcendental reality of Śrī Gaurāṅga according to their own eligibility, inclination, and depth of perception. They assign Him a designation accordingly and serve Him in a manner that aligns with their own understanding. In modern times, the Māyāvādīs assert that since Śrī Gaurāṅga is the Supreme Absolute Truth, He can be perceived in any way one desires, described in any manner, and thought or heard about in whatever way one pleases, without having any consideration of any genuine Sampradāya and there should be no restriction in such speculation. Those who consume intoxicants such as liquor or cannabis declare Śrī Gaurāṅga to be their very intoxication. The debauchees claim Śrī Gaura to be the very ideal of licentiousness. The householders, attached to mundane comforts, describe Gaura as a householder devoted to domestic pleasures. Those who seek money consider Gaura to be nothing more than a tool for accumulating wealth. The political and social reformers appropriate Gaura as a means to further their own enterprises, much like using a Śālagrāma stone to crack nuts for their own benefit. When all this happens, the Māyāvādīs and pseudo-devotees raise no objection.
Śrī Gaurāṅga, however, has demonstrated the meaning of His name "Mahāvadānya Dayānidhi" (the most magnanimous ocean of mercy) precisely to refute such Māyāvāda. Māyāvādīs and Gaura-bhaktas are two entirely distinct categories of entities. Māyāvādīs are egotistical, self-centered, and devoid of the principle of surrender; they are mendicants who seek their own prestige. Bhaktas, however, are not like this. Māyāvādīs believe that since the title "Māyāvādī" includes ego and prestige, these traits can also exist within a bhakta. Māyāvādīs are nirviśeṣavādīs (impersonalists who don’t accept any qualities, traits or viśeṣa), meaning they do not acknowledge the eternal "qualities" of the bhakta and Bhagavān's existence. They believe that Gaura and Kṛṣṇa’s individual existence is a product of māyā, and thus, when māyā is annihilated, their supposed "qualities" vanishes, leaving only Brahman as the eternal reality. The conditioned perception such as "Brahman itself, through māyā, becomes Bhagavān and jīva” or the perception of material ‘qualities’ only leads to material realm; not the spiritual Vaikuṇṭha. Broadly speaking, Māyāvādīs, being subjugated by bhrama (illusion), pramāda (error), vipralipsā (deceit), and karaṇāpāṭava (imperfect senses), do not place faith in the eternal name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Bhagavān and His bhaktas. They regard pure devotion and Godhood as momentary and do not accept them as eternal.
Those who consider the eternal devotee and Bhagavān to be equivalent to material, perishable objects are indeed Māyāvādīs. The so-called Gaura-bhaktas in groups such as the Bāulas, Neḍās, Sāṅis, Darvēśīs, Chūḍādhārīs, Gaurāṅga-nāgarīs, and Theosophy-believers, being influenced by Māyāvāda reasoning and with their own speculative intelligence, argue with devotees, saying, "Why can’t the gṛhamedhī-yajña-sukha (the pleasure derived from gṛhamedī-yajña i.e. the so-called sacrifices of a gṛhamedī or improper householder whose life is centred on sense enjoyment), which is done based upon convenience and availability of time, be considered the worship of Gaura?" However, if by great fortune even the slightest trace of pure devotion arises in any among them, they can effortlessly abandon these mundane Māyāvāda ideologies. Śrī Gaura is an eternal entity, and His līlā is perceivable only to His own intimate associates. To distort that līlā and attempt to transform it into something done by a gṛha-vrata (one who has taken vow of loyalty towards only his house and family) is the very tendency of the Māyāvādīs who suffer from defects of bhrama (illusion), pramāda (error), etc.
A living entity who takes shelter of Māyāvāda while claiming to be a devotee of Gaura eventually becomes like the Bāulas and Sāṅis, abandoning Harināma-bhajana and indulging in the consumption of eggs, fish, meat, and other impure foods, and ends up speculating about "Caitanya-tattva" based upon his own Māyā-afflicted mentality. Later, becoming degraded, he is identified as a "Vaidha-gṛhī" or a Bāula. However, if such Neḍās, Bāulas, or Sāṅis abandon their useless prajalpa (idle talk) and so-called "subtle philosophy" and take up the Holy Name without offenses, they may become free from Vaiṣṇava-aparādha and attain entry into the true understanding of Gaura-tattva. Otherwise, while attempting to create their own imaginary form of Śrī Gaurāṅga, they end up calling something else as Gaura. To forsake the lotus feet of Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas and instead engage in self-centered arrogance is nothing but straying onto the wrong path.
