There are two traditional paths for the devout Hindu of nearly every lineage. The first is the path of the renunciate. The second is the path of the householder, who guides human society and produces the next generation. The ancient ṛishis evolved well-defined principles for both, knowing that unmarried aspirants would most easily unfold by adhering to principles of nonownership, noninvolvement in the world and brahmacharya, while married men and women would uphold the more complex and material family dharma. Though the principles or guidelines for these two paths are different, the goal is the same: to establish a life dedicated to spiritual unfoldment, hastening the evolution of the soul through knowledge of the forces at work within us, and wise, consistent application of that knowledge. ¶In our Holy Orders of Sannyāsa, the two lifestyles of Hindu renunciates are described as follows. “Some among them are sādhus, anchorites living in the seclusion of distant caves and remote forests or wandering as homeless mendicants, itinerant pilgrims to the holy sanctuaries of Śaivism. Others dwell as cenobites, assembled with their brothers, often in the āśrama, aadheenam or maṭha of their satguru, but always under the guru’s aegis, serving together in fulfillment of a common mission. These devotees, when initiated into the order of sannyāsa, don the saffron robes and thereby bind themselves to a universal body of Hindu renunciates, numbering today three million, whose existence has never ceased, an assembly of men inwardly linked in Śivasambandha, their mutual dedication to Śiva, though not necessarily outwardly associated.” ¶We can thus see that in the strictest traditions, the renunciate path includes only those who have received initiation, sannyāsa dīkshā, from a qualified preceptor, for only they have fully and irrevocably renounced the world and closed off all other options for their future. However, depending on the tradition, the renunciate path broadly includes the wandering sādhu, or homeless mendicant, and the sādhaka under vows preparing for sannyāsa at some future time. ¶We have studied the three primary currents in the human nerve system. The aggressive-intellectual current is masculine, mental in nature and psychically seen as blue in color. This current is termed in Sanskrit piṅgalā. The passive-physical current is feminine, material in nature. This current, which is pink or red, is known as iḍā. The third current is spiritual in nature and flows directly through the spine and into the head. Being yellowish-white, the sushumṇā, as it is called, is the channel for pure spiritual energies that flood into the body through the spine and out into the 6,000 miles of nerve currents. Depending on the nature and dharma, each individual’s energy expresses itself as predominantly physical or intellectual—passive or aggressive—or spiritual. However, in the sannyāsin the two forces are so precisely balanced that neither is dominant, and he therefore lives almost totally in sushumṇā. The monastic, whether a monk or a nun, is in a sense neither male nor female, but a being capable of all modes of expression. ¶At times, the renunciate’s sādhana is austere, as he burns layer after layer of dross through severe tapas. He wears the saffron robe, studies the ancient ways and scriptures. He chants the sacred mantras. He reflects constantly on the Absolute. He lives from moment to moment, day to day. He is always available, present, open. He has neither likes nor dislikes, but clear perceptions. §
Having stepped out of his ego shell, the sannyāsin is a free soul. Nothing binds him. Nothing claims him. Nothing involves him. Without exclusive territory, without limiting relationships, he is free to be himself totally. If he has problems within himself, he keeps them silently within and works them out there. If he speaks, it is only to say what is true, kind, helpful or necessary. He never argues, debates, complains. His words and his life always affirm, never negate. He finds points of agreement, forsaking contention and difference. No man is his enemy. No man is his friend. All men are his teachers. Some teach him what to do; others teach him what not to do. He has no one to rely upon except God, Gods, guru and the power within his own spine. He is strong, yet gentle. He is aloof, yet present. He is enlightened, yet ordinary. He teaches the basic philosophy of monistic theism, or nondual Reality. He speaks wisely of the Vedic scriptures and ancient śāstras and lives them in his own example. Yet, he consciously remains inconspicuous, transparent. ¶He is a man on the path of enlightenment who has arrived at a certain subsuperconscious state and wishes to stay there. Therefore, he automatically has released various interactions with the world, physically and emotionally, and remains poised in a contemplative, monastic lifestyle. The basic thought behind the philosophy of being a sannyāsin is to put oneself in a hot-house condition of self-imposed discipline, where unfoldment of the spirit can be catalyzed at a greater intensity than in family life, where the exterior concerns and overt responsibilities of the world predominate. ¶The sannyāsin is the homeless one who remains detached from all forms of involvement—friends, family, personal ambition—finding security in his own being rather than attaching himself to outward manifestations of security, warmth and companionship. He is alone, but never lonely. He lives as though on the eve of his departure, often abiding no