Was Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda a casteist ?

Objection– “Sri Jiva Goswami in his commentary to Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu.1.1.21 says that a lower-class person in consideration of birth who becomes spiritually qualified as a devotee is eligible to perform Vedic rites, but just as a brahmana boy is eligible but must wait to do so until receiving his sacred thread, similarly the devotee from a lower class family while eligible do to his engagement in bhakti must wait until his next birth to perform brahminical duties. This, of course, does not include arcana (Deity worship), which is a limb of bhakti. However, Visvanatha Cakravarti many years later wrote the opposite when commenting on the same section. He emphasized that the slightest touch with bhakti immediately qualifies one for the performance of Vedic rites or any other religious duty. In doing so, he demonstrated that Sri Jiva Goswami’s commentary was written in consideration of the socioreligious norms of his time. The sampradaya was just beginning to be established in the religious society, which was predominated by Advaitin smarta brahmanas.”

Refutation—

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary—

tataś cāsya bhagavan-nāma-śravaṇādy-ekatarāt sadya eva savana-yogyatāyāḥ pratikūla-durjātitva-prārambhaka-prārabdha-pāpa-nāśa-pūrvaka-savana-yogya-jātitva-janaka-puṇya-lābhaḥ pratipadyate | brāhmaṇānāṁ śaukre janmanidurjātitvābhāve’pi savanāya sujātitva-janaka-sāvitrya-janmāpekṣāvat||

The apparently lower born devotee, attain the right to perform Vedic-karmas after transcending their caste, birth, prārambhaka karma, prārabdha karma, pāpa karma by chanting and hearing the Names of Bhagavān and also not only but his father[and other generations] also get the reaction of this service of his to the Nāma. But just as the born apparently brahmin boy doesn’t take part in the vedic-karmas before getting his sacred thread (Gayatri diksha), The Apparently lower born devotee should conceal himself from taking part in vedic karma[yajña, arcana etc.] till he has achieved the Sāvitṛa mantra (Gāyatri mantra) from a Spiritual preceptor belonging from a Bonafide sampradaya(sujātitva)[refer to Parama-samhitā chapter 17 “Īśvara”].

Same thing is said by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in Haribhakti vilāsa 2.3-4 —

yathā āgame

dvijānām anupetānāṃ svakarmādhyayanādiṣu |yathādhikāro nāstīha syāc copanayanād anu || tathātrādīkṣitānāṃ tu mantradevārcanādiṣu | nādhikāro 'sty ataḥ kuryād ātmānaṃ śivasaṃstutam ||

Just as Brāhmaṇas who have not been ordained do not have the eligibility for their own duties of Vedic study and so on, but possess it after Upanayana,so those who are not initiated do not have the eligibility for mantras, worship of gods and so on. Therefore, make yourself praised by Śiva!

The Parama-samhitā on dikṣā to śudras and karma-kāṇḍa performed by them—

śudraṁtu tantrajairmantrai rdāsāntaṁ nāmaca smṛtaṃ|

upavītaṁ ca vastraṁ ca guṇamantreṇa yojayet ||

uttarīyopavīte ca pūjākāle tu nānyādā |

na śudrasya paraṁ vījaṁ jape dhyāne ca kalpayet||

na mantroccāraṇā doṣaḥ karmayogasya sammataḥ|

For the Śūdra the mantras used should be those prescribed in the Tantras, and give them names ending in dāsa. Give them the holy thread (upavīta) and the upper cloth reciting the Guṇa-mantra.These two, the upper cloth and the thread, should be used by the Śūdras only on occasions of worship, and not at other times. To the Sūdra do not teach the highest bīja-mantra (praṇava[oṁ]) either for secret muttering (japa), or contemplation (dhyāna). There is no sin in reciting mantras in his hearing, nor is the practice of Karma-Yoga[Karma-kāṇḍa] by him a fault.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravarti comments—

yan-nāmeti | yat-prahvaṇād yasya namaskārāt śvādo’pi savanāya kalpate yāga-yogyo bhavati ||21||

By taking his name, Anyone becomes fit to take part in vedic karmas.

Though he becomes eligible he doesn't take part in the rituals till dikṣā. Just as the Mantras given in dream by Paramātma in the form of Guru shouldn’t be chanted without getting them from the Guru in the Awakening state. If Śrīla Jīva gosvāmī held such opinions about non brahmins why would he encourage every gṛhastha to take up Arcana as the main path along with Harināma—asti ye tu sampattimanto gṛhasthās teṣāṁ tv arcana-mārga eva mukhyaḥ[Bhakti sandarbha 283] and this is not possible without dikṣā as said in Hari Bhakti Vilāsa 2.4— tathātrādīkṣitānāṃ tu mantradevārcanādiṣu | nādhikāro 'sty

Thus we see there is no difference in what Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravarti Ṭhākura are saying.

By wrongly quoting Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī the   Blog Author has tried to show him entrapped in dehatma buddhi, doing a great offense unto the feet of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī.

Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa ṭhākura has said —

ye se kule vaiṣṇavera janma kene naya tathāpi sarvottama sarva-śāstre kaya

ye pāpiṣṭha vaiṣṇavera jāti-buddhi kare janma janma adhama yonite ḍubi mare

“There is no flaw in the bhakti of a person who has developed genuine attachment to serving Śrī Viṣṇu, regardless of which dynasty he has taken birth in. All the scriptures have declared that Vaiṣṇavas are superior to those who are intoxicated by their good lineage and respectable caste, or by their distinguished work or vast wealth, even if they are of the highest birth. The living entity’s eternal goal is to awaken kṛṣṇa-prema, and worldly considerations of high and low cannot affect one’s progress toward attaining that prema. If someone perceives that, externally, a particular Vaiṣṇava was not fortunate enough to have been born in a high caste or to belong to a respected lineage, or that he is poverty-stricken, then that person’s attachment to sinful activities will increase immensely. Moreover, his outlook will degrade his consciousness so much that he will subsequently have to take birth in the lowest of species.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has said—

dṛṣṭaiḥ svabhāva-janitair vapuṣaś ca doṣair na prākṛtatvam iha bhakta-janasya paśyet

gaṅgāmbhasāṁ na khalu budbuda-phena-paṅkair brahma-dravatvam apagacchati nīra-dharmaiḥ

Being situated in his original Kṛṣṇa conscious position, a pure devotee does not identify with the body. Such a devotee should not be seen from a materialistic point of view. Indeed, one should overlook a devotee’s having a body born in a low family, a body with a bad complexion, a deformed body, or a diseased or infirm body. According to ordinary vision, such imperfections may seem prominent in the body of a pure devotee, but despite such seeming defects, the body of a pure devotee cannot be polluted. It is exactly like the waters of the Ganges, which sometimes during the rainy season are full of bubbles, foam and mud. The Ganges waters do not become polluted. Those who are advanced in spiritual understanding will bathe in the Ganges without considering the condition of the water.

This is out of the range of comprehension that Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī will differentiate between the devotees on the basis of birth.