Haridas Thakur

[Guest guest]

> I recall the conclusion back then was that some parts of the book may be

> interpolated. It does not mean that the book in itself is bogus, any more

> than any other book, of which there are several editions with minor

> differences.

 

But how do we know that which parts are interpolated and which are not?

Perhaps the parts you are quoting from are interpolated. That is why the

acaryas have never quoted from this book Advaita Prakasa or accepted it as

authentic, though it contains many fascinating stories of Lord Caitanya

never heard of earlier.

 

> Even in the Srimad Bhagavatam there are a number of "extra" verses

> presented by Prabhupada, which appear in some editions and don't appear in

> others. Now, this gives grounds to a doubt that in some edition there may

> be an interpolated verse. Do we reject the Bhagavata wholesale?

 

We accept the Bhagavatam because it has been accepted by all the acharyas

after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as the topmost pramana. I think Srila

Prabhupada must have used the same edition which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada used to write his Gaudiya Bhasya. But is there

any acarya in our line who has accepted Advaita Prakasa as bonafide?

 

> An interesting consideration in this regard is that Viraghava Acarya

> considered chapters 12, 13 and 14 of the Bhagavata interpolated, and yet

> Srila Prabhupada quotes him extensively without questioning his status as

> an authority.

 

I am not aware of this specific case but we can't just imitate

maha-bhagavatas like Prabhupada and quote from books which are not fully

bonafide. A great acarya can do that.

 

> In regards to Acyutananda's being the same age as Lord Caitanya, Advaita

> Acarya took birth in January-February 1434, and was consequently 52 years

> old at the time of Sriman Mahaprabhu's birth in 1486. In his purport to CC

> Adi 12.17, Srila Prabhupada draws from the Caitanya Bhagavata that

> Acyutananda was born sometime in 1506, and was the first of Advaita

> Prabhu's six sons. Did Advaita Acarya beget his first child at the age of

> 72?

 

What is the source of your birthdate of Lord Advaita Acarya? It is not

mentioned in the purport. I hope it is not again Advaita Prakasa itself.

 

If we read the full part of the purport, things are very clear:

 

Advaita Prabhu married in the beginning of the fifteenth century

Sakabda (late fifteenth century A.D.). When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted

to visit the village of Ramakeli while going from Jagannatha Puri to

Vrndavana during the Sakabda years 1433 and 1434 (A.D. 1511 and 1512),

Acyutananda was only five years old. The Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda,

Fourth Chapter, describes Acyutananda at that time as panca-varsa vayasa

madhura digambara, "only five years old and standing naked." Therefore it is

to be concluded that Acyutananda was born sometime in the year 1428 (A.D.

1506). Before the birth of Acyutananda, Advaita Prabhu's wife, Sitadevi,

came to see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu at His birth. Thus it is not impossible

that she had the other three sons by Advaita within the twenty-one years

between 1407 and 1428 Sakabda (A.D. 1486 and 1507). In an unauthorized book

of the name Sitadvaita-carita, published in Bengali in the unauthorized

newspaper Nityananda-dayini in 1792 Sakabda (A.D. 1870), it is mentioned

that Acyutananda was a class friend of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. According to

Caitanya-bhagavata, this statement is not at all valid. When Caitanya

Mahaprabhu accepted the renounced order of sannyasa in the year 1431 Sakabda

(A.D. 1509), He came to the house of Advaita Prabhu at Santipura. At that

time, as stated in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda, Chapter One,

Acyutananda was only three years old.

 

> Is it objectionable to chant three lakhs, one in mind, one softly and one

> loudly?

 

It is not objectionable. A pure devotee can do anything he wants. But Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada says that:

 

Sometimes he would chant the sixteen name, thirty-two syllable,

maha-mantra loudly *(uccaihsvare)*, and sometimes he would chant softly

*(mrdusvare)*. Every day he would complete the chanting of three hundred

thousand holy names, or in a year he would chant one hundred million names

of Hari.

 

I just pointed out that we should give more preference for his statements in

the case where it is not sure whether the last 4 chps of Prema Vilasa have

been interpolated or not.

 

Your aspiring servant, BR Sadhu Swami