There are regulative principles governing the renounced order. One has to perform eight kinds of sraddha. One must offer oblations to one's forefathers and perform the sacrifice of viraja-homa Then one must cut off the tuft of hair called a sikha and also give up the sacred thread. These are preliminary processes in the acceptance of sannyasa, and Svarupa Damodara accepted all these. However, Purusottama Acarya did not accept the saffron color, a sannyasi name or a danda, and for this reason he retained his brahmacari name. Actually Purusottama Acarya did not accept the sannyasa order formally, but he renounced worldly life. He did not want to be disturbed by the formality of the sannyasa order. He simply wanted to worship Lord Sri Krsna without disturbance; therefore with heart and soul he took up the renounced order but not the formalities accompanying it. Renunciation means not doing anything but serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. When one acts on this platform, trying to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is both a sannyasi and a yogi. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (6.1):

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no work."