The obligatory duties of the three classes who are twice-born — the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas — are worship of the Lord, study of the Vedas and giving charity. The occupational duties of accepting charity, teaching others and performing sacrifice for others are the privilege of the brāhmaṇas alone. If a brāhmaṇa considers that his consciousness is contaminated by engaging in these occupations, he may sustain his existence by collecting grains from the fields. If he is disturbed by poverty, the brāhmaṇa may out of necessity accept the business of a kṣatriya or vaiśya, but he should never take the occupation of a śūdra. In a similar situation, a kṣatriya may take the occupation of a vaiśya, and a vaiśya that of a śūdra. But when the emergency has passed, it is not fitting to continue earning one’s living by a lower occupation. A brāhmaṇa who is properly fixed in his personal duty rejects all insignificant material desires, always serves the Vaiṣṇavas and is under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The householder should study the Vedas every day and maintain his wards with money honestly earned by his own occupation. As far as possible, he should execute worship of the Lord by ritual sacrifices. Remaining unattached to material life and fixed in devotion to the Supreme Lord, the householder may finally take the order of vānaprastha, so that he can fully involve himself in the Lord’s worship. If he has a grown son, he may directly take the renounced order of sannyāsa. But persons who are excessively lusty after women, who have no proper discrimination, and who are extremely attached to wealth and possessions remain perpetually in anxiety over the welfare of their family members and are doomed to take their next birth in a lower species of life.