Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Antya 3.142

prasiddhā vaiṣṇavī haila parama-mahāntī

baḍa baḍa vaiṣṇava tāńra darśanete yānti

SYNONYMS

prasiddhā — celebrated; vaiṣṇavī — devotee of the Lord; haila — became; parama-mahāntī — very advanced; baḍa baḍa vaiṣṇava — many recognized, highly situated devotees; tāńra — her; darśanete — to see; yānti — used to go.

TRANSLATION

Thus the prostitute became a celebrated devotee. She became very advanced in spiritual life, and many stalwart Vaiṣṇavas would come to see her.

PURPORT

Stalwart, highly advanced Vaiṣṇava devotees are not interested in seeing prostitutes, but when a prostitute or any other fallen soul becomes a Vaiṣṇava, stalwart Vaiṣṇavas are interested in seeing them. Anyone can be turned into a Vaiṣṇava if he or she follows the Vaiṣṇava principles. A devotee who follows these principles is no longer on the material platform. Therefore, it is one's strict adherence to the principles that should be considered, not the country of one's birth. Many devotees join our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement from Europe and America, but one should not therefore consider them European Vaiṣṇavas or American Vaiṣṇavas. A Vaiṣṇava is a Vaiṣṇava and should therefore be given all the respect due a Vaiṣṇava.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness