TEXT 50
pratigraha nahi kare, na laya kara dhana
atma-vrtti kari' kare kutumba bharana
SYNONYMS
pratigraha nahi karehe did not accept charity from anyone; nanot; layatake; karaanyone's; dhanawealth; atma-vrttiown profession; kari'-executing; karemaintained; kutumbafamily; bharanaprovision.
TRANSLATION
Srila Murari 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 grhastha (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 brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya, but he should not engage in the service of others, for this is the duty of a sudra. One should simply accept whatever he earns by his own profession. The engagements of a brahmana are yajana, yajana, pathana, pathana, dana and pratigraha. A brahmana should be a worshiper of Visnu, and he should also instruct others how to worship Him. A ksatriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants. A vaisya can accept agriculture or general trade as an occupational duty. Since Murari Gupta was born in a physician's family (vaidya-vamsa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, everyone should try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the execution of his occupational duty. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivi-varnasrama. Murari Gupta was an ideal grhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. 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.

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