Volume 3 - Prabhupada Books

116 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 8
prabhu kahe,-"eho bahya, age kaha ara"
ray a kahe, "svadharma-tyaga, -ei sadhya-sara"
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe-the Lord replied; eho-this; bahya-external; age-ahead;
kaha-speak; ara-more; raya kahe-Ramananda Raya replied; sva-dharma­
tyaga-relinquishing one's occupational duties; ei-this; sadhya-sara-the
essence of all perfection.
TRANSLATION
"This is also external," Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. "Please proceed and
speak further on this matter." Ramananda Raya replied, "To give up one's oc­
cupational duties in the var�;�asrama is the essence of perfection."
PURPORT
A brahmaf)a may renounce his family and accept sannyasa. Others also­
k$atriyas and vaisyas-may also give up their families and take to Kr�r:Ja conscious­
ness. Such renunciation is called karma-tyaga. By such renunciation, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is satisfied. However, this renouncing of one's activities to
Kr�r:Ja is not uncontaminated and is therefore on the material platform. Such ac­
tivities are considered within the material universe because, according to Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they refer to the material universe and are therefore exter­
nal. To correct this, Ramananda Raya recommended that one take to the
renounced order of life in order to transcend material activities. This is supported
by the following verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.11.32).
TEXT 62
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