1. Mayavadis study Jiva Gosvami’s philosophy, become devotees

    Anupama’s son is Jiva Gosvami, the celebrated scholar in the line of disciplic succession. When his father and uncle went away from home, this Jiva Gosvami was only ten years old, but he was such an intelligent boy that he decided, “My father and my uncle have left home to understand Krsna. Why should I remain at home?” So he also left home at the age of ten years. But he knew that because he was a young boy he would not be of much help. “If I go to my father or uncle, what shall I do there?” He knew that they had gone to Vrndavana on a great mission for Caitanya Mahaprabhu. “If I go to live there, then I must be qualified to assist them.” Therefore Jiva Gosvami went to Benares and became a very great scholar and philosopher. He was an accredited scholar both in literature and philosophy, so when he was a young man, after being fully educated, he went to Rupa Gosvami, his uncle. In the meantime, he could not see his father, but his uncle was there, so Jiva Gosvami became his disciple, and he proved himself the greatest scholar and philosopher in the world. A great Sanskrit scholar in Calcutta once declared in a meeting that there has never been a philosopher and scholar like Jiva Gosvami in the world, nor in the future will there ever be one. His erudition is admitted by all scholarly circles. Even the Mayavadi school, who are against our Vaisnava philosophy, also study the theses of Jiva Gosvami. When I was in Bombay there was a very influential Mayavadi sannyasi who told me at a meeting, “I am studying Jiva Gosvami’s philosophy.” I said, “Very good.” He was a Mayavadi sannyasi, yet within his heart he had studied him very carefully — in fact, he was a devotee of Krsna. I went to his asrama, and I saw that he was worshiping Radha-Krsna Deities. This very great scholar could present everything very nicely, and in public he would speak Mayavadi philosophy, impersonalism, but secretly, despite his
    sectarian view, he was worshiping Radha-Krsna. In the last meeting I declared to the audience, “Your spiritual master is speaking impersonalism here, but secretly he is worshiping Radha-Krsna at home. You should see. He has very good devotion for Krsna; he has Radha-Krsna Deities and is worshiping nicely.” Jiva Gosvami was such a scholar that the greatest scholars among the Sankarite impersonalists admit his superiority. Sankara’s philosophy has so much word jugglery that it is very difficult for an ordinary man to understand, so generally the Sankarites are mostly scholars. But nevertheless they admit defeat before Jiva Gosvami.

    (Srila Prabhupada, in BTG #43)