more than three nights in the same place. He may be a pilgrim, a wandering sādhu. He may be a monastic contemplative living in a cloistered monastery or semi-cloistered āśrama. In preparation for sannyāsa, the aspirant leaves behind family, former friends and old acquaintances and steps out into a new pattern of subsuperconscious living. He strives to be all spine-power, all light. When we see him trying, although he may not be too successful at it if he is going through some inner turmoil or challenge, we know he is striving, and that is an inspiration to us. His very existence is his mission in life. He has dedicated himself to live a life of total commitment to the path of yoga, and by doing so he sustains the spiritual vibration for the householders. It is the renunciate who keeps the Vedic religions alive on the Earth. He keeps the philosophy vibrant and lucid, presenting it dynamically to the householders. §
The two paths—householder and renunciate—every young man has to choose between them. In Hindu tradition the choice is made before the marriage ceremony, and, if not, during the ceremony itself. The choice must be his and his alone. Though guided by the advice of parents, elder family members and religious leaders, the choice is his and his alone as to how his soul is to live through the birth karmas of this incarnation. Both paths take courage, great courage, to step forward and embrace the responsibilities of adult life. ¶In making this decision in our tradition we have found it valuable for the young man to spend time in a Hindu monastery where he can live the monk’s life for a period of six months or more and receive spiritual and religious training that will enhance his character for a positive future, no matter which path he chooses. Only by living for a time as a monk will he come to truly understand the monastic path and be empowered to make a knowledgeable choice between that path and the traditional dharma of the householder, raising a family and serving the community. One of the best times for this sojourn apart from the world, setting aside life’s usual concerns, is just after high school or during an interim break. Then, after the time in the monastery, a firm and positive consideration should be made, in consultation with family and elders, as to which of the two paths he wishes to pursue. Once this decision is made and blessings given by the family preceptor, a path-choosing ceremony, Ishṭa Mārga Saṁskāra, should be held in the presence of the religious community to which he belongs, thus making the decision known publicly to one and all. ¶Path-choosing is a beginning, pointing a direction, declaring an intention. Marriage becomes a lifetime commitment only when the final marriage vows are spoken. This is preceded by months or even years of choosing a spouse, a process that calls forth the wisdom of the two families, community elders, religious leaders and those who are trained to judge astrological compatibilities. Renunciate life in our Nātha tradition and many others becomes a lifetime commitment only when final, lifetime vows of renunciation of the world are voiced. This is preceded by ten or more years of training during which the postulant monastic renews temporary vows periodically, at two-year intervals. During this lengthy time of training, the sādhaka is free to choose not to renew his vows at any juncture and opt instead for the path of the householder and be welcomed back into the family community. In some lineages, no formal vows are even taken, but there are traditionally understood norms of conduct, proprieties and protocol to be adhered to. For choosing the renunciate path is indeed not just like taking a position in a corporation. It is embracing a way of life, an attitude of being. ¶We might say that one does not choose renunciation, but rather is chosen by it, when the soul is matured to the point when the world no longer holds a binding fascination. While considerations of the order that one will join are practical realities, it is vital that the young man choosing renunciate life does so not seeking place or position in a particular order, but sets out as a free spirit, unencumbered, under the guidance of his satguru, willing to serve everywhere and anywhere he is sent, be it in his guru’s central āśrama, a distant center, a monastery of another guru or alone on an independent sādhana. The clear path is to define the path itself. Then, proceed with confidence. §
Of course, not all are necessarily able to set forth with perfect clarity in life. Thus, both the renunciate and householder communities accept singles who are not selfish and self-indulgent, who gather together into their respective home-like environments, sharing finance, food and worship. It is in Hindu culture the way of the unmarried devotee, who, whether woman or man, wears white and abjures the family dharma while not necessarily joining an āśrama, wandering as a sādhu or following any monastic regimen. This is not a formal path, but it is a spiritual lifestyle which if successfully fulfilled is an alternative for those who cannot follow one of the two traditional paths. Singles who succeed in living harmoniously with one or more like-minded individuals may be considered worthy to enter āśramas in association with a guru and under the authority of a rigorous discipline greater than they could provide for themselves. ¶This might be called the way of the spiritual bachelor or spinster—the brahmachārī or brahmachāriṇī. These are humble men and