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Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Antya-lilā, Ch. 5]
TRANSLATION
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu preached about devotional service, ecstatic love and the Absolute Truth by making Rāmānanda Rāya, a gṛhastha born in a low family, the speaker. Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, the exalted brāhmaṇa-sannyāsī, and Pradyumna Miśra, the purified brāhmaṇa, both became the hearers of Rāmānanda Rāya.
PURPORT
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura says in his  Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya  that  sannyāsīs  in the line of Śaṅkarācārya always think that they have performed all the duties of  brāhmaṇas  and that, furthermore, having understood the essence of  Vedānta-sūtra  and become  sannyāsīs , they are the natural spiritual masters of all society. Similarly, persons born in  brāhmaṇa  families think that because they execute the ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the  Vedas  and follow the principles of  smṛti , they alone can become spiritual masters of society. These highly exalted  brāhmaṇas  think that unless one is born in a  brāhmaṇa  family, one cannot become a spiritual master and teach the Absolute Truth. To cut down the pride of these birthright  brāhmaṇas  and  Māyāvādī sannyāsīs , Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu proved that a person like Rāmānanda Rāya, although born in a  śūdra  family and situated in the  gṛhastha-āśrama , can become the spiritual master of such exalted personalities as Himself and Pradyumna Miśra. This is the principle of the  Vaiṣṇava cult , as evinced in the teachings of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. A person who knows what is spiritual and what is material and who is firmly fixed in the spiritual position can be  jagad-guru , the spiritual master of the entire world. One cannot become  jagad-guru  simply by advertising oneself as  jagad-guru  without knowing the essential principles for becoming  jagad-guru . Even people who never see what a  jagad-guru  is and never talk with other people become puffed-up  sannyāsīs  and declare themselves  jagad-gurus . Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like this. Any person who knows the science of  Kṛṣṇa  and who is fully qualified in spiritual life can become  jagad-guru . Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally took lessons from Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya and also sent Pradyumna Miśra, an exalted  brāhmaṇa , to take lessons from him.
TEXT 86
হরিদাস-দ্বারা নাম-মাহাত্ম্য-প্রকাশ ।
সনাতন-দ্বারা ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্তবিলাস ॥ ৮৬ ॥
haridāsa-dvārā nāma-māhātmya-prakāśa sanātana-dvārā bhakti-siddhānta-vilāsa