All Blessings

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

> From: Ms. Aikya Param <aikya at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>
> I am not hung up about this sannyaasa choice in America.  Perhaps
> Mr. Vyas is
>
> It's probably true that Westerners do not have the cultural tradition
> to support sannyaasins financially and that might make the lifesyle
> quite different, but who knows?  Maybe not.  Maybe the power of that
> person's pure intention would be so powerful that support would be
> there.
>
> Since I don't believe moksha is dependent on this lifestyle,
> but rather on understanding the content of "tat tvam.h asi" and the
> other mahaavaakyas, I am not upset about whether sanyaas works
> here in the U.S. or anywhere for that matter.
>

Consider this.  People in the West have no problem supporting and
practicing the ways of the various Vaishnava sects in exactly the same was
as they do in India.  So why not Vedanta?

The issue is not specifically the lifestyle, but the attitude towards the
lifestyle.  Whether or not support develops will depend on something more
mundane than pure intention.  I'm talking about education.  One cannot
expect the ignorant to support something they do not understand.
By dismissing Sannyas as "another lifestyle" you will create a situation
where those who ought to practice sannyas will not.  The view you express
is one I've heard before.  But no matter who says it, this
anti-intellectual stance must be opposed because no matter how lofty the
intention, it encourages ignorance.

--
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