Caitanya Monks - The Gaudiya Vaisnava Order of Sannyasa
By Swami B.S. Madhava

On the day that Nimai Pandita, the darling son of Saci Mata, came to Katwa with
the intention of accepting sannyasa, all the residents of Navadvipa were going
mad. "How can our Lord think to do such a thing? He is not meant for the life of
a mendicant! He is so beautiful, so young, so charming! How can He become a
sannyasi?" The beloved husband of Visnupriya-devi, the Goddess of Fortune, was
just twenty-four years old. To avoid any hindrance from the public, He had swum
across the Ganges at three o'clock in the morning in order to reach the asrama
of Kesava Bharati. Nimai Pandita was determined; He would accept the renounced
order of life, for He felt that if He did not, no one would seriously take up
the unprecedented message and path of Divine Love for Sri Krsna that He had come
to give. Nimai Pandita saw that society at large would remain in ignorance and
continue to drown in the ocean of material misery if they were unable to receive
the unparalleled gift of prema-dharma He had come to distribute. Thus, to the
dismay of millions who fell at His feet in tears, Visvambhara shaved His long
beautiful, curly black hair, put on the saffron garments of a renunciate and
accepted the staff of renunciation. Lord Gauranga was given sannyasa by Kesava
Bharati and was now Sri Krsna Caitanya.

What ensued was the great preaching campaign of Mahaprabhu, the maha-sankirtana
(grand glorification of Sri Krsna) and the unrestricted distribution of the
bhagavata-dharma (the message of Divine Love). Taking Lord Caitanya's example,
many of His intimate associates also accepted the renounced order of life. Srila
Svarupa-damodara, Mahaprabhu's personal secretary and Srila Gadadhara Pandita
(who holds the highest position of service to Sriman Mahaprabhu) also took
sannyasa in order to be in constant service and association of the Lord.

Srila Rupa and Srila Sanatana Gosvamis, previously known as Dabira Khasa and
Sakara Mallika, were highly placed government officials at the time they met
Mahaprabhu. But after hearing the Vedic conclusions from Lord Caitanya's lips,
they too became renunciates of incomparable measure. The two brothers became the
head of the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana. Taking shelter under a different tree
every night, they ate close to nothing and slept very rarely. Instead, they
spent all their time fulfilling the instructions of Mahaprabhu, intensifying
their bhajana, composing scripture on the science of bhakti and excavating the
places where Sri Radhika and Sri Govinda conducted their pastimes in
Vraja-bhumi. This was also the position of Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami, our
prayojana-tattva acarya, who represents the goal - the final attainment of this
Krsna Consciousness movement. The goal is raganuga-bhakti or spontaneous love in
devotion for the Divine Couple Sri Radhika-Madhavasundara. Srila Dasa Gosvami
was born in a family of extremly wealthy aristocrats, but gave up everything and
followed the most extreme vows of vairagya (renunciation) after coming into
contact with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He maintained the single burning desire to
serve the Lords lotus feet.
Accepting paramahamsa-vesa (the white cloth of a renunciate Vaisnava who has
given up varnasrama-dharma) rather than accepting sannyasa (which requires
wearing saffron cloth and is part of varnasrama-dharma), the Gosvamis stayed far
away from the recognition that follows one in the sannyasa-asrama. Their
renunciation was not like that of the Mayavadi sannyasis. Those moksa or
liberation seekers are full of pride due to their status of being at the top of
the varnasrama. Such Mayavadi sannyasis are not able to have even a drop of
devotion for Krsna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, our Srila Guru
Maharaja's parama-gurudeva, writes:

"Loudly chant the Holy Name of Krsna and never forget the two most valuable
things Lord Caitanya taught Srila Sanatana Gosvami: phalgu and yukta, 'real and
apparent renunciation' and baddha and mukta, 'freed and enslaved.' Never mistake
one for the other, or think them to be the same.

"Money, women, and fame are like tigers. A Vaisnava gives them up and keeps
them at a distance. Such a devotee, who is without material attachments, is a
suddha-vaisnava. Such a devotee has conquered over the material world and its
illusions of enjoyment. Accepting only what is needed in the service of the
Lord, he remains free from the diseased mentality of material enjoyment and
dedicates himself in the Lord's service.
Free from all false attachments, he sees everything in relationship to Krsna,
understanding that everything is meant for the pleasure of Sri Krsna. He knows
that to engage everything in the service of Sri Krsna is real renunciation.
Because he understands that the true position of renunciation is to dedicate
everything to Krsna, he is truly fortunate. Although he lives within the
material world, he dwells within the revelation of Krsna's pastimes, and
experiences the extension of the spiritual world within the material world.

