4.111
tanra thani mantra laila yatana karina
calila daksine puri tanre diksa dina
SYNONYMS
tanra thani—from him; mantra—initiation; laila—accepted; yatana—efforts; karina—making; calila—started; daksine—toward the south; puri—Madhavendra Puri; tanre—to Him (Advaita Acarya); diksa—initiation; dina—giving.
Advaita Acarya begged to be initiated by Madhavendra Puri.
After initiating Him, Madhavendra Puri started for South India.
PURPORT
In this connection, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that Advaita Acarya took initiation from Madhavendra Puri, who was a sannyasi in the disciplic succession of the Madhva-sampradaya.
According to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
kiba vipra kiba nyasi sudra kene naya, yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei ’guru’ haya “A person may be a brahmana, a sannyasi, a sudra or whatever, but if he is well conversant in the science of Krsna, he can become a guru.” (Cc.Madhya 8.128) This statement is supported by Sri Madhavendra Puri.
According to the pancaratra injunction, only a householder brahmana can initiate.
Others cannot.
When a person is initiated, it is assumed that he has become a brahmana; without being initiated by a proper brahmana, one cannot be converted into a brahmana.
In other words, unless one is a brahmana, he cannot make another a brahmana.
A grhastha-brahmana partaking of the varnasrama-dharma institution can secure various types of paraphernalia to worship Lord Visnu through his honest labor.
Actually, people beg to be initiated by these householder brahmanas just to become successful in the varnasrama institution or to become free from material desires.
It is therefore necessary for a spiritual master in the grhastha-asrama to be a strict Vaisnava.
A spiritual master from the sannyasa order has very little opportunity to perform arcana, Deity worship, but when one accepts a spiritual master from the transcendental sannyasis, the principle of Deity worship is not at all neglected.
To implement this conclusion, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us His opinion in the verse kiba vipra kiba nyasi, etc.
This indicates that the Lord understood the weakness of society in its maintaining that only a grhastha-brahmana should be a spiritual master.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu indicated that it does not matter whether the spiritual master is a grhastha (householder), a sannyasi or even a sudra.
A spiritual master simply must be conversant in the essence of the sastra; he must understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Only then can one become a spiritual master.
Diksa actually means initiating a disciple with transcendental knowledge by which he becomes freed from all material contamination.