Adi 8.31   But if one only chants, with some slight  faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, very quickly he is  cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.

                                PURPORT

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura remarks in this  connection that if one takes shelter of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu  and Nityananda, follows Their instructions to become more tolerant  than the tree and humbler than the grass,and in this way chants the  holy name of the Lord, very soon he achieves the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and tears appear in his eyes.  There are offenses to be considered in chanting the Hare Krsna  maha-mantra, but there are no such considerations in chanting the names  of Gaura-Nityananda. Therefore, if one chants the Hare Krsna  maha-mantra but his life is still full of sinful activities, it will be  very difficult for him to achieve the platform of loving service to  the Lord. But if in spite of being an offender one chants the holy  names of Gaura-Nityananda, he is very quickly freed from the reactions  to his offenses. Therefore, one should first approach Lord  Caitanya and Nityananda, or worship Guru-Gauranga, and then come to the stage  of worshiping Radha-Krsna. In our Krsna consciousness movement,  our students are first advised to worship Guru-Gauranga, and then,  when they are somewhat advanced, the Radha-Krsna Deity is installed,  and they are engaged in the worship of the Lord.

One should first take shelter of Gaura-Nityananda in order to reach,  ultimately, Radha-Krsna. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura sings in this  connection:

    gauranga balite habe pulaka  sarira

hari hari balite nayane ba’be nira

 ara kabe nitaicandera karuna  ha-ibe

samsara-vasana mora kabe tuccha habe

      visaya chadiya kabe suddha habe  mana

kabe hama heraba sri-vrndavana

   In the beginning one should very regularly chant Sri  Gaurasundara’s

holy name and then chant the holy name of Lord Nityananda. Thus  one’s heart will be cleansed of impure desires for material enjoyment.  Then one can approach Vrndavana-dhama to worship Lord Krsna. Unless one  is favored by Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, there is no need to go  to Vrndavana, for unless one’s mind is purified, he cannot see  Vrndavana, even if he goes there. Actually going to Vrndavana  involves taking shelter of the six Gosvamis by reading Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Vidagdha-madhava, Lalita-madhava and the other books  that they have given. In this way one can understand the  transcendental loving affairs between Radha and Krsna. Kabe hama bujhaba se  yugala-piriti. The conjugal love between Radha and Krsna is not an ordinary  human affair; it is fully transcendental. In order to understand Radha  and Krsna, worship Them and engage in Their loving service, one must  be guided by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and the  six Gosvamis, Lord Caitanya’s direct disciples.    For an  ordinary man, worship of Sri Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu or the  Panca-tattva is easier than worship of Radha and Krsna. Unless one is very fortunate, he should not be induced to worship Radha-Krsna directly. A neophyte student who is  not sufficiently educated or enlightened should not indulge in the worship of  Sri Radha and Krsna

or the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra. Even if he does so,  he cannot get the desired result. One should therefore chant the names  of Nitai-Gaura and worship Them without false prestige. Since  everyone within this material world is more or less influenced by  sinful activities, in the beginning it is essential that one take to  the worship of Guru-Gauranga and ask their favor, for thus despite all  his disqualifications one will very soon become qualified to worship  the Radha-Krsna vigraha.

  It should be noted in this connection that the holy names of Lord Krsna and  Gaurasundara are both identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  Therefore one should not consider one name to be more potent than the other.  Considering the position of the people of this age, however, the chanting  of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s name is more essential than the chanting of the  Hare Krsna maha-mantra because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most  magnanimous incarnation and His mercy is very easily achieved.

 Therefore one must first take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu  by chanting sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara  srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. By serving Gaura-Nityananda one is freed  from the entanglements of material existence and thus becomes qualified to  worship the Radha-Krsna Deity.