A brahmin is not expected to work. That is dhana pratigraha. Pratigraha means accept offerings from others. Just like you offered so many things to me—money, clothing, food—so a sannyāsī, a brahmin, can accept. Not others. A gṛhastha cannot. There are restriction. A brahmacārī can, but he can accept on behalf of his spiritual master, not personally. These are the rules.
So He was learned brahmin, and people used to present Him profusely, so He had no economics problem. Not that He renounced the world on account of poverty or some strain. He had no poverty; He was opulent. A brahmin does not require any great amount of wealth just to pull on his family. So that much amount was more than that He was receiving.
He was teacher also. Paṭhana, pāṭhana, yajana, yājana. Brahmin's business is to teach and to become a very learned scholar and teach people how to worship Kṛṣṇa and become devotee himself, and accept charities from others and distribute it again. So He had all these opulences without any difficulty, and His family life—mother, wife . . . Caṇākya Paṇḍita says:
- mātā yasya gṛhe nāsti
- bhāryā cāpriya-vādinī
- araṇyaṁ tena gantavyaṁ
- yathāraṇyaṁ tathā gṛham
- (Cāṇakya-śloka 57)
Cāṇakya Paṇḍita is giving too much stress on mother and wife in family life. So he says if one's mother is dead and if his wife is not very . . . apriya-vādinī, and does not behave very well, ill-behaving, so Caṇākya Paṇḍita advises him that aranyaṁ tena gantavyam: such person should immediately go to the forest. Because in the Vedic understanding there is no divorce. If the wife is not very pleasing, there is no question of divorcing.
Cāṇakya Paṇḍita does not advise it, the advice that he should divorce such wife, but he says, aranyaṁ tena gantavyam: he should give up family life and go to the forest. Divorce was completely unknown, even up to, say, five years ago. Now this Nehru government has enacted Divorce Act in Hindu law, but actually, Hindu law-maker, they have no such thing as divorce.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this is one of the brilliant examples of opulence, that He renounced His so happy family life, not disturbing life, and very . . . at a very young age, when everyone is after enjoying family life. So is it not a great opulence? Very great opulence. Young man, having good mother, good wife, good home, good reputation, good following, good parentage, beauty—everything—but He renounced.
That is the greatest opulence. He renounced everything for Kṛṣṇa. That is the greatest opulence of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, if we can follow His footprints . . . not that we have to give up everything, but give up everything for Kṛṣṇa. That is very nice.