SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 3 Text 8
niyatam kuru karma tvam
karma jyayo hy akarmanah
sarira-yatrapi ca te
na prasiddhyed akarmanah

niyatam--prescribed; kuru--do; karma--duties; tvam--you; karma--work; jyayah--better; hi--certainly; akarmanah--than no work; sarira--bodily; yatra--maintenance; api--even; ca--also; te--your; na--never; prasiddhyet--is effected; akarmanah--without work.

TRANSLATION

Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one's physical body without work.

JOURNAL:

For over thirty years I have worked in the same industry. Now, away from my wife, my children grown, I don't seem to be able to find work in that field. I still need to support myself, not to mention how much better my self-esteem is when I am working.

In his purport Srila Prabhupada gives us even better reasons for continuing work; Such activities gradually cleanse the heart of a mundane man and free him from material contamination. So-called renunciation for the purpose of maintenance is never approved by the Lord, nor by any religious scripture. After all, one has to maintain one's body and soul together by some work.