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Šri Caitanya-caritāmrta
[[Madhya-lilā Ch. 10]
servant. If a spiritual master accepts such a person, he is contaminated. Šārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya therefore asked why Īśvara Purī accepted a servant or disciple born of a  śūdra  family.
In answer to this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied that his spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, was so empowered that he was as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As such, Īśvara Purī was the spiritual master of the whole world. He was not a servant to any mundane rule or regulation. An empowered spiritual master like Īśvara Purī can bestow his mercy upon anyone, irrespective of caste or creed. The conclusion is that an empowered spiritual master is authorized by Kṛṣṇa and should be considered to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the verdict of Viśvanātha Cakravartī:  sākṣād-dharitvena samastaśāstraiḥ . An authorized spiritual master is as good as Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If Hari is free to act as He likes, the empowered spiritual master is also free. As Hari is not subject to the criticism of mundane rules and regulations, the spiritual master empowered by Him is also not subjected. According to  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  ( Antya-lilā  7.11):  kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana . An authorized spiritual master empowered by Kṛṣṇa can spread the glories of the holy name of the Lord, for he has power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the mundane world, anyone possessing his master's power of attorney can act on behalf of his master. Similarly, a spiritual master empowered by Kṛṣṇa through his bona fide spiritual master should be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the meaning of  sākṣād-dharitvena . Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore describes the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the bona fide spiritual master as follows.
TEXT 1377
প্রভু কহে,—ঈশ্বর হয় পরম স্বতন্ত্র । ঈশ্বরের রুপা নহে বেদ-পরতন্ত্র ॥ ১৩৭ ॥
prabhu kahe,—iśvara haya parama svatantra iśvarera kṛpā nahe veda-paratantra
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe —Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said;  īśvara —the Supreme Personality of Godhead or Īśvara Purī;  haya —is;  parama —supremely;  svatantra —independent;  īśvarera —of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or of Īśvara Purī;  kṛpā —the mercy;  nahe —is not;  veda-paratantra —subjected to the Vedic rules.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, are completely independent. Therefore