Sannyasa
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Sannyasa (
Sannyasa, a form of asceticism marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is represented by a state of disinterest in and detachment from material life, whose purpose is spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits.[2][3] An individual in Sanyasa is known as a sannyasi (male) or sannyasini (female) in Hinduism.[note 1] Sannyasa shares similarities with the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, and the sannyasi and sannyasini share similarity with the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis of Buddhism.[5]
Sannyasa has historically been a stage of renunciation,
Etymology and synonyms
Saṃnyāsa in Sanskrit nyasa means purification, sannyasa means "Purification of Everything".[8] It is a composite word of saṃ- which means "together, all", ni- which means "down" and āsa from the root as, meaning "to throw" or "to put".[9] A literal translation of Sannyāsa is thus "to put down everything, all of it". Sannyasa is sometimes spelled as Sanyasa.[9]
The term Saṃnyasa makes appearance in the Samhitas, Aranyakas and Brahmanas, the earliest layers of Vedic literature (2nd millennium BCE), but it is rare.[10] It is not found in ancient Buddhist or Jaina vocabularies, and only appears in Hindu texts of the 1st millennium BCE, in the context of those who have given up ritual activity and taken up non-ritualistic spiritual pursuits discussed in the Upanishads.[10] The term Sannyasa evolves into a rite of renunciation in ancient Sutra texts, and thereafter became a recognized, well discussed stage of life (Ashrama) by about the 3rd and 4th century CE.[10]
Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā,
History
Jamison and
However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC mentions Muni (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy men), with characteristics that mirror those found in later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. For example, the Rig Veda, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions Munis as those with Kesin (केशिन्, long haired) and Mala clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron), engaged in the affairs of Mananat (mind, meditation).[17] The Rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati (वति, monks who beg).
केश्यग्निं केशी विषं केशी बिभर्ति रोदसी । केशी विश्वं स्वर्दृशे केशीदं ज्योतिरुच्यते ॥१॥ मुनयो वातरशनाः पिशङ्गा वसते मला । वातस्यानु ध्राजिं यन्ति यद्देवासो अविक्षत ॥२॥
He with the long loose locks (of hair) supports Agni, and moisture, heaven, and earth; He is all sky to look upon: he with long hair is called this light. The Munis, girdled with the wind, wear garments of soil hue; They, following the wind's swift course, go where the Gods have gone before.
— Rig Veda, Hymn 10.CXXXVI.1-2[17]
These Munis, their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya (bachelor student). One class of Munis were associated with Rudra.[18] Another were Vratyas.[citation needed]
Lifestyle and goals
Hinduism has no formal demands nor requirements on the lifestyle or spiritual discipline, method or deity a Sanyasin or Sanyasini must pursue – it is left to the choice and preferences of the individual.[19] This freedom has led to diversity and significant differences in the lifestyle and goals of those who adopt Sannyasa. There are, however, some common themes. A person in Sannyasa lives a simple life, typically detached, itinerant, drifting from place to place, with no material possessions or emotional attachments. They may have a walking stick, a book, a container or vessel for food and drink, often wearing yellow, saffron, orange, ochre or soil colored clothes. They may have long hair and appear disheveled, and are usually vegetarians.[19] Some minor Upanishads as well as monastic orders consider women, children, students, fallen men (those with a criminal record) and others as not qualified to become Sannyasa; while other texts place no restrictions.[20] The dress, the equipage and lifestyle varies between groups. For example, Sannyasa Upanishad in verses 2.23 to 2.29, identifies six lifestyles for six types of renunciates.[21] One of them is described as living with the following possessions,[22]
Pot, drinking cup and flask – the three supports, a pair of shoes,
a patched robe giving protection – in heat and cold, a loin cloth,
bathing drawers and straining cloth, triple staff and coverlet.— Sannyasa Upanishad, 1.4[22]
Those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join a group (similar to Christian mendicant orders). Some are anchorites, homeless mendicants preferring solitude and seclusion in remote parts, without affiliation.[23] Others are cenobites, living and traveling with kindred fellow-Sannyasi in the pursuit of their spiritual journey, sometimes in Ashramas or Matha/Sangha (a Hermitage, the practice of seclusion known generally as monasticism).[23]
Most Hindu ascetics adopt celibacy when they begin Sannyasa. However, there are exceptions, such as the Saiva Tantra school of asceticism where ritual sex is considered part of liberation process.[24] Sex is viewed by them as a transcendence from a personal, intimate act to something impersonal and ascetic.[24]
The goal
The goal of the Hindu Sannyasin is moksha (liberation).[25][26] The idea of what that means varies from tradition to tradition.
