Reflections on Sannyasa
Swami Sivananda Saraswati
Sannyasins as universal benefactors
Sannyasa is resting in one’s own Satchidananda swarupa. Sannyasa is self-realization. Our forefathers, our gurus, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara—the four Kumaras, the mentally born sons of Brahma–were asked by Brahma to lead the life of householders, but they refused, because they knew the worth of this samsaric life. So they at once entered the nivritti order. They were our sannyasins’ forefathers. The sannyasins are the children of Sri Shankara, Gaudapada, Dattatreya–glorious divine personages who had knowledge of Brahman, and who shone with divine splendor having attained oneness with the Paramatman, the supreme soul.
Sannyasa is a life of self-restraint and renunciation–renunciation not only of external objects and worldly activities, but renunciation of egoism, cravings, vasanas, kartritwa-buddhi (the feeling that I am the doer) and bheda buddhi (the intellect that differentiates one from the other), which instead of producing homogeneity produces heterogeneity. External sannyasa is renunciation of objects and selfish activities. It is also necessary, but internal sannyasa is more important, more vital.
A sannyasi is an atma-samrat, a self-king. He is a guide for politicians. He gives advice as to how to rule the country, how to establish dharma. He is the adviser to kings, statesmen, and ministers. He is not a parasite. A sannyasi or sadhu is one who has knowledge of God, who has controlled his indriyas, who is compassionate to ail, who has equal vision and balanced mind, and who is a friend to everybody. A cosmic benefactor is the sannyasi. A sannyasi is a veritable God on earth.
“Sakshat Narayano Bhavet.” A person who has enrobed himself in orange-colored clothes is Lord Vishnu Himself. He is to be adored, and in return he will bless you all. He will bless the householders. He goes to the householders for bhiksha only to purify them. He elevates them, gives them advice how to lead the life divine, how to control the mind, how to cultivate virtues, how to remove dehadhyasa and how to identify oneself with the all-pervading atman. He uplifts the worldly people, raises them to the status of Brahmanhood, and makes them shine with divine splendor and pristine purity.
A sannyasi is not a useless person as some people think. He is a king of the world, be is the emperor of the three worlds. Even the very sight of him will destroy one’s sins. Every religion has got this band of anchorites. Buddhism has got Buddhist monks. Jainism has got digambaras and swetambaras. Islam and Sufism have got fakirs. These anchorites are the glory of every religion. They have disciplined themselves. If you remove these people, there is no essence in religion. These people glorify the religions.
Some people bring the charge that a sannyasi is unproductive, a burden on this earth. They say that there are sixty lakhs [six million] of sadhus and sannyasins. This is not a correct census report. There may be one thousand or two thousand good sannyasins. People lying on the road-side in Bombay, Calcutta, and Delhi, have also been listed as sadhus and sannyasins, by the census reporters.
Sannyasins are those who have renounced their own vast wealth, read much, attained distinctions, and are given over to intense meditation and dynamic selfless service. They write articles, and give lectures. They hold classes. They impart instructions to the men of the world. They do work. They are not useless. The whole world is maintained by the glory of the sannyasins. They serve them in a variety of ways. Their very existence is a glory and splendor on earth. When people are in distress, and when they do not know what to do, these sannyasins speak one word. This one word elevates them, removes their sufferings. The very, sight of sannyasins destroys one’s sufferings. Such is the glory of sannyasins.
There are many hidden sannyasins in the Himalayas. They are sending their thought-vibrations to the world. It is not necessary that a sannyasi should come to the platform and give lectures and interpret the Gita and the Upanishads. They can purify the whole world by their thoughts. Such is the glory of sannyasins.
Sannyasins have established ashrams. They are helping people. They hold Vedantic conferences. These are all productive.
People expect that sadhus and sannyasins should go to the agricultural field and plough the field and produce so many maunds of rice and go to mills and weave so many yards of cloth. They think that only he who produces fifty yards of cloth, or he who goes to the dairy farm and makes so many maunds of butter or ploughs the fields and raises so many maunds of paddy is productive. To train people in Brahmavidya, in knowledge of the Self, in self-discipline, in disciplining the mind and the senses, and in attaining discrimination is productive. Ignorant people have no idea of spiritual things. They see only the external objects. They are ignorant of transcendental things.
