3.221
acarya kahena,--"tumi na kariha bhaya
sei acariba, yei sastra-mata haya
SYNONYMS
acarya kahena—Advaita Acarya said; tumi—you; na—not; kariha—do; bhaya—fear; sei acariba—I shall behave in that way; yei—whatever; sastra-mata—sanctioned by the revealed scriptures; haya—is.
Advaita Acarya replied, "My dear Haridasa, do not be afraid.
I shall behave strictly according to the principles of the revealed scriptures.
PURPORT
Srila Advaita Acarya was not afraid of the strict brahminical culture and customs of society.
As stated in the sastric injunctions, which are the true medium of evidence or proof, anyone can go back to Godhead, even if born of a low family.
Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita:
mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye ’pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te ’pi yanti param gatim “O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth-women, vaisyas (merchants), as well as sudras (workers)-can approach the supreme destination.” (Bg.9.32) Though having taken a low birth in human society, one who accepts Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is quite competent to go back home, back to Godhead; and one who is a bona fide candidate for going back to Godhead should not be considered lowborn, or candala.
That is also a sastric injunction.
As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.4.18):
kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa
abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah
ye ’nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah
sudhyanti tasmai prabhavisnave namah Not only the yavanas and khasadayah but even those born in still lower families can be purified (sudhyanti) by the grace of a devotee of Lord Krsna, for Krsna empowers such devotees to perform this purification.
Advaita Acarya had confidence in the sastric evidence and did not care about social customs.
The Krsna consciousness movement, therefore, is a cultural movement that does not care about local social conventions.
Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Advaita Acarya, we can accept a devotee from any part of the world and recognize him as a brahmana as soon as he is qualified due to following the principles of Vaisnava behavior.