CC daily 106 – M 6.130-136 – Giving precendence to secondary meanings over primary subverts scripture’s intent

Responds response and acts to transform the heart of sarvabhattacharya thank you chaitanya mahaprabhu speaking here to sarvabhattacharya and he’s explaining how sarvabhattacharya’s explanations of vedanta sutra are problematic he says that the primary meaning the principal meaning you do not explain that you do not elaborate that kalpanartha is imaginary meanings imaginary interpretations to me you give imaginary meanings and thus tahakarachadam and thus you cover the sutras this is a continuation of the previous text where chaitanya mahaprabhu has said that the meaning is the meaning of sutras is clear but your explanations are obscuring the meaning so he’s explaining how this is happening because how do you how can somebody say the meaning is clear well you start to take the direct meaning the primary meanings there is mukhyartha as it says and you are not taking the mukhyartha and then how are so that’s how you are not letting the meaning become self self-evident meaning become evident and then how are you covering it he says that is explained the second line here this you are giving an imaginary interpretation which is actually obscuring the actual import of the text then further so now the words of the upanishad are the essential meaning the main meaning the primary meaning of the vedanta say and whatever is the chief import of the upanishads that is what vyasa has said in the vedanta sutra now the vedanta sutra has different names sometimes it is called as brahma sutra sometimes it’s called based on its composer it’s called brahma sutra based on the fact that it its sub primary subject is brahma it begins with and brahma is what it focuses on so now the question may come up that when chaitanya mahaprabhu said that the prime the main meaning is clear how will we know the main meaning so actually speaking the vedanta sutra is not exactly the is not a absolutely independent book in the sense that it is actually an attempt to find or to discern and determine the meaning of the upanishads the import of the upanishads that’s why there are implicit references to the upanishads in the vedanta sutra and the whole discussion in sutras is about what do those what do those references mean so the way to understand this is by looking at the sutras and looking at the upanishads chaitanya mahaprabhu is saying that because the upanishads are giving a particular message and vedanta sutra is a summarization in succinct sutras of that message therefore there is coherence between the two sets of messages so so you give up the main meaning and you may and as per kalpana as your own imagination you come up with your own your own secondary or subordinate meanings and not even subordinate meaning the the imagined concocted speculative subordinate meanings and chaitanya mahaprabhu then after using these two words mukhyartha and gaunartha then he goes to some technical terminology and he says that the technical terminology that is used especially for talking about the direct or literal meaning of the text is abhidha and abhidha vritti chadi kar shabder lakshana so lakshana refers to lakshana vritti where the secondary or tertiary meaning is taken the actual meaning is neglected or even rejected chaitanya mahaprabhu is pointing out the problem indeed the fallacy in such a hermeneutical approach hermeneutics refers to the method of understanding or interpreting scripture so the hermeneutical method that sarvabhauma has used is in pursuance of the method that dadavaitic teacher shankara has used shankaracharya is used and here chaitanya mahaprabhu is pointing out that such a method has its faulty because the primary meaning is neglected or even rejected and a secondary tertiary meaning that is only pointed to lakshana that is what is emphasized by them and in this way the whole intent of the text can get subverted by someone who wants to impose one’s own ideas on the text and chaitanya mahaprabhu naturally objects to such a strategy now now if we want to understand now the question may come up okay you are saying that we should take the mukhyaartha we should use the abhidhavritti not the lakshana vritti not go to but then how will we determine what is the mukhyaartha chaitanya mahaprabhu is reiterating the point which he made earlier and he said that that among the pramanas the shruti praman is the pradhan it is the most important praman and shruti ye mukhyaartha kahe say say praman and shruti ye mukhyaartha kahe what shruti says is the essential meaning the central meaning the primary meaning that is what we need to accept now in every field there are authorities that are accepted and the authority there is also not just an authority but there is the hierarchy of authorities just like in a even in science say what a physics doctorate student may say is subordinate to what a physics doctorate professor says and that is subordinate to say what an award-winning scientist says and that will be subordinate to that will be subordinate to what say