"On the other hand, one who chants the Holy Name of the Lord for name and fame
is simply a hypocrite and a cheater. His renunciation is false. O mind! Give up
the association of both those who want liberation and those who want material
enjoyment. They are all non-devotees." (Vaisnava Ke? -- Who is a Vaisnava?)

In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami cites a verse from the Padma
Purana:

prapancikataya buddhya hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago vairagyam phalgu kathyate
anasaktasya visayan yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktah vairagyam ucyate

"That renunciation in which there is no attachment for the objects of the
senses, but in which everything is seen in relationship to Krsna and all things
are engaged in His service is called yukta-vairagya, or practical renunciation.
But that renunciation which is practised by those desirous of impersonal
liberation and rejects things in connection with Sri Hari, thinking them to be
material, is called phalgu-vairagya, external or false renunciation." (BRS.
Purva-vibhaga, 2.125-126)

It is explained by our acaryas that Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa from Kesava
Bharati, who was in the Mayavadi (impersonalist) School, in order to convert the
Mayavadis over to the bhakti-marga (the path of pure devotional service). At
that time the power and society was in the hands of the Mayavadis and it was
Mahaprabhu's intention to establish the position of prema, the fifth and highest
goal of life, over mukti (impersonal liberation), the goal of the Mayavadi
school.

Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Gosvami, the illustrious siksa-guru of our
Srila Guru Maharaja has said: "Ostentatiously, Kesava Bharati was a Mayavadi.
But when coming into connection with Caitanya Mahaprabhu he became Vaisnava.
That is an easy explanation. Otherwise we may also think that he was a Vaisnava
in the garb of Mayavadi to help the preaching of Mahaprabhu as a formal help to
Him. He was already there in that post. Mayavadi sannyasis had recognition at
that time over most of India. And Mahaprabhu took that garb for the purpose of
facilitating His preaching activity. All these things may be explained.
Generally we may take it like that. Kesava Bharati began to sing and dance along
with Mahaprabhu after the Lord took sannyasa. Kesava Bharati also joined the
sankirtana of Mahaprabhu. He was immediately converted. And before taking the
sannyasa-mantra, Mahaprabhu Himself gave him the same mantra. Mahaprabhu asked
Kesava Bharati 'Please consider whether this mantra that I got in a dream,
whether this is applicable if we consider it this way,' and Mahaprabhu gave the
mantra to him. Kesava Bharati answered, 'Yes, yes, it is all right. I shall give
You this mantra.'"

Immediately after taking sannyasa, Mahaprabhu desired to go to Vrndavana. Lord
Nityananda Prabhu, who had come with Nimai Pandita to Katwa, accompanied the
Lord as He ran towards Vrndavana in an ecstatic trance. Upon reaching the
Bharginadi River in Orissa, Sri Nitai broke Lord Caitanya's ekadanda ('single
staff of renunciation' that was given to him by Sri Kesava Bharati) into three
pieces and threw it in the holy river. This deeply esoteric pastime is mentioned
by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada, our exalted parama-gurudeva, in
the following way:

"The mystery of the sannyasa-danda of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has been
explained by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
accepted the order of sannyasa from a Mayavadi sannyasi. The Mayavadi sannyasis
generally carry one staff, or danda. Taking advantage of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu's absence, Srila Nityananda Prabhu broke the staff into three parts
and threw it into the river later known as the Danda-bhanga-nadi. In the
sannyasa order there are four divisions­kuticaka, bahudaka, hamsa and
paramahamsa. Only when the sannyasi remains on the kuticaka and bahudaka
platforms can he carry a staff. However, when one is elevated to the status of
hamsa or paramahamsa, after touring and preaching the bhakti cult, he must give
up the sannyasa staff.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is
therefore said, sri-krsna-caitanya, radha-krsna nahe anya: 'Two
personalities­Srimati Radharani and Sri Krsna­are combined in the incarnation
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.' Therefore, considering Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to
be an extraordinary person, Lord Nityananda Prabhu did not wait for the
paramahamsa stage. He reasoned that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
automatically on the paramahamsa stage; therefore He does not need to carry the
sannyasa-danda. This is the reason Sri Nityananda Prabhu broke the staff into
three pieces and threw it into the water."

