Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 7 - Chapter 1 - Verse 30


Sanskrit:

यश्चित्तविजये यत्त: स्यान्नि:सङ्गोऽपरिग्रह: ।एको विविक्तशरणो भिक्षुर्भैक्ष्यमिताशन: ॥ ३० ॥

ITRANS:

yaś citta-vijaye yattaḥsyān niḥsaṅgo ’parigrahaḥeko vivikta-śaraṇobhikṣur bhaikṣya-mitāśanaḥ

Translation:

One who desires to conquer the mind must leave the company of his family and live in a solitary place, free from contaminated association. To maintain the body and soul together, he should beg as much as he needs for the bare necessities of life.

Purport:

This is the process for conquering the agitation of the mind. One is recommended to take leave of his family and live alone, maintaining body and soul together by begging alms and eating only as much as needed to keep himself alive. Without such a process, one cannot conquer lusty desires. Sannyāsa means accepting a life of begging, which makes one automatically very humble and meek and free from lusty desires. In this regard, the following verse appears in the Smṛti literature: In this world of duality, family life is the cause that spoils one’s spiritual life or meditation. Specifically understanding this fact, one should accept the order of sannyāsa without hesitation.