the a person who is in the top most a world-renowned scientist who is in a panel of the top world’s top most scientists will say so just as there can be and there will be a hierarchy in pramanas in any field of knowledge similarly there is there in understanding the input of scripture also and he says that we have to focus first and foremost on shastra praman and in shastra praman he says we focus on the pramana pradhan so he says we focus on the praman of script of shruti so shruti is considered traditionally the foremost authority and that is what we should focus on now chitin maha prabhu say he’s an example of how shruti needs to be except shruti needs to be accepted even when it at first glance doesn’t make sense because there is a deeper import to it which we may not be able to perceive at our first glance and what is the deeper import so now normally bones and excrement are considered impure and auspicious and normally if people see a skeleton they shudder we will go to a crematorium then we come back and first thing we do is take a bath similarly the excrement and even if after we pass our experiment we take a bath so what to speak of some some other living some other beings excrement but here it is said that these two although they are normally considered shankha gomai shankha conch is a bone the conch that is used that is a bone and gomai the dung of a cow cow dung is also the excrement of an animal but although scripture normally says that asthi and vishtha are impure but the same scripture says that shankha and gomai are pure and we accept that why because there are other dynamics involved so we need to recognize that when scripture gives us rules scripture is also principles that may transcend those rules and we need to recognize the the hierarchy within normal conventional rules and transcendental principles that may supersede supersede those conventional rules only when we recognize such a hierarchy will we be able to understand the import of scripture properly here recommends such a recognition in understanding

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Chaitanya Chaturthi Amrit Madhya Leela, text 132, chapter 6. Sutre Ramukhya Artha Na Karaha Vyakhyan Kalpana Arthe Tumi Taha Karaha Achha Daan Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is speaking here to Sarovar Bhattacharya and he is explaining how Sarovar Mahaprabhu's explanations of Vedanta Sutra are problematic. He says that Sutre Ramukhya Artha, the primary meaning, the principle meaning Na Karaha Vyakhyan, you do not explain that, you do not elaborate that and Kalpana Arthe Tumi, Kalpana Arthe is imaginary meanings, imaginary interpretations Tumi, you give imaginary meanings and thus Taha Karaha Achha Daan and thus you cover the Sutras, this is continuation of the previous text where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said that the meaning is, the meaning of Sutras is clear but your explanations are obscuring the meaning. So he is explaining how this is happening, how can somebody say the meaning is clear, well you start to take the direct meaning, the primary meanings, so here is Mukhya Artha as it says and you are not taking the Mukhya Artha and then how are, so that's how you are not letting the meaning become, self-evident meaning become evident and then how are you covering it? He says, that is explained in the second line here, you are giving an imaginary interpretation which is actually obscuring the actual import of the text, then further, Upanishad, Shabdayai Mukhya Artha Hai, Sai Artha Mukhya Vyasa Sutra Sabakai, so now Upanishad, Shabdayai Mukhya Artha Hai, the words of the Upanishad are the essential meaning, the main meaning, the primary meaning of the Vedanta, Sai Artha Mukhya Vyasa Sutra Sabakai and whatever is the chief import of the Upanishads, that is what Vyasa has said in the Vedanta Sutra, now the Vedanta Sutra has different names, sometimes it is called as Brahma Sutra, sometimes it is called Vyasa Sutra based on its composer, it's called Brahma Sutra based on the fact that its primary subject is Brahma, it begins with Tathaatvaprapajigyasa and Brahma is what it focuses on, so now the question may come up that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that the Mukhya Artha, the main meaning is clear, how will we know the main meaning, so actually speaking, the Vedanta Sutra is not exactly, is not an absolutely independent book in the sense that it is actually an attempt to discern and determine the meaning of the Upanishads, the import of the Upanishads, that's why there are implicit references to the Upanishads in the Vedanta Sutra and the whole discussion in Sutras is about what do those references mean, so the way to understand this is by looking at the Sutras and looking at the Upanishads, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying that because the Upanishads are giving a particular message and Vedanta Sutra is a summarization in succinct Sutras of that message, therefore there is coherence between the two sets of messages, so Mukhya Artha Chadiya Kar Gauna Artha