When Kṛṣṇa entered Kaṁsa’s assembly, different observers perceived Him in different ways according to their respective mental dispositions. However, the self-manifest Kṛṣṇa, the lover of the gopīs, is exclusively the object of vision and service for His eternally surrendered devotees. The non-devotional Māyāvādīs, who are absorbed in self-promotion, think from the perspective of temporary-engagement, whereas in the eternal engagement of a devotee only the unalloyed service remains. Where Kṛṣṇa-bhakti is absent, Māyā inevitably resides. And where Māyā resides, there too exists false ego. Thinking, "I understand everything," or "I am highly intelligent in reasoning," the Māyāvādīs immerse themselves in artificial displays of sāttvika-bhāva, and thus they engage in perverted worship through the exhibition of tears, emotional outbursts, the pseudo-practices of sakhī-bhekīs (imitating the moods of Kṛṣṇa’s consorts), and the distorted singing of chaḍā (improper compositions that contradict the scriptural conclusions). Their fabricated form of Gaurāṅga worship is entirely imaginary. However, the Gaurāṅga worshiped by pure devotees is most certainly not such an object.
Māyāvādīs attempt to establish Gaurāṅga through their materialistic perception and their limited comprehension of mundane objects. Proclaiming "My Gaurāṅga" and similar assertions, they propagate their own imagined doctrines in the name of Gaurāṅga. However, the devotees never accept such groups of Māyāvādīs into their assembly of sādhus, nor do they make any effort to associate with them to impart proper understanding. The unfortunate Māyāvādīs, being bereft of the association of devotees, fail to comprehend the words of true devotees. Consequently, they perceive devotees as mere chatterers, just as they themselves engage in speculative prattle. But ultimately, who is truly deceived in this situation? The devotees, by renouncing the wicked association of Māyāvādīs, ascend to the highest transcendental position through their service to Hari. The Māyāvādīs assume that by incorporating a few materialists, their version of gaura-bhakti, which is adulterated with Māyāvāda, has been propagated. However, the outcome of this deception is akin to deceiving a true blacksmith with counterfeit steel — it only results in the formation of a hollow and sense-gratification-driven sect, devoid of any true substance. In contrast, by adhering to the path illuminated by the followers of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī and wholeheartedly abandoning the association of illogical, non-devotional Māyāvādīs, one avails the facility of performing genuine Hari-bhajana.
To establish Kṛṣṇa, as He is, and Śrī Gaurāṅga, as He is, into any other conceptual form by the force of one’s imagination and to get deviated from the true path and becoming a pseudo-devotee is essentially the same thing. By leaving the description of the object called Śrī Gaura, which the Gosvāmīs have firmly established and recorded for the guidance of their faithful followers, the Māyāvādīs waste their time in creating their own Māyāvāda interpretations. Furthermore, under the influence of such imaginations, they misinterpret the conclusions of the Gosvāmī scriptures — asserting fabricated concepts such as "Gṛhi-Gaurāṅga" (householder Gaurāṅga) or "Nyāsī-Gaurāṅga" (renunciant Gaurāṅga) by imposing their own illusory ideas — which brings forth nothing but enviousness. No true benefit arises from such misguided endeavors.
