146
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Antya-līlā, Ch. 13]
SYNONYMS
yāhā —which;  dekhibāre —to see;  vastra —the cloth;  mastake bāndhila —I bound on my head;  sei —that;  apūrva prema —uncommon love;  ei —this;  pratyakṣa —by direct experience;  dekhila —I have seen.
TRANSLATION
“My purpose in binding my head with the cloth has now been fulfilled because I have personally seen your uncommon love for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 61
রক্তবজ্ঞ ‘বৈষ্ণবের’ পরিতে না যুয়ায় । কোন প্রবাসীরে দিম্ব, কি কায উহায় ? ৬১ ॥
rakta-vastra ‘vaiṣṇavera’ parite nā yuyāya kona pravāsīre dimu, ki kāya uhāya?
SYNONYMS
rakta-vastra —saffron clothing;  vaiṣṇavera —for a Vaiṣṇava;  parite nā yuyāya —is not fit to put on;  kona pravāsīre —to some outsider;  dimu —I shall give;  ki —what;  kāya —business;  uhāya —with that.
TRANSLATION
“This saffron cloth is unfit for a Vaiṣṇava to wear; therefore I have no use for it. I shall give it to a stranger.”
PURPORT
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura comments on this incident as follows: Vaiṣṇavas are all liberated persons, unattached to anything material. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava need not accept the dress of a  sannyāsī  to prove his exalted position. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the renounced order from a  sannyāsī  of the Māyāvāda school. Present-day Vaiṣṇava  sannyāsīs , however, never think that by accepting the dress of the  sannyāsa  order they have become equal to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In fact, a Vaiṣṇava accepts the  sannyāsa  order to remain an eternal servant of his spiritual master. He accepts the  sannyāsa  order knowing that he is unequal to his spiritual master, who is a  paramaharṅsa , and he thinks that he is unfit to dress like a  paramaharṅsa . Therefore a Vaiṣṇava accepts  sannyāsa  out of humility, not out of pride.
Sanātana Gosvāmī had adopted the dress of a  paramaharṅsa ; therefore it was inappropriate for him to wear the saffron cloth on his head. However, a Vaiṣṇava