Srila Prabhupada Tells a Story About Mayavadi Followers of Sankara

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Srila Prabhupada Tells a Story About Mayavadi

Followers of Sankara

 

 

Srila Prabhupada told a funny story to illustrate a

serious point about the teachings of Sankaracarya.

Sankaracarya is accepted by the Vaisnava sampradaya as

an incarnation of Lord Siva, and therefore Sankara is

exalted. But Sankara's deceptive teachings of the

Mayavadi philosophy were intended for a particular

time and place and were not intended to be perpetuated

as eternal dharma, as is done by his so-called

Mayavadi philosophers. To illustrate the foolishness

of the imitative followers of Sankara, Prabhupada told

a story about a doctor and his apprentice.

There was a famous veterinarian who traveled to many

farms and had good success in curing the illnesses of

animals. The veterinarian also had an assistant who

accompanied him, but this apprentice had an envious

and ambitious desire to replace his master and to

prematurely become a master veterinarian himself. On

one occasion the veterinarian was called to a farm

where he discovered a valuable horse whose neck was

greatly swollen. The veterinarian opened the mouth of

the horse, examined inside, and then asked the

apprentice to hand him his work bag. Taking out his

hammer, the veterinarian proceeded to smash at the

horse's neck. Very soon after this unusual action, the

horse's swelling subsided, and the farmer thankfully

praised and paid the veterinarian for his work.

Almost immediately after this incident, the apprentice

deserted the doctor and decided to become a

veterinarian himself. Word soon reached the master

veterinarian that his apprentice was running around

presenting himself as a genuine veterinarian, but was

causing havoc wherever he went. The report was that

the so-called veterinarian was actually killing

animals whenever he attempted to treat them. Finally,

the master veterinarian caught up with his rascal

apprentice and challenged him, "What do you think

you're doing? I hear that you are imitating my

practice, but as a result you are killing animals

wherever you go."

"But I am only doing what I saw you do," protested the

apprentice. The apprentice then explained that he was

just doing what he had seen his master do on their

last visit. Whenever he went to see an ailing animal,

he would smash on that animal with a hammer, but

unfortunately he did not get good results.

"You fool!" said the veterinarian. "What you saw was a

very special case. That horse had swallowed a

watermelon, so I had to break the watermelon by

hitting him from the outside. That was not a practice

to be repeated in every case."

In this way, Prabhupada illustrated how the Mayavadi

followers of Sankara should be scorned and beaten just

as the apprentice was by the veterinarian.

 

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami.

 

- From the Prabhupada Nectar by HH Satsvarupa dasa

Goswami Maharaj

 

 

 

 

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