Who am I, and in what really do I consist? What is this cage of suffering?
For the
The behaviors and characteristics
The behavioral state of a person in Sannyasa is described by many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Bhagavad Gita discusses it in many verses, for example:[34]
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ् क्षति । निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥५-३॥
He is known as a permanent Sannyasin who does not hate, does not desire, is without dualities (opposites). Truly, Mahabaho (Arjuna), he is liberated from bondage.
— Bhagavad Gita, Hymn 5.3[34]
Other behavioral characteristics, in addition to renunciation, during Sannyasa include:
Baudhayana
These are the vows a Sannyasi must keep –
Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, abstention from sex, liberality (kindness, gentleness) are the major vows. There are five minor vows: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating. He should beg (for food) without annoying others, any food he gets he must compassionately share a portion with other living beings, sprinkling the remainder with water he should eat it as if it were a medicine.
—Baudhayana, Dharmasūtra, II.10.18.1-10[38]
Types
Ashrama Upanishad identified various types of Sannyasi renouncers based on their different goals:[39] Kutichaka – seeking atmospheric world; Bahudaka – seeking heavenly world; Hamsa – seeking penance world; Paramahamsa – seeking truth world; and Turiyatitas and Avadhutas seeking liberation in this life.
In some texts, such as Sannyasa Upanishad,[21] these were classified by the symbolic items the Sannyasins carried and their lifestyle. For example, Kutichaka sannyasis carried triple staffs, Hamsa sannyasis carried single staffs, while Paramahamsas went without them. This method of classification based on emblematic items became controversial, as anti-thematic to the idea of renunciation. Later texts, such as Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad stated that all renunciation is one, but people enter the state of Sannyasa for different reasons – for detachment and getting away from their routine meaningless world, to seek knowledge and meaning in life, to honor rites of Sannyasa they have undertaken, and because he already has liberating knowledge.[40]
- Other classifications
There were many groups of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Sannyasis co-existing in pre-Maurya Empire era, each classified by their attributes, such as:[41] Achelakas (without clothes), Ajivika, Aviruddhaka, Devadhammika, Eka-satakas, Gotamaka, Jatilaka, Magandika, Mundasavaka, Nigrantha (Jains), Paribbajaka, Tedandikas, Titthiya and others.
Literature
The
The
Ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism consider Grihastha (householder) stage as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as human beings in this stage not only pursue a virtuous life, they produce food and wealth that sustains people in other stages of life, as well as the offspring that continues mankind.[1][46] However, an individual had the choice to renounce any time he or she wanted, including straight after student life.[47]
When can a person renounce?
Baudhayana Dharmasūtra,[48] in verse II.10.17.2 states that anyone who has finished Brahmacharya (student) life stage may become ascetic immediately, in II.10.17.3 that any childless couple may enter Sannyasa anytime they wish, while verse II.10.17.4 states that a widower may choose Sannyasa if desired, but in general, states verse II.10.17.5, Sannyasa is suited after the completion of age 70 and after one's children have been firmly settled.[48] Other texts suggest the age of 75.[49]
The Vasiṣṭha and Āpastamba Dharmasūtras, and the later
Who may renounce?
The question as to which vaṛṇa may, or may not, renounce is never explicitly stated in ancient or medieval dharma literature, the more modern Dharmaśāstras texts discuss much of renunciation stage in context of dvija men.[51] Nevertheless, Dharmaśāstra texts document people of all castes as well as women, entered Sannyasa in practice.[52]
What happened to renouncers' property and human rights?
