Niskincana Sannyasi-Vesa
Srila Gurudeva: When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in Varanasi, Kasi, Srila Sanatana Gosvami came to meet Him for the first time with a big beard, wearing very dirty clothing, and looking like a Mohammedan beggar. Still, when Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw him, He at once ran towards him and embraced him. After that He ordered Sanatana Gosvami to become clean and pure, to take bath in the Ganges and to shave. Mahaprabhu’s associate Tapana Misra soon arrived there, desiring to give Sanatana Gosvami new clothes, but Sanatana Gosvami refused, saying, “If you want to give me clothing, then please give me your old dhoti.”
From this old dhoti cloth, Santana Gosvami made his outer cloth and the dor-kaupina of the sannyasis. There was no fire sacrifice or Vedic ritual for this, nor did Caitanya Mahaprabhu give him any mantra for this. Seeing Caitanya Mahaprabhu dressed in the saffron cloth of a sannyasi, Sanatana Gosvami considered, “I should be very humble. I should not wear the same color cloth as Caitanya Mahaprabhu.” He had great honor for that sannyasi cloth and danda, and therefore, being a humble person, he wore only a very small piece of white cloth to minimize his bodily necessities. He did not want to wear a long dhoti and kurta as a fashion. He wore only the minimum required.
After Sriman Mahaprabhu, His lila-parikaras (eternal pastime associates) such as the six Gosvamis, Sri Lokanatha and Sri Bhugarbha, and later Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja, Sri Narottama Thakura, and Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura were naturally niskincana paramahamsa Vaisnavas. There was no need for them to wear sannyasa-vesa, saffron cloth. Secondly, Sriman Mahaprabhu had performed the lila of wearing sannyasa-vesa and saffron cloth. Thus considering themselves to be worthless, lowly and unqualified, these mahatmas did not wear sannyasa-vesa and saffron cloth, in order to show honor and respect to the vesa of Sriman Mahaprabhu and also to maintain their own identities as servants under the shelter of His lotus feet.
On the other hand, in order to express veneration for the niskincana paramahamsa-vesa of the associates of Sriman Mahaprabhu and, under their guidance to preach His message throughout the entire world, many akincana Vaisnavas on the path of raganuga-bhajana, holding the paramahamsa-vesa upon their heads, have accepted a position below their worshipable superiors by wearing the saffron cloth of the sannyasa asrama, which is included within the system of varnasrama dharma.
These two customs, each having their own place, are both exquisitely beautiful and also completely in accordance with siddhanta. Today suddha-hari-bhakti has been, is being, and will continue to be, preached and spread throughout the world by these mahapurusas, great perfected saints, who wear this second type of niskincana sannyasi-vesa.
[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on April 28th, 1998, France, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 27]