Hare Krsna,
It is mentioned by our acaryas that Trnāvarta represents the false pride produced by useless scholarship, which gives rise to wrangling debates and arguments, dry reasoning, and dry logical indulgences in the association of people who are attached to such things.
While meditating on this anartha, I could see a connection to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastime. Before Mahaprabhu took shelter of Srila Ishvara Puri, He engaged in debates and arguments with other scholars. Navadvipa was a hotbed of philosophical debates during that time. Mahaprabhu liked to show off His scholarship to others. He even defeated Keshava Kashmiri who had been traveling to centers of learning all over India, debating the Sanskrit Vedic literatures with scholars. In spite of Mahaprabhu’s reputation as a scholar, Ishvara Puri, His spiritual master, chastised Him:
“You are a fool. You are not qualified to study Vedānta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns.
Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.”
(CC Adi 7.72-74)
Receiving this order from His spiritual master, Lord Caitanya immediately exhibited ecstatic symptoms of love of God by chanting the Holy Name of Krsna and gave up dry scholarship and debates.
Through this pastime, Mahaprabhu is teaching us that we need to kill the Trnavarta within our heart if we want to get a taste for chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in Sri Krishna Samhita: “Persons who are on the path of attachment should avoid the first obstacle, accepting a bogus guru, by discussing Putana’s arrival in Vraja in the guise of a nurse. The second obstacle is false arguments. It is difficult for one’s ecstatic emotion to be awakened until Trnavarta, in the form of a whirlwind, is killed in Vraja. In the form of Trnavarta, the arguments of philosophers, Buddhists, and logicians are all obstacles to the ecstatic emotion of Vraja.”
As sadhakas, it is important that we endeavor to remove these various anarthas that are stumbling blocks on our path to attain pure devotional service to Krsna. Some of these anarthas could be eliminated by our own endeavor and purity, and others can be destroyed by the mercy of Krsna.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 