[Advaita-l] Knowledge, renunciation and varNASrama rules - Is sanyasa ashrama sweekaram a must

[Praveen R. Bhat]

Hari OM, Varadaraja ji,

Far from saying that your observation has gone wrong, I am saying that
you've observed right. I've no answer on your question as to what the
Maharshi be recognised as in case he had not tonsured his head, etc, or more
importantly left home and continued school. I also do not know if he had
need to do that or to spend 20 yrs in the cave in silence.

What a j~nAni should do is not as important as what an aj~nAni should do to
get j~nAna and what I have a problem with is that people seem to
misunderstand that if the Maharshi could do nothing, stay at home and get
j~nAna, so can I. So even if for this reason alone, that people will follow
the saints and call it a tradition, the tradition must have the j~nAni to
follow the strict rule of saMnyAsa.

My understanding of Bhagavatpada says to conviction that renunciation is a
must to gain j~nAna. vairAgya doesn't stay vairAgya sitting at home and I
don't even know what mental saMnyAsa is. Some may say that physical saMnyAsa
does not mean vairAgya, the rules of saMnyAsa are to maintain the vairAgya
by which one took to saMnyAsa.

In closing, let me say this. I'm always told that Janaka didn't leave his
kingdom, but how many ask why Ramana left his home? Or why vAnaprastha and
saMnyAsa ashrams even exist? To me, exceptions of Janaka only prove the
rule. The saMpradAya walks the shruti dictate and that is how I see the
general rule.

Apologies again for having jumped into your discussion.

praNAm,
--Praveen R. Bhat
/* Through what should one know That owing to which all this is known!
[Br.Up. 4.5.15] */


On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 6:03 PM, Varadaraja Sharma <
rishyasrunga at rediffmail.com> wrote:

> Radhe Krishna
>
>
>
> I am not comparing Ramana and jada bharatha.  My contention is just the
> opposite. Have yagnopavitam or have not earn food by alms or get it on wages
> - does it make any difference to a person who has attained atmaikyaboda.
> Should code of conducts be prescribed for them? Should they be subjected to
> rules of varna and ashrama?
>
> you may please help me out where my observation had gone wrong.
>