TEXT 70
prabhu kahe--sannyasira bhaksya nahe upakarana
iha khaile kaiche haya indriya varana
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahethe Lord said; sannyasiraby a sannyasi; bhaksyato be eaten; nahethis is not; upakaranavarieties of food; ihathis; khaileif eating; kaichehow; hayathere is; indriyasenses; varanacontrolling.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "It is not proper for a sannyasi to eat such a variety of foods. If he does, how can he control his senses?"
PURPORT
The word upakarana indicates a variety of foods, such as dal, vegetables and other varieties of possible dishes that one can eat very nicely with rice. It is not proper, however, for a sannyasi to eat such palatable dishes. If he did so, he would not be able to control his senses. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not encourage sannyasis to eat very palatable dishes, for the whole Vaisnava cult is vairagya-vidya, as renounced as possible. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also advised Raghunatha dasa Gosvami not to eat very palatable dishes, wear very nice garments or talk on mundane subjects. These things are all prohibited for those in the renounced order. A devotee does not accept anything to eat that is not first offered to Krsna. All the rich foods offered to Krsna are given to the grhasthas, the householders. There are many nice things offered to Krsna-garlands, bedsteads, nice ornaments, nice food and even nicely prepared pan, betel nuts-but a humble Vaisnava, thinking his body material and nasty, does not accept such preparations for himself. He thinks that by accepting such things he will offend the lotus feet of the Lord. Those who are sahajiyas cannot understand what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu meant when He asked Advaita Acarya to bring two separate leaves and give a small quantity of the prasada to Him.

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