Rent (Books)

Expressions researched:
"rent" |"rental" |"rented" |"renting" |"rentor" |"rents"

SB Canto 8

The actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme kṣetra jña. For example, we may rent and occupy a house, but actually the owner of the house is the landlord.

SB 8.3.13, Translation and Purport:

I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the Supersoul, the superintendent of everything, and the witness of all that occurs. You are the Supreme Person, the origin of material nature and of the total material energy. You are also the owner of the material body. Therefore, You are the supreme complete. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

In Bhagavad-gītā (13.3) the Lord says, kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: "O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies." Every one of us is thinking, "I am this body" or "This is my body," but actually the truth is different. Our bodies are given to us by the supreme proprietor. The living entity, who is also kṣetra jña, or the knower of the body, is not the body's only proprietor; the actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme kṣetra jña. For example, we may rent and occupy a house, but actually the owner of the house is the landlord. Similarly, we may be allotted a certain type of body as a facility with which to enjoy this material world, but the actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is called sarvādhyakṣa because everything in the material world works under His supervision. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), wherein the Lord says, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram: "This material nature, working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, is producing all moving and unmoving beings." From prakṛti, or material nature, come so many varieties of living entities, including aquatics, plants, trees, insects, birds, animals, human beings and demigods. prakṛti is the mother, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the father (ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4)).

CC Adi-lila

A kṣatriya can become a landholder and earn his livelihood by levying taxes or collecting rent from tenants.

CC Adi 10.50, Translation and Purport:

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.

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.