Tout 3311
Explanations of the Atmarama verse
२७६
sādhvīnām adhikāro 'sti śūdrādīnām ca sad-dhivām
“Śūdras and women who are chaste and sincerely interested in understanding the Absolute Truth are qualified to be initiated with the pāñcarātrika-mantras.”  This is also confirmed in  Bhagavad-gitā  (9.32):
māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ‘pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ‘pi yānti parāṁ gatiṁ
“O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women,  vaiśyas  [merchants], as well as  śūdras  [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.”
If one actually wants to serve Krṣṇa, it doesn't matter whether one is a  śūdra ,  vaiśya , or even a woman. If one is sincerely eager to chant the Hare Krṣṇa  mantra  or  dīkṣā-mantra , he is qualified to be initiated according to the  pāñcarātrika  process. According to Vedic principles, only a  brāhmaṇa  who is fully engaged in his occupational duties can be initiated.  Śūdras  and women are not admitted to a  vaidika  initiation. Unless one is fit according to the estimation of the spiritual master, one cannot accept a  mantra  from the  pāñcarātrika-vidhi  or the  vaidika-vidhi . When one is fit to accept the  mantra , he is initiated by the  pāñcarātrika-vidhi  or the  vaidika-vidhi . In any case, the result is the same.
Regarding  mantra-siddhi-ādi-śodhana , the efficiency of the  mantra , Śrīla Bhakti-siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives sixteen divisions, which are confirmed in the  Hari-bhakti-vilāsa  (beginning with 1.204):
siddha-sādhya-susiddhāri--kramāj jñeyo vicakṣaṇaiḥ
These are (1)  siddha , (2)  sādhya , (3)  susiddha  and (4)  ari . These four principles can be divided further: (1)  siddha-siddha , (2)  siddha-sādhya , (3)  siddha-susiddha , (4)  siddha-ari , (5)  sādhya-siddha , (6)  sādhya-sādhya , (7)  sādhya-susiddha , (8)  sādhya-ari , (9)  susiddha-siddha , (10)  susiddha-sādhya , (11)  susiddha-susiddha , (12)  susiddha-ari , (13)  ari-siddha , (14)  ari-sādhya , (15)  ari-susiddha , and (16)  ari-ari .
Those who are initiated with the eighteen-alphabet  mantra  do not need to consider the above-mentioned sixteen divisions. As enjoined in the  Hari-bhakti-vilāsa  (1.215, 219, 220):
na  cātra śātravā doṣā narṇasvādi-vicāraṇā