3.101

brahmanera ghare kare bhiksa nirvahana

prabhave sakala loka karaye pujana

SYNONYMS

brahmanera ghare—in the house of a brahmana; kare—does; bhiksa nirvahana—asking alms of food; prabhave—by spiritual potency; sakala loka—all people; karaye pujana—worship.

For his bodily maintenance he would go to a brahmana’s house and beg some food.

He was spiritually so influential that all the neighboring people worshiped him.

PURPORT

In the days of Haridasa Thakura, all the brahmanas worshiped Narayana in the form of the salagrama-sila.

Therefore begging from a brahmana’s house meant taking krsna-prasada, which is transcendental (nirguna).

If we take food from the house of others, such as karmis, we shall have to share the qualities of those from whom we take alms.

Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took prasada in the houses of Vaisnavas.

This is the general process.

The members of the Krsna consciousness movement are advised not to take food from anywhere but a Vaisnava’s or brahmana’s house where Deity worship is performed.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said, visayira anna khaile dusta haya mana: if a devotee takes alms or food from the house of a karmi who is simply interested in money, his mind will be unclean.

We must always remember that a devotee’s life is one of vairagya-vidya, or renunciation and knowledge.

Therefore all devotees are warned not to live unnecessarily luxurious lives at the cost of others.

Grhasthas living within the jurisdiction of the temple must be especially careful not to imitate karmis by acquiring opulent clothing, food and conveyances.

As far as possible, these should be avoided.

A member of the temple, whether grhastha, brahmacari or sannyasi, must practice a life of renunciation, following in the footsteps of Haridasa Thakura and the six Gosvamis.

Otherwise, because maya is very strong, at any time one may become a victim of maya and fall down from spiritual life.