In the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the authorized biography of Sri Caitanya
written by Srila Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami, this pastime is described, and it
is there that we find the following sloka:

danda-bhanga-lila ei parama gambhira
sei bujhe, dunhara pade yanra bhakti dhira

"The pastime of Lord Nityananda breaking Lord Caitanya's ekadanda into three
pieces is very deep. Only one whose devotion is fixed upon the lotus feet of the
two Lords can understand it." (Cc. Madhya 5.158)

Srila Sridhara Maharaja illuminates: "My Guru Maharaja said that Nityananda
Prabhu broke the ekadanda into three and this indicates that we should accept
not one, but three dandas (tridanda). This was already the custom with the
Ramanuja Vaisnava section…. Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta also got some
inspiration from there, to give tridanda to his followers; in contrast with the
ekadanda, which was current in Bengal. The tridanda sannyasa was current in
south-east India amongst the Ramanuja section."

Srila Bhakti Pramoda Puri Gosvami Maharaja, our beloved parama and siksa-guru
has said: "There is a Sanskrit saying that one does not become a true renunciate
by simply carrying a bamboo staff (venubhir na bhaved yatih). One has to
exercise control over the body, mind and words, engaging all these faculties in
the service of the Lord. This is the meaning of the triple staff. This is why
Nityananda Prabhu broke Mahaprabhu's staff into three pieces in order to
demonstrate that His sannyasa meant such a threefold commitment to Krsna's
service. The meaning of the monastic order is a commitment to attaining the
Supreme Person; the only duty of the renunciate is to serve Lord Mukunda. A monk
who does not take the vow of service is simply engaged in fraud and
self-deception. Srila Prabhupada set the example of engaging in the Lord's
service for each and every one of the twenty-four hours in a day. By so doing,
he gave a living example of what is meant by tridandi-sannyasa."

We have heard from the disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta that from his birth
he was by nature a great renunciate. Yet in order to establish a preaching
mission (Sri Gaudiya Matha) that would spread divya-jnana (divine knowledge) to
the people at large and fight against the apa-sampradayas (deviant schools) who
were claiming themselves as followers of Mahaprabhu and to set an example of
daivi-varnasrama-dharma (the transcendental system of four social orders and
four spiritual orders), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta decided to formally take sannyasa.
By his decision to accept saffron cloth he actually took a humble position below
his two gurus, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Gaura-kisora Dasa Babaji,
who had both accepted the white cloth of paramahamsa-vesa. On March 7th, 1918 on
the auspicious occasion and full moon day of Sriman Mahaprabhu's appearance day
festival, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta took sannyasa according to Vedic rites at Sri
Mayapura in front of the photo of Srila Gaura-kisora Dasa Babaji (as Sri
Ramanujacarya had done in front of the image of his guru many centuries ago).

In this way, by taking the help of the varnasrama, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was
able to preach thunderously, exposing the nasty practices of the
prakrta-sahajiya section (those who imitate the devotional sentiments of the
advanced Vaisnavas). These so-called babajis were not at all fit for that high
position and were cheaply trying to imitate the exhalted position of Sri Rupa
and Sanatana Gosvamis. They were in fact, just wearing the paramahamsa-vesa, and
performing all types of illicit activities, creating the worst name for our most
worshipable guru-varga. By his example as an acarya and sannyasi, Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta stressed that one cannot come to the fifth stage of life
(babaji) before crossing thru the rules and regulations of the fourth
(sannyasa). Just by putting on the dress, one does not become a paramahamsa.

On that Gaura-purnima day in 1918, not only did Srila Bhaktisiddhanta take
sannyasa, but he also re-established the same order of tridandi-sannyasa (the
renounced order of the daiva-varnasrama) as part of the authentic Gaudiya
Vaisnava sampradaya (school and culture of thought in the line of Sri Krsna
Caitanya). Transcending the lower conception of karma-sannyasa, considered
forbidden in Kali-yuga ("sannyasam pala-paitrkam" - Brahma-vaivarta Purana
185.180), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta established the system and every aspect of
Gaudiya Vaisnava tridandi-sannyasa. From his deep realization and the authorized
scriptures, he drew the titles and one hundred eight sannyasa names, the dress,
the sadhana, the standard, the sannyasa-mantra (originally given by Srila
Sanatana Gosvami) and most importantly, the conception within it (as given by
Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami).

