[Advaita-l] Sanyasin and his duties toward his ancestors

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Regarding nonperformance of pitR karmas leading to ancestors suffering-


Sri Swami Chandreshekhara Bharati ji once said (in the context of childless
couples etc), that the pitRs are sustained by other means as well and not
only by pitR karmas. So it's not as if the ancestors will all necessarily
suffer unless offerings are made to them. But pitR karmas are still
important and are equally meant for the purification of mind of the
performer of such rituals.

Besides when that same scripture which reveals adRShTa topics such as, that
pitRs exist and they need to be made offerings etc, frees a sannyasi from
those very rituals, it goes without saying that such non-performance by a
sannyAsI will not adversely affect the pitRs. We have to presume they are
sustained by Ishvara in an alternative manner in case of sannyAsIs by the
power of the mantras of virajA homa.


Regarding the dRShTa factors such as causing pain to be near and dear ones,
that too is a non-issue. The prospective sannyasi is ordained to take the
permission of the parents and wife.

Additionally, you may need to carefully consider these two implicit ideas
which you may be having in mind.

1. Is the sannyAsi of any "use" at all to the rest of society or is he just
parasitic and just a non-contributing burden as far as the test are
concerned?

I would answer that - The Vedic vision is that there is an adRShTa or
invisible aspect to this Universe. So even an outwardly "inactive" sannyAsI
who diligently pursues his monastic sannyAsa Dharma actually does a great
service to the World at a subtle level even if he is not doing wealth
creation or even other tangible "service". This is the traditional belief
that sannyAsa is not only meaningful for that individual but also is good
for society to support and nurture genuine sannyAsIs. (The adjective
"genuine" is an unfortunate necessity in today's context.) Those sannyAsIs
who teach (adhyApanam) are of course directly/visibly helping the cause of
Dharna. But even those few who may live in relative solitude in dhyAnam or
nididhyAsanam also are worthy contributors to the overall welfare of
society. That is because of the deeper interconnectedness of all beings.

2. The letting go of connection with near and dear is always a "bad" thing
and has to be avoided?

You can look at the example of Yajnavalkya etc which indicate that there is
no doubt some resistance to letting go, but this is a necessary part of the
journey to Truth. It can be done with sensitivity and persuasion and then
it's fine. SannyAsa is not "selfish".

The modern Christian missionary outlook is that only by feeding people,
employing people, teaching people, outwardly showing care for people,
creating wealth for oneself and others, one is a contributor. Else one is a
burden.

The vision of Advaita is different.


Om
Raghav





On Wed, 12 Jul, 2023, 7:23 am Srimugunthan Dhandapani via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Trying to understand the consequence to ancestors,
> In the agastya story
>
> https://www.hindu-blog.com/2021/07/upside-down-ancestors-of-sage-agastya.html
> the ancestors suffer.
> But it is also mentioned that due to one's renunciation, the seven
> previous generations are blessed when one takes up sanyasa.
> I am confused by this apparent contradiction.
>
> On Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 2:24 PM K Kathirasan via Advaita-l
> <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> > Namaste Sri ji,
> >
> > The answer you are seeking is provided by a number of Upanishads that
> are called the Sannyasa Upanishad-s. Here is a good book, without the
> original Sanskrit verses though, that you can consult:
> https://archive.org/details/SamnyasaUpanishads
> >
> > Warmest Regards,
> > Kathirasan K
> >
> > > On 11 Jul 2023, at 1:01 PM, Srimugunthan Dhandapani via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi all,
> > > I am trying to understand sanyasa dharma and a householder's dharma.
> > > For a householder , not doing pinda darpan alone results in pithru
> dosha.
> > >
> > > On the other hand, If one takes up sanyasa, then he renounces his
> family
> > > relations and his relationship with his parents. So he cant
> > >
> > > 1. Take care of his parents when they are old.
> > > 2. Will not have a child . So he doesnt help in the Propagation of his
> > > family clan or growing the family lineage.
> > > 3. Will not offer pinda darpana or shradda ceremony to their ancestors
> > >
> > > But sanyasa is hailed as supreme. In common perception, all of the
> > > above causes pain to his parents and indirectly to his ancestors too.
> > >
> > > Shouldn't there be a consequence of a renunciate not-doing of
> > > pinda-darpana to his ancestors, not taking care of parents doing old
> > > age, not having a
> > > offspring for the propagation of the clan?  Is it considered during
> > > the sanyasa rituals ?
> > >
> > > what does the scriptures say about the consequence for sanyasin as
> well as
> > > the consequence to his parents and ancestors?
> > >
> > > Thanks for answering.
> > > -Sri
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Archives: https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > >
> > > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > > https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> > >
> > > For assistance, contact:
> > > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>