women, often under simple vows, who are not following the traditional renunciate path, but don’t intend to marry and so remain celibate and dedicate themselves to serving God, Gods, guru and humanity. Among them are those who are still deciding between the two paths, even at a later age. It usually does not include those whose spouse has passed on or who have suffered a divorce, as they are considered still a spouse, nor others whose heavy karmas would disallow them from entering a traditional order for one or more reasons. This life of bachelor or spinster can, when strictly and sincerely followed, be a joyous and useful life in service to dharma and fulfillment of spiritual goals. This is provided that devotees do not isolate themselves but eagerly and persistently serve the family community and the renunciate community with dedicated, cooperative effort, and get along one with another in harmony, love and trust, in the spirit of true Sivathondu, service to Śiva, never alienating themselves from others, but stepping forward as best they can to serve selflessly and wholeheartedly. The positive cooperation of their untiring energies is truly recognized in all three worlds. ¶There is another group that has no path, who neither marry nor follow the path of discipline and who are self-indulgent, unwilling to live with others and benefit from hastening their karmas through interaction, so that this puts many of their karmas on hold for another life. These souls think they are making spiritual progress, but they are, in fact, making new unwholesome karmas through a selfish lifestyle of noncommitment and unexamined egocentricities. They fail to realize or accept that interaction with others, whether householders or monastics, is needed to bring up quickly the karmas to be resolved in this birth and perhaps the next, and that avoidance of others offers no stimulus for progress. ¶Such single men and women may delude themselves into thinking they are sādhus, mendicants, yogīs or mystics, but in actuality they have invented their own routines which are not in harmony with the sādhu path of strictness and tradition. Following a self-chosen, self-defined path, they answer up to no one and, therefore, deal with the clever avoidance syndrome. ¶They are considered to be like children by both the renunciate and the householder. Both groups constantly work to set aright these obstinate, unruly seekers, to bring them into a lifestyle of unselfish behavior, of interaction with others, encouraging them to replace egocentric patterns and preferences with the higher qualities of selfless service, group involvement and, above all, prapatti, humility, total surrender to the Divine within the temple and themselves. They are encouraged to overcome anger, back-biting, fear, jealousy, overt intellectual knowing, and talkativeness with the sādhana of silence, mauna, to bring forth the humility needed to make spiritual progress in this life. Many, however, are sincerely committed to noncommitment. Strange as it may seem, these unguided souls use up their allotted time for guidance and then beg for more. Those who walk on neither of the two paths are a daily burden to both the householder and the sannyāsin.§
It is necessary for spiritual unfoldment on the path to enlightenment to live among others, be loyal, faithful, not promiscuous, to settle down and establish a cooperative routine of community life. Living among others—even having roommates who think, believe and have adopted the same spiritual, religious disciplines—grants the burden of good conduct, prompt resolution of problems and an abidance of sharing, giving and caring during the trials and happinesses that naturally arise in living with others. ¶Those who are self-indulgent have no inclination to share companionship in a family, an āśrama or spiritual community, as getting along with others is burdensome, bothersome, impossible to even imagine. Their subconscious is so full of dross that their aloneness relieves it somehow—through self-indulgence on the Internet, sweets, preferential foods and avoidance of confrontations of any kind which might or would conjure up anger, distance and dispel the little I-ness into I-dentity within a group where kukarmas and sukarmas are shared as their life on the spiritual path moves upward and upward and upward. ¶All gurus should disallow and throw such seekers out of their āśramas, lest they become accomplished detractors and herald an Internet site against them. Their only purpose is to infiltrate, dilute and destroy—not always consciously, perhaps, but subconsciously—and to bring everything down to their own level. The borderline conflicts that they create, where no one is exactly right and no one is exactly wrong, hold back the spiritual work, the mission of the lineage, temporarily, perhaps only for a moment, an hour or a day. Their mission of preaching indecision to those who have decided is fulfilled. When they tire of their new surroundings and are ready to move on, they infiltrate another group, endeavoring to take along with them those they have converted to their ways. All satgurus, gurus, swāmīs, heads of Hindu orders and those of other faiths, too, have recognized this problem and are alerted to potential infiltration, dilution and disruption of their group by those who do not belong because they will not follow the accepted patterns and instead endeavor to adjust them, dilute them into the nothingness which they would find inside themselves if they were even to spend a moment