THE SELF-CENTERED PSEUDO-SAINTS
Whereas Sri Sankara composed and sang the first 13 slokas (verses) of Bhaja Govindam, including the first verse, which gets repeated at the end of all the other slokas, the subsequent 14 verses were each contributed by the Acharya’s 14 disciples, who were with the master as he compiled the song and got inspired by the latter’s rendition. These verses came to be known as Chaturdasamanjarika stotram (a bouquet of 14 flowers).
It is believed that the 14th sloka was compiled by the Acharya’s foremost disciple, Padmapadar. It goes as under:
Jatilo mundi lunchitakesa
Kashayambara bahukritavesha
Pasyannapi ca na pasyati mudho
Hyudaranimittam bahukritavesham (14)
“One (ascetic) with hair locks, another with head shaven, yet another with hair pulled out one by one, and also wearing saffron robes — these are fools who, though seeing, do not see. The different disguises are just for filling their belly. Seek Govinda…..seek Govinda….”
This verse ridicules and rebukes the pseudo-sannyasins who, without understanding the real significance of sannyasa, put on external marks like a shaven head, matted hair, pulled-out hair, or ochre robe to mislead people and gain undue advantage. Their only purpose is to fill their belly. Is this Sannyasa?
Although the direct reference in this verse is to pseudo-saints, such types of hypocrites are aplenty in every walk of life, especially in the modern age. They include political leaders, administrators, priest class, etc. If an ordinary person leads a duplicitous life, maybe people in his inner circle alone will suffer, whereas if an administrator or political leader resorts to such deceitful tactics, its harmful impact will have wider ramifications.
Sanyasa decoded
In Sanskrit, sannyasa means renunciation of action. It presupposes a performance of action to be renounced. First of all, there should be something you are doing right now that you want to abdicate. Is it possible to renounce something that you don’t possess or are not doing? If you are not satisfied with your life because you have not been able to fulfill your ambitions and aspirations, and you choose to keep aloof from such a life, can it be called renunciation?
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says:
Kamyanaam karmanam nyasam sanyasam kavayo vidhuh
Sarvakarmaphalatyagam prahustyagam vichakshnah (18.2)
“The Sages understand sannyasa to be the renunciation of work with desire; the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all actions as TYAGA.”
Renunciation is “totally giving up all desire-prompted activities,” and abandonment is “giving up all anxieties for enjoying the fruits of action.” To the uninitiated, both these terms may appear to be the same. Admittedly, ‘abandonment’ has an integral relationship with ‘renunciation.” However, there is a subtle difference between tyaga and sannyasa. The action happens in the present, whereas its desired fruit belongs to the future. The anxiety regarding the fate of the action and the desire to enjoy the fruit thereof create a disturbance in our mind regarding a FUTURE period.
Both the desire and the agitation bring about restlessness. The deeper the desire, the greater the dissipation of one’s inner energy. Unless our clinging attachment to the desired fruits of actions is abandoned (sacrificed through tyaga), we will not tap into the full potentialities of our personality. Without such abandonment of the attachments, our activities are bound to become ineffective, and ineffective activities can never fetch us enjoyable fruits.
To put it differently, ‘Renunciation’ is the goal to be achieved through the process of ‘Abandonment’ of our continuing anxiety to enjoy the fruits of actions. In short, ‘Abandonment’ (Tyaga) is the means to reach the goal of ‘Renunciation’ (Sannyasa). Both aspects are integral parts of our moment-to-moment activities, and neither suggests abdicating work. On the other hand, it implies that WORK WE MUST, at all costs. But, without being saddled by desires and hustled by anxieties, both of which are debilitating.
The verse under discussion asserts that renouncing is not a matter of external show. It is a victory that has to be earned within. When the heart is full of burning desires, the external signs of a shaven head, long matted hair, or other physical features of ‘renunciation’ are meaningless and deceptive.
Tiruvalluvar said, “There is no need for shaving the head or long-matted locks if what the world condemns is given up sincerely.”
The need for survival is a living being’s basic need; for a man, it’s the lowest need. The need for enlightenment is the highest. Manipulative people who resort to dressing up like monks are seeking to fulfill their survival needs by adopting unethical means. Some so-called spiritual leaders create pomp and mysticism around them. Some appease rich people, satisfy their ego, and fulfill their need for survival.
UNENDING DESIRES
Over to the next stanza. It is attributed to Totakacharya.
Angam galitam palitam mundam
Dasanavihinam jatam tundam
Vrddho yati grhitva dandam
Tadapi na muncatyasapindam (15)
‘The body has worn out; the head has turned all grey; the mouth has lost all teeth. The man goes about leaning on a staff. Still, he leaves not his bundle of desires.’
