sannyÄsÄ« paṇá¸ita-gaṇera karite garva nÄÅ›a
nÄ«ca-śūdra-dvÄrÄ karena dharmera prakÄÅ›a
sannyÄsÄ« - persons in the renounced order; paṇá¸ita-gaṇera - of the learned scholars; karite - to do; garva - pride; nÄÅ›a - vanquishing; nÄ«ca - lowborn; śūdra - a fourth-class man; dvÄrÄ - through; karena - does; dharmera prakÄÅ›a - spreading of real religious principles.
To vanquish the false pride of so-called renunciants and learned scholars, He spreads real religious principles, even through a śūdra, or lowborn, fourth-class man.
When a man is greatly learned in the VedÄnta-sÅ«tras, he is known as a paṇá¸ita, or learned scholar. Generally this qualification is attributed to brÄhmaṇas and sannyÄsÄ«s. SannyÄsa, the renounced order of life, is the topmost position for a brÄhmaṇa, a member of the highest of the four varṇas (brÄhmaṇa, ká¹£atriya, vaiÅ›ya and śūdra). According to public opinion, a person born in a brÄhmaṇa family, duly reformed by the purificatory processes and properly initiated by a spiritual master, is an authority on Vedic literature. When such a person is offered the sannyÄsa order, he comes to occupy the topmost position. The brÄhmaṇa is supposed to be the spiritual master of the other three varṇas, namely ká¹£atriya, vaiÅ›ya and śūdra, and the sannyÄsÄ« is supposed to be the spiritual master even of the exalted brÄhmaṇas.
Generally brÄhmaṇas and sannyÄsÄ«s are very proud of their spiritual positions. Therefore, to cut down their false pride, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness through RÄmÄnanda RÄya, who was neither a member of the renounced order nor a born brÄhmaṇa. Indeed, ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya was a gá¹›hastha belonging to the śūdra class, yet ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu arranged for him to be the master who taught Pradyumna MiÅ›ra, a highly qualified brÄhmaṇa born in a brÄhmaṇa family. Even ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu Himself, although belonging to the renounced order, took instruction from ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya. In this way ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu exhibited His opulence through ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya. That is the special significance of this incident.
According to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s philosophy, yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettÄ, sei ‘guru’ haya: anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa can become a spiritual master, without reference to whether or not he is a brÄhmaṇa or sannyÄsÄ«. Ordinary people cannot understand the essence of Å›Ästra, nor can they understand the pure character, behavior and abilities of strict followers of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s principles. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is creating pure, exalted Vaiṣṇavas even from those born in families considered lower than those of śūdras. This is proof that a Vaiṣṇava may appear in any family, as confirmed in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (2.4.18):
kirÄta-hūṇÄndhra-pulinda-pulkaÅ›Ä
ÄbhÄ«ra-Å›umbhÄ yavanÄḥ khasÄdayaḥ
ye ’nye ca pÄpÄ yad-apÄÅ›rayÄÅ›rayÄḥ
śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ
“KirÄtas, Hūṇas, Ä€ndhras, Pulindas, PulkaÅ›as, Ä€bhÄ«ras, Åšumbhas, Yavanas and members of the Khasa races, and even others addicted to sinful acts, can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.†(BhÄg. 2.4.18) By the grace of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, anyone can be completely purified, become a preacher of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and become the spiritual master of the entire world. This principle is accepted in all Vedic literature. Evidence can be quoted from authoritative Å›Ästras showing how a lowborn person can become the spiritual master of the entire world. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is to be considered the most munificent personality, for He distributes the real essence of the Vedic Å›Ästras to anyone who becomes qualified by becoming His sincere servant.
