BrahmaJnanam

[Chelluri at AOL.COM]

                                             om
Thanks Vidya for clearing my doubt.

                                                        Nagy

>From  Tue Jul 28 19:43:20 1998
Message-Id: <TUE.28.JUL.1998.194320.0400.>
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 19:43:20 -0400
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To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
From: Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian <ramakris at EROLS.COM>
Subject: Re: Karma and Sanyasa
Comments: To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
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Sankaran Jayanarayanan wrote:

> I should thank you for taking the trouble to explain. Actually, I didn't
> quite understand why you were very "fundamentalistic" about samnyaasa. I
> really thought you were preaching that
> 1) everyone ought to take up samnyAsa, or
> 2) since most of us are incapable of taking up samnyaasa, moksha is
> impossible for us.

> Yes. But they always qualified their statements with "of course, for
> people like Janaka, physical samnyaasa was not necessary." (I think Giri
> always explicitly said so.)

Some people may wonder why I am flogging a dead horse as far as this
thread goes. This idea of "mental renunciation" can lead to great
delusions, I know someone like that and the results, but I don't want to
go into the details here. I am hoping my barrage of posts will at least
provide a counter view-point.

No problem trying to emulate Janaka. But, then Janaka must be emulated
the whole way. The smR^itis say that he performed ALL his duties. He did
not just give up his necessary duties and wile away time in his palace
claiming "mental renunciation". Even Lord Krishna himself did tarpaNam,
etc (to set an example). But the objection is when people say we can
give up duties but live in physical comfort. That is why
SureshvarAchArya, VidyAraNya insist that if some one wants to renounce
karma he should renounce everything. Otherwise it'll lead only to
indulgence and delusion (for most).

GYAnis advise most people coming to them to go do their duties and try
to attain mental renunciation. Ramana Maharshi used to advise that to
people coming to him. Once he remarked to his attendent enakkuLLayE
udaiccukkarate (literally: it's kicking inside me, meaning the
contradiction is evident). What he meant was that he himself had left
his house, but giving advice to the contrary to others! On other
occasions when some people conforonted him and said he was being
self-contradictory he remarked "Did I go around asking all and sundry if
I should leave home?" In the latest issue of tattvAloka also there is an
incident where the present pontiff of Sringeri mutt advised a bussiness
man to conduct his work in a similar fashion! Obviously if the man had
true vairAgya he would have been happy to give him sannyAsa. If some one
is wondering whether he should leave home or not he does not have enough
vairAgya to take up sannyAsa.

Let us face facts. How many of us have the guts to live like what Sri
GaudapAdAchArya says? He says the mendicant should live on what comes to
him by CHANCE only (This does not mean every lazy guy who takes to
begging in the streets has vairAgya). On the other hand how easy is it
to claim "mental renunciation" and enjoy worldly comforts? Let's not get
into this bogus mentality of "mental renunciation" when it's quite
evident it's MUCH, MUCH more difficult than physical renunciation!

Rama.