The Māyāvādīs should understand that the entity of Śrī Gaurāṅga is eternal and not a mere mundane object constructed within the material realm of perception. No matter how many millions of Māyāvādīs attempt to assault the eternal constitution of Śrī Gaurāṅga with their transient conceptual weapons — motivated solely by their desire for sensory gratification — they cannot alter His eternal form. Anything that undergoes transformation can never be the object of service for those following Śrī Rūpa, nor can it ever be considered as the entity called Śrī Gaura. A conditioned soul, whose consciousness is drowning in the contamination of Māyāvāda, cannot impose a distorted form, a distorted nature, or distorted activities upon Śrī Gaurāṅga. Thus, those Māyāvādīs who, under the illusion of being worshipers of Śrī Gaurāṅga, assemble groups under the banner of "Gaurāṅga-nāgarī" are, in effect, attempting to place Māyā-Sītā into the hands of Rāvaṇa. The transcendental entity of Śrī Gaura is never subject to the grasp of the Māyāvādīs. Also, it is also an unalterable truth that Māyāvādīs will never be able to obscure the true identity of Śrī Gaurāṅga or the path of pure devotion. Today, even after four hundred years, the Māyāvādīs persist in their efforts to drag Śrī Gaura into their illusory conceptions, and the Supreme Lord Śrī Gaura is also sending His pure devotees into this material world to nullify their attempts. Śrī Gaura has an eternal fight with the non-eternal Māyāvādīs. The outcome of this struggle is that either a living entity achieves the pure domain of spotless kṛṣṇa-prema, or, having remained in an impure region, he succumbs to the poisonous doctrine of Māyāvāda. For this reason, we must abandon the arrogance of being "ghuṇa" (a termite gnawing at the truth) and instead cultivate a simple heart, immersing ourselves in texts like Bhaktirasāmṛta-sindhu and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and thus attain the eternal life. By doing so, we will truly understand, in the association of pure devotees, what object is Śrī Gaura. If, however, one continues to promote mundane household religious duties as pāramārthika gaura-bhakti (transcendental devotion to Śrī Gaurāṅga), then the eternally pure devotees will do nothing but reject Māyāvādīs like yourself, who are self-cheaters.
The Māyāvādīs always claim that they cannot understand the words of pure devotees. The idea i.e. one can perform devotion to Śrī Gaura by being asāmrapāyika (devoid of genuine disciplic succession) and by equating opposites like puffed rice with sugar, truth with falsehood, idleness with enthusiasm, dull meal with sweetmeats, and ultimately the totally opposite sinful worldly maintenance with gaura-bhakti, looks good only when they come out from the mouths of Māyāvādīs.
The Māyāvādīs seek to understand everything through their insignificant material intellect. They think that they can grasp Śrī Gaura and Gaura-bhakti through materialistic, enjoyment-seeking intelligence and that by doing so, they can become preachers of worldly religion. Without a service-oriented conduct, true preaching doesn’t take place. While at one hand, when it comes to conduct, the desire to enjoy Māyā has become stronger either in visible behaviour or within the heart, but from the mouth one is proclaiming that the ship of devotion has just arrived (i.e. pure devotion has been attained)! I won’t do Bhajana at all, won’t abandon even a single one of the five places where Mahārāja Parīkṣit declared Kali to be powerful, and the world should recognize me as enlightened "vaidha-gṛhī-bāula" devote, as tattvika scholar; thus in this way I will become puffed up with the desire for recognition, with the ideas of Māyāvāda, and with false prestige and will thus become a gaura-bhakta while remaining absorbed in gṛhamedha-yajña (so-called sacrifices of a gṛhamedī or improper householder whose life is centred on sense enjoyment) as a ceremonial priest — an aspiration like this utterly futile.
When determining the truth, the one making the determination must not be influenced by Māyāvāda; rather, they must be firmly established in a service-oriented disposition. Just as an outsider unfamiliar with the scriptures — like a non-Hindu qāzī — is incapable of accurately determining the proper date for a Hindu festival due to lack of scriptural knowledge, just as a barren woman cannot give birth to a child, and just as one cannot taste sandeśa (a sweet) with the eyes, in the same way, attempting to comprehend the transcendental truth of Gaura-vastu by being under the influence of mundane faith and thus unknowingly accepting the ideology of Māyāvāda, is utterly futile. When we will attain our identity as one who is under the guardianship of a pure Gaura-bhakta in the line of Śrī Rūpa, we will see that all the dense darkness of illusion has dissipated like fog and our prema-cakṣu (the eyes of divine love) have awakened. However, if one neglects this advice and instead goes either to the celestial heavens or the hellish worlds, one will only learn hostility towards Vaiṣṇavas and will be distanced from Śrī Gaurāṅga. When Gaura-vastu is properly established, the answer to all questions such as — ‘Where lies His (Śrī Gaura’s) transcendental blessed abode?’, ‘Who can determine its location?’, ‘In whose words the pure devotees believe?’, ‘How do the Māyāvādī non-devotees describe Śrī Gaura?’, and ‘Where do they claim that Śrī Gaura resides in the material world?’ — will naturally manifest within the heart. Those who, within the material world, engage in practices such as vaidha-gṛhī, bāula, and sahajiyāgiri — such Māyāvādīs will get their already sealed eyes further covered by their material identity, wealth, followers, greed, and heretical tendencies.
