প্রতিগ্রহ নাহি করে, না লয কার ধন আত্মবৃত্তি করিঽ করে কুটুম্ব ভরণ
प्रतिग्रह नाहि करे, ना लय कार धन आत्मवृत्ति करिऽ करे कुटुम्ब भरण
pratigraha nāhi kare, nā laya kāra dhana ātma-vṛtti kari' kare kuṭumba bharaṇa
Synonyms
pratigraha nāhi kare—he did not accept charity from anyone; nā—not; laya—take; kāra—anyone's; dhana—wealth; ātma-vṛtti—own profession; kari'—executing; kare—maintained; kuṭumba—family; bharaṇa—provision..
Translation
Śrīla Murāri Gupta never accepted charity from friends, nor did he accept money from anyone. He practiced as a physician and maintained his family with his earnings.
Purport
It should be noted that a gṛhastha (householder) must not make his livelihood by begging from anyone. Every householder of the higher castes should engage himself in his own occupational duty as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya, but he should not engage in the service of others, for this is the duty of a śūdra. One should simply accept whatever he earns by his own profession. The engagements of a brāhmaṇa are yajana, yājana, paṭhana, pāṭhana, dāna and pratigraha. A brāhmaṇa should be a worshiper of Viṣṇu, and he should also instruct others how to worship Him. A kṣatriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants. A vaiśya can accept agriculture or general trade as an occupational duty. Since Murāri Gupta was born in a physician's family (vaidya-vaṁśa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everyone should execute his occupational duty, and thus he should satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivī-varṇāśrama. Murāri Gupta was an ideal gṛhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By practicing as a physician he maintained his family and at the same time satisfied Lord Caitanya to the best of his ability. This is the ideal of householder life.