Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7
35
Mahāprabhu, however, did not accept this artificial principle, which was introduced in society by self-interested men, and later the  kāyasthas ,  vaidyas  and  vaṇiks  all began to accept the sacred thread, despite objections from the so-called  brāhmaṇas .
Before the time of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the  suvarṇa-vaṇik  class was condemned by Ballal Sen, who was then the King of Bengal, due to a personal grudge. In Bengal the  suvarṇa-vaṇik  class are always very rich, for they are bankers and dealers in gold and silver. Therefore, Ballal Sen used to borrow money from a  suvarṇa-vaṇik  banker. Ballal Sen's bankruptcy later obliged the  suvarṇa-vaṇik  banker to stop advancing money to him, and thus he became angry and condemned the entire  suvarṇa-vaṇik  society as belonging to the  śūdra  community. Ballal Sen tried to induce the  brāhmaṇas  not to accept the  suvarṇa-vaṇiks  as followers of the instructions of the  Vedas  under the brahminical directions, but although some  brāhmaṇas  approved of Ballal Sen's actions, others did not. Thus the  brāhmaṇas  also became divided amongst themselves, and those who supported the  suvarṇa-vaṇik  class were rejected from the  brāhmaṇa  community. At the present day the same biases are still being followed.
There are many Vaiṣṇava families in Bengal whose members, although not actually born  brāhmaṇas , act as  ācāryas  by initiating disciples and offering the sacred thread as enjoined in the Vaiṣṇava  tantras . For example, in the families of Thākura Raghunanda, Ācārya Thākura Kṛṣṇadāsa, Navanī Hoḍa and Rasikānanda-deva (a disciple of Śyāmānanda Prabhu), the sacred thread ceremony is performed, as it is for the caste Gosvāmīs, and this system has continued for the past three to four hundred years. Accepting disciples born in  brāhmaṇa  families, they are bona fide spiritual masters who have the facility to worship the Śālagrāma-śilā which is worshiped with the Deity. As of this writing, Śālagrāma-śilā worship has not yet been introduced in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, but soon it will be introduced in all our temples as an essential function of  arcana-mārga  (Deity worship).
TEXT 46
তপন-মিশ্রের ঘরে ভিক্ষা-নির্বাহণ ।
সন্ন্যাসীর সঙ্গে নাহি মানে নিমন্ত্রণ ॥ ৪৬ ॥
tapana-miśrera ghare bhikṣā-nirvāhaṇa sannyāsīra saṅge nāhi māne nimantraṇa
SYNONYMS
tapana-miśrera —of Tapana Miśra;  ghare —in the house;  bhikṣā —accepting food;  nirvāhaṇa —regularly executed;  sannyāsīra —with other Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs ;  saṅge —in company with them;  nāhi —never;  māne —accepted;  nimantraṇa —invitation.
TRANSLATION
As a matter of principle, Lord Caitanya regularly accepted His food at the house of Tapana Miśra. He never mixed with other  sannyāsīs , nor did He accept invitations from them.