Krishna Talk No. 32: Ativadi Apa-sampradaya

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Ativadi Apa-sampradaya

by

Sripada Swami B. G. Narasingha

------------------------------

Krsna Talk No. 32

 

Devotee: Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura has written that there were

thirteen apa-sampradayas that developed after the time of Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu.

 

aula, baula, kartabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani

sahajiya, sakhibeki, smarta, jata-gosani

ativadi, cudadhari, gauranga-nagari

tato kahe, ei terara sanga nahi kari

 

One of these apa-sampradayas is called ativadi, which means too great.

Can you please explain how those who are 'too great' have become an

apa-sampradaya?

 

Narasingha Maharaja: If the quality of humility is the crest-jewel of

the Vaisnavas, and indeed it is, then undeniably its antithesis is

pride. If one is falsely proud due to his greatness, or falsely proud due to

his scholarship then one becomes an ativadi, too great.

 

To chant the Holy Name without offense, one must first become free from

dambhika, or pride. A dambhika-brahmana is one who is proud of his

scholarship and thus becomes offensive to the humble Vaisnavas. A true

Vaisnava is always meek and humble. He sees every living entity as

constitutionally a servant of Krsna and he never mistreats others, or looks

upon them as his inferior.

 

In the words of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, "One who

thinks he is the highest is actually the lowest and one who thinks himself

the lowest is actually the highest."

 

Real humility can only be attained by strictly adhering to the

instructions of Sri Guru and by preaching the glories of the Holy Name.

However, a hypocrite in the guise of a Vaisnava (kapota-vaisnava) sometimes

makes a show of his learning simply to attain cheap adoration and

followers. Such persons are known as ativadi, too great.

 

The first pseudo sect of Vaisnavas to be known as Ativadi was founded

by one Oriyan brahmana named Jagannatha Dasa. This Jagannatha Dasa lived

during the time of Sri Caitanya. Jagannatha Dasa came from a tradition

of professional Bhagavatam reciters and due to his sweet voice he

attracted many followers. Jagannatha Dasa claimed to be a disciple of Srila

Haridasa Thakura, but he later broke his connection with Haridasa and

began to preach his own concocted philosophy.

 

Initially Jagannatha Dasa resided in an asrama donated to him by

Maharaja Prataparudra, but after his rejection of Thakura Haridasa the king

took the property back and Jagannatha Dasa and his followers founded

their own matha called the Sat-lahiri Mandira. This story has been

narrated in a Gaudiya Matha publication compiled by one of Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta's disciples.

 

Jagannatha Dasa once approached Mahaprabhu without getting permission

from the Lord's personal servant. Jagannatha Dasa had written his own

translation of the Bhagavatam and desired to recite it for the Lord. This

translation was in Oriyan and happened to contain five new chapters of

the author's own invention. In order to avoid hearing this concocted

creation of Jagannatha Dasa, the Lord told him, "A fallen jiva such as

Myself is not worthy to hear the Bhagavatam composed by a poet like you.

You have become too great, ativadi. An insignificant soul like Me can

have nothing to do with you."

 

Being covered by false pride Jagannatha Dasa and his many followers

took Mahaprabhu's sarcastic statement to be one of praise rather than

condemnation. The followers of Jagannatha Dasa then propagated his

Bhagavatam throughout Orissa. The true followers of Sri Caitanya, however,

reject the Bhagavatam by Jagannatha Dasa.

 

If one examines the cult of Jagannatha Dasa, it becomes quite clear why

Mahaprabhu shunned his association. Jagannatha Dasa and his followers

among other things claimed that Jagannatha Dasa was the incarnation of

Srimati Radharani, that he was the personification of Srimati

Radharani's laughter. Certainly such a claim could hold no bearing over the

followers of Sri Caitanya.

 

Another reason why Sri Caitanya rejected Jagannatha Dasa was because

Jagannatha Dasa contradicted the original text of Vyasadeva and he

sometimes leaned towards mayavadi impersonalism.

 

Later, after being rejected by Sri Caitanya, Jagannatha Dasa began

mixing freely with women. His melodious singing attracted many unsuspecting

women folk to hear his Bhagavatam recitations and serve him in various

ways such as massaging his body. Eventually this came to the attention

of Maharaja Prataparudra and Jagannatha Dasa was arrested and

interrogated by the King. When the King asked him about his behavior Jagannatha

Dasa replied, "I see no difference between men and women." Maharaja

Prataparudra then had Jagannatha Dasa imprisoned for some time.

 

The Ativadi sect also claims that Lord Jagannatha reveals to them

secret revelations of apocalyptic visions of the end of the world. It is

indeed amusing that in recent times these Ativadi prophecies have even

duped some western Vaisnavas to travel to Orissa to have a glimpse of the

future from an Ativadi priest known as the Copper-plate Baba. This

Copper-plate Baba has been consulted numerous times by some western gurus

and sannyasis in ISKCON. Little do they know that the Copper-plate Baba

is the representative of Jagannatha Dasa and the Ativadi sect.

 

Unfortunately, in olden times the ativadi mentality also entered other

Gaudiya Vaisnavas and caused their fall down from pure devotional

service. During the seventeenth century a man from the Surma valley in Assam

entered the Vaisnava communities of Bengal and Vrndavana. Eventually he

took diksa from Sri Krsna-carana Cakravarti and became known as Rupa

Kaviraja. This Rupa Kaviraja studied Srimad Bhagavatam under Sri Mukunda

Dasa, a well known Vaisnava of the time. The residents of Radha-kunda

felt great happiness to see Rupa Kaviraja engaged thus. Gradually though

he became proud of his learning.