Sannyasins are storehouses of power
Sadhus and sannyasins are potent powers; they are those that have got through tyaga, through renunciation, through vairagya and meditation, an eternal storehouse of energy. Meditation is the key to open the door of Elysian bliss. Renunciation is the first step, and vairagya is the passport to enter into the kingdom of eternal bliss. Our mahatmas are storehouses of energy and power. They are whole-time aspirants and when they utilize their energy we can easily effect the moral and spiritual regeneration not only of India, but of the whole world at large.
We require the cooperation of the sadhus and sannyasins for the moral uplift of the people and for their spiritual advancement. Their instructions will penetrate the heart. They are selfless people, endowed with viveka and vairagya. It is time for the sadhus and sannyasins to pool their energies, time, and wisdom, for the moral and spiritual uplift of the world.
The Yoga of Synthesis is most suitable at the present time. Man is a triune being. He thinks, feels, and wills. So one should practice the Yoga of Synthesis—Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga for integral development and perfection. Those who have got karmic tendencies, who have got leisure, can work in the world, for one cannot meditate for twenty-four hours. They can spend some time doing good to the world at large. There must also be sannyasins who can devote themselves to whole-time meditation. We have got medical research institutes, scientific research institutes, and various other research centers. We must also have people who devote their time to concentration and meditation and bring out the atmic pearl. There must be people who devote their whole time for atmic research. It is these people who can contribute to the moral and spiritual uplift of the whole world at large.
God as the greatest sannyasi
A sannyasi is Sakshat Narayana [True Divinity] Himself. The greatest sannyasi is Parabrahman Himself. He is without the least tinge of samsara. There is no prapancha or vyavahara in Him.
The secret of sannyasa is renunciation of egoism and desires. Renunciation of “I”-ness and “mineness” is real sannyasa. Without yoga, sannyasa is hard to attain. Sannyasa bestows immortality and eternal bliss.
A real sannyasi alone can teach Brahmavidya. The glory of sannyasa is ineffable. Practice of fourfold means, sadhana-chatushtaya, will prepare you for sannyasa. A sannyasi is the happiest and the richest man in the world. Therefore, renounce and rest in the Absolute.
Make courage your rosary, desirelessness your staff, discrimination your deerskin, dispassion your kamandalu, and meditation your holy ash.
Make perseverance your raft, the Name of the Lord your boat, and cross this formidable ocean of samsara fearlessly.
Self-discipline of the Zen sannyasins
The ascetic self-discipline practiced by the Japanese Buddhist monks of the Zen sect is probably more severe than even that of the Trappists or the Cistercians of the Roman Catholic orders. The practice of self-control leading to the complete effacement of self is something which appeals strongly to the Japanese, whose home and school training is such as to demand the sinking of the individual for the good of the community, as well as the complete subjugation of the emotions as the apogee of education.
From olden times, this self-discipline has been a training inseparable from Buddhism, and as Buddhism is the second most powerful religion in Japan, it is natural to find that special attention is paid to the development of the soul-consciousness through the subjugation of the physical and mental modifications. The sect in Japanese Buddhism which caters especially for this training, is the Zen sect.
The Zen monasteries accept novices quite young. This is imperative, since only the young, hardy and yet submissive, can possibly stand the strain of their rigorous ascetic training, and the docile enthusiast is the only one likely to find it possible to train oneself to accept the hardships that Zen imposes.
The whole idea of Zen is to “rise above oneself.” It is by this that, Zen claims, one may open the mind’s eye to see into the Ultimate. As proved by the results and the study of life, Zen claims to have discovered what true life really is, and what is required for the complete living of life and full play of the soul. And what does it demand?
Long hours of meditation are insisted upon, and there is no room for excuse. So much does Zen insist upon this that there is a monitor appointed to watch over the meditating novices as per the direction of the abbot of a monastery. No failure is allowed to go without punishment. Self-reliance is taught by hard work. The luxuries of life are not provided. Wants are reduced to the minimum. Only bare necessities are conceded. Meals are vegetarian, frugal in quantity and severely simple in quality. Sleep and rest are also restricted. Very little contact with the outside world is permitted.
The supreme aim of Zen is to triumph over the lower self, over the world of material values. Thus Zen demands the most ardent spiritual training and experience. Zen monks, in Japan, are considered among the land’s spiritual and ascetic elite, as rightly they should be, but they ignore this honor and aspire only for a spiritual reward, that of Nirvana.
