Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 6.172
Creation Transforms the Lord’s Energy, Not Himself
“Śaṅkarācārya states that the theory of transformation presented in the Vedānta-sūtra implies that the Absolute Truth itself is transformed. In this way the Māyāvādī philosophers denigrate Śrīla Vyāsadeva by accusing him of error. They thus find fault in the Vedānta-sūtra and misinterpret it to try to establish the theory of illusion.
What the purport teaches
- The Absolute Truth is the original source of everything. This does not mean that the original person Himself becomes transformed.
- The Lord produces the cosmic manifestation through His inconceivable energy. The scriptures compare His creating and withdrawing it to a spider producing and drawing back its web.
- Transformation of the Lord’s energy is called pariṇāma-vāda. The purport criticizes Śaṅkarācārya for using word jugglery to present it as vivarta-vāda, the theory of illusion.
Try this today
Write down the teaching, “Everything comes from the Lord, but the Lord Himself is not transformed,” and review it once today.
Ask yourself
Can I distinguish transformation of the Lord’s energy from transformation of the Lord Himself?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.