194
Šri Caitanya-caritāmrta
[[Madhya-lilā, Ch. 16
TRANSLATION
“A person who is always chanting the holy name of the Lord is to be considered a first-class Vaiṣṇava, and your duty is to serve his lotus feet.”
PURPORT
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Țhākura says that any Vaiṣṇava who is constantly chanting the holy name of the Lord should be considered to have attained the second platform of Vaiṣṇavism. Such a devotee is superior to a neophyte Vaiṣṇava who has just learned to chant the holy name of the Lord. A neophyte devotee simply tries to chant the holy name, whereas the advanced devotee is accustomed to chanting and takes pleasure in it. Such an advanced devotee is called  madhyama-bhāgavata , which indicates that he has attained the intermediate stage between the neophyte and the perfect devotee. Generally a devotee in the intermediate stage becomes a preacher. A neophyte devotee or an ordinary person should worship the  madhyama-bhāgavata , who is a via medium.
In his  Upadeśāmṛta  Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says:  praṇatibhiś ca bhajantam īśam . This means that  madhyama-adhikārī  devotees should exchange obeisances between themselves.
The word  nirantara , meaning “without cessation, continuously, constantly,” is very important in this verse. The word  antara  means “interval.” If one has desires other than a desire to perform devotional service—in other words, if one sometimes engages in devotional service and sometimes strives for sense gratification—his service will be interrupted. A pure devotee, therefore, should have no other desire than to serve Kṛṣṇa. He should be above fruitive activity and speculative knowledge. In his  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu , Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says:
anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
This is the platform of pure devotional service. One should not be motivated by fruitive activity or mental speculation but should simply serve Krşna favorably. That is first-class devotion.
Another meaning of  antara  is "this body." The body is an impediment to self-realization because it is always engaged in sense gratification. Similarly,  antara  means "money." If money is not used in Kṛṣṇa's service, it is also an impediment.  Antara  also means  janatā , "people in general." The association of ordinary persons may destroy the principles of devotional service. Similarly,  antara  may mean "greed," greed to acquire more money or enjoy more sense gratification. Finally, the word  antara  may also mean "atheistic ideas" by which one considers the