After renouncing the world, the ascetic's financial obligations and property were adjudicated by the state, in the manner of a decedent's estate.[53] Viṣṇu Smriti in verse 6.27, for example, states that if a debtor takes Sannyasa, his sons or grandsons should settle his debts.[54] As to the little property a Sannyasin may collect or possess after renunciation, Book III Chapter XVI of Kautiliya's Arthashastra states that the property of hermits (vánaprastha), ascetics (yati, sannyasa), and student bachelors (Brahmachári) shall on their death be taken by their guru, disciples, their dharmabhratri (brother in the monastic order), or classmates in succession.[55]
Although a renouncer's practitioner's obligations and property rights were reassigned, he or she continued to enjoy basic human rights such as the protection from injury by others and the freedom to travel. Likewise, someone practicing Sannyasa was subject to the same laws as common citizens; stealing, harming, or killing a human being by a Sannyasi were all serious crimes in Kautiliya's Arthashastra.[56]
Renunciation in daily life
Later Indian literature debates whether the benefit of renunciation can be achieved (moksha, or liberation) without asceticism in the earlier stages of one's life. For example, Bhagavad Gita, Vidyaranya's Jivanmukti Viveka, and others believed that various alternate forms of yoga and the importance of yogic discipline could serve as paths to spirituality, and ultimately moksha.[57][58] Over time, four paths to liberating spirituality have emerged in Hinduism: Jñāna yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Rāja yoga.[59] Acting without greed or craving for results, in Karma yoga for example, is considered a form of detachment in daily life similar to Sannyasa. Sharma[60] states that, "the basic principle of Karma yoga is that it is not what one does, but how one does it that counts and if one has the know-how in this sense, one can become liberated by doing whatever it is one does", and "(one must do) whatever one does without attachment to the results, with efficiency and to the best of one's ability".[60]
Warrior ascetics
Ascetic life was historically a life of renunciation, non-violence and spiritual pursuit. However, in India, this has not always been the case. For example, after the Mongol and Persian Islamic invasions in the 12th century, and the establishment of Delhi Sultanate, the ensuing Hindu-Muslim conflicts provoked the creation of a military order of Hindu ascetics in India.[6][7] These warrior ascetics formed paramilitary groups called ‘‘Akharas'’ and they invented a range of martial arts.[6]
Nath Siddhas of the 12th century AD, may have been the earliest Hindu monks to resort to a military response after the Muslim conquest.[61] Ascetics, by tradition, led a nomadic and unattached lifestyle. As these ascetics dedicated themselves to rebellion, their groups sought stallions, developed techniques for spying and targeting, and they adopted strategies of war against Muslim nobles and the Sultanate state. Many of these groups were devotees of Hindu deity Mahadeva, and were called Mahants.[6] Other popular names for them was Sannyasis, Yogis, Nagas (followers of Shiva), Bairagis (followers of Vishnu) and Gosains from the 16th to the 19th centuries; in some cases, these Hindu monks cooperated with Muslim fakirs who were Sufi and also persecuted.[7]
Warrior monks continued their rebellion through the Mughal Empire, and became a political force during the early years of British Raj. In some cases, these regiments of soldier monks shifted from guerrilla campaigns to war alliances, and these Hindu warrior monks played a key role in helping British establish themselves in India.[62] The significance of warrior ascetics rapidly declined with the consolidation of British Raj in late 19th century, and with the rise in non-violence movement by Mahatma Gandhi.[6]
Novetzke states that some of these Hindu warrior ascetics were treated as folk heroes, aided by villagers and townspeople, because they targeted figures of political and economic power in a discriminatory state, and some of these warriors paralleled Robin Hood's lifestyle.[63]
Upanishads
Sannyasa, or the renunciant way of life, is discussed in various Upanishads.
