Conclusion of Teachings to Sanatan Goswami 153

as they are described in the Shastras. Practically, also, we have experience
that there are many devotees in the disciplic succession of the Gaudiya Vishnu
Sampradaya, such as the two great acharyas Thakur Narottam and Shyama-
nanda Goswami, who were not born in Brahmin families, but were accepted
as Spiritual Masters by many Brahmins of fame, such as Ganganarayana Rama-
krishna.

In this way, there are symptoms of the prospective devotee; and both
the disciple and the Spiritual Master must each see whether the other is eligible
to become a bona fide Spiritual Master or a bona fide student of the Spiritual
Master. Then one should know that the worshippable object is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and all kinds of different Mantras, sacred songs,
should be understood.

The Lord also instructed that Sanatan should describe the symptoms of
persons who are eligible to accept the Mantra, and how the Mantras should
be understood and perfected by ritualistic performances. Then He described
initiation, morning duties, and duties of cleanliness—washing the face, washing
the teeth—working, and prayers both in the morning and in the evening;
how to worship the Spiritual Master, how to mark the body with Gopi-
chandan, how to collect the tulsi leaves, how to wash the room and the temple
of the Lord, and how to awaken Krishna from His sleeping. He described dif-
ferent methods for worshipping the Lord, which is called the method of five-
fold paraphernalia and fifty-fold paraphernalia. How to worship the Lord
by five times offering worship and Aruti; how to offer foodstuff to Krishna,
how to lay Him down on the bed. There are different symptoms of the Form
of the Lord and Salagram Seela, such as the effect of going to holy places where
there are different temples of the Lord, and seeing the Form of God in the tem-
ples. There is the glorifying of the transcendental Name of the Lord, and the
different offences in the matter of worshipping. When worshipping the Lord
there are other things: paraphernalia such as the conch shell, water, and frag-
rant flowers; prayers and hymns, circumambulation, offering obeisances,
regulative principles of Puroscharam, and accepting Krishna Prasadam, rejecting
foodstuff which is not offered to Krishna, and not indulging in defaming a
devotee who has the actual symptoms of a devotee.

There are also symptoms of a holy man, the process of satisfying the sage,
and rejecting the society of undesirable persons; and hearing Srimad Bhag-
watam constantly. Also to be followed are duties of the day, duties of the fort-
night, and observing fasting on Ekadasee day; the duties of the month, observing
ceremonies like the birthday of the Lord, the three specific dates of fasting,