Sannyasa for the Western world
These days many Western people are taking sannyasa. In our own ashram, there are a number of American and European sannyasins. Hundreds of them have taken sannyasa here in the Sivanandashram and have gone back to their respective countries for dissemination of India’s upanishadic wisdom. Many Americans have taken sannyasa and joined the Ramakrishna Mission. It is gratifying to note that Western people are coming to India to take sannyasa and live a life of yoga and meditation.
Renunciation is the only means for attaining self-realization.
Na karmana no prajaya dhanena
Tyagenaike amritatwamanasuh.
“Not by works, not by progeny, not by wealth, but by renunciation alone one attains immortality.” Through sannyasa alone can we entirely cut off moha for property and relatives. Sannyasa is very necessary. The glory of sannyasa, the fruit of sannyasa, is indescribable.
Characteristics of a sannyasi
In our country from time immemorial, there has been a great attraction for the life of a sannyasin. If out of thousands even one may not be willing to take to the life of a sannyasin, there will not be one who will not have a real admiration for the person who does take to the life of a sannyasin. The general conception was and is at the present time also, that the person who renounced everything in the world and wandered about from place to place in sun and rain, taking shelter and food wherever he could get it, was certainly a man of sterner stuff than the common person who lived the householder’s life.
In the earliest days there were plenty of forests which attracted the aspirants after truth and knowledge. Perhaps one of the reasons why the wandering monk, living in the forest, was respected by the community, was that our ancient scriptures were all written in the forests. It is the Aranyakas [forest books] and the Upanishads that contain the cream of Indian wisdom which constitute not only our rich legacy from the past but continue to be our present day guides, illuminating us in the manner in which we have to seek for enduring happiness.
Many young people must have been leading the lives of real monks, denying themselves the pleasures of the ordinary man. The practice of austerity under difficult conditions was certainly possible only for men of good mental control, and therefore it became common to entertain the notion that every monk must be a man of rigid mental discipline. The Puranas also point out the way of how a real sannyasin had to conduct himself in his advanced stage of spiritual evolution. The story of Rishabhadeva is an instance in point. Therefore, in course of time the respect shown for wandering sannyasins who even discarded their own clothing and denied themselves the ordinary advantages of keeping themselves clean by bathing, etc., came to be greater than the respect shown to ordinary sannyasins.
Administrators of the country also took care to see that sufficient provision was made for such as were desirous of moving from place to place as either vanaprasthas, ordinary pilgrims or as sannyasins. Roads connecting important places were lined with fruit-trees like the jack and the mango, throughout long distances, and stone platforms fit for the unloading of the burdens carried on the head by pilgrims going on foot, and even watersheds where water was not ordinarily available, were provided for. The result was that throughout the year any number of people might walk from one place to another along the roads providing themselves with the ordinary conveniences sufficient to meet their simple needs. Likewise, along the banks of rivers were constructed not merely bathing ghats but also mandapas which could be used for prayer and meditation as well as for rest during day or night.
When these arrangements were made even by the government, or by the charitably disposed rich men of the locality, it was but natural that there should be a steady increase in the number not only of the real seekers of truth, but also of pretenders who wanted to exploit the credulity of the masses and earn a convenient living. The success achieved by a few attracted the notice of many and in course of time the number of vagabonds in the guise of monks went on increasing. Since the Hindu ideal was karatala bhiksha and taru-tala-vasa, there was the inevitable combination of mendicancy with monasticism. and, therefore, the number of mendicants steadily increased.
It became difficult to differentiate between the mendicants and the real monks. In fact, people began to consider that monks were only mendicants. Except for a part of the population which continued to regard everybody in the guise of a monk to be worthy of respect, many felt that the monks who were moving from place to place were idlers who ought not to be permitted to continue exploiting the credulous. That idea persists even at the present time, and so very often the real man of spiritual evolution goes absolutely unrecognized by the common man and is perhaps subjected to all kinds of insults. There is no doubt that at least a percentage of the monks that are wandering about the land, must be of a higher degree of development, but there is no possibility at least for the common observer to separate the chaff from the grain.
Intelligent people at the present time who have spiritual aspirations are faced with a doubt as to whether they ought really to take to the life of a sannyasin for achieving their ideals. In fact, a saint is really only another name for a real jivanmukta, and it is possible for a man of right evolution to be a jivanmukta whether he is a brahmachari, a vanaprastha or a sannyasin. There may not be any need even to give up one’s ordinary avocations for attaining the status of a jivanmukta. It is certain that such men of high evolution are extremely rare to find; we shall discover that saintliness is just the nearest approach to godliness.
