Thoughts of Impersonalists - The Fear of Personhood
The divide between the personalist (bhakta) and the impersonalist (jñānī or Māyāvādī) is the central philosophical conflict addressed by Śrīla Prabhupāda. While the devotee seeks to serve Kṛṣṇa, the impersonalist seeks to become one with Him. Śrīla Prabhupāda analyzes the thoughts of the impersonalists to show that their philosophy is not a higher realization, but a reaction to material suffering and a misunderstanding of the nature of the Absolute.
The "Poor Fund of Knowledge"
Why does an impersonalist deny the form of God? Śrīla Prabhupāda attributes it to a "poor fund of knowledge." The impersonalist observes that in this world, having a form means being limited, temporal, and subject to suffering. Therefore, they mistakenly conclude that God—who is eternal and unlimited—must be formless. They cannot conceive of a spiritual form that is simultaneously personal and unlimited.
- The poor fund of knowledge held by the impersonalists cannot accommodate how the Supreme Absolute Truth can be a person, because whenever they think of a person they think of a person of this material world. That is their defect.
- These impersonalists, they cannot think of that a person can be so unlimitedly powerful. Therefore they become impersonalist. They cannot think of. The impersonalists, they cannot imagine...
- Impersonalists think that “material” refers to the forms within our experience and that “spiritual” refers to an absence of form.
Kṛṣṇa's Form as Māyā
Because of this defective logic, impersonalists think that when Kṛṣṇa appears, He accepts a body made of material nature (māyā). They believe the Ultimate Truth is the impersonal Brahman, and that the personal form is a temporary manifestation for the sake of interaction. Śrīla Prabhupāda condemns this thought as the "highest blunder."
- Nondevotee impersonalists think that Krsna has a body made of this material nature and that all His activities, His form and everything, are maya. These impersonalists are known as Mayavadi. They do not know the ultimate truth.
- The highest blunder committed by the impersonalists is to think that when the incarnation of God comes He accepts the form of matter in the mode of goodness.
- Mayavadi impersonalists think that the Lord's form is a product of this material world.
Fear of Variegatedness
The impersonal philosophy is ultimately a philosophy of negation (neti neti—not this, not that). Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that they are "afraid" of spiritual variety. Because their experience of variety in the material world is painful, they want to make everything zero or void. They cannot understand that the spiritual world is full of transcendental variegatedness (cit-vicitra).
- The most unfortunate persons are the impersonalists, who cannot understand the transcendental variegatedness of the spiritual world. They are afraid to talk about the beauty of the Vaikuntha planets because they think that variegatedness must be material.
- Impersonalists think that the spiritual world is completely void, or, in other words, that there is no variegatedness. This mentality is described here (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.15.23) as ku-katha mati-ghnih, "intelligence bewildered by unworthy words."
- Modern impersonalists consider it (Caitanya’s Krsna consciousness movement) false and cannot understand how the Krsna consciousness movement can utilize it. They are so absorbed in impersonal thought that they take it for granted that all spiritual variety is material.
"I Am God"
The most dangerous thought of the impersonalist is the misconception of identity. They think, "I am the Supreme." By meditating on the oneness of the soul and the Supersoul, they falsely think they have become the controller of the universe. This is described in the śāstras as vimukta-māninah—thinking oneself liberated when one is actually still bound by the false ego.
- Falsely think that "I am the supreme, I am controlling everything. The sun is moving under my direction, the everything, the water is, seas, I mean to say, there under my direction." This is their meditation. Impersonalists.
- An impersonalist thinks that his actual identity is in being one with Krsna, but a devotee does not destroy his identity in this way. He lives with full faith that Krsna will kindly protect him in all respects.
- One must not only think that he is Brahman, but must act like Brahman. One who only thinks himself Brahman is an impersonalist. And one who acts like Brahman is the pure devotee.
Conclusion
The impersonalist's thoughts are a reaction to the miseries of the material world, leading them to negate everything, including the Lord's form and their own individuality. Śrīla Prabhupāda urges us to move beyond this negative conception and understand that the Absolute Truth is not just a void, but the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally full of bliss and knowledge.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Thoughts of Impersonalists. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.