The focus of this verse is on the unending human desires. Man dies, but not his desires. No sooner than one desire gets fulfilled, another one will crop up. Life is a circle with a center and a periphery. Most of us live in the periphery and seek material pursuits and relationships. Seldom would we look into the center of life and seek answers to questions like “Who am I?” or “What is the purpose and meaning of my life?” Our life revolves around desires, attachments, and disappointments. When we look into ourselves and gain knowledge about the Self, we learn to give up our desires and become more and more receptive to the Lord’s overflowing grace.
Osho’s definition of freedom from desire is “to be free, totally free, to have or not to have desires. Desire should not be an obsession- that is the meaning.” For example, your friend constructs a beautiful house, and a desire arises in your mind to have a house like that. Now, are you free to have the desire or not? If you are free, you are desire-less. On the contrary, if the desire to possess such a house persists and haunts you, you are not free and are attached and bonded. If you allow desires to be your masters, you turn a victim. And you will suffer much because there are millions of things going around, and if so many desires take possession of you, you will get torn apart.
The equation for eternal happiness
Happiness can be depicted as a mathematical equation H=R/N, where the ‘H’ stands for happiness/contentment, ‘R’ for the resources at your command, and the ’N’ for your needs or desires. As your needs or desires go down, the ‘H’ quotient increases. If the ’N’ factor could be brought down to nil, the ‘H’ reaches infinity.
As one advances in old age, the resources at his disposal decrease drastically, including the physical, mental, and financial. But the irony is that his needs or desires refuse to move in tandem with the depleting resources, which leads to despair and agitation. George Bernard Shaw said, “Man has to face two tragedies in life, one when his desire is fulfilled and the other, when it is not.” In both cases, he ultimately faces mental agitation — one early and the other, later.
True happiness does not belong to the realms of the physical, emotional, or intellectual. Our Real Self lies beyond all these levels, and it is the only source of infinite happiness. Christ said, “The kingdom of heaven lies within you. He who knoweth shall find it.” Guru Nanak said the same thing when he said, “If you want permanent happiness, seek the Ram within you.” In the Bhaja Govindam, Adi Sankara says, “Seek Govinda, seek Govinda, for He alone can provide eternal happiness.”
Desires and the Karmic Law
The karmic law requires that every human wish find ultimate fulfillment, says Paramahamsa Yogananda. Desire is thus the chain that binds man to the reincarnation wheel. The mere presence of a body signifies that its existence is rendered possible by unfulfilled desires. In the Autobiography of a Yogi, Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda’s guru, who resurrected in front of the sishya, said, “So long as the soul of man is encased in one, two, or three body containers, sealed tightly with the corks of ignorance and desires, he cannot merge with the sea of Spirit. When the gross physical receptacle is destroyed by the hammer of death, the other two coverings — astral and causal — remain to prevent the soul from consciously joining the Omnipresent Life. When desirelessness is attained through wisdom, its power disintegrates the two remaining vessels. The tiny human soul emerges, free at last; it is one with the Measureless Amplitude.”
Totakacharya, in the stanza under discussion, bewails that people do not give up desires even when age has rendered them incapable of enjoying anything. See how realistically the picture of progressing from youth to old age is depicted: once old age sets in, the organs degenerate (angam galitam), then the hair turns grey (palitam mundam), the mouth becomes toothless (dasanavihitam jatam tundam); what’s more, unable to even stand upright without support, he manages to do so with the help of a staff (vriddho yati grihitva dandam). Still, his desires remain strong as in the younger age. And these desires leave him not, even when he dies. The unfulfilled desires are the cause of his reincarnation.
MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
Ø There are cheats and frauds amongst sannyasins. They put on external signs of the renouncers and roam everywhere, just to hoodwink people and fill their bellies.
Ø Such hypocrites can be found in any walk of life in the society.
Ø According to Lord Krishna, ‘sannyasa’ is the renunciation of work with desire; ‘tyaga’ is the abandonment of the fruits of all actions.
Ø Desire and agitation cause restlessness. The deeper the desires, the greater the dissipation of inner energy.
Ø Renunciation is the goal to be achieved, and abandonment of the anxiety for the fruits of actions is the means to realize that.
Ø Desire should never become an obsession, lest you should be doomed.
Ø Happiness can be expressed as an equation, H=R/N, where ‘H’ stands for happiness, ‘R’ for the resources at command, and ’N’ for the needs or desires.
Ø Desire is the chain that binds man to the reincarnation wheel. Unfulfilled desires at the time of death cause the rebirth.
Dr. K R S Nair
https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Indian-Simplified-UNBURDEN-YOURSELF-ebook/dp/B0CTQTDWGK/re
