Text 61ll
Taliks Between the Lord and Bāmānanda Bāva
115
Rāmānanda replied with this verse from  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.27) that while remaining in the system of  varṇāśrama-dharma , one may offer the results of his activities to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in loving service. Naturally Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asking Rāmānanda Rāya about the execution of devotional service. Rāmānanda Rāya first enunciated the principle of  varṇāśrama-dharma  in consideration of materialistic people. However, this conception is not transcendental. As long as one is in the material world, he must follow the principles of  varṇāśrama-dharma , but devotional service is transcendental. The system of  varṇāśrama-dharma  refers to the three modes of material nature, but transcendental devotional service is on the absolute platform. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu belonged to the spiritual world, and His methods for propagating the  saṅkīrtana  movement were also imported from the spiritual world. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung:  golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, rati na janmila kene tāya . This states that the  saṅkīrtana  movement has nothing to do with this material world. It is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura laments that mundane people do not take this  saṅkīrtana  movement seriously. Considering the position of devotional service and the  saṅkīrtana  movement, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu deemed the system of  varṇāśrama-dharma  to be material, although it aims at elevation to the spiritual platform. However, the  saṅkīrtana  movement can raise one immediately to the spiritual platform. Consequently it is said that  varṇāśrama-dharma  is external, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested Rāmānanda Rāya to proceed deeper into the matter and uncover the spiritual platform.
Sometimes materialists consider Lord Viṣṇu a material conception. Impersonalists think that above Lord Viṣṇu is the impersonal Brahman. The impersonalists misunderstand the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. They worship Lord Viṣṇu to merge into His body. In order that  viṣṇu-ārādhana  not be misunderstood, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya proceed further and clear up the issue. Rāmānanda Rāya quoted the verse from  Bhagavad-gītā  stating that the results of one's occupational duty may be offered to Lord Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa. In  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (1.2.8) it is also said:
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam
“If one executes the occupational duties of  varṇāśrama-dharma  but does not cultivate his dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his activities are futile. His occupation simply becomes unnecessary labor.”
Text 61
প্রভু কহে,—“এহো বাহু,আগে কহ আর ।” রায় কহে, “স্বধর্ম-ত্যাগ,— এই সাধ্য-গার ॥ ৬১ ॥