sakala brÄhmaṇe purÄ« vaiṣṇava karila
sei sei sevÄ-madhye sabÄ niyojila
sakala brÄhmaṇe - all the brÄhmaṇas who were present there; purÄ« - MÄdhavendra PurÄ« GosvÄmÄ«; vaiṣṇava karila - elevated to the position of Vaiṣṇavas; sei sei - under different divisions; sevÄ-madhye - in rendering service; sabÄ - all of them; niyojila - were engaged.
In the scriptures it is stated, á¹£aá¹-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viÅ›Äradaḥ. A qualified brÄhmaṇa must be expert in the occupational duties of a brÄhmaṇa. His duties are mentioned as six brahminical engagements. Paá¹hana means that a brÄhmaṇa must be conversant with the Vedic scriptures. He must also be able to teach others to study the Vedic literatures. This is pÄá¹hana. He must also be expert in worshiping different deities and in performing the Vedic rituals (yajana). On account of this yajana, the brÄhmaṇa, being the head of society, performs all the Vedic rituals for ká¹£atriyas, vaiÅ›yas and śūdras. This is called yÄjana, assisting others in performing ceremonies. The remaining two items are dÄna and pratigraha. The brÄhmaṇa accepts all kinds of contributions (pratigraha) from his followers (namely, the ká¹£atriyas, vaiÅ›yas and śūdras). But he does not keep all the money. He keeps only as much as required and gives the balance to others in charity (dÄna).
In order for such a qualified brÄhmaṇa to worship the Deity, he must be a Vaiṣṇava. Thus the Vaiṣṇava’s position is superior to that of the brÄhmaṇa. This example given by MÄdhavendra PurÄ« confirms that even though a brÄhmaṇa may be very expert, he cannot become a priest or servitor of the viṣṇu-mÅ«rti unless he is initiated in vaiṣṇava-mantra. After installing the Deity of GopÄla, MÄdhavendra PurÄ« initiated all the brÄhmaṇas into Vaiṣṇavism. He then allotted the brÄhmaṇas different types of service to the Deity. From four in the morning until ten at night (from maá¹…gala-ÄrÄtrika to Å›ayana-ÄrÄtrika), there must be at least five or six brÄhmaṇas to take care of the Deity. Six ÄrÄtrikas are performed in the temple, and food is frequently offered to the Deity and the prasÄdam distributed. This is the method of worshiping the Deity according to the rules and regulations set by the predecessors. Our sampradÄya belongs to the disciplic succession of MÄdhavendra PurÄ«, who belonged to the Madhva-sampradÄya. We are in the disciplic succession of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who was initiated by ÅšrÄ« Īśvara PurÄ«, a disciple of MÄdhavendra Purī’s. Our sampradÄya is therefore called the Madhva-Gauá¸Ä«ya-sampradÄya. As such, we must carefully follow in the footsteps of ÅšrÄ« MÄdhavendra PurÄ« and observe how he installed the GopÄla Deity on top of Govardhana Hill, how he arranged and performed the AnnakÅ«á¹a ceremony in only one day, and so forth. Our installation of Deities in America and in the wealthy countries of Europe should be carried out in terms of ÅšrÄ« MÄdhavendra Purī’s activities. All the servitors of the Deity must be strictly qualified as brÄhmaṇas and, specifically, must engage in the Vaiṣṇava custom of offering as much prasÄdam as possible and distributing it to the devotees who visit the temple to see the Lord.