34
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 5, Ch. 1]
bhayam —fear;  pramattasya —of one who is bewildered;  vaneṣu —in forests;  api —even;  syāt —there must be;  yataḥ —because;  saḥ —he (one who is not self-controlled);  āste —is existing;  saha —with;  ṣaṭ-sapat-naḥ —six co-wives;  jita-indriyasya —for one who has already conquered the senses;  ātma-rateḥ —self-satisfied;  budhasya —for such a learned man;  gṛha-āśramaḥ —household life;  kim —what;  nu —indeed;  karoti —can do;  avadyam —harm.
TRANSLATION
Even if he goes from forest to forest, one who is not self-controlled must always fear material bondage because he is living with six co-wives—the mind and knowledge-acquiring senses. Even householder life, however, cannot harm a self-satisfied, learned man who has conquered his senses.
PURPORT
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Thākura has sung,  gṛhe vā vanete thāke , ‘ hā gaurānga’ bale ḍāke : whether one is situated in the forest or at home, if he is engaged in the devotional service of Lord Caitanya, he is a liberated person. Here this is also repeated. For one who has not controlled his senses, going to the forest to become a so-called  yogī  is meaningless. Because his uncontrolled mind and senses are going with him, he cannot achieve anything, even by giving up household life and staying in the forest. Formerly many mercantile men from the up-country of India used to go to Bengal, and thus there is a familiar saying, “If you go to Bengal, your fortune will go with you.” Our first concern, therefore, should be to control the senses, and since the senses cannot be controlled unless engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, our most important duty is to engage the senses in devotional service.  Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate :  bhakti  means engagement of the purified senses in the service of the Lord.
Herein Lord Brahmā indicates that instead of going to the forest with uncontrolled senses, it is better and more secure to engage the senses in the service of the Lord. Even household life can do no harm to a self-controlled person acting in this way; it cannot force him into material bondage. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has further enunciated this position: