282 Sti Caitanya-caritamrta [Antya-lila, Ch. 3
Vaisnava if he or she follows the Vaisnava principles. A devotee who follows
these principles is no longer on the material platform. Therefore, it is one's strict
adherence to the principles that should be considered, not the country of one's
birth. Many devotees join our Krsna consciousness movement from Europe and
America, but one should not therefore consider them European Vaisnavas or
American Vaisnavas. A Vaisnava is a Vaisnava and should therefore be given all
the respect due a Vaisnava.
TEXT 143
camsta ofa cafe” caitcs Baes Ta |
afanicna sian eee aia’ aawia 1 580 1
vesyara caritra dekhi’ loke camatkara
haridasera mahima kahe kari’ namaskara
SYNONYMS
vesydra—of the prostitute; caritra—character; dekhi’—seeing; loke—all
people; camatkadra—astonished; haridasera—of Thakura Haridasa; mahimd—glo-
ries; kahe—speak; kari’ namaskara—offering obeisances.
TRANSLATION
Seeing the sublime character of the prostitute, everyone was astonished.
Everyone glorified the influence of Haridasa Thakura and offered him obei-
sances.
PURPORT
It is said, phalena pariciyate: one is recognized by the result of his actions. In
Vaisnava society there are many types of Vaisnavas. Some of them are called
gosvamis, some are called svamis, some are prabhus, and some are prabhupdda.
One is not recognized, however, simply by such a name. A spiritual master is rec-
ognized as an actual guru when it is seen that he has changed the character of his
disciples. Haridasa Thakura actually changed the character of the professional
prostitute. People greatly appreciated this, and therefore they all offered obei-
sances to Haridasa Thakura and glorified him.
TEXT 144
araee Tia BAtaH-aer CFA |
CHS Se IH Seal HATS FT 988 1
