SB 11.28.1

The Supreme Lord said: One should neither praise nor criticize the conditioned nature and activities of other persons. Rather, one should see this world along with prakṛti and the jīva as one with the Lord. In the Twenty-eighth Chapter, the Lord, who speaks all types of philosophy, explains jṣāna-yoga of the Advaita philosophy, which sees the world as illusion. There are two types of jṣānīs who see oneness of the Lord. One group, accepting vivarta-vāda, says that the world is false and Brahman is without change. This group rejects the theory of pariṇāma-vada in which Brahman is the material cause of the universe, since Brahman would then undergo change. Another group says that Brahman is the material cause of the universe since its śakti called prakṛti carries out the creation. Though prakṛti undergoes change, Brahman, beyond prakṛti, remains unchanged in nature. Thus there is no harm to Brahman in this theory of pariṇāma-vāda. The Lord has said: prakṛtir yasyopādānam ādhāraḥ puruṣaḥ paraḥ sato ’bhivyaṣjakaḥ kālo brahma tat tritayaṁ tv aham Prakrṭi is the material cause and the puruṣa is the foundational cause. Time, the indirect cause, is agitator of prakṛti. I am all three. SB 11.24.19 Though there is duality in pariṇāma-vāda, there is oneness of Brahman, since prakṛti is one with the effects of prakṛti (material world); since prakṛti is one with the Supreme Lord (being his śakti); and since there is oneness of the Lord though he has many forms. Though both groups are jṣānīs, the latter group is approved by the Lord. Among the first group, those who claim that the form of the Lord, his devotees, his abode, his names, and other related objects are all false have been defeated in the story of Bharata (SB 5.12.11). The Lord speaks this philosophy to Uddhava, who is curious about all philosophies, in five verses. After that, until the end of the chapter, the Lord’s statements can be taken as either vivarta-vāda or pariṇāma-vāda. The word asat is taken by the followers of vivarta-vāda to mean false. But according to the followers of pariṇāma-vāda, asat means a real object which does not remain permanently. This difference should be noted. Though effects in this world are real, they are temporary, and are thus called asat according to the followers of pariṇāma-vāda. The followers of vivarta-vāda say that effects are all completely unreal, and are thus called asat. This fact should be understood. In order to explain briefly jṣāna-yoga, which has already been explained extensively, the Lord now begins to speak. One should not praise or criticize the natures of other people (such as peaceful or ferocious) or their actions, since one sees everything in the world as one with the Lord.