Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7
11
a servant of the senses, and cannot become a spiritual master. A spiritual master who actually has control over the mind and senses is called  gosvāmī . Although the  gosvāmī  title has become a hereditary designation for unscrupulous men, actually the title  gosāñi  or  gosvāmī  began from Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, who presented himself as an ordinary  gṛhastha  and minister in government service but became  gosvāmī  when he was actually elevated by the instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore  gosvāmī  is not a hereditary title but refers to one's qualifications. When one is highly elevated in spiritual advancement, regardless of wherefrom he comes, he may be called  gosvāmī . Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Gosāñi Prabhu are natural  gosvāmīs  because They belong to the  Viṣṇu-tattva  category. As such, all of Them are  prabhus  ("predominators" or "masters"), and They are sometimes called Caitanya Gosāñi, Nityānanda Gosāñi and Advaita Gosāñi. Unfortunately Their so-called descendants who do not have the qualifications of  gosvāmīs  have accepted this title as a hereditary designation or a professional degree. That is not in accord with the śāstric injunctions.
TEXT 14
এক মহাপ্রভু, আর প্রভু দুইজন । দুই প্রভু সেবে মহাপ্রভুর চরণ ॥ ১৪ ॥
eka mahāprabhu, āra prabhu duijana dui prabhu sebe mahāprabhura caraṇa
SYNONYMS
eka mahāprabhu —one Mahāprabhu, or the supreme predominator;  āra prabhu duijana —and the other two (Nityānanda and Advaita) are two  prabhus  (masters);  dui prabhu —the two  prabhus  (Nityānanda and Advaita Gosāñi);  sebe —serve;  mahāprabhura —of the supreme predominator, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu;  caraṇa —the lotus feet.
TRANSLATION
One of them is Mahāprabhu, and the other two are prabhus. These two prabhus serve the lotus feet of Mahāprabhu.
PURPORT
Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Prabhu all belong to the same  Viṣṇu  category, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is nevertheless accepted as the Supreme, and the other two  prabhus  engage in His transcendental loving service to teach ordinary living entities that every one of us is subordinate to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In another place in  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  ( Ādi.  5.142) it is said,  ekalā īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya : the only supreme master is Kṛṣṇa, and all others, both  Viṣṇu-tattva  and  jīva-tattva , engage in the service of the Lord. Both the  Viṣṇu-tattva  (as Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita) and the  jīva-tattva  (Śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda) engage in the service of the Lord, but one must distinguish between