Grandfathers and sannyaasa

Rushikesh K. Joshi rushi at BRONTO.IITM.ERNET.IN
Wed Nov 20 22:15:01 CST 1996


(I had problem in sending this, trying a resend..)


> On Wed, 20 Nov 1996, Charles A. Hillig wrote:
>
> > Isn't it possible to be 100% involved and  fully participatory in his
> > family's life,
> >              and yet to remain 100% detached from the dramas that unfold in
>  it?
> >
>
> Yes, but that is not the point of the story. The key thing to be noted is
> the grandfather's answer, "I am never going to leave you." This indicates
> attachment on the grandfather's part. So long as there is no detachment
> from all ties, including near family, there is no point in taking to the
> sannyasa-asrama as a matter of ritual.
>
> Vidyasankar
>

Namaste Vidya,

I would say the grandfather left the house with such an intense renunciation
that in between his stepping out of the door and hearing the child's cry,
he bacame Wise ! He Realized !
And now having realized, he just comes back, and with full knowledge, says to
 the child:
'O my dear, Don't cry,  I am never going to leave you'.
And that is what Chuck calls it as 100% renunciation at the same time 100%
 involvement.
Our grandfather is now one such !


- Joshi

>From  Thu Nov 21 04:56:41 1996
Message-Id: <THU.21.NOV.1996.045641.GMT.>
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 04:56:41 GMT
Reply-To: kstuart at mail.telis.org
To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
From: Ken Stuart <kstuart at MAIL.TELIS.ORG>
Subject: Re: CELIBACY
Comments: To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
In-Reply-To: <961120202859_604712957 at emout05.mail.aol.com>
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Hello,

On Wed, 20 Nov 1996 20:29:00 -0500, Chelluri Nageswar Rao
<Chelluri at aol.com> wrote:

>                                             MATRENAMAH
>
>NAMASKARAMS!
>
>I feel celibacy is essential to practice what is learned.   We can learn what
>and how to practice from the biographies of present and past saints.   Any
>comments?

Celibacy is definitely encouraged by most great teachers and gurus.

However, it is quite difficult in the modern world.

In the 1950's, perhaps it was not difficult to live in the world and
remain celibate, but in the 90's, one's living conditions must be
equivalent to a monastery because all of the media are full of images
of sexuality, so one must essentially disconnect from that and also
from general society where people are always talking about it,
dressing scantily, etc.

Thus what one ends up setting up for oneself, in order to be celibate,
is equivalent to a monastery, so one might as well go to a real
monastery (or an ashram).

My own personal experience is that I've made some attempts to be
celibate for awhile at home, but it didn't really work out.   Whereas
when I stay at an ashram, it is not a problem because it is setup to
facilitate that.


Namaskar,

Ken

kstuart at mail.telis.org
http://www.zynet.com/~castlerx/kstuart/KSphilosophy.html



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