DEFINITION OF SANNYASA

Srila Prabhupada on sannyasa

A SANNYASI WORKS WITHOUT ATTACHMENT



sri bhagavan uvaca

anasritah karma-phalam

karyam karma karoti yah

sa sannyasi ca yogi ca

na niragnir na cakriyah



TRANSLATION: The Blessed Lord said: One who is unattached to

the fruits of his work and who works as he is obliged is in the

renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic: not he who

lights no fire and performs no work.

(B.g. 6.1)



A SANNYASI'S ONLY INTEREST IS DEDICATION TO DEVOTIONAL SERVICE



Anyone who has no other interest but to dedicate his life

to the service of the Lord is actually a sannyasi . Such a person

always thinks of himself as an eternal servant, dependent on the

supreme will of the Lord. As such, whatever he does, he does it

for the benefit of the Lord. Whatever action he performs, he

performs it as a service to the Lord.

(B.g. 9.28, purp.)



RENUNCIATE IS ONE WHO GIVES EVERYTHING TO KRSNA



It is said in Bhagavad-gita that one can never give up

work at any time. Therefore he who works for Krsna and does not

enjoy the fruitive results, who offers everything to Krsna, is

actually a renouncer. There are many members of the International

Society for Krsna Consciousness who work very hard in the office

or in the factory or some other place, and whatever they earn

they give to the Society. Such highly elevated souls are actually

sannyasis and are situated in the renounced order of life. It is

clearly outlined here how to renounce the fruits of work and for

what purpose fruits should be renounced.

(B.g. 18.10, purp.)



A SANNYASI ACTS FOR THE SATISFACTION OF THE COMPLETE WHOLE



To act in Krsna consciousness is the duty of every living

entity because all are constitutionally part and parcel of the

Supreme. The parts of the body work for the satisfaction of the

whole body. The limbs of the body do not act for self

satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the complete whole.

Similarly, the living entity who acts for the satisfaction of the

supreme whole and not for personal satisfaction is the perfect

sannyasi , the perfect yogi.

(B.g. 6.1, purp.)



A SANNYASI IS ONE WHO ACTS TRANSCENDENTALLY



The transcendental attitude of the devotee in the

performance of activities is actually that of renunciation, and

this is called sannyasa . Anyone acting under the direction of the

Supreme Lord is actually a sannyasi and a yogi, and not the man

who has simply taken the dress of the sannyasi . or a pseudo-yogi.

(B.g. 10.3, purp.)



A SANNYASI SHOULD NOT DEPEND ON OTHERS



"A vairagi [a person in the renounced order] should not

depend on others. If he does so, he will be unsuccessful, and he

wilì be neglected by Krsna.

(Cc. Antya 6.224)



A PERFECT SANNYASI'S CRITERION IS THE SATISFACTION OF KRSNA



TRANSLATION: The Blessed Lord said: One who is unattached to

the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in

the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic: not he

who lights no fire and performs no work.

PURPORT: The sannyasis sometimes artificially think that they

have become liberated from all material duties, and therefore they

cease to perform agnihotra yajnas (fire sacrifices), but actually

they are self-interested because their goal is becoming one with

the impersonal Brahman. Such a desire is greater than any

material desire, but it is not without self-interest. Similarly,

the mystic yogi who practices the yoga system with half-open

eyes, ceasing all material activities, desires some satisfaction

for his personal self. But a person acting in Krsna

consciousness works for the satisfaction of the whole, without

self-interest. A Krsna conscious person has no desire for

self-satisfaction. His criterion of success is the satisfaction

of Krsna, and thus he is the perfect sannyasi , or the perfect

yogi . Lord Caitanya, the highest perfectional symbol of

renunciation, prays in this way:



na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye.

mama jnamani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi.



"O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to

enjoy beautiful women. Nor do I want any number of followers.

What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service

in my life, birth after birth."

