Text 6] Lord Caitanya at the House of Advaita Acarya 243
fixed in firm devotion to the Lord, Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.”

PURPORT

In connection with this verse, which is a quotation from Srimad-
Bhagavatam (11.23.58), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thdkura says that of
the sixty-four items required for rendering devotional service, acceptance of
the symbolic marks of sannydsa is a regulative principle. If one accepts the
sannyasa order, his main business is to devote his life completely to the ser-
vice of Mukunda, Krsna. If one does not completely devote his mind and
body to the service of the Lord, he does not actually become a sannydsi. It is
not simply a matter of changing dress. In Bhagavad-gita (6.1) it is also stated,
anasritah karma-phalarm karyam karma karoti yah/sa sannydsi ca yogi ca: one
who works devotedly for the satisfaction of Krsna is a sannydsi. The dress is
not sannydsa, but the attitude of service to Krsna is.

The word pardtma-nistha means being a devotee of Lord Krsna. Paratmé,
the Supreme Person, is Krsna. [§varah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-
vigrahah. Those who are completely dedicated to the lotus feet of Krsna in
service are actually sannydsis. As a matter of formality, the devotee accepts
the sannydsa dress as previous dcaryas did. He also accepts the three dandas.
Later Visnusvami considered that accepting the dress of a tri-dandi was parat-
ma-nistha. Therefore sincere devotees add another danda, the jiva-danda, to
the three existing dandas. The Vaisnava sannydsi is known as a tridandi-san-
nyasi. The Mayavadi sannydsi accepts only one danda, not understanding the
purpose of tri-danda. Later, many persons in the community of Siva Svami
gave up the dtma-nistha (devotional service) of the Lord and followed the
path of Sankaracarya. Instead of accepting 108 names, those in the Siva
Svami-sampradaya follow the path of Sankaracarya and accept the ten names
of sannydsa. Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the then-existing
order of sannyasa (namely eka-danda), He still recited a verse from Srimad-
Bhagavatam about the tridanda-sannydsa accepted by the brahmana of
Avantipura. Indirectly He declared that within that eka-danda, one danda,
four dandas existed as one. Accepting ekadanda-sannydsa without pardtma-
nistha (devotional service to Lord Krsna) is not acceptable to Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. In addition, according to the exact regulative principles, one
should add the jiva-danda to the tri-danda. These four dandas, bound
together as one, are symbolic of unalloyed devotional service to the Lord. Be-
cause the ekadandi-sannydsis of the Mayavada school are not devoted to the
service of Krsna, they try to merge into the Brahman effulgence, which is a
marginal position between material and spiritual existence. They accept this
