Become a True Monk

Dispassion, renunciation of ego, love, devotion, and living faith—these are the signs of a true monk. No garb ever made a monk. For a householder to neglect his duty, for a brahmachari to give up his vows, for a monk to be restless with passions, these are hypocrisies. The gerua robe is the sign of renunciation; to one who is dispassionate it is merely an ornament. But if the mind runs after lust and gold and is made restless by the passions then the wearing of the robe becomes a farce. Color your mind and heart with the color of renunciation, dispassion, and devotion to God. Then only will you become a true monk.

The general may win the battle;
The king may subdue his kingdom;
But he who rules his own mind
Is the greatest of them all!

Let the strong wind of dispassion rise in your minds, that the trees of desire be uprooted. Then, even as birds fly from the shelter of trees before a strong wind, will the ignorance of selfishness, jealousy, hatred, and egoism take flight from your hearts. Then shall peace follow and fill your lives, even as calm follows the storm.

—Swami Premananda,
from Swami Premananda: Teachings and Reminiscences, p. 74.

Sri Ramakrishna on Sannyasa

Saturday, February 2, 1884

MASTER (to Mahima Chakrabarty): “Now let me tell you something that will agree with your mood. According to the Vedānta one has to know the real nature of one’s own Self. But such knowledge is impossible without the renunciation of ego. The ego is like a stick that seems to divide the water in two. It makes you feel that you are one and I am another. When the ego disappears in samādhi, then one knows Brahman to be one’s own inner consciousness.

“One must renounce the ‘I’ that makes one feel, ‘I am Mahima Chakravarty’. ‘I am a learned man’. and so on. But the ‘ego of Knowledge’ does not injure one. Śankarāchārya retained the ‘ego of Knowledge’ in order to teach mankind.

“One cannot obtain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one is extremely cautious about women. Therefore it is very difficult for those who live in the world to get such Knowledge. However clever you may be, you will stain your body if you live in a sooty room. The company of a young woman evokes lust even in a lustless man.

“But it is not so harmful for a householder who follows the path of knowledge to enjoy conjugal happiness with his own wife now and then. He may satisfy his sexual impulse like any other natural impulse. Yes, you may enjoy a sweetmeat once in a while. (Mahimacharan laughs.) It is not so harmful for a householder.

“But it is extremely harmful for a sannyāsi. He must not look even at the portrait of a woman. A monk enjoying a woman is like a man swallowing the spittle he has already spat out. A sannyāsi must not sit near a woman and talk to her, even if she is intensely pious. No, he must not talk to a woman even though he may have controlled his passion.

“A sannyāsi must renounce both ‘woman’ and ‘gold’. As he must not look even at the portrait of a woman, so also he must not touch gold, that is to say, money. It is bad for him even to keep money near him, for it brings in its train calculation, worry, insolence, anger, and such evils. There is an instance in the sun: it shines brightly; suddenly a cloud appears and hides it.

“That is why I didn’t agree to the Mārwāri’s depositing money for me with Hriday. I said: ‘No, I won’t allow even that. If I keep money near me, it will certainly raise clouds.’

“Why all these strict rules for a sannyāsi? It is for the welfare of mankind as well as for his own good. A sannyāsi may himself lead an unattached life and may have controlled his passion, but he must renounce ‘woman and gold’ to set an example to the world.

“A man will have the courage to practise renunciation if he sees one hundred percent renunciation in a sannyāsi. Then only will he try to give up ‘woman and gold’. If a sannyāsi does not set this example, then who will?

“One may lead a householder’s life after realizing God. It is like churning butter from milk and then keeping the butter in water. Janaka led the life of a householder after attaining Brahmajnāna.

“Janaka fenced with two swords, the one of jnāna and the other of karma. The sannyāsi renounces action; therefore he fences with one sword only, that of knowledge. A householder, endowed with knowledge like Janaka’s, can enjoy fruit both from the tree and from the ground. He can serve holy men, entertain guests, and do other things like that. I said to the Divine Mother, ‘O Mother, I don’t want to be a dry sādhu.'

“After attaining Brahmajnāna one does not have to discriminate even about food. The rishis of olden times, endowed with the Knowledge of Brahman and having experienced divine bliss, ate everything, even pork.

