SB 7.13.9 – The Definition of Sannyasa

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Thirteen, “Behavior of a Perfect Person,” 

TEXT 9

na yater āśramaḥ prāyo
dharma-hetur mahātmanaḥ
śāntasya sama-cittasya
bibhṛyād uta vā tyajet

TRANSLATION

A peaceful, equipoised person who is factually advanced in spiritual consciousness does not need to accept the symbols of a sannyāsī, such as the tridaṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu. According to necessity, he may sometimes accept those symbols and sometimes reject them.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

There are four stages of the renounced order of life — kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, Parivrājakācārya, and paramahaṁsa. Herein, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam considers the paramahaṁsas among the sannyāsīs. The Māyāvādī impersonalist sannyāsīs cannot attain the paramahaṁsa stage. This is because of their impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. The Absolute Truth is perceived in three stages, of which bhagavān, or realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is meant for the paramahaṁsas. Indeed, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself is meant for the paramahaṁsas (paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām). Unless one is in the paramahaṁsa stage, he is not eligible to understand the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. 

COMMENT

So, in the system of the varnashrama, sannyasa is the one of the ashrama. and within the category of sannyasa, there are four stages—kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, Parivrājakācārya and paramahamsa. But paramahamsa is also beyond varnashrama-dharma because varnashrama-dharma is meant to liberate the conditioned soul to the liberated platform. But paramahamsas are already liberated. Therefore, in one sense they are beyond varnashrama-dharma, still, they are accepted as the one of the stages of the sannyasa. Herein in Bhāgavatam. So, because it is established as sannyasa, paramahamsa sannyasi may accept symbols of sannyasa ashrama or he may do that according to particular situation. Paramahamsas are called as bābājīs or one who is paramahamsa is eligible to become a bābājīs. And bābājīs also reject the symbol of sannyasa because bābājīs who is actually liberated are beyond the rules and regulation of varnashrama-dharma. And therefore, they give up the daṇḍa, sacred thread, they give up saffron color and simply absorbed himself in chanting,

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

So although paramahamsas is beyond the regulative principles and highest platform of devotional service, still, for the sake of the service of the Lord, if favorable for the service of the Lord, he may accept the symbols of sannyasa. And if accepting such symbols is not favorable for the service of the Lord or for the propagation of Krishna consciousness, he may reject them. So in Vaishnava philosophy or Vaishnava practice, the ultimate consideration is the service of the Lord, yukta-vairāgya. If something should be used in the service of the Lord, we accept it, but if the same thing cannot be favorably utilized in the service of the Lord, we can also reject the same thing. So we don’t believe in artificial renunciation or false renunciation. We consider, will the thing be useful in devotional service under the circumstances? And if it is useful, we can accept it, and if it is useless, we reject it. So the same principle applies to the symbols of sannyasa ashrama. If they are favorable for Krishna’s service, we can accept them. If they are not favorable, we can reject them.

Now who is actually take the sannyasa. According to Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, real sannyasi is a pure devotee. The first verse of the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says that he who is not attached to the fruits of work but who works as obligated by the scriptures, he is sannyasi and a yogi, not he who light no fire and performs no work. So Bhagavad-gītā also accepts the principle of yukta-vairāgya for the sannyasi. Sometimes, a sannyasi may think himself beyond the rules and regulations and in one sense, the paramahamsas are beyond rules and regulations. And therefore, he may think that he doesn’t need to perform agnīhotra yajña. But Bhagavad-gītā says that one who gives up agnīhotra yajña, he is not a sannyasi, he is not a yogi. Similarly, on who give up the work or the activities, he is not a sannyasi, he is not a yogi. But one who performs sacrifice for the satisfaction of Vishnu without any desire for fruitive gain, one who works for the satisfaction of Vishnu without any personal desire for sense gratification, he is sannyasi, he is a yogi. And as described here śāntasya sama-cittasya, he is peaceful and equipoised in any condition because he gets his happiness not from the material world but he gets his happiness from the mellows of devotional service.

We read about the incident where Parvati curse Chitraketu but Chitraketu accepted the curse very cheerfully, very happily, and he said that, “Mother, you have cursed me; I accept your curse on my head,” and he folded his hands and offered respect and left. So Lord Shiva appreciated the wonderful qualities of Chitraketu that, in spite of being cursed by Parvati to take birth in a demonic form of life, he remains peaceful and equipoised. He was disturbed at all. But reason is not that by some artificial adjustment that “Om śānti, śānti” but because he was actually satisfied in Krishna consciousness, therefore he wasn’t disturbed by any external upheaval or change. And therefore, Lord Shiva glorified the devotee,

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ

Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve, he is fully absorbed in the service of the Lord. And svargāpavarga-narakeṣv. Svarga means heaven, apavarga means liberation and naraka means hell. api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ, he sees them all equally, because he doesn’t live in heaven or hell, or brahman, he lives in the service of the Lord. And wherever he is, he can engage in the service of the Lord. So, he is peaceful and equipoised. Prahlada Maharaja also says the same thing that “For myself, I have no lamentation because wherever I am, I can merge in to the nectarean ocean of Lord’s glories and I feel transcendental pleasure. So, for myself, I have no difficulty. Even if I live under a tree, I have no difficulty because I can chant Hare Krishna. And even if I live in a palace, I have no difficulty because I’m so attracted to hearing and chanting the glory of the Lord, I won’t be attracted by any material object. So, it doesn’t matter where I am, for wherever I am, I will simply engage in hearing, chanting, and remembering the Lord Krishna and I will be happy.”

