Grandfathers and sannyaasa

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Wed, 20 Nov 1996, sadananda wrote:

> It is assumed in the question and Sri Anand's answer that followed that the
> choice is between leaving home vs. karma and Bhakti.  First they are not
> mutually exclusive.

I thought we just spent a few days concluding they are mutually exclusive.

> What is going to do when he leaves the house?

The fallacy here is assuming karma is a unitary thing.  Actually there is
a whole range of behavior.  The miniscule amount of action that the
sannyasi has to perform in order to stay alive in no way compares to the
action of loving a grandson.

> Renunciation is not leaving karma or Bhakti, but the notion that I am the
> doer while the action is being performed.  Sankaraacharya has provided what
> true Bhakti means in the VivekachuuDaamani - I donot remember the sloka.
> He difines Bhakti as the contemplation on one self.
>

No this is renunciation of karmaphala.  Which is also neccessary but as
many quotes over the past few days have demonstrated Shankaracharya
requires renunciation of karma itself.

> Next question is why does he want to leave the house.  If he is mentally
> attached to his grand child, he will carry the grand child mentally even he
> leaves the house - He wont be honest to himself either even if he leaves
> the house.  There are many, who leave the house becuase of smashaana
> vairaagya - who left their families in the impulsive and ended having
> families else where.

Agreed, so the answer to Anands question given the facts of the situation
is no, the grandfather is not being honest.

> On the other hand, if he is detached mentally but does
> not want to hurt the small grand child, he can still be staying at home
> continue his practices with non-attachment.

If he is worried about hurting the child, he is not detached and hasn't
even renounced karmaphala.

> He can practices his meditation
> at home to the degree possible. He has to weigh his grand childs need vs
> his need.

Vairagya admits to no needs.  Did Arjuna weigh the needs of Bhishma or
Drona?

> If he is like Siddhartha,

...he's on the wrong mailing list. :-)

> The only advantage of leaving the house for the grandfather, if he is truly
> detached, is that he will have more free time without the unnecessary
> disturbances for his meditation.
>

That's a pretty big advantage.

> Hence external sanyaasa should not be taken unless internal sanyaasa is
> there.  The teacher who gives sanyaasa generally does not give to his
> disciple unless he has that detachment.

Interestingly a view has been mentioned on this list that only those who
have the requisite prarabdtha karma end up taking sannyas.  How do you
square this with the view expressed above?

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