(To Mahima)“Generally speaking there are two kinds of yoga: karmayoga and manoyoga, that is to say, union with God through work and through the mind.

“There are four stages of life: brahmacharya, gārhasthya, vānaprastha, and sannyās. During the first three stages a man has to perform his worldly duties. The sannyāsi carries only his staff, water-pot, and begging-bowl. He too may perform certain nityakarma, but his mind is not attached to it; he is not conscious of doing such work. Some sannyāsis perform nityakarma to set an example to the world. If a householder or a man belonging to the other stages of life performs action without attachment, then he is united with God through such action.

“In the case of a paramahamsa, like Śukadeva, all karmas—all pujā, japa, tarpan, sandhyā, and so forth—drop away. In this state a man communes with God through the mind alone. Sometimes he may be pleased to perform outward activities for the welfare of mankind. But his recollection and contemplation of God remain uninterrupted.”

—Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p 387–8.

The Sannyasin Born for This

Remember, for the salvation of his own soul, and for the good and happiness of the many, the sannyasi is born in the world. To sacrifice his life for others, to alleviate the misery of millions rending the air with their cries, to wipe away the tears from the eyes of the widow, to console the heart of the bereaved mother, to provide the ignorant and depressed masses with the ways and means for the struggle for existence, and enable them to stand on their own feet, to preach broadcast the teachings of the shastras to one and all without distinction for their material and spiritual welfare, to rouse the sleeping lion of Brahman in the hearts of all beings by the diffusion of the light of Knowledge—for this the sannyasin is born in the world!” And turning to his brother-monks he exclaimed: “Remember, it is for the consummation of this purpose in life that we have taken birth; and we shall lay down our lives for it. Arise, awake, and arouse and awaken others; fulfil your mission in life, and you will reach the highest Goal!”

“You must renounce everything,” he continued to the candidates for sannyasa; “you must not seek pleasure or comfort for yourself. All attachment will have to be cut and cast aside. You must look upon lust and gold as poison, name and fame as the vilest filth, glory as a terrible hell, pride of birth or position as sinful as drinking wine. Being the teacher of your fellow-men and devoted to the Self within, you will have to live to attain freedom and for the good of the world. Can you strive with your whole soul to do these things? Take this path only after serious reflection. There is yet time to return to the old life. Are you ready to obey my orders implicitly? If I ask you to face a tiger or a venomous snake; if I ask you to jump into the Ganga and catch a crocodile; if I want to sell you to work the rest of your life in a tea-garden in Assam as coolies; or if I order you to starve yourselves to death, or burn yourselves in a slow fire, thinking it will be for your good—are you ready to obey me instantly?

“Arouse shraddhā in yourself and in your countrymen! Like Nachiketa, go to Yama’s door if necessary, to know the Truth—for the salvation of your soul, for the solution of the mystery of life and death! If going into the jaws of death helps you gain the Truth, you have to do that fearlessly. All fear is death; you have to go beyond it. Be fearless, be ready from today to lay down your life to attain moksha (liberation) and for the good of others. Otherwise what is the use of bearing this burden of flesh and bones? Being initiated into the fiery mantra of absolute renunciation for the sake of the Lord, give away your body for the good of the world, as the sage Dadhichi did when the Devas came and told him that the demon Vritra could not be killed with any other weapon but a thunderbolt made of his bones!”

Swami Vivekananda, Life of Swami Vivekananda, 2.243–5.

Wear the Flag of Freedom

There is a vast difference between saying “food, food” and eating it, between saying “water, water” and drinking it. So by merely repeating the words “God, God” we cannot hope to attain realisation. We must strive and practise.

Only by the wave falling back into the sea can it become unlimited, never as a wave can it be so. Then after it has become the sea, it can become the wave again and as big a one as it pleases. Break the identification of yourself with the current and know that you are free.

True philosophy is the systematising of certain perceptions. Intellect ends where religion begins. Inspiration is much higher than reason, but it must not contradict it. Reason is the rough tool to do the hard work; inspiration is the bright light which shows us all truth. The will to do a thing is not necessarily inspiration. …

Progression in Maya is a circle that brings you back to the starting point; but you start ignorant and come to the end with all knowledge. Worship of God, worship of the holy ones, concentration and meditation, and unselfish work, these are the ways of breaking away from Maya’s net; but we must first have the strong desire to get free. The flash of light that will illuminate the darkness for us is in us; it is the knowledge that is our nature—there is no “birthright”, we were never born. All that we have to do is to drive away the clouds that cover it.

