156
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Antya-līlā, Ch. 5]
TEXT 84
সন্ন্যাসী পণ্ডিতগণের করিতে গর্ব নাশ । নীচ-শূদ্র-দ্বারা করেন ধর্মের প্রকাশ ॥ ৮৪ ॥
sannyāsī paṇḍita-gaṇera karite garva nāśa nīca-śūdra-dvārā karena dharmera prakāśa
SYNONYMS
sannyāsī —persons in the renounced order;  paṇḍita-gaṇera —of the learned scholars;  karite —to do;  garva —pride;  nāśa —vanquishing;  nīca —lowborn;  śūdra —a fourth-class man;  dvārā —through;  karena —does;  dharmera prakāśa —spreading of real religious principles.
TRANSLATION
To vanquish the false pride of so-called renunciants and learned scholars, He spreads real religious principles, even through a śūdra, or lowborn fourth-class man.
PURPORT
When a man is greatly learned in the  Vedānta-sūtras , he is known as  paṇḍita , or a learned scholar. Generally this qualification is attributed to  brāhmaṇas  and  sannyāsīs .  Sannyāsa , the renounced order of life, is the topmost position for a  brāhmaṇa , a member of the highest of the four  varṇas  ( brāhmaṇa ,  kṣatriya ,  vaiśya  and  śūdra ). According to public opinion, a person born in a  brāhmaṇa  family, duly reformed by the purificatory processes and properly initiated by a spiritual master, is an authority on Vedic literature. When such a person is offered the  sannyāsa  order, he comes to occupy the topmost position. The  brāhmaṇa  is supposed to be the spiritual master of the other three  varṇas , namely  kṣatriya ,  vaiśya  and  śūdra , and the  sannyāsī  is supposed to be the spiritual master even of the exalted  brāhmaṇas .
Generally  brāhmaṇas  and  sannyāsīs  are very proud of their spiritual positions. Therefore, to cut down their false pride, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness through Rāmānanda Rāya, who was neither a member of the renounced order nor a born  brāhmaṇa . Indeed, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was a  gṛhastha  belonging to the  śūdra  class, yet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu arranged for him to be the master who taught Pradyumna Miśra, a highly qualified  brāhmaṇa  born in a  brāhmaṇa  family. Even Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, although belonging to the renounced order, took instruction from Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His opulence through Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya. That is the special significance of this incident.