In this connection we have heard the following illuminations by Srila Sridhara
Deva Gosvami Maharaja, who became one of the leading sannyasa disciples of Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta and the sannyasa guru of many of his own senior godbrothers
including Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja (the sannyasa guru of
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada), Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Gosvami
Maharaja (one of the most prominent Gaudiya preachers in India of his time) and
Srila Bhakti Saranga Gosvami Maharaja (one of the first preachers to travel to
the west, in the 1930's).

Refering to Lord Krsna's declaration and appeal to the gopis of Vraja (his most
intimate and dedicated servants) in the tenth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, we
find Sri Govinda says:

na paraye 'ham niravadya-samyujam sva-sadhu-krtyam vibudhayusapi vah
ya mabhajan durjara-geha-srnkhalah samvrscya tad vah pratiyatu sadhuna

"I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a
lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have
worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break.
Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation." (Bhag.
10.32.22)

Srila Sridhara Maharaja illuminates further: "Lord Krsna tells the gopis of
Vraja, 'In which way I shall clear my debt to you? I have already given you
Myself, wholesale. Although I am an infinite storehouse, I have given you
everything and there is nothing more left that I can give you'…And for this
reason, He had to become Mahaprabhu. Krsna thought that 'I shall dedicate My
life in praise of you all, gopi-bhajana, vraja-bhajana. I shall do the work of
your canvasser, and then I must get some remuneration, and thereby, I shall try
my best to clear My debt.' So, Krsna came, and Radharani then said, 'Oh, do You
think that I shall leave You free? No, I shall surround You. You will roll on
the earth, but I won't allow You to touch Your body to the ground. My body will
be there to cover Yours. You can't go without Me.' So Sri Govinda and Sri
Radhika came as Lord Gauranga, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."

From this we get a glimpse into the deeply esoteric nature of Mahaprabhu's
appearance and mission here in this world. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila
Krsna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami writes that Mahaprabhu's purpose for appearing are
two-fold; His external reason:

anarpita carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum-unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam
harih purata-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandipitah
sada hrdaya-kandare sphuratu vah saci-nandanah

"May that Lord who is known as the son of Srimati Saci-devi be transcendentally
situated in the inner-most chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance
of molten gold, he has appeared in the age of Kali by His causeless mercy and
inaugurated the sankirtana movement in order to bestow what no incarnation ever
offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service,
madhurya-rasa (the mellow of conjugal love) (Cc. Adi 1.4)

And His ultimate and confidential reason for appearing:

sri radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva-
svadyo yenadbhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam casya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat-
tad-bhavadyah samajani saci-garbha-sindhau harinduh

"Desiring to understand the glory of Srimati Radharani's love, the wonderful
qualities in Him that she alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She
feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, The Supreme Lord Hari, richly
endowed with Her emotions, appears from the womb of Srimati Saci-devi as the
moon appears from the ocean. (Cc. Adi 1.6)

Experiencing the depths of devotion only She has, Mahaprabhu reveals and
glorifies Her (and Her maidservants) to be the highest devotees of all.

Mahaprabhu came from a very high brahminical family and was a renowned,
undefeated pandit. According to social status as a sannyasi He was the most
worshipable of personalities, but when asked about His position, He proclaimed:

naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
naham varni na ca grha-patir no vana-stho yatir va
kintu prodyan nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah

"I am not a brahmana, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am
I a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha, or a sannyasi. I identify myself
only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the maintainer of the
gopis, Sri Krsna, who is eternally reality the beautiful, the effulgent source
of universal bliss." (Cc. Madhya. 13.80)

Our Srila Guru Maharaja, Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha
Maharaja explains that those who come into Mahaprabhu's service connection
through the guru-varga (disciplic succession) descending from Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, down to his authorized disciples and
grand-disciples, are coming into Lord Caitanya's campaign of madhurya-rasa. And
who is the Queen of madhurya-rasa? That is Srimati Radharani.

