The Uttama-adhikari as taught in Purport to NOI 5

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On 1 Jul 1999, Vidvan Gauranga wrote:

> There are two

> descriptions of kanistha-, madhyama- and uttama-adhikaris in Lord Caitanya's

> teachings to Sanatana Goswami. One is based on sraddha (faith) and another

> on rati-prema (attachment and love). You are talking of the uttama-adhikari

> who is categorized as per rati-prema and I am talking of the uttama-adhikari

> who is categorized based on sraddha.

 

Dear Vidvan Gauranga prabhu,

 

Thanks so much for clarifying this issue so well. I had also noticed

Srila Prabhupada using terms like "pure devotee" on two different

levels, but had never put as much thought or research into making the

point as well as you have. Understanding these two different levels of

these definitions really helps one understand the characteristics of

advancement in a very scientific and non-sentimental way.

 

Just as further evidence, here's a way in which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati uses the term "pure devotee" in what you call a "type 1"

setting:

 

kanaka-kAminI 'pratiSThA-bAghinI

chADiyAche yAre, sei ta' vaiSNava

sei anAsakta sei zuddha bhakta,

saMsAra tathA pAya parAbhava (VaishhNava ke, 11)

 

Srila Gaura Govinda Swami comments on this as follows:

"This is mahAjana-vANI -- what the mahAjanas have said. He is an

uttama vaiSNava who has given up kanaka and kAminI. He has no

attachment for money or gold, no attachment for kAminI -- women --

and no attachment for pratiSThA -- name, fame, prestige, and adoration.

He is a VaiSNava." (from Srila Gaura Govinda Swami's _Amrutera-tarangini:

The Flow of Nectar_)

 

Thus, we see a definition of terms like "zuddha-bhakta" (pure devotee)

and even "vaiSNava" that never mentions anything about worshipping

Vishnu, but rather speak of detachment from material things. From this

we can understand how Srila Prabhupada could refer Jesus as a pure

devotee or a Vaishnava even though he never explicitly spoke of

Vishnu. Some devotees sentimentally feel that such comments from

Srila Prabhupada are an all-out endorsement of Jesus' teachings, but

instead we can simply understand it as an acceptance of that prophet's

detachment from women, money, and fame.

 

Yours,

 

Vijay