Major Upanishads
Among the thirteen major or Principal Upanishads, all from the ancient era, many include sections related to Sannyasa.[64] The Mundaka Upanishad discusses the path of Sannyasa as a means to attain spiritual knowledge and liberation. It emphasizes the renunciant's simple and austere lifestyle in pursuit of wisdom.[65] The motivations and state of a Sannyasi are mentioned in Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad, a classical major Upanishad that Robert Hume included among his list of "Thirteen Principal Upanishads" of Hinduism.[65] Maitrāyaṇi starts with the question, "given the nature of life, how is joy possible?" and "how can one achieve moksha (liberation)?"; in later sections it offers a debate on possible answers and its views on Sannyasa.[66]
In this body infected with passions, anger, greed, delusion, fright, despondency, grudge, separation from what is dear and desirable, attachment to what is not desirable, hunger, thirst, old age, death, illness, sorrow and the rest - how can one experience only joy? – Hymn I.3
The drying up of great oceans, the crumbling down of the mountains, the instability of the pole-star, the tearing of the wind-chords, the sinking down, the submergence of the earth, the tumbling down of the gods from their place - in a world in which such things occur, how can one experience only joy ?! – Hymn I.4
— Maitrayaniya Upanishad, Translated by Paul Deussen[67]
Dragged away and polluted by the river of the Gunas (personality), one becomes rootless, tottering, broken down, greedy, uncomposed and falling in the delusion of I-consciousness, he imagines: "I am this, this is mine" and binds himself, like a bird in the net. – Hymn VI.30
Just as the fire without fuel comes to rest in its place,
so also the passive mind comes to rest in its source;
When it (mind) is infatuated by the objects of sense, he falls away from truth and acts;
Mind alone is the Samsara, one should purify it with diligence;
You are what your mind is, a mystery, a perpetual one;
The mind which is serene, cancels all actions good and bad;
He, who, himself, serene, remains steadfast in himself - he attains imperishable happiness. – Hymn VI.34— Maitrayaniya Upanishad, Translated by Paul Deussen[68]
Sannyasa Upanishads
Of the 108
Veda | Sannyāsa |
---|---|
Ṛigveda | Nirvāṇa |
Samaveda | |
Krishna Yajurveda | |
Shukla Yajurveda | Jābāla, Paramahaṃsa, Advayatāraka, Bhikṣuka, Turīyātīta, Yājñavalkya, Śāṭyāyani |
Atharvaveda | Ashrama,[71] Nāradaparivrājaka (Parivrāt), Paramahaṃsa parivrājaka, Parabrahma |
Six of the Sannyasa Upanishads – Aruni, Kundika, Kathashruti, Paramahamsa, Jabala and Brahma – were composed before the 3rd-century CE, likely in the centuries before or after the start of the common era, states Sprockhoff; the Asrama Upanishad is dated to the 3rd-century, the Naradaparivrajaka and Satyayaniya Upanishads to around the 12th-century, and about ten of the remaining Sannyasa Upanishads are dated to have been composed in the 14th- to 15th-century CE well after the start of Islamic Sultanates period of South Asia in late 12th-century.[72][73]
The oldest Sannyasa Upanishads have a strong
See also
- Brahmacharya
- Grihastha
- Jangam Sannyasi
- Gymnosophist
- Monk
- Neo-sannyas
- Nun
- Purvashrama
- Sanyasa yoga
- Swami Sharnanandji
- Vairāgya
- Vanaprastha
- Yogi
Notes
References
- ^ ISBN 978-8171566655, page 28
- ^ S. Radhakrishnan (1922), The Hindu Dharma, International Journal of Ethics, 33(1): 1-22
- ISBN 978-1-4419-8109-7, pages 93-110
- ISBN 978-88-88684-03-1. Archivedfrom the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ISBN 978-0761847618, pages 93-94, 99-100
- ^ a b c d e David N. Lorenzen (1978), Warrior Ascetics in Indian History Archived 5 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 98(1): 61-75
- ^ ISBN 978-1107406377
- ^ saMnyAsa Archived 20 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
- ^ ISBN 978-019-9601080, page 1275
- ^ a b c d Patrick Olivelle (1981), Contributions to the Semantic History of Saṃnyāsa, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 101, No. 3, pages 265-274
- ^ pravrajitA Archived 1 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
- ^ yatin Archived 1 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
- ^ a b c Jamison and Witzel (1992), Vedic Hinduism Archived 13 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Harvard University Archives, page 47
- ^ JF Sprockhoff (1981), Aranyaka und Vanaprastha in der vedischen Literatur, Neue Erwägungen zu einer alten Legende und ihren Problemen. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens und Archiv für Indische Philosophie Wien, 25, pages 19-90
- OCLC 644380709
- OCLC 4113269
- ^ a b GS Ghurye (1952), Ascetic Origins, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 162-184;