So only a devotee of the Lord can really be qualified as a paramahamsa because paramahamsas are nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ, free from envy. Mayavadis are not free from envy. They don’t want to accept that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and they are in the eternal service. So because they are not free from envy, they are not really qualified to be called paramahamsa. paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ, only one who is free from envy, can understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Supreme Personality of Godhead and actually called paramahamsa. But suppose one happens to achieve the stage of paramahamsa, what does he do? He has achieved the highest position in devotional service, what does he do with it? Srila Prabhupada explains, unless on is on paramahamsa stage, he is not eligible to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That we just discussed.

PURPORT (continued)

For paramahaṁsas, or sannyāsīs in the Vaiṣṇava order, preaching is the first duty. To preach, such sannyāsīs may accept the symbols of sannyāsa, such as the daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu, or sometimes they may not.

COMMENT

So, a Vaishnava sannyasi preaches. It is the first duty of Vaishnava sannyasi. Lord Chaitanya who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead also accepted the sannyasa. And when he accepted sannyasa, he recited one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām
adhyāsitāṁ pūrvatamair maharṣibhiḥ
ahaṁ tariṣyāmi duranta-pāraṁ
tamo mukundāṅghri-niṣevayaiva

The verse spoken by the Avantīpura brahman in the Eleventh Canto of Bhāgavatam. He was also a mendicant. And he says, etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām, that by engaging in the service of the Lord Mukunda, Mukunda means giver of liberation. by engaging in the service of the Lord, I will cross over the ocean of nescience. In other words, one cannot become liberated by impersonal meditation, but by engaging in the service of the Lord, he can become liberated and cross over the ocean of births and death. And he said that this process was accepted by many acharyas in the past. So he says, “I shall also accept the same process and attain the lotus feet of the Lord.” So this conception of sannyasa is accepted by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And this is called tridaṇḍi-sannyāsa.

There are two conceptions of sannyasa—Ekadaṇḍi and Tridaṇḍi. Ekadaṇḍi means one daṇḍa or stick, and Tridaṇḍi means three daṇḍa or stick. So, Mayavadis accepts ekadaṇḍī-sannyāsa. And they think that they can become one with God. Mayavadis accepts tridaṇḍi-sannyāsa to engage in the service of the Lord with body, mind, and words. Therefore, there are three sticks indicating that he dedicates his life to the service of the Lord with all of his faculties, that is, with body, mind, and words. And Lord Chaitanya added the forth stick called the jīva-daṇḍa, which indicates that we serve the Lord with body, mind, and words and with soul as well. And Lord Chaitanya recited the verse which we just quoted. Although outwardly he accepted ekadaṇḍi-sannyāsa from Kesava Bharati but inwardly as exhibited through the verse we recited after sannyasa, he accepted tridaṇḍi-sannyāsa to engage in the service of the Lord. And therefore, it is understood the with one daṇḍa of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, there was Tridaṇḍa because he engage in service of Lord with body, mind, and words.

So actually, ekadaṇḍi-sannyāsī cannot achieve the paramahamsa stage but tridaṇḍi-sannyāsa can achieve the paramahamsa stage through pure devotional service, and pure devotional service means to please Krishna. All devotees know from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Krishna can most pleased in the material world when we preach. So a real devotee or a paramahamsa of the highest order, he will preach because he want to please Krishna the best way, so he will preach. So, even though he may be paramahamsa and he may not be accepted the symbols of sannyasa according to rules and regulations, but for the sake of preaching, he will accept the symbols of sannyasa. Like Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he accepted the symbols of sannyasa. We see in so many nice pictures where he is standing with daṇḍa. It doesn’t mean he was not paramahamsa, Certainly, he was paramahamsa of the highest order but he was more interested in giving pleasure to Krishna by spreading Krishna consciousness than by demonstrating his transcendental positions. So he accepted the saffron thread and sannyāsa-daṇḍa, and he preached very vigorously. And not only did he preach very vigorously as an individual, but he created a whole institution for spreading Krishna consciousness. He was very organized. He sent preachers all over India. He sent preachers outside India to spread Krishna consciousness. So this is our example. This is our example of paramahamsa. He was always thinking of the deliverance of the fallen conditioned souls throughout the whole world, not just in one place.