 

Soon after the disappearance of Sri Mukunda Dasa, Rupa Kaviraja made a

grave offence to the great Vaisnavi Srimati Krsna-priya Thakurani. One

day, all the Vaisnavas assembled to hear Rupa Kaviraja recite the

Bhagavatam. Before he began, Krsna-priya Thakurani arrived and the devotees

offered her all respects. Rupa Kaviraja however, did not show her any

respect. During his recital, Rupa Kaviraja noticed that she was chanting

and he became disturber at this. With anger, he asked Krsna-priya

Thakurani, " How is it possible to be doing two things simultaneously? It is

very disturbing to see how you are chanting while I am reciting the

Bhagavatam."

 

With great humility, the Thakurani replied, "It is simply the habit of

my tongue to chant continuously -- it doesn't impede my hearing at

all." Hearing this, Rupa Kaviraja sat back and fumed in anger. From this

moment he was ruined. He offended Krsna-priya Thakurani, then later he

made offences to his guru, his parama-guru and other Vaisnavas. Then Rupa

Kaviraja became more and more proud of his learning and was ultimately

robbed of the results of his spiritual advancement.

 

Since that time the Gaudiya Vaisnavas have referred to Rupa Kaviraja as

being an Ativadi, one who is too great or knows too much.

 

Later on Rupa Kaviraja published a manuscript supporting the sahajiya

conceptions and claimed that it had been written by Srila Rupa Gosvami.

For all of his outrageous activities, the daughter of Sri Srinivasa

Acarya, Srimati Hemalata Gosvamini tore the kanti-mala from his neck and

ostracized him from the Vaisnava community. After this, the followers

of Rupa Kaviraja began to wear only one strand of tulasi-beads since he

was only left with one strand after they were broken by Hemalata.

 

According to the false doctrine of Rupa Kaviraja, known as Sauromya,

one should imitate the gopis of Vraja in ones sadhaka-deha in order to

gain entrance into the confidential lilas of the Divine Couple. Rupa

Kaviraja was also against the worship of Tulasi and Salagrama and the

following of ekadasi-vrata since the damsels of Vrndavana do not follow

these vidhis.

 

In time the luster of Rupa Kaviraja disappeared and he soon contacted

leprosy which spread rapidly throughout his entire body. Reduced to a

decaying wretch, Rupa Kaviraja fled to Bengal and tried to gain entrance

into his guru's asrama pretending that everything was normal. But the

Vaisnavas of Bengal had already heard of his offenses and he was forced

to leave Bengal. He then traveled to Orissa and stayed in the village

of Khuriya-grama. There his body became thoroughly eaten up with leprosy

and in great pain he slowly died. It is said that he became a ghost who

would haunt those who committed Vaisnava-aparadha.

 

The following paragraph is from an article by Srila Prabhupada

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on the life of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti

which appeared in The Harmonist (Vol.18, No.18. 1922):

 

"Srinivasa Acarya's famous daughter, Srimati Hemalata Thakurani,

rejected an envious disciple named Sri Rupa Kaviraja from the Vaisnava

society. This Rupa Kaviraja is counted amongst the deviant sub-branch of the

Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya known as Ativadi -- he spread his own

concocted philosophy (against Gaudiya tradition), stating that only a person

in the renounced order of life is capable of acting as acarya. He

claimed that it was not possible for a householder to become a spiritual

master. Fully disregarding the vidhi-marga, or path of devotional rules

and regulations, he also tried to preach a philosophical path of

raga-marga, or spontaneous devotion, which was completely unregulated and

undisciplined. He also claimed that smarana (remembrance) was possible

without the help of sravana and kirtana (hearing and chanting). Thus, Rupa

Kaviraja propagated a path that was contrary to the path shown by the

Gosvamis. Therefore, Srila Cakravarti Thakura has refuted these false

conclusions in his Sarartha-darsini commentary on the third Canto of

Srimad Bhagavatam. Actually, this refutation is a rendering of the truths

outlined in Srila Jiva Gosvami's Bhakti Sandarbha."

 

One may be very learned in the scriptures, one may be adept at quoting

many slokas, one may have some understanding of the Vaisnava siddhanta

and be proficient in explaining its subtle details, but if one is

devoid of the quality of true humility then all these attributes are simply

like decorations on a dead body. Srila Rupa Gosvami has explained in

Bhakti-rasamrta-Sindhu that a devotee should not read too many books

(bahu-sastra-vyakhya-vivadi tyagah, or renouncing the study of many

scriptures in order to make novel explanations and arguments). This point is

also mentioned by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself in the

Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.118) -

 

bahu-grantha-kalabhyasa-vyakhyana varjiba

 

"One should not partially study many scriptures just to be able to give

references and expand explanations."

 

Nowadays there are some pretentious devotees that deem themselves as

very learned, traveling here and there, they speak on so-called high

topics and compete for the cheap admiration of people who are ignorant in

these matters. These so-called devotees expertly speak novel

interpretations to the scriptures and sweet illustrative stories, but such

discussions simply fall on the deaf ears of the unqualified audiences having

only the impact of aranya-rodana-nyaya, crying out in the wilderness.

 

Learning alone does not qualify one as an advanced Vaisnava, especially

if by one's learning one becomes proud and offensive to other

Vaisnavas. Study, or svadhyaya, is meant only to cultivate devotion to the

Supreme Lord. Too much learning, even of a good thing, may sometimes cause

one to become puffed up and proud. Great learning must therefore be

balanced by great Vaisnava humility, otherwise one becomes an Ativadi, too

great.