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Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Antya-līlā, Ch. 3]
Vaiṣṇava if he or she follows the Vaiṣṇava principles. A devotee who follows these principles is no longer on the material platform. Therefore, it is one's strict adherence to the principles that should be considered, not the country of one's birth. Many devotees join our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement from Europe and America, but one should not therefore consider them European Vaiṣṇavas or American Vaiṣṇavas. A Vaiṣṇava is a Vaiṣṇava and should therefore be given all the respect due a Vaiṣṇava.
TEXT 143
বেশ্যার চরিত্র দেখি' লোকে চমৎকার ।
হরিদাসের মহিমা কহে করি' নমস্কার ॥ ১৪৩ ॥
veśyāra caritra dekhi' loke camatkāra haridāsera mahimā kahe kari' namaskāra
SYNONYMS
veśyāra—of the prostitute; caritra—character; dekhi'—seeing; loke—all people; camatkāra—astonished; haridāsera—of Thākura Haridāsa; mahimā—glories; kahe—speak; kari' namaskāra—offering obeisances.
TRANSLATION
Seeing the sublime character of the prostitute, everyone was astonished. Everyone glorified the influence of Haridāsa Thākura and offered him obeisances.
PURPORT
It is said,  phalena paricīyate : one is recognized by the result of his actions. In Vaiṣṇava society there are many types of Vaiṣṇavas. Some of them are called  gosvāmīs , some are  svāmīs , some are  prabhus , and some are  prabhupāda . One is not recognized, however, simply by such a name. A spiritual master is recognized as an actual  guru  when it is seen that he has changed the character of his disciples. Haridāsa Thākura actually changed the character of the professional prostitute. People greatly appreciated this, and therefore they all offered obeisances to Haridāsa Thākura and glorified him.
TEXT 144
রামচন্দ্র খান অপরাধ-বীজ কৈল ।
সেই বীজ বৃক্ষ হঞা আগেতে ফলিল ॥ ১৪৪ ॥