(B.g. 6.1)





ONE ACTUALLY BECOMES A SANNYASI WHEN MIND AND BODY ARE COMPLETELY

DEVOTED TO THE LORD

TRANSLATION: Passing through the tract of land known as

Radha-desa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu recited the following verse

in ecstasy.

[As a brahmana(tm) fros Avanti-desa said:Ý "I shalì cross

over the insurmountable ocean of nescience by being firmly fixed

in the service of the lotus feet of Krsna. This was approved by

the previous acaryas , who were fixed in firm devotion to the

Lord, Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

PURPORT: In connection with this verse, which is a quotation from

Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.23.58), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

Thakura says that of the sixty-four items required for rendering

devotional service, acceptance of the symbolic marks of sannyasa

is a regulative principle. If one accepts the sannyasa order,

his main business is to devote his life completely to the service

of Mukunda, Krsna. If one does not completely devote his mind

and body to the service of the Lord, he does not actually become

a sannyasi . It is not simply a matter of changing dress. In

Bhagavad-gita (6.1) it is also stated, anasritah karma-phalam

karyam karma karoti yah/ sa sannyasi ca yogi ca : one who works

devotedly for the satisfactiof o Krsna is a sannyasi - The

dress is not sannyasa , but the attitude of service to Krsna is.

The word paratma-nistha means being a devotee of Lord

Krsna. Paratma , the Supreme Person, is Krsna. Isvarah

paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah . Those who are

completely dedicated to the lotus feet of Krsna in service are

actually sannyasis . As a matter of formality, the devotee

accepts the sannyasa dress as previous acaryas did. He also

accepts the three dandas . Later Visnusvami considered that

accepting the dress of a tri-dandi was parat-ma-nistha :

Therefore sincere devotees add another danda , the jiva-danda ,

to the three existing dandas . The Vaisnava sannyasi is known

as a tridandi-sannyasi . The Mayavadi sannyasi accepts only

one danda , not understanding the purpose of tri-danda .

Later, many persons in the community of Siva Svami gave up the

atma-nistha (devotional service) of the Lord and followed the

path of Sankaracarya. Instead of accepting 108 names, those in

the Siva Svami-sampradaya follow the path of Sankaracarya and

accept the ten names of sannyasa . Although Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu accepted the then-existing order of sannyasa (namely

eka-danda ), He still recited a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam

about the tridanda-sannyasa accepted by the brahmana of

Avantipura. Indirectly He declared that within that eka-danda ,

one danda , four dandas existed as one. Accepting

ekadanda-sannyasa without paratma-nistha (devotional service

to Lord Krsna) is not acceptable to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In

addition, according to the exact regulative principles, one

should add the jiva-danda to the tri-danda . These four

dandas , bound together as one, are symbolic of unalloyed

devotional service to the Lord. Because the ekadandi-sannyasis

of the Mayavada school are not devoted to the service of Krsna,

they try to merge into the Brahman effulgence, which is a

marginal position between material and spiritual existence. They

accept this impersonal position as liberation. Mayavadi

sannyasis , not knowing that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a

tri-dandi , think of Caitanya Mahaprabhu as an

ekadandi-sannyasi . This is due to their vivarta ,

bewilderment. In Srimad-Bhagavatam there is no such thing as

an ekadandi-sannyasi ; indeed, the tri-dandi-sannyasi is

accepted as the symbolic representation of the sannyasa order.

By citing this verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam , Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu accepted the sannyasa order recommended in

Srimad-Bhagavatam . The Mayavadi sannyasis , who are enamored

of the external energy of the Lord, cannot understand the mind of

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

To date, all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,

following in His footsteps, accept the sannyasa order and keep

the sacred thread and tuft of unshaved hair. The ekadandi-

sannyasis of the Mayavadi school give up the sacred thread and

do not keep any tuft of hair. Therefore they are unable to

understand the purport of tridanda-sannyasa , and as such they

are not inclined to dedicate their lives to the service of

Mukunda. They simply think of merging into the existence of

Brahman because of their disgust with material existence. The

acaryas who advocate the daiva-varnasrama (the social order

of catur-varnyam mentioned in Bhagavad-gita ) do not accept

the proposition of asura-varnasrama , which maintains that the

social order of varna is indicated by birth.

