116 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya-lila, Ch. 8

prabhu kahe, —“eho bahya, age kaha dra”
raya kahe, “svadharma-tyéga, ——ei sadhya-sdara”’

SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe—the Lord replied; eho—this; bahya—external; dge—ahead;
kaha—speak; dra—more; raya kahe—Ramananda Raya replied; sva-dharma-
tydga—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 varnasrama is the essence of perfection.”

PURPORT

A brahmana may renounce his family and accept sannydsa. Others also—
ksatriyas and vaisyas —may also give up their families and take to Krsna 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
Krsna is not uncontaminated and is therefore on the material platform. Such ac-
tivities are considered within the material universe because, according to Si
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

Bimtyae sity catataerfeerary war |
HAI ARGS Ue AAP AL STHL FG ASA Il v2

ajfiayaivam gunan dosan
maydadistan api svakan

dharman samtyajya yah sarvan
mar bhajet sa ca sattamah

SYNONYMS
ajhaya—knowing perfectly; evam—thus; gundn—qualities; dosan—faults;
mayad—by Me; adistan—instructed; api—although; svakan—own; dharman—
occupational duties; sarmtyajya—giving up; yah—anyone who; sarvan—all;
ma&m—unto Me; bhajet—may render service; sah—he; ca—and; sattamah—a
first-class person.
