Synthesis  

Jaya HDG Srila BhaktiPromode Puri Goswami Maharaj

Jaya HDG Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj

Nowadays everyone supports the philosophy of synthesis or the all-is-one theory. But what actually is this equality nobody knows. Going astray is easy, as in mental speculation and proposing something whimsically without any strong foundation. In short, what people like to accept is that irrespective of whether the paths may be many, the goal remains one. Here it implies that any single individual with his mental facilities for various types of speculation will fit in this definition. Ridiculously what it also suggests here is that anybody may even be against religious principles. Still, as long as he is determined in his approach inevitably he will be able to reach the destination. An example is given in this connection as when one enters a king's huge palace irrespective of whichever door he may enter, ultimately he will able to get the audience of the king. Actually, here it suggests whatever the back way used one will be able to receive the audience with the king. This type of philosophy may be able to sway the common people but those with discriminative minds will always be fixed on the testimony of the revealed scriptures. They carefully select only the teachings as in the Geeta, Uttar Mimamsa, and the pure commentary of the Brahma Sutra as the Srimad Bhagavatam. Especially in the Geeta, at the start, it is mentioned about taking shelter of the Lord, and the devotion to the Lord is emphasized again and again with the Lord instructing Arjuna in the end on the greatest secret as unalloyed devotion to the Supreme. In other words, unalloyed devotion is the essence of the teaching of the Geeta while knowledge, works, and yoga practice are deemed secondary. Anything other than devotion to the Lord is simply considered bonding to the soul in the end. The only independent Supreme Lord is one while the demigods are temporary and dependent on Him alone. In short, to overcome the illusory energy, one must worship the Supreme Lord solely. Only His devotees are never destroyed. In the Brahma Sutra in the second verse of the second pada, the worship of all-powerful, inconceivable Brahman is stipulated which again crushes all other speculative whimsical mental thinking. In the verse ,Janmadaya yasya the characteristics of this Brahman are described. Sankara Acarya replaced the direct interpretation with secondary meanings which was intended to trick the intelligence of those with demoniac mentalities. So the beginning verse of the Bhagavatam, the pure commentary of the Vedas crushes all other cheating religions and begins the teaching of the essence of the Vedas. Both the non-duality and the duality of Brahman are discussed here. However, in the Vedas, more verses deal with duality rather than with non-duality. In this connection, where duality is more in the description, nevertheless, there is still some validity to non-duality that cannot be effaced. Just as the fair or dark Brahmin may be part of the non-differential groups still duality is more pronounced in general. Sankara preached pure monism or nonduality. Madhav Acaraya went to lengths in the reverse to preach the same as a pure duality between the living entity and the Lord. Ramanucharya both in the context of the significance of the material and spiritual defined the Supreme Lord as the most important and underlying factor of all these. Nimbaditya Swami preached that there are simultaneous differences and non-difference between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. Vishnuswami postulated that Brahman is one but because of the eternal differences between Brahman and the living entity then opted for pure monism. Lord Gaura Sundara in noting the stark differences between each of the philosophies as preached by the respective Acaryas then made a nice synthesis of all these. Lord Gaura Sundara is none other than the Supreme Lord and hence aware that devotion was the essence of the eternal religious scriptures as ordained by the Lord. Therefore only He could present the pure message all over the world in a way that all people could accept. He was able to stifle the Buddhist philosophy but still accepted Sankaracharya as an acarya who reestablished the Vedas. However, Sankaracharya was only carrying out the order of the Lord in preaching the impersonal philosophy to bewilder the demoniac class of people. He set up a base that in the future the highest philosophy in the mode of all pure goodness could be established. Lord Gauranga being all cognizant in fact made complete all the other established philosophies of the respective Acaryas. From the transcendental deity stand of Madhavacarya, The energy conception of Ramnucharya, the Pure monism of Vishnu Swami, and the difference and non-difference of Nimbarka were all synthesized to the best philosophy of instantaneous, inconceivable one and different philosophy. This philosophy is that which is now accepted by all.  the Mundaka Sruti affirms this philosophy as it states that Brahman is harmonious even in having all opposing qualities simultaneously.In that context, it is inconceivable because such facts are impossible to understand in normal circumstances. In other words, Brahman is very huge at the same time can be very tiny, with form as well as without form, with qualities and without, unborn even though being born, completely transcendental yet acting as human.Therefore the diverse, divine energies of the Lord have to be accepted as inconceivable to explain the relation of the Lord with the living entity.   