Kṛṣṇa has appeared—Panca-tattva. Kṛṣṇa is īśa, and Nityānanda Prabhu, He is prakāśa, the first expansion of God. God has many expansion. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣam (BS 5.33). He has got thousands and thousands exp . . . So first expansion is Baladeva-tattva, Nityānanda; and His incarnation, Advaita; and His spiritual potency, Gadādhara; and His marginal potency, Śrīvāsa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has appeared with pañca . . . pañca-tattvātmakam. You cannot neglect anything. If you think that "I shall simply worship . . ." oh, that is a great offense, " . . .Caitanya Mahāprabhu or only Caitanya-Nityānanda" No. You must worship Pañca-tattva, pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇam, in full. Similarly, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, sixteen names, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ (devotees chant) Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So you cannot mix up. You must do according to śāstra. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). If you deviate from the śāstra, then you will never be successful.
- yaḥ śāstra vidhim utsṛjya
- vartate kāma-kārataḥ
- na siddhim avāpnoti
- na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim
- (BG 16.23)
So if you want to approach the same level like Prahlāda Mahārāja, we should not immediately imitate him. We must follow the sādhana-bhakti, sādhana-bhakti, for general; and kṛpa-siddha, that is special. That is incalculable. If Kṛṣṇa wants, He can make immediately somebody very important. That is kṛpa-siddha. So there are three classes of devotees: nitya-siddha and sādhana-siddha and kṛpa-siddha. Prahlāda Mahārāja is nitya-siddha. He is not ordinary sādhana-siddha or . . . Of course, ultimately there is no difference, either sādhana-siddha or kṛpa-siddha or nitya-siddha, but we should always remember that Prahlāda Mahārāja is not ordinary devotee; he is nitya-siddha. Therefore immediately he developed the transcendental symptoms, aṣṭa-siddhi. Aṣṭa-siddhi, you have read in The Nectar of Devotion. So the ecstasies, ekāgra-manasā. Ekāgra-manasā, "with full attention." For us to bring that full attention may take hundreds and thousands of years, full attention. But Prahlāda Mahārāja—immediately. Immediately, five-years-old boy—because he is nitya-siddha. Always we should remember that we cannot imitate. "Now, Prahlāda Mahārāja has immediately ekāgra-manasā, and I shall become also." No. That is not possible. May be possible, but that is not the way.
Just like in our country, perhaps you know, there was a poet, Rabindranath Tagore. He got many distinction from the Oxford University. He got . . . He never went to a school, but he got the title "doctor," "Dr. Rabindranath Tagore." And if you think that "I shall also get doctorate without going to a school," that is foolishness. That is special. Similarly, don't try to imitate. Follow the general course, sādhana-siddhi. The regulative principles you must follow as instructed in the śāstra. Therefore there are so many śāstras. And guru is guide. We must always . . . Even if you are nitya-siddha or kṛpa-siddha, you should not neglect the general regulative principle. That is very dangerous. Don't try to do that. We must follow. Nitya . . . Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, God, but He is accepting guru. Who is His guru? He is guru of everyone, but He has also accepted Īśvara Purī as His guru. Kṛṣṇa Himself, He accepted His guru, Sāndīpani Muni, teaching us that without guru you cannot make any advance. Ādau gurvāśrayam. The first business is to accept guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Don't think that "I am so advanced. I may not require any guru. I can do without guru." That is nonsense. That, not possible. "Must."