Thursday, February 12, 2009

IDEALS OF THE SANNYASIN

The first birth of a man is from his father; Upanayana marks his second birth, and Sannyasa the third.

The mind is much wasted while one is engaged in worldly pursuits. And that loss can be made good, only if one takes to the life of renunciation (Sannyasa).

Who is a fit candidate for the holy order of Sannyasins ? He who gives up the world altogether without having any thought of the morrow, as to how he will eat or how he will be clothed, is fit to be a true Sannyasin. His mentality must be like that of a man who can, if need be, let himself fall fearlessly from the top of a tall tree, without any thought of saving his own life or limbs.

Yogins and Sannyasins are like snakes. The snake does not dig out a hole for itself, but lives in the hole made by the mouse. When one hole becomes uninhabitable, it enters into another hole. Just so Yogins and Sannyasins make no house for themselves. They pass their days in other men's houses—today in one house, tomorrow in another.

Sadhus never settle down in a place where there are no jungles' near by and where food and drink is hard to get. ' Jungles ' means solitary spots for answering the calls of nature; and ' food and drink ' means alms. As Sadhus live on alms, they select only those places for their temporary residence where alms can be easily procured. When they get tired in the course of their journey they may halt at a place for a day or two, in spite of the difficulty of procuring alms. But they never stay anywhere if there is scarcity of water and of solitary spots for answering the calls of nature. Good Sadhus never attend to these matters of physical cleanliness in places where they may be observed by others. They finish these things in solitude, far away from the haunts of men.

If a white cloth is stained even with a small spot, the stain appears very ugly indeed. So the smallest fault of a holy man becomes painfully prominent.

A Sannyasin may himself be perfectly unattached and may have full control over his senses. Yet to set an example to mankind he must make a rigorous renunciation of woman and gold . For only when they notice the thoroughness of the Sannyasin s renunciation, will men take courage ; only then will they make efforts to renounce sex and riches. And who indeed will impart this lesson on renunciation, if not the Sannyasin ?

What is the sign of a genuine Sannyasin and a Tyagi ? Both must be entirely unconnected with lust and gold. Should they feel an attachment for gold, or be troubled by pollution even in a dream, all their spiritual exercises would come to naught.

When one has taken up the garb of a Sannyasin, one has to conduct oneself precisely like a true Sadhu. Don't you see in the drama how the person playing the part of a king always acts like a king and how he who is in the roll of the minister always plays the minister ? Once a village clown put on the garb of a Sannyasin and appeared before the Zamindar of the place. The Zamindar wanted to present him with a purse, but he refused to accept it and went away. After a while he came back, having washed himself and changed his dress, and asked for the money that the Zamindar wanted to give. When he dressed like a Sadhu, he could not even touch the money, but now he was ready to feel gratified even with a four-anna bit.

A person went to a holy man to get some medicine for his sick child, carrying the little patient in his arms. The holy man asked him to come next day. Next day, when the man went, the Sadhu said, Give no sweets to the child, and the child will soon be cured.' The man replied, " Sir, you could have told me this yesterday itself." The Sadhu said, " Yes, I could have, but yesterday I had a quantity of sugar lying before me, and seeing that, your child would have thought that the Sadhu who advised others not to take sugar but ate it himself was a hypocrite."

The man who becomes an ascetic owing to some misunderstanding with his father, or mother, or wife may be called an ascetic-by»disgust\ His asceticism is momentary; he gives up the ascetic way of life as soon as he gets a good lucrative job in a wealthy family.

A disciple: How can we recognise a truly pious man (Sadhu) ?

The Master: He is truly pious whose heart and soul are wholly dedicated to God. Truly pious is he who has renounced woman and gold . The truly pious man never views women in the ordinary worldly light. He always remains at a distance from them, and if they happen to come near, he looks on them as his mother and shows respect to them. He thinks constantly of God, and serves all creatures, knowing that He resides in all. These are the general traits of the truly pious.

Trust not a Sannyasin, who practises medicine, uses spells and incantations, receives money, and displays his piety with the sign-boards of elaborate external marks,

Forgiveness is the true nature of the ascetic.

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