pratigraha nÄhi kare, nÄ laya kÄra dhana
Ätma-vá¹›tti kari' kare kuá¹umba bharaṇa
pratigraha nÄhi kare - he did not accept charity from anyone; nÄ - not; laya - take; kÄra - anyone's; dhana - wealth; Ätma-vá¹›tti - own profession; kari' - executing; kare - maintained; kuá¹umba - family; bharaṇa - provision.
It should be noted that a gá¹›hastha (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 brÄhmaṇa, ká¹£atriya or vaiÅ›ya, 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 brÄhmaṇa are yajana, yÄjana, paá¹hana, pÄá¹hana, dÄna and pratigraha. A brÄhmaṇa should be a worshiper of Viṣṇu, and he should also instruct others how to worship Him. A ká¹£atriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants. A vaiÅ›ya can accept agriculture or general trade as an occupational duty. Since MurÄri Gupta was born in a physician’s family (vaidya-vaá¹Å›a), he practiced as a physician, and with whatever income he earned he maintained his family. As stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, 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 daivÄ«-varṇÄÅ›rama. MurÄri Gupta was an ideal gá¹›hastha, for he was a great devotee of Lord RÄmacandra and Caitanya MahÄprabhu. 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.