[Advaita-l] Is vairAgya/renunciation a result of glumness??

[S Jayanarayanan]

(Sorry for the delay in my reply, been busy lately.)

The simple answer to the question in the subject line is: "No."

A more detailed answer is: "VairAgya is a result of Yoga and/or
upAsanA."

It is true that there have been many people who experience sorrow in
the world, but very few actually practise Yoga and upAsanA to attain
true vairAgya.

The jIvanmuktiviveka speaks of "markaTa sannyAsa" or "Monkey's
renunciation", where a certain person takes sannyAsa on account of
worldly sorrow. This may appear to be wisdom, but is actually a kind
of immaturity.

This is touched upon by Swami Vivekananda also:

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/Volume_6/Conversations_and_Dialogues(Translated_from_the_diary_of_a_disciple)/X

"The Shâstras are found to speak of four kinds of Sannyasa: (1)
Vidvat, (2) Vividishâ, (3) Markata, (4) Âtura. The awakening of real
renunciation all at once and the consequent giving up of the world
through Sannyasa is something that never happens unless there are
strong Samskâras or tendencies, developed from previous birth. And
this is called the Vidvat Sannyasa. Vividisha Sannyasa is the case of
one who, out of a strong yearning for the knowledge of the Self
through the pursuit of scriptural study and practice, goes to the man
of realisation and from him embraces Sannyasa to give himself up to
those pursuits. Markata Sannyasa is the case of a man who is driven
out of the world by some of its chastisements such as the death of a
relative or the like and then takes to Sannyasa, though in such a
case the renouncing spirit does not endure long."

-Kartik


       
____________________________________________________________________________________
Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. 
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/