There are many Mayavadi sannyasi who call themselves as jagad-guru. But as Srila Prabhupada comments that although they call themselves jagad-guru, he never goes outside India. They do not know what is jagad. They stay very tightly in India but still they are jagad-guru. Srila Prabhupada says that they even don’t go outside their village. But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he was really thinking of the whole world following Bhaktivinoda Thakura. And therefore, he sent preachers outside India, and he published books in the English language. And in his preaching, he met with foreigners who came to India, and he wanted to establish his mission. And therefore, he specifically instructed Srila Prabhupada to preach in English because English is the common language. So, this is paramahamsa but sometimes the bābājīs criticize. They think that the Vaishnava paramahamsa accepts the symbols of sannyasa is on the lower level because they still attached to the symbols of sannyasa. They think that they are more advanced because they just wear the simple lion cloth and chant Hare Krishna without thinking of benefit of the world.

PURPORT (continued)

Generally the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs, being paramahaṁsas, are automatically called bābājīs, and they do not carry a kamaṇḍalu or daṇḍa. Such a sannyāsī is free to accept or reject the marks of sannyāsa. His only thought is “Where is there an opportunity to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness?”

COMMENT

These are the thoughts of paramahamsa Vaishnava “Where is there an opportunity to spread Krishna?”

PURPORT (continued)

Sometimes the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement sends its representative sannyāsīs to foreign countries where the daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu are not very much appreciated.

COMMENT

Sometimes we also went to Pakistan, definitely daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu will not be appreciated by Muslims there.

PURPORT (continued)

We send our preachers in ordinary dress to introduce our books and philosophy. Our only concern is to attract people to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We may do this in the dress of sannyāsīs or in the regular dress of gentlemen. Our only concern is to spread interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So, in the Nectar of Instruction, Srila Rupa Gosvami describes the qualifications for sannyasa, vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ jihvā-vegaṁ udaropastha-vegaṁ, to be able to control the senses. And in the purport Srila Prabhupada, to control senses is really means to engage them in the service of the Lord. And someone who has control the senses by engaging them in the service of Lord Krishna, he can accept disciples all over the world. And in the purport Srila Prabhupada explains in the verse which describes [break] highest platform of devotional service. Therefore, we should surrender everything in service of the mission. So, this is the line of Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and Srila Prabhupada.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

And they are strictly in the line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What is the reason that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accept the sannyasa? There was no need of taking sannyasa but he saw that his students particularly not respecting him. Not that he expect the respect but he wanted them to hear his message and take the Krishna consciousness. So he also accepted sannyasa for the same reasons to preach Krishna consciousness. Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Question: He says that sannyasis are automatically gurus. So what is the difference between sannyasis and guru?

Giriraj Swami: Well, in the varnashrama system, the sannyasis is naturally spiritual master for all varṇa and all ashrama. So he is expected to be guru. But sannyasa specifically sat means the absolute truth and nyāsa means to renounce. So one who renounces everything for the sake of the absolute truth, renounces everything which is not favorable for the service of the absolute truth is sannyasa. And guru means transcendental professor of spiritual science. And again, because teaching Krishna consciousness and preaching Krishna consciousness is the highest service to Lord Krishna, so the sannyasis is engaged in the service of the Lord but also preaches and teaches, he will be guru. So for a pure devotee, generally there is no difference between sannyasis and guru. But impersonalist, they may think that they can take sannyasa and become Narayana, to merge with one and become God, not serve the Narayana and preach. So ideally, there is no difference, but practically there may be a difference because people don’t have the same conception of sannyasa as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They don’t have Vaishnava conception of sannyasa.

So, they may call themselves as sannyasis but according to Bhagavad-gītā, he who works without attachment to the fruits of the work as he is obliged by the scripture, he is real sannyasi and yogi. Not that who light no fire and not perform any work.

Devotee: In the verse, vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ, it says that one has controlled his senses can make disciples all over the world. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ, should not have disciples. So, in one hand, they say to accept disciples and on the other hand, they do not want disciples?

Question: He says Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the ideal sannyasi says na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ, that he doesn’t want wealth, he doesn’t want disciples and so on. But Rupa Gosvami says that one who has controlled the senses can make the disciples all over the world, so they want disciples or not?

Giriraj Swami: Well, the answer is that Lord Chaitanya, he doesn’t want wealth or followers for his sense gratification. But we engage the wealth and followers in the service of the Lord, he doesn’t mind. It is the same principle: we accept whatever is favorable for Krishna’s service and we reject whatever is not favorable. So if it is favorable for Krishna’s service to accept someone as a disciple, we can accept it, but if it is not favorable, we will not accept.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:36:40]

Giriraj Swami: Yes exactly. If someone accepts one paisa for sense gratification, he is faulty. If someone has lakhs or crore of rupees and engage all the wealth in Krishna’s service, he doesn’t use one paisa for sense gratification, he is a sannyasi.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol!