गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

Sri Vedanta-sutra Preface All Glories to Guru and Gaurāṅga. Oṁ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. First of all let me offer my respectful obeisances to my spiritual master Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, then my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is associated with Śrī Advaita Prabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, Gadādhara Prabhu, Śrīvāsa Prabhu, as well as whose eternal assistants are the six gosvāmīs, headed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, Ragaunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, as well as whose private secretary is Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara dāsa and His eternal attendant Govinda. Then let us talk about the Brahma-sūtra or Vedānta-sūtra. There are many comments on the Vedānta-sūtra. In India especially the system is that anyone who is the head of a religious institution must be well conversed with the Vedānta- sūtras, and is expected to write comments on the Vedānta-sūtra, without which one is not accepted as an ācārya. Ācārya means one who knows the purpose of Vedic knowledge. He personally practices them as well as teaches to his disciples the system of Vedic knowledge. There are many ācāryas, especially of the vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, like the four sampradāyas: rāmānuja-sampradāya, madhvācārya-sampradāya, viṣṇusvāmī- sampradāya, and nimbārka-sampradāya. Our sampradāya is called gauḍīya- sampradāya, or the Vaiṣṇavas who are in the disciplic succession of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The gauḍīya-sampradāya actually belongs to the madhva-sampradāya and the madhva-sampradāya belongs to the brahma-sampradāya. Besides these four vaiṣṇava-ācārya-sampradāyas, there are also non-vaiṣṇava- sampradāyas, especially the impersonalist school headed by Śaṅkarācārya. Śaṅkarācārya has written a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtras, known as Śārīraka- bhāaṣya. generally this Śārīraka-bhāṣya made by Śaṅkarācārya is very popular on account of the present Indians being influenced by materialistic activities. But still the other different bhāṣyas, or commentaries, made by the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas are also available in the gauḍīya-sampradāya, specifically headed by Rūpa Gosvāmī. In the beginning there was no commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra because according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that the real commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself, presented by the author, Śrī Vyāsadeva Himself. In our english commentary on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam First Canto, First Chapter, we have explained this fact that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the right type of commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. As such the gauḍīya-vaiṣṇava-sampradāya did not take much care to present their commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra.