Tuesday, March 07, 2006
A Spiritual Insight – Sanyaas – An analysis
Srimad Bhagavatham – A Spiritual Insight – Sanyaas – An analysis
An analysis into the various ashramas of Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanaprastha and Sanyaas ashrama will cause lot of confusion regarding the fourth ashrama of Sanyaas. There are many wrong conceptions that each one of us will have about Sanyaas.
Sanyaas literally translated means renunciation. Sri Krishna explains one complete chapter about Sanyaas in the fifth chapter of Gita which itself is titled Sanyaasa Yoga or Yoga of renunciation.
Let us analyze what really is Sanyaas. Arjuna in the fifth chapter asks Krishna which one is greater, Karma Yoga or Sanyaasa.
First thing to be remembered is that Sanyaas or renunciation is mostly mental and not just mere physical. We thus see many people taking the external sanyaas or ochre robe and roaming near Himalayas and various ashrams – begging for food and regretting for what they did (taking sanyaas). These are not real sanyaasins. These are just people out of compulsion or out of eagerness (without any real import) took Sanyaas.
Scriptures proclaim that real sanyaas is renunciation of everything – both mental and physical. Renunciation here doesn’t mean that one has leave all the property and objects and go to forest. Renunciation is removal of wrong identification that “I am the body” and thereby removal of the identification and attachment with various objects in the world. He is a real sanyaasin who is not at all affected to the objects in the world. He is a real sanyaasin who even though might be living in the world is completely established in the ultimate reality of Brahman or Consciousness and has ever the knowledge that “I am the Self, one without a second”.
Thus, he is not a sanyaasin who has renounced everything externally and is wearing a ochre robe but still has attachments which arise out of ignorance. A very beautiful story is mentioned in the Puranas to bring out this fact. King Janaka was studying under Yajnavalkya in his ashram. Janaka had other co-students who all were sanyaasins. Hence, they were proud of themselves and thought that Janaka is one who is ruling a kingdom and hence cannot gain real knowledge or realize his own real nature of Consciousness. Yajnavalkya understood this & wanted to show to the sanyaasin students that Janaka was a real sanyaasin even though he was living in the world. Thus, Yajnavalkya created a flood (illusion) in the town of Videha. Hearing the news that the town would be swept in flood, the sanyaasins all ran towards their hut – trying to save the very few possessions that they had (few ochre cloths and other thing which were worth very little). Janaka did not run towards his palace but he remained in front of the Guru itself. Seeing this, the Guru asked why he did not run. Janaka replied that “why should I bother about the kingdom which is not mine”. The meaning here is that Janaka had realized that “I am the Self” and thereby the kingdom and other things are not MINE but are only illusions seen in ME. Hearing this, Guru was very happy and he told the other sanyaasins who were then ashamed of doubting Janaka and of their own behavior.
Thus, Sanyaas is not dispossession but renouncing the possessor. When possessions are renounced, the possessor might still remain behind. This possessor is the Ego which might remain even after everything is renounced (in residue form and hence possessions might still be craved for). But when the possessor of Ego is renounced, all possessions don’t affect the person who then realizes his own very nature of Self or Consciousness. This is real Sanyaas.
External sanyaas is only a mean to the real sanyaas which is renouncing everything and realizing one’s own real nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute.
Sanyaas is expressed as “Atmano rakshaartham jagad hitaaya cha” – to find out one’s own Self & to serve the society. This is what is termed external sanyaas – that which we identify as wearing of ochre robe, holding the danda or staff etc – but the real Sanyaas is renouncing everything internally. This directly leads to realization of one’s own real nature of Self which is not at all affected by the things in the illusory world even as the Sun is not affected by the activities on Earth.
Thus, real Sanyaas is detached attachment. A real sanyaasin might be doing actions in the world, he might be married and he might be enjoying sensual pleasures but still he will be internally unaffected and unattached to all these things & hence firmly established in his real nature of Consciousness or Self.
Sri Krishna thus says in Gita Chapter 5
Jneyah sa nitya sanyaasi yo na dveshti na kaankshathi
Nirdvandvo his mahaabaaho sukham bandhaat pramuchyathe
He is an eternal sanyaasi who neither gets hatred nor is anxious over things. He is ever liberated from the dualities of anger, lust – happiness, sorrow etc & he gets liberated from the bondage of karma very easily.
Thus, possession is not the problem but the attitude of possession is the problem. A person might be working in a company or ruling a kingdom but if he doesn’t have the attitude of doership & enjoyership, he is not the doer & he is unaffected by the actions & thereby a sanyaasin.
The external sanyaas has many regulations which include having vairagya or dispassion, getting a sanyaasin to be initiated, various oaths of not doing any karmas etc. But the internal and real sanyaas has no regulations at all. Real sanyaas just requires one to renounce the attitude of attachment, the attitude of possession and the attitude of doership. If a person is able to do it this very moment, he verily becomes a sanyaasin this very moment (not my words but words of Krishna in Gita).
Thus, the wrong notion that a sanyaasin is only one who is wearing an ochre robe & has renounced everything (externally) has to be removed. The real sanyaasin is one who is not at all attached to anything in this world. And scriptures also don’t proclaim that only an external sanyaasin can realize the Self but it is real sanyaasin who realizes the Self.
It is ofcourse easier if one is an external sanyaasin to contemplate on the ultimate reality but this doesn’t mean that people in the world cannot realize the Self – this is also very easy only provided there is interest to realize the Self. Renouncing internally is very easy and much easier than external renunciation & scriptures recommend internal and real sanyaas and not mere physical or external sanyaas.
Let us all thus try to be real sanyaasins from this very moment by offering all the work to the Lord (thereby renouncing the doership or Ego) and contemplate on the ultimate reality that I am not at all attached or affected by the actions which are mere illusions in the ultimate reality of Consciousness which is called Lord, Self and Brahman by various people.
An analysis into the various ashramas of Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanaprastha and Sanyaas ashrama will cause lot of confusion regarding the fourth ashrama of Sanyaas. There are many wrong conceptions that each one of us will have about Sanyaas.
Sanyaas literally translated means renunciation. Sri Krishna explains one complete chapter about Sanyaas in the fifth chapter of Gita which itself is titled Sanyaasa Yoga or Yoga of renunciation.
Let us analyze what really is Sanyaas. Arjuna in the fifth chapter asks Krishna which one is greater, Karma Yoga or Sanyaasa.
First thing to be remembered is that Sanyaas or renunciation is mostly mental and not just mere physical. We thus see many people taking the external sanyaas or ochre robe and roaming near Himalayas and various ashrams – begging for food and regretting for what they did (taking sanyaas). These are not real sanyaasins. These are just people out of compulsion or out of eagerness (without any real import) took Sanyaas.
Scriptures proclaim that real sanyaas is renunciation of everything – both mental and physical. Renunciation here doesn’t mean that one has leave all the property and objects and go to forest. Renunciation is removal of wrong identification that “I am the body” and thereby removal of the identification and attachment with various objects in the world. He is a real sanyaasin who is not at all affected to the objects in the world. He is a real sanyaasin who even though might be living in the world is completely established in the ultimate reality of Brahman or Consciousness and has ever the knowledge that “I am the Self, one without a second”.