For Sanskrit original: Rigveda Archived 14 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine Wikisource;
For English translation: Kesins Rig Veda, Hymn CXXXVI, Ralph Griffith (Translator) - ISBN 978-0807073001
- ^ ISBN 978-0791459225, pages 24-29
- ^ In practice, women for example, entered Sannyasa in enough numbers that Chanakya's Arthashastra in 3rd century BC, mentions women ascetics (प्रव्रजिता, pravrajitā) in several chapters; see for example, R. Shamasastry (Translator) Chapter 23 page 160; also page 551
- ^ a b A. A. Ramanathan, Sannyasa Upanishad Archived 1 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai, verses 2.23 - 2.29
- ^ ISBN 978-9042015104, page 97
- ^ ISBN 978-1934145005, page 102
- ^ ISBN 978-0521604017, Chapter 4 with pages 105-107 in particular
- ISBN 978-4990404611, pages 63-64
- ISBN 978-0-7914-2706-4
- Missiology: An International Review, 16(2): 149-162
- ISBN 978-1472511515, pages 74-83
- ^ Klaus Klostermaier (1985), Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, 35(1): 61-71
- ISBN 0-7914-3904-6
- ISBN 978-0791461808, page 100
- ISBN 978-0791459225, pages 34-40, 173
- ^ P Van der Veer (1987), Taming the ascetic: Devotionalism in a Hindu monastic order, Man, 22(4): 680-695
- ^ Chapter 5, Wikisource
- ^ ISBN 978-9042015104, page 96-97, 111-114
- ISBN 978-0875730714, pages 292-297
- ISBN 978-8120802933, pages 33-35
- ^ Max Muller (Translator), Baudhayana Dharmasūtra Prasna II, Adhyaya 10, Kandika 18, The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIV, Oxford University Press, pages 279-281
- ISBN 9780195361377. Archivedfrom the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ISBN 9780195361377. Archivedfrom the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ MM Singh (1967), Life in North-Eastern India in Pre-Mauryan Times at Google Books, Motilal Banarsidass, pages 131-139
- ^ ISBN 0 41521527-7, page 231
- ^ (Olivelle 1993, pp. 25–34) translates them as classes, e.g. see footnote 70; while other authors translate them as castes
- ^ ISBN 978-0195344783
- ISBN 978-0195344783, page 94
- ^ Alban Widgery (1930), The Principles of Hindu Ethics Archived 3 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine, International Journal of Ethics, 40(2): 232-245
- ^ What is Hinduism? (Editors of Hinduism Today), Two noble paths of Dharma, p. 101, at Google Books, Family Life and Monastic Life, Chapter 10 with page 101 in particular
- ^ Max Muller (Translator), Baudhayana Dharmasūtra Prasna II, Adhyaya 10, Kandika 17, The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIV, Oxford University Press
- ISBN 978-1441981097, page 66
- ^ See (Olivelle 1993, pp. 84–106) discussion of the development of the āśrama system in "Renouncer and Renunciation in the Dharmaśāstras."
- ^ See (Olivelle 1993, p. 111), "Renouncer and Renunciation in the Dharmaśāstras." p. 111
- ^ For more references to renunciation by Śūdras and women, see (Olivelle 1993, pp. 111–115), "Renouncer and Renunciation in the Dharmaśāstras."
- ^ See (Olivelle 1993, pp. 89–91), Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads
- ^ Law of Debt Vishnu Smriti, Julius Jolly (Translator), page 45
- ^ Arthashastra - CHAPTER XVI: RESUMPTION OF GIFTS, SALE WITHOUT OWNERSHIP AND OWNERSHIP Book III, Wikisource
- ^ See for example, Arthasastra - CHAPTER X: Fines in Lieu of Mutilation of Limbs Book IV, Wikisource; see also Book IV, Chapter XI which declared murder of an ascetic as a capital crime.
- ISBN 978-0791427057, pages 8-12
- ISBN 978-0521604017, pages 60-74
- ISBN 978-0826103857, pages 148-154
- ^ ISBN 978-0195644418, pages 24-28
- ISBN 978-0226340500, page 332-334 and footnote 104 on page 333
- ISBN 978-0231141857, pages 173-175
- ISBN 978-0195070453.
- ^ a b Hume, Robert Ernest (1921), The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press
- ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 327-386
- ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 332-333
- ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 367, 373
- ISBN 978-0199540259
- ISBN 978-0195070453.
- ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 568, 763-767
- ISBN 978-0195070453.
- ISBN 978-3515019057.
- ISBN 978-0812692983, page 332 with note 68
- ISBN 978-0791436967, pages 62-63
- ^ ISBN 978-0195070453.
- ISBN 978-0791436967, page 81 note 27
Cited books:
- Olivelle, Patrick (1993). The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution. Oxford University Press. OCLC 466428084.
External links
- Articles on aspects of Sannyasa, Vairagya, and Brahmacharya
- 'The Song of the Sannyasin', poem by Swami Vivekananda
- Vows Of Sannyasa Saiva Siddhanta – Example covenant between a Hindu Sannyasin and a Hindu Monastic Order (PDF download)