The most intimate devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, namely

Gadadhara Pandita, accepted tridanda-sannyasa and also accepted

Madhava Upadhyaya as his tridandi-sannyasi disciple. It is

said that from this Madhavacarya the sampradaya known in

western India as the Vallabhacarya-sampradaya has begun. Srila

Gopala Bhatta Bose, who is known as a smrtyacarya in the

Gaudiya-Vaisnava-sampradaya, later accepted the

tridanda-sannyasa order from Tridandipada Prabodhananda

Sarasvati. Although acceptance of tridanda-sannyasa is not

distinctly mentioned in the Gaudiya Vaisnava literature, the

first verse of Srila Rupa Gosvami's Upadesamrta advocates that

one should accept the tridanda-sannyasa order by controlling

the six forces:



vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam

jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam

etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah

sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat



"One who can control the forces of speech, mind, anger, belly,

tongue and genitals is known as a gosvami and is competent to

accept disciples all over the world." The followers of Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu never accepted the Mayavada order of

sannyasa , and for this they cannot be blamed. Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu accepted Sridhara Svami, who was a tridandi-sannyasi ,

but the Mayavadi sannyasis , not understanding Sridhara Svami,

sometimes think that Sridhara Svami belonged to the Mayavada

ekadanda-sannyasa community. Actually this was not the case.

(Cc. Madhya 3.5-6)



A KRSNA CONSCIOUS PERSON IS A SANNYASI AND A YOGI



Therefore, when one is in complete knowledge, one ceases

all material sense gratification, or renounces all kinds of sense

gratificatory activities. This is practiced by the yogis who

restrain the senses from material attachment. But a person in

Krsna consciousness has no opportunity to engage his senses in

anything which is not for the purpose of Krsna. Therefore, a

Krsna conscious person is simultaneously a sannyasi and yogi.

(B.g. 6.2, purp.)



THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE RENOUNCED ORDER ARE MEANT

TO BRING ONE TO SERVE THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD

EXCLUSIVELY


TRANSLATION: He was very enthusiastic to worship Sri Krsna without

disturbance; therefore it was almost in madness that he accepted

the sannyasa order.

Upon accepting sannyasa , Purusottama Acarya followed the

regulative principles by giving up his tuft of hair and sacred

thread, but he did not accept the saffron colored dress. Also,

he did not accept a sannyasi title but remained as a naisthika-

brahmacari .

PURPORT: There are regulative principles governing the renounced

order. One has to perform eight kinds of sraddha . One must

offer oblations to one's forefathers and perform the sacrifice of

viraja-homa . Then one must cut off the tuft of hair called a

sikha and also give up the sacred thread. These are preliminary

processes in the acceptance of sannyasa , and Svarupa Damodara

accepted all these. However, Purusottama Acarya did not accept

the saffron color, a sannyasi name or a danda . He retained his

brahmacari name. Actually Purusottama Acarya did not accept the

sannyasa formally, but he renounced worldly life. He did not

want to be disturbed by the formality of the sannyasa order. He

simply wanted to worship Lord Sri Krsna without disturbance;

therefore with heart and soul he took up the renounced order but

not the formalities accompanying it. Renunciation means not

doing anything but serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

Sri Krsna. When one acts on this platform, trying to please the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is both a sannyasi and a

yogi .

(Cc. Madhya 10.107-108)



DRESS IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO MAKE A SANNYASI, BUT ACTING UNDER THE

DIRECTIONS OF THE LORD IS

Anyone acting under the direction of the Supreme Lord is

actually a sannyasi and a yogi, and not the man who has simply

taken the dress of the sannyasi . or a pseudo-yogi.

(B.g. 10.3, purp.)