or two alone. ¶Other faiths are a little better disciplined in demanding followers to be totally converted to their particular denomination and not admitting into their sanctuaries, monasteries and administrative bodies those who have not taken up a strong commitment. It is here the trouble lies for Hindu-based organizations, bringing in members of Abrahamic religions, faiths which are, by their own proclamations, dedicated to the destruction of Hinduism. Truly devout born members of Hinduism would never turn against the cause they support, nor would those who join the faith by valid adoption or conversion—for to make their unwavering commitment, they made sacrifices, be it a family inheritance or alienation from their community, such as Jews, Christians and Muslims have faced who left their fold and converted to the Sanātana Dharma. The voice here is commitment to an established religion and fully converting to it by severing from any and all prior affiliations. Also, there should be zero tolerance for inharmonous conditions. So many gurus live surrounded by conflicts amongst followers as a way of life. No wonder they pass on before their time. ¶It has always been my advice to gurus and swāmīs to impose aloneness as a prāyaśchitta, penance, on dissidents who have infiltrated their core. In their aloneness, they would experience the torment of their own misdeeds, and their departure would be imminent, or in their aloneness their soul might shine forth and deliver a message to their errant mind—perhaps preprogrammed by others who sent them to break up the group—and emancipate them from the destructive and disruptive path they are on. Those within the āśrama pursuing a higher path, training for true renunciation, are then freed from the detractors. The detractors are also freed to find good spouses and raise good families within the confines of their faith. Every group has such misfits within it from time to time. Wise gurus and swāmīs will ferret them out and send them on their way before they make too many bad karmas that will sorely impact their next birth. ¶Many devotees ask about realization amidst family life, not renouncing the world, but just changing your attitude about life: “I mentally renounce the world and therefore I am a sannyāsin.” Realization in family life is in the anāhata and viśuddha chakras, which then stimulates the chakras above into psychic abilities of various kinds: astral projection, foreseeing the future, reincarnation-readings of past lives and more. These realizations are stabilizing to the families, especially to the elders of the extended family when three generations live in one house. However, the family man would not want to seek for timeless, formless, causeless Paraśiva, because this would be a foundation, a starting point, for detaching from the family, and he would never look back. To renounce the world may not be possible, but if he were to continue seeking for total transformation, the world would renounce him. The family would find their newly acquired mendicant incompatible with their desires and goals. The wife would find her spouse more interested in himself than her, with difficulties in maintaining income, continuity of family duties, distaste for work in the world, and the desire to retire into mountain caves, or at least a peaceful forest. All these thoughts, desires and feelings manifest in deserting family duties, or gṛihastha dharma, and its penalty is bad merit and breaking the vows that fulfill that dharma. So, you can see the dilemma that entangles stepping over the fiery line without the proper preparation, qualifications and initiations. It is the sannyāsa initiation that gives permission, the starting point for the experience of Paraśiva and the aftermath of transformation. This is what the orange robes signify in orders that set for themselves this ideal as their true goal. §
To further delineate the nature of renunciate life, I would like to share with you a letter I wrote to the sannyāsins of my Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order. It constitutes the introduction to Holy Orders of Sannyāsa, the vows and ideals they live by. ¶“The first part of your life was lived for yourself; the second part will be lived in the service of others, for the benefit of your religion. You have been tried and tested through years of training and challenges and proved yourself worthy to wear the kavi, the orange robes, and to fulfill the illustrious Śaiva sannyāsin dharma. ¶“The sannyāsin harkens close to Śiva and releases the past to an outer death. Remembering the past and living in memories brings it into the present. Even the distant past, once remembered and passed through in the mind, becomes the nearest past to the present. Sannyāsins never recall the past. They never indulge in recollections of the forgotten person they have released. The present and the future—there is no security for the sannyāsin in either. The future beckons; the present impels. Like writing upon the waters, the experiences of the sannyāsin leave no mark, no saṁskāra to generate new karmas for an unsought-for future. He walks into the future, on into the varied vṛittis of the mind, letting go of the past, letting what is be and being himself in its midst, moving on into an ever more dynamic service, an ever more profound knowing. Be thou bold, sannyāsin young. Be thou bold, sannyāsin old. Let the past melt and merge its images into the sacred river within. Let the present be like the images written upon the water’s