Verse Text
kāśī-khaṇḍe ca tathā—
antyajā api tad-rāṣṭre śaṅkha-cakrāṅka-dhāriṇaḥ |
samprāpya vaiṣṇavīṁ dīkṣāṁ dīkṣitā iva sambabhuḥ ||62||
Translation
In the Kāśī-khaṇḍa it is said: In that country, the outcastes, receiving Vaiṣṇava initiation, wearing the marks of the conch and disk, shine like sacrificial priests.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
In the Kaśi-khāṇda it is said that all men are qualified for bhakti. The meaning is in that sense only. Dīkṣitā means a person performing sacrifice.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
There is more evidence in the Skanda Purāṇa, in the Kāśī-khaṇḍa portion, where it is said, “In the country known as Mayūradhvaja, the lower-caste people who are considered less than śūdras are also initiated in the Vaiṣṇava cult of devotional service. And when they are properly dressed, with tilaka on their bodies and beads in their hands and on their necks, they appear to be coming from Vaikuṇṭha. In fact, they look so very beautiful that immediately they surpass the ordinary brāhmaṇas.”
Thus a Vaiṣṇava automatically becomes a brāhmaṇa. This idea is also supported by Sanātana Gosvāmī in his book Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, which is the Vaiṣṇava guide. Therein he has clearly stated that any person who is properly initiated into the Vaiṣṇava cult certainly becomes a brāhmaṇa, as much as the metal known as kaṁsa (bell metal) is turned into gold by the mixture of mercury. A bona fide spiritual master, under the guidance of authorities, can turn anyone to the Vaiṣṇava cult so that naturally he may come to the topmost position of a brāhmaṇa.