176 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 10
servant. If a spiritual master accepts such a person, he is contaminated. Sar-
vabhauma Bhattacarya therefore asked why Ivara Purl accepted a servant or dis-
ciple born of a stidra family.

In answer to this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied that his spiritual master,
TSvara Puri, was so empowered that he was as good as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. As such, ISvara Puri was the spiritual master of the whole world. He was
not a servant to any mundane rule or regulation. An empowered spiritual master
like TSvara Puri can bestow his mercy upon anyone, irrespective of caste or creed.
The conclusion is that an empowered spiritual master is authorized by Krsna and
should be considered to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Him-
self. That is the verdict of ViSvanatha Cakravarti: saksad-dharitvena samasta-
sastraih. An authorized spiritual master is as good as Hari, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. If Hari is free to act as He likes, the empowered spiritual master is also
free. As Hari is not subject to the criticism of mundane rules and regulations, the
spiritual master empowered by Him is also not subjected. According to Caitanya-
caritamrta (Antya-lila 7.11): krsna-sakti vind nahe tara pravartana. An authorized
spiritual master empowered by Krsna can spread the glories of the holy name of
the Lord, for he has power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In the mundane world, anyone possessing his master’s power of attorney can act
on behalf of his master. Similarly, a spiritual master empowered by Krsna through
his bona fide spiritual master should be considered as good as the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead Himself. That is the meaning of saksad-dharitvena. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore describes the activities of the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead and the bona fide spiritual master as follows.

TEXT 137
AY BCR— HIT SH AT WOT |
BACT FH AC CAT-ATSU |i 09
prabhu kahe, —isvara haya parama svatantra
isvarera krpaé nahe veda-paratantra
SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe—Sti Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; igvara—the Supreme Personality
of Godhead or Ivara Puri; haya—is; parama—supremely; svatantra—indepen-
dent; isvarera—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or of Isvara Puri; krpa—
the mercy; nahe—is not; veda-paratantra—subjected to the Vedic rules.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘‘Both the Supreme Personality of Godhead

and the spiritual master, isvara Puri, are completely independent. Therefore
