8.61
prabhu kahe,--“eho bahya, age kaha ara”
raya kahe,--“svadharma-tyaga, ei sadhya-sara”
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe—the Lord replied; eho—this; bahya—external; age—ahead; kaha—speak; ara—more; raya kahe—Ramananda Raya replied; sva-dharma-tyaga—relinquishing one’s occupational duties; ei—this; sadhya-sara—the essence of all perfection “This is also external,” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said “Please proceed and speak further on this matter.” Ramananda Raya replied, “To give up one’s occupational duties in the varnasrama is the essence of perfection.”
PURPORT
A brahmana may renounce his family and accept sannyasa.
Others also-ksatriyas and vaisyas-may also give up their families and take to Krsna consciousness.
Such renunciation is called karma-tyaga.
By such renunciation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is satisfied.
But this renouncing of one’s activities to Krsna is not uncontaminated and is therefore on the material platform.
Such activities are considered within the material universe because, according to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they refer to the material universe and are therefore external.
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).