The distinguishing quality is universal love. Erudition by itself cannot be the mark of saintliness because an erudite man will not be able to love or to be loved as much as a man who has surrendered himself completely to the Lord and who lives in the world only for the purpose of carrying out the behests of the Lord in the manner in which he is able to conceive of them. Such a person will have absolute peace of mind, complete cleanliness and purity, intuitive recognition of what is of permanent value, a quickness of intelligence to understand at one stroke and without much effort the essence of the scriptures, an innate and intense longing for self-denial so that he might be of utmost use to the people around him and, last but not the least of all, deep devotion to and unfailing faith in the dispensation of the Lord.
In seeking for a saint, one should not care for the external garb or for literary equipment or erudition or even for the high name and fame one might have acquired as a bestower of gifts in the form of temples and dharmashalas. These are the unessentials. The real saint is to be judged by his own intrinsic worth. It requires a good deal of discrimination not to be misguided by external excellences in the absence of internal merit. But even the common man will perceive intuitively saintliness where it is manifest.
The mission of sannyasins
Sadhus and sannyasins as a body have a universal purpose for which they exist. They are the custodians of the spirituality of the land and have a definite part to do in the advancement and elevation of humanity. To equip themselves for the noble task entrusted to their care, the monks and sadhus of the world isolate themselves in the beginning from the rest of mankind as a necessary discipline. But unfortunately we have allowed this separation to become a permanent condition and thus to a great extent the sadhu community has come to regard itself as a unit outside the pale of the rest of humanity struggling valiantly in the plains and the cities.
Losing touch with others has consequently made us forget the part we have to do and to neglect our work as educators and enlighteners of the other three orders. We have once again to bestir ourselves and commence playing our destined part in the nation’s life. We are to be one united body dedicated to the noble ideal of exerting ourselves unselfishly and wholeheartedly for ushering in of the new era of brotherhood and peace that must follow after the years of savage strife and bloodshed the world is now plunged in.
Every section of humanity will play its part in the reconstruction of the New World on a worthier basis. If the new civilization is to be enduring one (not merely a prelude to a bigger war), it has to be based on lasting values of a spiritual nature. The providing of this fundamental spiritual basis to the new humanity, is the work of the sannyasins and sadhus, monks and celibates of the world.
The onus of spiritualizing the coming generation rests upon the shoulders of the men of Spirit, the sannyasins, the saints, the mahatmas. They should do this without fail to keep the glorious tradition of this land and to maintain their respected place as a useful unit of society.
The lay people always look up to the sadhus for active guidance in matters of moral and spiritual import. We have, therefore, to set to work by precept, actual example and active life-work. For verily we represent the force of sattwa and good for overcoming the, force of tamas and evil, that has the world in its grip today.
The mission of sannyasins
The genuine sadhus of our country constitute in themselves a most honorable community, and each of them bears an eloquent testimony to the exemplary nature of his individual character, affords a proof of the heights scaled in the spirit of sacrifice, in the development of spiritual wisdom, in a resolute disregard of the merely materialistic values and whole-hearted devotion to the supreme ends and values of human existence. It has been, through several centuries, the distinctive role of the enlightened sannyasins to disseminate more by the example of their lives than by the word of mouth, the knowledge which is embodied in the rich cultural heritage of our country. They have sustained and vitalized the wisdom of the ancient Rishis, kept up the traditions of spiritual development, breathed thoughts of peace and welfare for all mankind, proved the worth, beauty and suzerainty of the inner spirit in man over the body-mind organism that the human individual is, over the temptations and allurements of the sensual and the worldly, and have sought successfully to establish relations with, the infinite Being that alone sustains all the manifest universes, maintains the dharma in the land of the mortals, and yet yields strength, life and joy to all living forms.
