58
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 6, Ch. 7]
PURPORT
A first-class  brāhmaṇa  does not accept any rewards from his disciples or  yajamānas . Practicing austerities and penances, he instead goes to the agricultural field and collects food grains left by the agriculturalists to be collected by  brāhmaṇas . Similarly, such  brāhmaṇas  go to marketplaces where grains are purchased and sold wholesale, and there they collect grains left by the merchants. In this way, such exalted  brāhmaṇas  maintain their bodies and families. Such priests never demand anything from their disciples to live in opulence, imitating  kṣatriyas  or  vaiśyas . In other words, a pure  brāhmaṇa  voluntarily accepts a life of poverty and lives in complete dependence on the mercy of the Lord. Not very many years ago, a  brāhmaṇa  in Kṛṣṇanagara, near Navadvīpa, was offered some help from the local Zamindar, Vraja Kṛṣṇacandra. The  brāhmaṇa  refused to accept the help. He said that since he was very happy in his householder life, taking rice given by his disciples and cooking vegetables of tamarind leaves, there was no question of taking help from the Zamindar. The conclusion is that although a  brāhmaṇa  may receive much opulence from his disciples, he should not utilize the rewards of his priesthood for his personal benefit; he must use them for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 37
तथापि न प्रतिब्रूयां गुरुभिः प्रार्थितं कियत् । भवतां प्रार्थितं सर्वं प्राणैर्यैश्च साधये ॥३७॥
tathāpi na pratibrūyām   gurubhiḥ prārthitam kiyat   bhavatām prārthitam sarvam   prāṇair arthaiś ca sādhaye
tathā api —still;  na —not;  pratibrūyām —I may refuse;  gurubhiḥ —by persons on the level of my spiritual master;  prārthitam —request;  kiyat —of small value;  bhavatām —of all of you;  prārthitam —the desire;  sarvam —whole;  prāṇaiḥ —by my life;  arthaiḥ —by my possessions;  ca —also;  sādhaye —I shall execute.