Thus, he is not a sanyaasin who has renounced everything externally and is wearing a ochre robe but still has attachments which arise out of ignorance. A very beautiful story is mentioned in the Puranas to bring out this fact. King Janaka was studying under Yajnavalkya in his ashram. Janaka had other co-students who all were sanyaasins. Hence, they were proud of themselves and thought that Janaka is one who is ruling a kingdom and hence cannot gain real knowledge or realize his own real nature of Consciousness. Yajnavalkya understood this & wanted to show to the sanyaasin students that Janaka was a real sanyaasin even though he was living in the world. Thus, Yajnavalkya created a flood (illusion) in the town of Videha. Hearing the news that the town would be swept in flood, the sanyaasins all ran towards their hut – trying to save the very few possessions that they had (few ochre cloths and other thing which were worth very little). Janaka did not run towards his palace but he remained in front of the Guru itself. Seeing this, the Guru asked why he did not run. Janaka replied that “why should I bother about the kingdom which is not mine”. The meaning here is that Janaka had realized that “I am the Self” and thereby the kingdom and other things are not MINE but are only illusions seen in ME. Hearing this, Guru was very happy and he told the other sanyaasins who were then ashamed of doubting Janaka and of their own behavior.
Thus, Sanyaas is not dispossession but renouncing the possessor. When possessions are renounced, the possessor might still remain behind. This possessor is the Ego which might remain even after everything is renounced (in residue form and hence possessions might still be craved for). But when the possessor of Ego is renounced, all possessions don’t affect the person who then realizes his own very nature of Self or Consciousness. This is real Sanyaas.
External sanyaas is only a mean to the real sanyaas which is renouncing everything and realizing one’s own real nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute.
Sanyaas is expressed as “Atmano rakshaartham jagad hitaaya cha” – to find out one’s own Self & to serve the society. This is what is termed external sanyaas – that which we identify as wearing of ochre robe, holding the danda or staff etc – but the real Sanyaas is renouncing everything internally. This directly leads to realization of one’s own real nature of Self which is not at all affected by the things in the illusory world even as the Sun is not affected by the activities on Earth.
Thus, real Sanyaas is detached attachment. A real sanyaasin might be doing actions in the world, he might be married and he might be enjoying sensual pleasures but still he will be internally unaffected and unattached to all these things & hence firmly established in his real nature of Consciousness or Self.
Sri Krishna thus says in Gita Chapter 5
Jneyah sa nitya sanyaasi yo na dveshti na kaankshathi
Nirdvandvo his mahaabaaho sukham bandhaat pramuchyathe
He is an eternal sanyaasi who neither gets hatred nor is anxious over things. He is ever liberated from the dualities of anger, lust – happiness, sorrow etc & he gets liberated from the bondage of karma very easily.
Thus, possession is not the problem but the attitude of possession is the problem. A person might be working in a company or ruling a kingdom but if he doesn’t have the attitude of doership & enjoyership, he is not the doer & he is unaffected by the actions & thereby a sanyaasin.
The external sanyaas has many regulations which include having vairagya or dispassion, getting a sanyaasin to be initiated, various oaths of not doing any karmas etc. But the internal and real sanyaas has no regulations at all. Real sanyaas just requires one to renounce the attitude of attachment, the attitude of possession and the attitude of doership. If a person is able to do it this very moment, he verily becomes a sanyaasin this very moment (not my words but words of Krishna in Gita).
Thus, the wrong notion that a sanyaasin is only one who is wearing an ochre robe & has renounced everything (externally) has to be removed. The real sanyaasin is one who is not at all attached to anything in this world. And scriptures also don’t proclaim that only an external sanyaasin can realize the Self but it is real sanyaasin who realizes the Self.
It is ofcourse easier if one is an external sanyaasin to contemplate on the ultimate reality but this doesn’t mean that people in the world cannot realize the Self – this is also very easy only provided there is interest to realize the Self. Renouncing internally is very easy and much easier than external renunciation & scriptures recommend internal and real sanyaas and not mere physical or external sanyaas.
Let us all thus try to be real sanyaasins from this very moment by offering all the work to the Lord (thereby renouncing the doership or Ego) and contemplate on the ultimate reality that I am not at all attached or affected by the actions which are mere illusions in the ultimate reality of Consciousness which is called Lord, Self and Brahman by various people.
# posted by vedanta : 9:30 AM
