An Attempted Assassination

The pilgrimage was not without difficulties. All along the way, the brahmana shopkeepers would close their shops and refuse to sell provisions to the party. They protested against Bhaktisiddhanta because his disciples included those born as sūdras, members of the lowest caste. In accordance with the teachings of Lord Caitanya, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati enlisted disciples from all ranks of men and elevated them to the topmost position of brahmana (literally one who knows Brahman, or spirit). The opponents of Bhaktisiddhanta resented his turning those born as non-brahmanas into better brahmanas than them. In particular, the nityananda-vamsa, a class of priestly persons supposedly descended from Lord Caitanya's great associate Lord Nityananda, claimed for their particular class the exclusive right to the practice of devotional service. There was such a struggle that they even attempted to assassinate Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. These priests approached the local police commander, a notoriously corrupt official, and offered him a huge bribe so that he would not try to apprehend them after they had committed the horrible deed. But the officer warned Bhaktisiddhanta, for although killing was commonplace, he could not associate with a plot to kill a holy man. This incident is strikingly similar to the conspiracy against Lord Caitanya by the caste brahmanas of His day, who hired the Muslim police to disrupt the Lord's sahkirtana parties and smash the mrdahga drums.

Ultimately Bhaktisiddhanta succeeded in establishing that devotional service is not restricted to a particular class of men. This is the principle of Rūpa Gosvami, who so aptly cited the following passage from the Kasi-khanḍa portion of the Padma Purana: "In the country known as Mayūradhvaja, the lower-caste people, who are considered less than sūdras, are also initiated into the Vaisnava cult of devotional service. And when properly dressed, with tilaka on their bodies and beads in their hands and on their necks, they appear to be coming from Vaikuntha, the spiritual world. In fact, they look so beautiful that immediately they surpass the ordinary brahmanas." (to be continued)