calm surface. The future holds no glamour. The past holds no attachment, no return to unfinished experience. Even upon the dawn of the day, walk into your destiny with the courage born of knowing that the ancient Śaivite scriptures proclaim your sannyāsin’s life great above all other greatness. Let your life as a sannyāsin be a joyful one, strict but not restrictive, for this is not the path of martyrdom or mortification. It is the fulfillment of all prior experiential patterns, the most natural path—the straight path to God, the San Mārga—for those content and ripened souls. Leave all regret behind, all guilt and guile, others will preserve all that you proudly renounce. Let even the hardships ahead be faced cheerfully. ¶“Never fail to take refuge in your God, your guru and your Great Oath. This is the highest path you have chosen. It is the culmination of numberless lives, and perhaps the last in the ocean of saṁsāra. Be the noble soul you came to this Earth to be, and lift humanity by your example. Know it with a certainty beyond question that this is life’s most grand and glorious path, and the singular path for those seeking God Realization, that mystic treasure reserved for the renunciate. Know, too, that renunciation is not merely an attitude, a mental posture which can be equally assumed by the householder and the renunciate. Our scriptures proclaim that a false concept. True renunciation must be complete renunciation; it must be unconditional. There is no room on the upper reaches of San Mārga for mental manipulations, for play-pretend renunciation or half-measure sādhana. Let your renunciation be complete. Resolve that it will be a perfect giving-up, a thorough letting-go. Let go of the rope. Be the unencumbered soul that you are. Be the free spirit, unfettered and fearless, soaring above the clamor of dissension and difference, yet wholeheartedly and boldly supporting our Śaivite principles against those who would infiltrate, dilute and destroy. All that you need will be provided. If there is any residue of attachment, sever it without mercy. Cast it off altogether. Let this be no partial renunciation, subject to future wants, to future patterns of worldliness. Give all to God Śiva, and never take it back. To make this supreme renunciation requires the utmost maturity coupled with a dauntless courage. It requires, too, that the wheel of saṁsāra has been lived through, that life hold no further fascination or charm. §
“Through experience the soul learns of the nature of joy and sorrow, learns well to handle the magnetic forces of the world. Only when that learning is complete is true sannyāsa possible. Otherwise, the soul, still immature, will be drawn back into the swirl of experience, no matter what vows have been uttered. True renunciation comes when the world withdraws from the devotee. Sannyāsa is for the accomplished ones, the great souls, the evolved souls. Sannyāsa is not to be misinterpreted as a means of getting something—getting enlightenment, getting puṇya, or merit. Sannyāsa comes when all getting is finished. It is not to get something, but because you are something, because you are ready to give your life and your knowledge and your service to Śaivism, that you enter the life of the sannyāsin. The kavi, or saffron robes, are the royal insignia of the sannyāsin. Those in kavi the world over are your brethren, and you should feel one with each of these hundreds of thousands of soldiers within. ¶“The ideals of renunciation as practiced in the Sanātana Dharma are outlined fully in these Holy Orders of Sannyāsa. Live up to them as best you can. You need not be a saint or jīvanmukta to enter into the ancient world order of sannyāsa. Renunciation in its inmost sense is a gradual process. It does not happen instantly when a vow is spoken. Do not mistake sannyāsa dīkshā as the end of effort, but look upon it as a new spiritual birth, the beginning of renewed striving and even more difficult challenges. There will remain karmas to be lived through as the soul continues to resolve the subtle attachments, or vāsanās, of this and past lives. It is enough that you have reached a knowing of the necessity of tyāga. It is enough that you renounce in the right spirit and pledge yourself to meet each challenge as befits this tradition, bringing honor to yourself and your religion. ¶“Finally, you are charged with preserving and defending the Śaiva Dharma teachings of the Nandinātha Sampradāya’s Kailāsa Paramparā as brought forth in The Master Course trilogy of Dancing, Living and Merging with Śiva, and in The Holy Bible of the Śaivite Hindu Religion. You are cautioned against being influenced by alien faiths or beliefs. You are the vault, the repository, wherein are kept the priceless treasures of Śaivism, secure and available for future generations. All who accept these Holy Orders accept a selfless life in which all monastics work their minds together, thus keeping the saṅgam strong and effective. You must not veer from the San Mārga, nor follow an individual path, nor remain remote or aloof from your brother monastics. It is a serious life which you now enter, one which only a sannyāsin can fully undertake. Remember and teach that God is, and is in all things. Spread the light of the One Great God, Śiva—Creator, Preserver and Destroyer, immanent and transcendent, the Compassionate One, the Gracious One, the One without a second, the Lord of Lords, the Beginning and End of all that is. Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam.” §