Kalpana, Abhidha Vritti Chadi Kar Shabdera Lakshana, so Mukhya Artha Chadiya, you give up the main meaning and Kar Gauna Artha Kalpana and as per Kalpana, as per your own imagination, you come up with your own Gauna Artha, your own secondary or subordinate meanings and not even subordinate meaning, the imagined, concocted, speculated subordinate meanings and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then after using these two words Mukhya Artha and Gauna Artha, then he goes to some technical terminology and he says that the technical terminology that is used especially for talking about the direct literal meaning of the text is Abhidha and Abhidha Vritti Chadi Kar Shabdera Lakshana, so Lakshana refers to Lakshana Vritti where the secondary or tertiary meaning is taken, the actual meaning is neglected or even rejected, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is pointing out the problem, indeed the fallacy in such a hermeneutical approach, hermeneutics refers to the method of understanding or interpreting scripture, so the hermeneutical method that Sarvabhauma has used is in pursuance of the method that the Vedic teacher Shankara has used, Shankaracharya has used and here Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is pointing out that such a method is faulty because the primary meaning is neglected or even rejected and a secondary tertiary meaning that is only pointed to Lakshana that is what is emphasized by them and in this way the whole intent of the text can get subverted by someone who wants to impose one's own ideas on the text and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu naturally objects to such a strategy Pramaanera Madhya Shruti Pramaan Pradaan, Shrutiye Mukhyartha Kahe Sai Se Pramaan, now if we want to understand now the question may come up okay you are saying that we should take the Mukhyartha, we should use the Abhidha Vritti not the Lakshana Vritti, not go to the Gauna Artha but then how will we determine what is the Mukhyartha, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is reiterating the point which he made earlier and he said that Pramaanera Madhya Shruti Pramaan Pradaan and among the Pramaanas, Shruti Pramaan is the Pradaan, it is the most important Pramaan and Shrutiye Mukhyartha Kahe Sai Se Pramaan and Shrutiye Mukhyartha Kahe, what Shruti says is the essential meaning, the central meaning, the primary meaning that is what we need to accept, now in every field there are authorities that are accepted and the authority there is also not just an authority but there is Pramaanatartham, the hierarchy of authorities just like you know even in science say what a physics doctorate student may say is subordinate to what a physics doctorate professor says and that is subordinate to say what an award-winning scientist says and that will be subordinate to what say a person who is in the topmost, a world-renowned scientist who is in a panel of the world's topmost scientists will say, so just as there can be and there will be a hierarchy Athartham in Pramaanas in any field of knowledge, similarly is there in understanding the input of scripture also and he says that we have to focus first and foremost on Shastra Pramaan and in Shastra Pramaan he says we focus on the Pramaan Pradhan, so he says we focus on the Pramaan of script of Shruti, so Shruti is considered traditionally the foremost authority and that is what we should focus on, now Chetan Mahaprabhu say he is an example of how Shruti needs to be accepted even when it at first glance doesn't make sense because there is a deeper import to it which we may not be able to perceive at our first glance and what is the deeper import, he says Jivera asthi vishta, asthi vishta doi shankha gomai, so now normally bones and excrement are considered impure and auspicious and normally if people see a skeleton they shudder, we will go to crematorium then we come back and first thing we do is take a bath, similarly the excrement and even if after we pass our experiment we take a bath, so what to speak of some other beings excrement, but here it is said that these two although they are normally considered in auspicious but shankha gomai, shankha is a bone, the conch that is used that is a bone and gomai the dung of a cow, cow dung is also the excrement of an animal, Shruti vakya sayi doi maha pavitra hai, but although scripture normally says that asthi and vishta are impure, but the same scripture says that shankha and gomai are pure and we accept that, why because there are other dynamics involved, so we need to recognize that when scripture gives us rules, scripture gives us also principles that may transcend those rules and we need to recognize the hierarchy within normal conventional rules and transcendental principles that may supersede those conventional rules, only when we recognize such a hierarchy will we be able to understand the import of scripture properly, Shri Yatra Mahaprabhu here recommends such a recognition in understanding Vedanta also, how we will take this argument further we will discuss in our future talks, thank you.