3.11
anyopadese pandita--kahe gosanira thani
’gosani"gosani’ ebe janimu ’gosani’
SYNONYMS
anya-upadese—by instructing others; pandita—learned teacher; kahe—says; gosanira thani—in front of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; gosani gosani—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the supreme teacher; ebe—now; janimu—we shall know; gosani—what kind of teacher.
Damodara Pandita impudently said to the Lord, "Everyone says that You are a great teacher because of Your instructions to others, but now we shall find out what kind of teacher You are.
PURPORT
Damodara Pandita was a great devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sometimes, however, a person in such a position becomes impudent, being influenced by the external energy and material considerations.
Thus a devotee mistakenly dares to criticize the activities of the spiritual master or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Despite the logic that “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion,” a devotee should not be disturbed by the activities of his spiritual master and should not try to criticize him.
A devotee should be fixed in the conclusion that the spiritual master cannot be subject to criticism and should never be considered equal to a common man.
Even if there appears to be some discrepancy according to an imperfect devotee’s estimation, the devotee should be fixed in the conviction that even if his spiritual master goes to a liquor shop, he is not a drunkard; rather, he must have some purpose in going there it is said in a Bengali poem:
yadyapi nityananda sura-badi yaya