Give up all desire for enjoyment in earth or heaven. Control the organs of the senses and control the mind. Bear every misery without even knowing that you are miserable. Think of nothing but liberation. Have faith in Guru, in his teachings, and in the surety that you can get free. Say “Soham, Soham” whatever comes. Tell yourself this even in eating, walking, suffering; tell the mind this incessantly—that what we see never existed, that there is only “I”. Flash—the dream will break! Think day and night, this universe is zero, only God is. Have intense desire to get free.

All relatives and friends are but “old dry wells”; we fall into them and get dreams of duty and bondage, and there is no end. Do not create illusion by helping anyone. It is like a banyan tree, that spreads on and on. If you are a dualist, you are a fool to try to help God. If you are a monist, you know that you are God; where find duty? You have no duty to husband, child, friend. Take things as they come, lie still, and when your body floats, go; rise with the rising tide, fall with falling tide. Let the body die; this idea of body is but a worn-out fable. “Be still and know that you are God.”

The present only is existent. There is no past or future even in thought, because to think it, you have to make it the present. Give up everything, and let it float where it will. This world is all a delusion, do not let it fool you again. You have known it for what it is not, now know it for what it is. If the body is dragged anywhere, let it go; do not care where the body is. This tyrannical idea of duty is a terrible poison and is destroying the world.

Do not wait to have a harp and rest by degrees; why not take a harp and begin here? Why wait for heaven? Make it here. In heaven there is no marrying or giving in marriage; why not begin at once and have none here? The yellow robe of the Sannyasin is the sign of the free. Give up the beggar’s dress of the world; wear the flag of freedom, the ochre robe.

—Swami Vivekananda,
from Inspired Talks (Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 7.89–93)

Real Sadhus

About the disciples of saints, Mother used to say, “Chaitanya-dev had some very good disciples. Saints come and go, but there are very few to reach the goal by following them. Men are eager to pass for sadhus but do not like to be sadhus.” …

Mother had an unending stock of anecdotes and stories to illustrate and impress any point. Her object was always to make it clear to us how in spite of the fact that there were innumerable sadhus, only a very few were in earnest; how they would forget their object only to wander down into bye-lanes, passing the whole of their lives in slumber, as it were. She would say, “I always tell you about the pitfalls so that you may avoid them. If a seeker proceeds along the right path, however slow he may be, he will surely reach the goal—it is because he keeps on wandering down the bye-lanes that his journey never ends. It seems to me that these sadhus are like pilgrims who intend to go to Benares, but instead of taking the road to Benares, put their luggage on their heads and roam about in the streets of their own city. All this is maya.” Mother would never criticize outsiders except before a chosen few. She wold say, “A religious organization on a big scale is bound to fail because good aspirants are not as cheap as blackberries.” She also said, “There are many gurus but a very few good disciples. I rarely come across a sadhu who seems to be following the correct path. All sadhus are moving in the domain of avidyā but no one can be called a sadhu if he is not earnest in getting beyond this domain.”

—The Life and Teaching of Sri Brahmajna Ma, Swami Prabudhananda, Sadhu Arunachala (Major A W Chadwick), ed. (Deoghar: D N Sen, Santi Asram, Bela Bagan, 1961) 11–12.

Sannyasa and Society

At the present juncture in the history of the world and of religions, in the East as well as in the West, the sense of the Mystery is everywhere being increasingly obscured even in those whose special vocation is to bear witness among their brothers to the eschaton, to the presence here and now of the ultimate realities. The spirit of secular activism corrodes everything. So in the West monks and clergy seek to establish their status in society and ask for a social recognition which is purely secular in character. In the flood of secularism which is sweeping away all the adventitious sacredness with which their calling was overlaid (cp. adhyāsa) in previous ages they rose the sense of their real identity. Thus they forget that their primary function is to be the witnesses in the midst of society to what is truly sacred—that which is beyond all forms and definitions. They merely replace the forms of a false sacredness with secular forms which are no less alienating, instead of plunging directly into the Infinite—though this is what is imperatively demanded at this turning-point of history. Meanwhile society itself is becoming all-engrossing. It permits no one to escape from its hellish cycle of production and consumption. It does not allow that anyone has the right to stand aside and live on religious alms; still less does it recognize its own duty of providing for the needs of those who have been summoned to pass beyond its structures, whereas in fact such people are the guardians of its purity and its need for transcendence. It is therefore more than ever important that many ‘keśis’ should go forth both from the churches and from the world, and first of all in India, which from the beginning has been the faithful herald of the mystery of transcendence. Following the great tradition of the desert in the West and of parivrajya in India, they are needed to remind everyone that there is a Beyond, an eschaton (a transcendent finality), already present, something permanent in the midst of all that passes away, deeper than words, deeper than acts, deeper than all exterior relationships among men. Their motto might well be that spoken by the angel to the great Arsenius, the high officer of the emperor Theodosius, who in the midst of his career left the world and the court to hide himself among the hermits of Scete in Egypt: “Flee away; keep silence; be at peace!” India, the world, and the religions need such prophets as never before, for they alone can safeguard the right of every man to be himself.

—Swami Abhishiktananda
The Further Shore, 29–30

Song of the Sannyasin

Wake up the note!
The song that had its birth far off,
Where worldly taint could never reach,
In mountain caves and glades of forest deep,
Whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fame
Could ever dare to break; where rolled the stream
Of knowledge, truth, and bliss that follows both.
Sing high that note, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Strike off thy fetters! Bonds that bind thee down,
Of shining gold, or darker, baser ore;
Love, hate—good, bad—and all the dual throng,
Know, slave is slave, caressed or whipped, not free;
For fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind;
Then off with them, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Let darkness go; the will-o’-the-wisp that leads
With blinking light to pile more gloom on gloom.
This thirst for life, for ever quench; it drags
From birth to death, and death to birth, the soul.
He conquers all who conquers self. Know this
And never yield, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

“Who sows must reap,” they say, “and cause must bring
The sure effect; good, good; bad, bad; and none
Escape the law. But whoso wears a form
Must wear the chain.” Too true; but far beyond
Both name and form is Atman, ever free.
Know thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

They know not truth who dream such vacant dreams
As father, mother, children, wife, and friend.
The sexless Self! whose father He? whose child?
Whose friend, whose foe is He who is but One?
The Self is all in all, none else exists;
And thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

There is but One—The Free—The Knower—Self!
Without a name, without a form or stain.
In Him is Maya dreaming all this dream.
The witness, He appears as nature, soul.
Know thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Where seekest thou? That freedom, friend, this world
Nor that can give. In books and temples vain
Thy search. Thine only is the hand that holds
The rope that drags thee on. Then cease lament,
Let go thy hold, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Say, “Peace to all: From me no danger be
To aught that lives. In those that dwell on high,
In those that lowly creep, I am the Self in all!
All life both here and there, do I renounce,
All heavens and earths and hells, all hopes and fears.”
Thus cut thy bonds, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Heed then no more how body lives or goes,
Its task is done. Let Karma float it down;
Let one put garlands on, another kick
This frame; say naught. No praise or blame can be
Where praiser praised, and blamer blamed are one.
Thus be thou calm, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Truth never comes where lust and fame and greed
Of gain reside. No man who thinks of woman
As his wife can ever perfect be;
Nor he who owns the least of things, nor he
Whom anger chains, can ever pass thro’ Maya’s gates.
So, give these up, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Have thou no home. What home can hold thee, friend?
The sky thy roof, the grass thy bed; and food
What chance may bring, well cooked or ill, judge not.
No food or drink can taint that noble Self
Which knows Itself. Like rolling river free
Thou ever be, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Few only know the truth. The rest will hate
And laugh at thee, great one; but pay no heed.
Go thou, the free, from place to place, and help
Them out of darkness, Maya’s veil. Without
The fear of pain or search for pleasure, go
Beyond them both, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

Thus, day by day, till Karma’s powers spent
Release the soul for ever. No more is birth,
Nor I, nor thou, nor God, nor man. The “I”
Has All become, the All is “I” and Bliss.
Know thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say—

“Om Tat Sat, Om!”

—Swami Vivekananda