Bakari Gopala
Can a Grihastha (householder) accept donations? (Q&A)
Answer
No
Evidence
Śrīla Murāri Gupta never accepted charity from friends, nor did he accept money from anyone. He practiced as a physician and maintained his family with his earnings. – CC Adi 10.50
Sanskrit
pratigraha nāhi kare, nā laya kāra dhana
ātma-vṛtti kari’ kare kuṭumba bharaṇa
pratigraha nāhi kare — he did not accept charity from anyone; nā — not; laya — take; kāra — anyone’s; dhana — wealth; ātma–vṛtti — own profession; kari’ — executing; kare — maintained; kuṭumba — family; bharaṇa — provision.
Purport
It should be noted that a gṛhastha (householder) must not make his livelihood by begging from anyone. Every householder of the higher castes should engage himself in his own occupational duty as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya, but he should not engage in the service of others, for this is the duty of a śūdra. One should simply accept whatever he earns by his own profession. The engagements of a brāhmaṇa are yajana, yājana, paṭhana, pāṭhana, dāna and pratigraha. A brāhmaṇa should be a worshiper of Viṣṇu, and he should also instruct others how to worship Him. A kṣatriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants. A vaiśya can accept agriculture or general trade as an occupational duty.
Since Murāri Gupta was born in a physician’s family (vaidya-vaṁśa), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everyone should try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the execution of his occupational duty. That is the perfection of life. This system is called daivī-varṇāśrama. Murāri Gupta was an ideal gṛhastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By practicing as a physician he maintained his family and at the same time satisfied Lord Caitanya to the best of his ability. This is the ideal of householder life.
Link to this page: https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/10/50/