The Swetaswetara   Sruti has defined this inconceivable energy as the higher spiritual energy of the Lord .parasya saktir vivadauiva sruyate   svabhabiki jnana balakriya cha and these energies are threefold. Knowledge is only one aspect of the Lord.Gaura Sundara in synthesizing the purport of the Vedas harmoniously clarified that the Lord is eternally existent, complete with consciousness and full of bliss.  Simply lumping the Brahman as impersonal without accepting the energies of the Lord would be tantamount to a partial, incomplete view of Brahman.Their attempt to prove that the living entity is non-different from Brahman with arguments as to how the air in the confined jug finally merges with air in space when the jug is broken. These theories of shadow and reflection are disproved by the verse of the Brhaddharanyke Sruti as the verse yatha agne kshudra  vishphurjita  vyuccharanti meaning the living entities are  compared to sparks of a blazing fire then there are other verses as in Munduka Sruti as    yathaagneh pavakat  or dvasaparna sayujo which establishes the independent existence of the living entity from the Supreme Spirit.  Then again from the Geeta we have sukshamanam aham jiva and mamaivamso jiva mloke   jivah bhutah sanatanah meaning the living entity is very tiny by nature in comparison and it is part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit also eternally existing.    Lord   Gaurasundara has harmonized both the statements of the Vedas and related texts that though essentially in quality both living entity and Brahman are divine, in size they are very different. Therefore establishing the eternal, instantaneous difference as well as non-difference, and the word inconceivable as well as added because of the inconceivable nature of this subject matter fits well considering the verse of the Vedanta Sutra which says that argument is not the way to prove the existence of the Supreme Brahman, Existence, non-existence, material and spiritual or grains and sweet dishes all cannot be lumped equally which is not a synthesis but wherever a substance has a certain quality and using only that frame if it can be synthesized in accordance to another qualified substance then that is alright.  Students who want to harmonize the verse with prose will first consider the actor, next the work, and lastly the type of action; in the end, such actions should match.Matching simply the actors, work, or performed actions is never complete.  Nowadays equating two and two is called synthesis as simply depending on mental speculation without any stress on the revealed scriptures. As saying that the dark figure is Krishna, whoever is Rama is Syama are some of the statements that are getting preached around profusesly.Simana Mahaprabhu has harmoniously established the actual truthful statements from the testimony of the Brahma Samhita.   Similarly, Geeta also has some of these truthful revelations. Although non-differentiation is based on oneness still there is some diversity in it.Just as the earth is one whole yet in it are many countries, oceans, rivers ----which if not described will be not doing justice to the wholesome harmony existing within;     Mahaprabhu has synthesized nicely as to whom the Supreme Lord Krishna is? who then is Rama?who Narayana? Vishnu?    The innumerable incarnation?  Brahma?Supersoul? and who are the demigods by allowing them their correct designation in the hierarchy as on evidence based on scriptural statements.     He Gaura Sundara harmonized the conception of the spiritual world and never equated the spiritual with the material and to this day was never an Acarya who could do such synthesizing in the same way as he did.   All those devotees who have taken the essence of the teachings of Mahaprabhu understanding all this in truth in the association of saintly devotees will be able to advance. favorably.   Lastly with this eulogy to the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu in this way-   An ignorant person even though bewildered by confusing statements likened to crocodiles in the ocean yet able to overcome all these illusions by His mercy, I bow to the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga.