The path of sanyasa
Human life on earth has to pass through four stages, namely brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa. The most striking of all the four is sanyasa, the last stage of life.
Hindus believe that there are four broad aims of human existence. Observing one’s dharma or duty is the first. Acquiring artha or wealth is the second. The third objective is fulfilling kama or desires. Attaining moksha or salvation is the last of all. Sanyasa is the stage in which one seeks to achieve moksha.
It is not easy for a person to give up all the pleasures s/he pursued and the desires s/he nurtured till his/her middle age and assume sanyasa.
Therefore, our forefathers have devised the stage of vanaprastha prior to sanyasa. Vanaprastha requires that a person after the age of 50 and whose children are grown up pass on responsibilities of the household to the children and retire to a quiet and peaceful life in the forest. This stage helps one attain gradual detachment from a householder’s life and prepares one for a wider sphere of service and spiritual growth.
This will eventually help one prepare for sanyasa that calls for total renunciation of all wordly pleasures and amenities. Manusmriti permits one to seek emancipation only after repaying debts to one’s forefathers, saints, sages and God. Otherwise he goes to Hell.
In Manusmriti, it is said:
“Adhyatmaratiraaseeno nirapeksho niramisha:
Aatmanaiva sahaayena sukharthee vicharediha”
One who has assumed sanyasa should reflect upon the soul. One must be detached from the materialistic world and eat vegetarian food only to sustain the body, which is the medium of attaining emancipation when one leaves this world.
In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that one who acts without the desire for the fruit of action is a true sanyasi.
The system of sanyasa to seek emancipation takes into account the principles of the immortality of the soul and rebirth. Depending upon the balance of good and bad deeds, one is destined to be reborn.
When there are no deeds to be accounted for, there will be no rebirth. The soul becomes free to return to the Supreme Spirit and assumes eternal peace and contentment.
The purpose of sanyasa is to achieve a state where all the karmas are balanced and therefore the soul is free to return to its eternal abode.
The characteristics and culture our body assumes and exhibits, we owe them to our forefathers and not just to our father or mother. Our forefathers may not be alive, but their temperament, culture and knowledge passes on to the new generation.
Therefore, it is rightly observed that every human being is burdened with three debts. The first one is to the parents. The second debt is to the nature or to the Gods. The third debt is to the forefathers. One has to free oneself from these debts to get emancipation. The fourth stage of life — sanyasa — alone can help in accomplishing this.
Dr Venganoor Balakrishnan is the author of Thaliyola, a book on Hindu beliefs and rituals. He can be reached at drvenganoor@yahoo.co.in
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