[Advaita-l] giving up of karma

[Amuthan]

namo nArAyaNAya!

On 10/9/07, Ramesh Krishnamurthy <rkmurthy_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Taking off from the above, is there a niShedha on saMnyAsI-s
> performing vaidika karma-s, or is it only a "recommendation"?
>
> One might say that dhyAna, SMN, etc are very purpose of taking
> saMnyAsa and these are not be regarded as actions. In other words, it
> is only ritual action that must be avoided. If that were to be the
> case, then surely any mantra-based upAsanA should be avoided.
> Possibly, saMnyAsI should not go to temples either. But that does not
> square up with facts.

saMnyAsa is recommended for those aspiring after brahmaj~nAna. but
_after_ one has taken sarvakarma-saMnyAsa, one does not have the
adhikAra for performing vaidika karma-s. hence, the nishedha for
vaidika karma-s is not a 'recommendation' for a saMnyAsI; it is a
direct consequence of the (irreversible) choice he has made.

the rationale behind sarvakarma saMnyAsa, as you have pointed out in
one of your other mails, is precisely the impossibility of
j~nAna-karma-samuccaya. a saMnyAsI of the paramahamsa order _has_ to
be a parivrAjaka and is not even supposed to do mantrajapAdi karma-s
or any form of upAsanA (except praNava dhyAna). in fact, the purpose
of taking up paramahaMsa saMnyAsa is to devote all of one's time to
AtmavicAra or to remain in brahmanishThA which is the fruit of
AtmavicAra. one who has taken it for that purpose will 'naturally' not
spend time otherwise.

but the case with paramahamsa saMnyAsI-s who are maThAdhipati-s is
different. strictly speaking, such a function is also nishiddha for a
saMnyAsI. but historically, some saMnyAsI-s have accepted this either
because of their guru's Aj~nA or for lokahita, as SrI bhAskar pointed
out. for these (and only these) saMnyAsIs, some form of nityapUjA and
the related mantrajapa are 'recommended'; but not any vaidika karma
since they don't have the adhikAra for that.

now, coming to the inconsistency you have observed, now-a-days it is
very difficult to be a parivrAjaka (in the 'physical' sense of the
term) for 'obvious' reasons. so, most of those who take up saMnyAsa
live in an ASrama where they follow some daily routine based on the
local tradition. as long as we keep in mind that unlike vaidika
karma-s, which are indirect means to moksha, yoga/upAsanA are 'more'
direct and help one to acquire the necessary physical, emotional and
mental maturity for AtmavicAra, we can sympathize with the observed
inconsistency. but in the final analysis, it IS an inconsistency and
there is no point in looking for a justification.

vAsudevaH sarvaM,
aparyAptAmRtaH.