CC Adi 7.23 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 23
- pātrāpātra-vicāra nāhi, nāhi sthānāsthāna
- yei yāṅhā pāya, tāṅhā kare prema-dāna
SYNONYMS
pātra—recipient; apātra—not a recipient; vicāra—consideration; nāhi—there is none; nāhi—there is none; sthāna—favorable place; asthāna—unfavorable place; yei—anyone; yāṅhā—wherever; pāya—gets the opportunity; tāṅhā—there only; kare—does; prema-dāna—distribution of love of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.
PURPORT
There are some rascals who dare to speak against the mission of Lord Caitanya by criticizing the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for accepting Europeans and Americans as brāhmaṇas and offering them sannyāsa. But here is an authoritative statement that in distributing love of Godhead one should not consider whether the recipients are Europeans, Americans, Hindus, Muslims, etc. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should be spread wherever possible, and one should accept those who thus become Vaiṣṇavas as being greater than brāhmaṇas, Hindus or Indians. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu desired that His name be spread in each and every town and village on the surface of the globe. Therefore, when the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is spread all over the world, should those who embrace it not be accepted as Vaiṣṇavas, brāhmaṇas and sannyāsīs? These foolish arguments are sometimes raised by envious rascals, but Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees do not care about them. We strictly follow the principles set down by the Pañca-tattva.