All over India we find strenuous efforts being made for the economic, political and social reconstruction; and where the moral, mental and spiritual culture of the people is concerned, a great responsibility and privileged role rests upon the educated, enlightened, spiritually-developed sadhus. It is only when the basis of all cultures, the foundation of all movements, the divinity in man, is inspired to make itself manifest in the environment of high aspiration and moral growth rendered possible and maintained by the impact of the efforts and labors of the :sadhus, that we can find on earth peace, happiness, genuine progress, real prosperity and the delights of a purposive, meaningful and fulfilled existence.More Articles on Sannyasa
• A Brief Life of Swami Sivananda
• Advice to Sannyasins–part 1 by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
• Advice to Sannyasins–part 2 by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
• The Ideal of Sannyasa by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
• Sannyasa Dharma by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
• Perspective of the Renunciate
by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
• Reflections on Sannyasa by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
• The Rugged Path by Swami Sivananda Saraswati
1) Our true nature as existence-knowlege-bliss. [Go back]
2) Vasana: A bundle or aggregate of similar samskaras. Subtle desire; a tendency created in a person by the doing of an action or by enjoyment; it induces the person to repeat the action or to seek a repetition of the enjoyment; the subtle impression in the mind capable of developing itself into action; it is the cause of birth and experience in general; the impression of actions that remains unconsciously in the mind. [Go back]
3) Indriya: Organ. The five organs of perception (jnanendriyas) are the ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose. The five organs of action (karmendriyas) are the voice, hand, foot, organ of excretion, and the organ of generation. [Go back]
4) Bhiksha: Almsfood–food obtained by begging. [Go back]
5) Dehadhyasa: False identification with the body. [Go back]
6) A maund is about forty pounds. [Go back]
7) Brahmavidya: Science of Brahman; knowledge of Brahman; learning pertaining to Brahman or the Absolute Reality. [Go back]
8) Tyaga: Literally: “abandonment.” Renunciation–in the Gita, the relinquishment of the fruit of action. [Go back]
9) Vairagya: Non-attachment, detachment, dispassion, absence of desire, or indifference. Indifference towards and disgust for all worldly things and enjoyments. [Go back]
10) Viveka: Discrimination between the Real and the unreal, between the Self and the non-Self, between the permanent and the impermanent; right intuitive discrimination; ever-present discrimination between the transient and the permanent. [Go back]
11) Karma Yoga: The Yoga of selfless action; performance of one’s own duty; indifference to the body and the world; service of humanity. [Go back]
12) Bhakti Yoga: The yoga of attaining union with God through the prescribed spiritual discipline of the path of devotion. [Go back]
13) Jnana Yoga: The path of knowledge; meditation through wisdom; constantly and seriously thinking on the true nature of the Self as taught by the upanishads. [Go back]
14) Atmic: Having to do with the atma–spirit or self. [Go back]
15) Parabrahman: Supreme Brahman. [Go back]
16) Samsara: Life through repeated births and deaths; the wheel of birth and death; the process of earthly life. [Go back]
17) Prapancha: The world; appearance of the world. [Go back]
18) Vyavahara: Worldly activity; relative activity as opposed to Absolute Being; empirical/phenomenal world; worldly relation. [Go back]
19) Sadhana-chatushtaya: The fourfold aids to spiritual practice: 1) the ability to discriminate between the transient and the eternal (nitya-anity-astu-viveka); 2) the absence of desire for securing pleasure or pain either here or elsewhere (iha-anutra-artha-phala-vairagya); 3) the attainment of calmness, temperance, spirit of renunciation, fortitude, power of concentration of mind, and faith (shama-damadi-sadhana-smaptti); 4) an intense desire for liberation (mumukshutwa). [Go back]
20) Moha: Delusion–in relation to something, usually producing delusive attachment or infatuation based on a completely false perception and evaluation of the object. [Go back]
21) Rishabhadeva: An ancient ascetic who wandered freely through the forests, possessing nothing–not even wearing clothes–virtually unaware of his body. [Go back]
22) Vanaprastha: Literally: a forest dweller. The third stage of life (ashrama) in which, leaving home and children, the husband and wife dwell together in seclusion as a preparation to taking sannyasa. [Go back]
23) Karatala bhiksha: Using hands (palms) as the begging bowl. [Go back]
24) For some unknown reason, in British India it became the custom to say “saint” when sadhu or sannyasi was meant. [Go back]
25) Jivanmukta: One who is liberated in this present life. [Go back]
26) Brahmachari: One who observes continence; a student in the first stage of life (ashrama). [Go back]
27) This was written during the Second World War. [Go back]
28) Mahatma: Literally: “a great soul [atma].” Usually a designation for a sannyasi or a saint. [Go back]
29) Rishi: Sage; seer of the Truth. [Go back]
