TEXT 63
sudra visayi-jnane upeksa na karibe
amara vacane tanre avasya milibe
SYNONYMS
sudrathe fourth social division; visayi-jnaneby the impression of being a worldly man; upeksanegligence; na karibeshould not do; amaramy; vacaneon the request; tanrehim; avasyacertainly; milibeYou shouid meet.
TRANSLATION
"Please do not neglect him, thinking he belongs to a sudra family engaged in material activities. It is my request that You meet him without fail."
PURPORT
In the varnasrama-dharma, the sudra is the fourth division in the social status. Paricaryatmakam karma sudrasyapi svabhava-jam (Bg. 18.44). Sudras are meant to engage in the service of the three higher classes-brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas. Sri Ramananda Raya belonged to the karana class, which is the equivalent of the kayastha class in Bengal. This class is regarded all over India as sudra. It is said that the Bengali kayasthas were originally engaged as servants of brahmanas who came from North India to Bengal. Later, the clerical class became the kayasthas in Bengal. Now there are many mixed classes known as kayastha. Sometimes it is said in Bengal that those who cannot claim any particular class belong to the kayastha class. Although these kayasthas or karanas are considered sudras, they are very intelligent and highly educated. Most of them are professionals such as lawyers or politicians. Thus in Bengal the kayasthas are sometimes considered ksatriyas. In Orissa, however, the kayastha class, which includes the karanas, is considered in the sudra category. Srila Ramananda Raya belonged to this karana class; therefore he was considered a sudra. He was also the governor of South India under the regime of Maharaja Prataparudra of Orissa. In other words, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya informed Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that Ramananda Raya, although belonging to the sudra class, was a highly responsible government officer. As far as spiritual advancement is concerned, materialists, politicians and sudras are generally disqualified. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya therefore requested that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu not neglect Ramananda Raya, who was highly advanced spiritually although he was born a sudra and a materialist.
A visayi is one who is attached to family life and is interested only in wife, children and worldly sense gratification. The senses can be engaged either in worldly enjoyment or in the service of the Lord. Those who are not engaged in the service of the Lord and are interested only in material sense gratification are called visayi. Srila Ramananda Raya was engaged in government service, and he belonged to the karana class. He was certainly not a sannyasi in saffron cloth, yet he was in the transcendental position of a paramahamsa householder. Before becoming Caitanya Mahaprabhu's disciple, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya considered Ramananda Raya an ordinary visayi because he was a householder engaged in government service. However, when the Bhattacarya was actually enlightened in Vaisnava philosophy, he could understand the exalted transcendental position of Sri Ramananda Raya; therefore he referred to him as adhikari. An adhikari is one who knows the transcendental science of Krsna and is engaged in His service; therefore all grhastha devotees are designated as dasa adhikari.

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