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Nirvana philosophy

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

Lord Buddha's nirvāṇa philosophy means stopping all material activities.
CC Madhya 6.168, Purport: Lord Buddha abandoned the authority of the Vedic literature and therefore rejected the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the Vedas. His nirvāṇa philosophy means stopping all material activities. Lord Buddha did not recognize the presence of transcendental forms and spiritual activities beyond the material world. He simply described voidism beyond this material existence. The Māyāvādī philosophers offer lip service to Vedic authority but try to escape the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They concoct some idea of a transcendental position and call themselves Nārāyaṇa, or God. However, God’s position is completely different from their concoction. Such Māyāvādī philosophers consider themselves above the influence of karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities and their reactions). For them, the spiritual world is equated with the Buddhist voidism. There is very little difference between impersonalism and voidism. Voidism can be directly understood, but the impersonalism enunciated by Māyāvādī philosophers is not very easily understandable. Of course, Māyāvādī philosophers accept a spiritual existence, but they do not know about the spiritual world and spiritual beings.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

If you become zero, no body, then you are free from pains and pleasure. This is their philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy.
Lecture on BG 2.14 -- Germany, June 21, 1974: This body is combination of matter. Combination of earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, intelligence, ego—eight material elements, five gross and three subtle. This body is made of that. So the Buddha philosophy is that you dismantle this body, nirvāṇa. Just like this house is made of stone, brick and wood and so many. So you break it, and there is no more stone and no more brick. This is distributed to the earth. Throw it on the earth. Then there is no house. Similarly, if you become zero, no body, then you are free from pains and pleasure. This is their philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy, śūnyavādi: "Make it zero." But that is not possible. That is not possible. You cannot... Because you are spirit soul... That will be explained. You are eternal. You cannot be zero.
Just like Lord Buddha preached his philosophy, śūnyavāda philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy, because it was needed at that time. It is not permanent philosophy.
Lecture on BG 4.11 -- Bombay, March 31, 1974: Just like Lord Buddha preached his philosophy, śūnyavāda philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy, because it was needed at that time. It is not permanent philosophy. Any philosophy except Kṛṣṇa philosophy... Nothing is permanent. They are temporary. They have got temporary use. The real use is Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Real use, Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam...

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So the śūnyavādī and the nirviśeṣavādī, they want to make these varieties of enjoyment zero. That is called nirvāṇa philosophy, Buddha philosophy.
Lecture on SB 6.1.25 -- Chicago, July 9, 1975: So the śūnyavādī and the nirviśeṣavādī, they want to make these varieties of enjoyment zero. That is called nirvāṇa philosophy, Buddha philosophy, that "These varieties of enjoyment is followed by painful condition, so you should make this variety zero." Just like sometimes one commits suicide. When these varieties become intolerable, social condition unbearable, then he commits suicide. So this śūnyavādī, māyāvādī, means it is spiritual suicide, because they have no information of the spiritual varieties. Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ. They do not know that these varieties of enjoyment can be executed with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that will endure eternally, and we shall enjoy eternally. That they cannot understand. That is the difference between Vaiṣṇava and others.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

So far Buddha is concerned, he's also considered śaktyāveśa avatāra. He preached this nirvāṇa philosophy.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.367-84 -- New York, December 31, 1966: So far Buddha is concerned, he's also considered śaktyāveśa avatāra. He preached this nirvāṇa philosophy. Although he did not speak about God, because it is considered that he was himself God, but the people amongst whom he preached, they were mostly atheistic people; therefore he did not preach about God. But he did not deny also. He simply wanted to make extinction of this present worldly activities. That was, yes... Nirvāṇa. And he represented the sacrifice of renouncement. He..., you may remember that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, out of His six opulences, one opulence is renouncement. So Lord Buddha's life is renouncement. He was prince. He, he was in a very young time. He renounced the world and underwent severe penances. These are the symptoms by which we can understand that he's also śaktyāveśa avatāra.
The nirvāṇa philosophy, the Buddha philosophy, that is between this Devī-dhāma and Hari-dhāma, Maheśa-dhāma, in between.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.49-61 -- New York, January 5, 1967: Ei tina dhāmera haya kṛṣṇa adhīśvara. Ei tina dhāma. Tina dhāma, what is that three systems? This Devī-dhāma, the Maheśa-dhāma and Hari-dhāma. Hari-dhāma, the spiritual world, and Maheśa-dhāma, in between... This Maheśa-dhāma is the destination of nirvāṇa. The nirvāṇa philosophy, the Buddha philosophy, that is between this Devī-dhāma and Hari-dhāma, Maheśa-dhāma, in between. They are liberated also, but not in the spiritual world, in the marginal place, which is called nirvāṇa. Their material existence is finished, but their spiritual development is not there. So finishing material existence is not all. Just like one man is suffering from fever, and the fever subsides. That is not health. Fever subsides. That's all right. Fever has subsided. But healthy life is when he will work as a healthy man.
Page Title:Nirvana philosophy
Compiler:Aparajita Radhika
Created:22 of Nov, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=1, OB=0, Lec=5, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:6