Srila Sridhara Maharaja explains further: "Our Guru Maharaja says that,
ultimately Sri Guru is Radharani and so he also gives mantra which is within
that radha-dasyam. Especially sannyasa mantra, which means to take shelter in
the service of the gopis. It means this. Before that, we are to understand Krsna
and something about madhurya-rasa. First we must throw ourselves in the ocean of
ecstasy represented as Krsna. After that, in sannyasa mantra, we shall cast our
faith in the shelter and the service of the gopis. The sannyasa mantra means
this. Mantra is there, guru-parampara is there, all indicating our course
towards madhurya-rasa and service to the gopis."

These are most definitely very high and revealing topics. On one side we see
that our Gaudiya Vaisnava sannyasa is a social consideration meant for preaching
purposes and on the other side we are to understand that it carries the deepest
of conceptions with it, the quintessence of Lord Gauranga's message, the
principle of radha-dasyam.

In the tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, in the part known as the
Bhramara-gita ('Song of the Bumble Bee') we find the following verse:

yad-anucarita-lila-karna-piyusa-viprut-
sakrd-adana-vidhuta-dvandva-dharma vinastah
sapadi grha-kutumbam dinam utsrjya dina
bahava iha vihanga bhiksu-caryam caranti

"The transcendental lila of Sri Krsna is great nectar for the ears. Those who
relish just a single drop of that nectar even once have their attachment to
material duality totally ruined. Many such persons have immediately given up
their futile homes and families and have come to Vrndavana like a free bird out
of a cage. Becoming totally detached from their material life those devotees
have taken up the path of renunciation and have accepted alms just to maintain
their lives on this plane. In this way they continue to search for Him, the
complete fulfillment of life." (Bhag. 10.47.18)

Although there is no particular mention in Srimad Bhagavatam about the name of
the vraja-gopi who spoke this verse, according to Srila Sridhara Maharaja's
realization, this is "one sloka which came from the lips of Srimati Radharani."
He further shared with the devotees how the deep purport of this verse is very
significant for those becoming absorbed in the nectarean taste of Krsna's Holy
Name, pastimes and service. And it is sigificant in how one comes to embrace the
renounced order of life in order to remain exclusively dedicated to the deeper
search and cultivation of that divinely blissful life.

Lord Krsna concludes the Bhagavad-gita with these words to Arjuna:

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah

"My dear Arjuna, you are very dear to Me, and therefore only for your good I
will disclose the most secret part of My instructions. It is simply this: become
a pure devotee of Mine and give yourself unto Me only, and I promise you full
spiritual existence, by which you may gain the eternal right of transcendental
loving service unto Me. Just give up all other ways of religiosity and
exclusively surrender unto Me and believe that I will protect you from your
sinful acts, and I shall deliver you. Do not worry any more." (Gita 18.66)

Srila Sridhara Maharaja relates, "Krsna says: 'Come to My refuge, My shelter.
If any injury occurs there, I am there to compensate.' The conscience is there.
So for the good cause. Otherwise, we are helpless, no hope, no prospect,
nothing of the kind. So simply to get the name and fame of the role of sannyasa
that I am a leader of the society, I have taken sannyasa. For all these low
reasons, don't take risk nor venture. But for the real cause, you must take
risk. No risk, no gain. That method will be welcome.

"Just as Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he recommended, not very easily should you give
up this householder life. This is safer. Though the speed of advancement is not
very quick, it is a safe position. But our Guru Maharaja, he gave a general
call, 'Come, try to serve under me, you'll be a gainer.' So he didn't give much
stress on the householder. 'Take a risk, come. I am conducting a mass march
towards Mahaprabhu's throne. Come and join me.' And we'll be fed honorably.

"Sannyasa is of three kinds. One is to be fully prepared, if we get a chance of
a good guide, then if at heart I can accept the very destination, then I can
take risk, but if I don't have clear conception of the destination, then I
should not take risk. But if I have clear conception of the destination, but I'm
not fit but by the help of my friends and my guide I shall try to compensate
whatever defects I have by the power of the guide and the company, that is
necessary. In the eternal path I may receive some injury. It does not matter.
Still I must attempt.

"I must be sincere. Sincerity is always regarded as the highest qualification.
If I'm sincere in my destination that I want that, I'm not satisfied by anything
except that, then I should take risk when I get such a chance. In ordinary life
also we find that we must take risk. That inner urge will come. 'I must take the
risk, the chance has come to me.' You cannot but take risk. But a favorable
circumstance, surrounded by your friends and guarded by a good guardian, they
should take risk. The injury that may come due to my inability, that will be
amply compensated.

