SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT

                       Here in the Ñaö-sandarbhas I will quote from the Vedas and Puränas and other such scriptures, just as I have seen them. Not to verify the statements of Çrémad Bhägavatam, but to verify the interpretations I present. Some of the verses I have not seen personally, but have gleaned them from the Bhägavat tätparyya, Bhärata tätparyya, Brahma sütra bhäñya, and other works of the venerable Çré Madhväcärya. He was the prolific preacher of the Vaisnava philosophy of Tattvaväda,  the chief among the knowers of the Vedas and their meaning, and in his line have appeared such renowned scholars as Vijayadhvaja and Vyäsatértha, of great fame in the South.

            Çré Madhväcärya states in the Bhärata tätparyya, "Having understood the other scriptures with the help of Vedänta, and having seen the various types of scriptures in the different parts of the country, I shall examine and determine the meaning, as per the view of Lord Vyäsa, who is Lord Näräyaëa, and the compiler of the Mahäbhärata and other scriptures". (Bhärata tätparyya 2.7,8) [i]

            The texts quoted from the works of Çré Madhväcärya will include the Vedic portions from the Caturvedaçikhä and so on, the Puräëic texts from those sections of the Garuòa Puräëa and so on that are no longer available, the saàhitä texts from the Mahäsaàhitä and so on, and the tantra texts from the Tantra-Bhägavatam and the Brahma-tarka and so on. 

 

ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY

             Having proven Çrémad Bhägavatam the supreme pramäëa, it needs no further validation. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé will therefore quote scripture only to validate his conclusions. He had a library and he quotes from those sources he has directly seen. He also takes help from the writings of Çré Madhväcärya, who lived a few centries before Jéva Gosvämé. He quotes many sources in his books that by Jéva's time were already lost.

            In Madhva's time (Twelfth century) there were no printing presses. He travelled the length and breadth of India collecting scriptures and other philosophical books, copying them by hand at the various temples and libraries he visited. He was renowned for his photographic memory. When he was not allowed to copy the books he found, he read them and later reproduced them from memory. In this way he amassed an immense library at his headquarters at Udupé, in Karëäöaka. Some say his library had no equal. Later on it was destroyed by fire, and thus many of the books he refers to in his writings were lost forever. Subsequently, in a number of instances Çréla Jéva Gosvämé had to be content only with the references found in the existing writings of Çré Madhväcärya. For example, there are no known texts expounding the materialistic philosophy of Carväka muni. It has all been lost to antiquity. Whatever we know of his beliefs are because Madhva quotes from Carväka muni's works in his books, wherein he refutes Carväka's materialism.

            The word tattvaväda means "everything is real", sarvam vastu satyamiti tattvavädaù. The monists accept only Brahman as real and everything else as a manifestation of mäyä. Madhväcärya soundly defeated this with his philosophy called Tattvaväda, both in his writings and in public debates with the leading Mäyävädis of his time.

            By using Çréla Madhväcärya's works as one of his basic references, Jéva Goswämé indicates that he comes in the line of succession from Madhva. His doctrine, however, is not exactly the same as Madhva's, for Jéva Gosvämé was a follower of Lord Caitanya, whose teachings are an offshoot from Madhva's Tattvaväda. Çréla Jéva Gosvämé's plan is to use those tenets of Madhva that tie-in with the teachings of Lord Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu's Acintyabhedäbheda philosophy. By impartial analysis, the Acintyabhedäbheda system is shown to be the most versatile philosophy and superior to all other conclusions based on Vedic knowledge. It is the perfect synthesis of all the Vedic literature. This is possible because Çré Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When He philosophizes therefore, He naturally surpasses all other systems.

            Here ends the discussion on the pramäëa section of Çré Tattva Sandarbha. Having established çabda pramäëa as the valid means of knowledge, and having established the Çrémad Bhägavatam as the topmost form of çabda pramäëa, in the next section Çréla Jéva Goswämé begins his discussion of prameya, or what is attainable by the knowledge in the topmost pramäëa.

[i] The current edition of Bhäratatätparyya (Udupé, 1971), instead of "vedäntasya" reads "vedän ca asya", which means "having understood the other scriptures and the Vedas by the mercy of the Lor