- sanātana kahe—'āmi mādhukarī kariba
- brāhmaṇera ghare kene ekatra bhikṣā laba?'
- (CC Madhya 20.81)
Just see. He said: "No, no. I cannot accept sumptuous foodstuff from a brāhmaṇa's place. That is not my duty. I shall accept mādhukarī." Mādhukarī is a principle introduced by these Gosvāmīs. Mādh . . . mādhu. Mādhu means honey. And the bees who collect honey from flower—a drop from this flower, a drop from that flower, a drop from that flower—in this way, he subsists.
So this mādhukarī system means a renounced order of sannyāsī or a vairāgī, he should not accept in one place sumptuously. He should go to every householder and take a bit of capātī from this house, a bit of capātī from that house, a bit of capātī from that house, so that the householders also may not be disturbed and they may be benefited. When a real sannyāsī or vairāgi accepts something from the householder, it is a great benefit for him. Therefore to accept little from this house, to accept little from that house, that is also another mercy of the renounced sannyāsī or devotee of the Lord. Yes.