"Whatever small thing I shall acquire in the short time He is there. Still
there will be some who are insincere. If by imitating others he takes sannyasa,
he'll be a loser. The imitationist will be the loser. The sincere aspirant, he
may be rewarded, but the imitation won't help us. Imitation without having the
necessary quality. If only by ambition I want to copy someone for name and fame,
that is another thing. That is bad. But sincere hankering, inner urge, that
must be encouraged because He is everywhere and He is supporting the good. He
has promised I'll always back the sincere who have got a good object of life. I'll always back them. Sannyasa must be taken sincerely. That is all-important.
The attempt must be sincere."

On the Gaura-purnima day (March 16, 1976) that Srila Prabhupada awarded our
Srila Guru Maharaja sannyasa, His Divine Grace spoke on how the position of
sannyasa actually means that of guru and "guru is the post given to the
sannyasis." In his purports on the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, Srila
Prabhupada writes:

"In the varnasrama institution the sannyasi, or the person in the renounced
order of life, is considered to be the head or the spiritual master of all the
social statuses and orders. A brahmana is considered to be the spiritual master
of the three other sections of a society, namely, the ksatriyas, the vaisyas and
the sudras, but a sannyasi, who is on the top of the institution, is considered
to be the spiritual master of the brahmanas also. For a sannyasi, the first
qualification should be fearlessness. Because a sannyasi has to be alone without
any support or guarantee of support, he has simply to depend on the mercy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one thinks, "After I leave my connections,
who will protect me?" he should not accept the renounced order of life. One must
be fully convinced that Krsna or the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His
localized aspect as Paramatma is always within; that He is seeing everything and
He always knows what one intends to do. One must thus have firm conviction that
Krsna as Paramatma will take care of a soul surrendered to Him. 'I shall never
be alone,' One should think, 'Even if I live in the darkest regions of a forest
I shall be accompanied by Krsna, and He will give me all protection.' That
conviction is called abhayam, fearlessness. This state of mind is necessary for
a person in the renounced order of life." (Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Purport
16.1-3)

This purport by Srila Prabhupada draws our mind to the fervent prayer by the
tridandi-bhiksu (a beggar of divine service) from Avanti, spoken of in the
Srimad Bhagavatam by Lord Krsna to Sri Uddhava. He declared, aham tarisyami
duranta-param -- "I shall cross over the ocean of nescience and become firmly
fixed, asthaya paratma-nistham, in the service of our Lord Mukunda." This prayer
was sung by Mahaprabhu in ecstacy, upon receiving the sannyasa mantra from
Kesava Bharati, and since that time is recited by all Gaudiya tridandi-bhiksus
after chanting their sannyasa mantra.

When speaking about this verse, Srila Sridhara Maharaja has commented: "If you
accept this sannyasa-vesa, this is only favorable to the activity, but the real
thing is the service. The all-important thing is the service, not the dress. The
dress can help me to a certain extent to remind me, 'Oh, I am a sannyasi, I am
disconnected with other branches of knowledge and interest. My sole interest is
the service of Krsna, Guru and Vaisnava. This will remind me, the outer dress of
sannyasa will remind me that I am dedicated to a particular object of life.' But
the real thing, the most substantive is mukunda-seva. How much I can dedicate in
service for the satisfaction of Mukunda, that is the real desirable thing for
our achievement of the higher end."

We may thus certainly conclude that the order of our Gaudiya Vaisnava sannyasa
is extraordinary and unique. As is the nature of the audarya-lila (the most
magnanimus distribution of Absolute Beauty and Truth) inaugurated by Sri Krsna
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, his tridandi agents extend their reach from the worldly
plane of social considerations to the deepest quarter of divine service. Our
loving Guru Maharaja refers to these most benevolent agents as the "Caitanya
Monks."

In the words of His Divine Grace:

"We should understand how Sri Gurudeva has placed us in connection with the
service of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his foremost eternal servants. To enter
krsna-lila is very, very difficult. But one who has achieved the service of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is automatically accepted in krsna-lila. The foremost
service to Mahaprabhu is to spread His sankirtana movement (this includes book
distribution and all other aspects of the Hare Krsna Movement). Not only is such
a devotee accepted in krsna-lila but also such a devotee will find that he has
been automatically transferred to the service of the lotus feet of Srimati
Radharani in Vrndavana."