Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7
25
in that way be favored. Although there was actually no need for Him to accept  sannyāsa , He did so for the benefit of those who might think Him an ordinary human being. The main purpose of His accepting  sannyāsa  was to deliver the Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs . This will be evident later in this chapter.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura has explained the term “Māyāvādī” as follows: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the material conception of life. A Māyāvādī is one who considers the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa to be made of  māyā  and who also considers the abode of the Lord and the process of approaching Him, devotional service, to be  māyā . The Māyāvādī considers all the paraphernalia of devotional service to be  māyā .”  Māyā  refers to material existence, which is characterized by the reactions of fruitive activities. Māyāvādīs consider devotional service to be among such fruitive activities. According to them, when  bhāgavatas  or devotees are purified by philosophical speculation, they will come to the real point of liberation. Those who speculate in this way regarding devotional service are called  kutārkikas  (false logicians), and those who consider devotional service to be fruitive activity are also called  karma-niṣṭhas . Those who criticize devotional service are called  nindakas  (blasphemers). Similarly, nondevotees who consider devotional activities to be material are also called  pāṣaṇḍīs , and scholars with a similar viewpoint are called  adhama paḍuyās . The  kutārkikas ,  nindakas ,  pāṣaṇḍīs  and  adhama paḍuyās  all avoided the benefit of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement of developing love of Godhead. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt compassion for them, and it is for this reason that He decided to accept the  sannyāsa  order, for by seeing Him as a  sannyāsī  they would offer Him respects. The  sannyāsa  order is still respected in India. Indeed, the very dress of a  sannyāsī  still commands respect from the Indian public. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted  sannyāsa  to facilitate preaching His devotional cult, although otherwise He had no need to accept the fourth order of spiritual life.
TEXT 34
চব্বিশ বৎসর ছিলা গৃহস্থ-আশ্রমে ।
পঞ্চবিংশতি বর্ষে কৈল যতিধর্মে ॥ ৩৪ ॥
cabbiśa vatsara chilā gṛhastha-āśrame pañca-viṁśati varṣe kaila yati-dharme
SYNONYMS
cabbiśa —twenty-four;  vatsara —years;  chilā —He remained;  gṛhastha —householder life;  āśrame —the order of;  pañca —five;  viṁśati —twenty;  varṣe —in the year;  kaila —did;  yati-dharme —accepted the  sannyāsa  order.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained in householder life for twenty-four years, and on the verge of His twenty-fifth year He accepted the  sannyāsa  order.