Text 206]
The Residents of Vārāṇasī Become Vaiṣṇavas
411
PURPORT
In those days there was no banking system like the one now found in Western countries. If one had excess money, he would deposit it with some merchant, usually a grocer. That was the banking system. Subuddhi Rāya would deposit his extra money with a mercantile man and spend it when necessary. When one is in the renounced order, saving money is not recommended. However, if one saves money for the service of the Lord or a Vaiṣṇava, that is accepted. These are the dealings of Subuddhi Rāya, who is one of the confidential devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also followed this principle by spending fifty percent of his money in order to serve Kṛṣṇa through  brāhmaṇas  and Vaiṣṇavas. He gave twenty-five percent of his money to relatives, and twenty-five percent he deposited in the custody of a merchant. These are the approved methods recommended in  Caitanya-caritāmṛta . Whether in the renounced order or in the  gṛhastha  order, a Vaiṣṇava should follow these principles set forth by the previous  ācāryas .
TEXT 206
छुःश्ची वेक्ष्यव देश्चि’ छारे करान लाजन । गोडीया आहेले दधि, लात, तेल-मर्दन ॥ २०७ ॥
duḥkhī vaiṣṇava dekhi’ tāṅre karāna bhojana gauḍīyā āile dadhi, bhāta, taila-mardana
SYNONYMS
duḥkhī vaiṣṇava —a poverty-stricken Vaiṣṇava;  dekhi’ —seeing;  tāṅre —to him;  karāna bhojana —gives food for eating;  gauḍīyā āile —when a Bengali Vaiṣṇava came to Mathurā;  dadhi —yogurt;  bhāta —cooked rice;  taila-mardana —massaging mustard oil on the body.
TRANSLATION
Subuddhi Rāya used to spend his savings to supply yogurt to Bengali Vaiṣṇavas who came to Mathurā. He also gave them cooked rice and oil massages. When he saw a poverty-stricken Vaiṣṇava, he would use his money to feed him.
PURPORT
There is a special reference for the maintenance of Bengali Vaiṣṇavas. A Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava is a Bengali Vaiṣṇava. Most of the devotees of Lord Caitanya at that time were Gauḍīyas and Oriyās, inhabitants of Bengal and Orissa. There are still many hundreds and thousands of disciples in Bengal and Orissa. Bengalis are habituated to eating cooked rice as their staple food. When they went to