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Šrū Caitanya-caritāmrta
[[Madhya-lilā. Ch 23
(ācārya) has to consider time, candidate and country. He must avoid the principle of  niyamāgraha —that is, he should not try to perform the impossible. What is possible in one country may not be possible in another. The  ācārya’s  duty is to accept the essence of devotional service. There may be a little change here and there as far as  yukta-vairāgya  (proper renunciation) is concerned. Dry renunciation is forbidden by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and we have also learned this from our spiritual master, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Gosvāmī Mahārāja. The essence of devotional service must be taken into consideration, and not the outward paraphernalia.
Sanātana Gosvāmī wrote his Vaiṣṇava  smṛti ,  Hari-bhakti-vilāsa , which was specifically meant for India. In those days, India was more or less following the principle of  smārta-vidhi . Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī had to keep pace with this, and his  Hari-bhakti-vilāsa  was compiled with this in mind. According to  smārta-brāhmaṇas , a person not born in a  brāhmaṇa  family could not be elevated to the position of a  brāhmaṇa . Sanātana Gosvāmī, however, says in  Hari-bhakti-vilāsa  (2.12) that anyone can be elevated to the position of a  brāhmaṇa  by the process of initiation.
yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti 
    kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ 
    tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena 
    dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām
There is a difference between the  smārta  process and the  gosvāmī  process. According to the  smārta  process, one cannot be accepted as a  brāhmaṇa  unless he is born in a  brāhmaṇa  family. According to the  gosvāmī  process, the  Hari-bhakti-vilāsa  and the  Nārada-pañcarātra , anyone can be a  brāhmaṇa  if he is properly initiated by a bona fide spiritual master. This is also the verdict of Śukadeva Gosvāmī in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (2.4.18):
kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā 
    ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ 
    ye ’nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ 
    śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ
A Vaiṣṇava is immediately purified, provided he follows the rules and regulations of his bona fide spiritual master. It is not necessary that the rules and regulations followed in India be exactly the same as those in Europe, America and other Western countries. Simply imitating without effect is called  niyamāgraha . Not following the regulative principles but instead living extravagantly is also called  niyamāgraha . The word  niyama  means “regulative principles,” and  āgraha  means