Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7
37
guidance. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states how a non- brāhmaṇa  can be turned into a  brāhmaṇa  by the association of a pure devotee.  Prabha viṣṇave namaḥ : Lord Viṣṇu is so powerful that He can do anything He likes. Therefore it is not difficult for Viṣṇu to change the body of a devotee who is under the guidance of a pure devotee of the Lord.
TEXT 48
তাঁরে শিখাইলা সব বৈষ্ণবের ধর্ম ।
ভাগবত-আদি শাস্ত্রের যত গূঢ় মর্ম ॥ ৪৮ ॥
tāṅre śikhāilā saba vaiṣṇavera dharma bhāgavata-ādi śāstrera yata gūḍha marma
SYNONYMS
tāṅre —unto him (Sanātana Gosvāmī);  śikhāilā —the Lord taught him;  saba —all;  vaiṣṇavera —of the devotees;  dharma —regular activities;  bhāgavata —Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam ;  ādi —beginning with;  śāstrera —of the revealed scriptures;  yata — all;  gūḍha —confidential;  marma —purpose.
TRANSLATION
On the basis of scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which reveal these confidential directions, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Sanātana Gosvāmī regarding all the regular activities of a devotee.
PURPORT
In the  paramprā  system, the instructions taken from the bona fide spiritual master must also be based on revealed Vedic scriptures. One who is in the line of discipline succession cannot manufacture his own way of behavior. There are many so-called followers of the Vaiṣṇava cult in the line of Caitanya Mahāprabhu who do not scrupulously follow the conclusions of the  śāstras , and therefore they are considered to be  apa-sampradāya , which means “outside of the  sampradāya .” Some of these groups are known as  āula ,  bāula ,  karttābhajā ,  neḍā ,  daraveśa ,  sāṅi sahajiyā ,  sakhībhekī ,  smārta ,  jata-gosāñi ,  ativāḍī ,  cūḍādhārī  and  gaurāṅga-nāgarī . In order to follow strictly the discipline succession of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one should not associate with these  apa-sampradāya  communities.
One who is not taught by a bona fide spiritual master cannot understand the Vedic literature. To emphasize this point, Lord Kṛṣṇa, while instructing Arjuna, clearly said that it was because Arjuna was His devotee and confidential friend that he could understand the mystery of  Bhagavad-gītā . It is to be concluded, therefore, that one who wants to understand the mystery of revealed scriptures must approach a bona fide spiritual master, hear from him very submissively and render service to