[Advaita-l] Commentary on Ramana's Forty Verses

[S Jayanarayanan]

 Akilesh Ayyar ayyar at akilesh.com wrote:
 
> There's no evidence that Ramana buys into Sri Vidyaranya's idea that the
> so-called gyanimatra then requires physical sannyasa to complete things. He
> never says this *anywhere* and actively discourages the idea that sannyasa
> is some kind of requirement.
> 
> He never states or says that physical sannyasa is necessary to "steady the
> mind."
> 
 
Ramana Maharshi (RM) didn't need to say every single thing that is *already* ordained in the scriptures.
He could have made the assumption that people are reading the standard scriptures like the
Vedas, Puranas, Dharma Sutras, etc.
 
Let me put it another way - did RM explicitly PROHIBIT a GYAni householder from taking up sannyAsa,
which is called "vidvat-sannyAsa"? I'm sure that if RM had observed a GYAni becoming a sannyAsin, there
would have been no objection to the effect of, "You should remain a house-holder, not become a sannyAsin!"
 
There are many instances where sannyAsins approached RM for guidance, and he answered them normally - without
the slightest hint that he disapproved of their sannyAsa. In fact, the very first sentence of "Talks" has
such an instance! 
 
 
Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, # 1, 15th May, 1935.
 
 A wandering monk (sannyasi) was trying to clear his doubt: “How
 to realise that all the world is God?”
 
 Maharshi: If you make your outlook that of wisdom, you will find the
 world to be God. Without knowing the Supreme Spirit (Brahman),
 how will you find His all-pervasiveness?
 
 
It is also a matter of fact that everyone - including Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita and RM as well - openly
disapproved of anyone (householder or otherwise) taking up sannyAsa without vairAgya. This is clearly stated
in the famous book "Spiritual Instruction" by RM Himself:
 
 22. Is asceticism (sannyasa) one of the essential requisites for
 a person to become established in the Self (atmanishta)?
 
 ...
 How can bodily stations remove the attachment
 in the mind? As maturity of thought and enquiry pertain to
 the mind, these alone can, by enquiry on the part of the same
 mind, remove the attachments which have crept into it through
 thoughtlessness. BUT, AS THE DISCIPLINE OF ASCETICISM
 (SANNYASASHRAMA) IS THE MEANS FOR ATTAINING DISPASSION
 (VAIRAGYA), AND AS DISPASSION IS THE MEANS FOR ENQUIRY, JOINING
 AN ORDER OF ASCETICS MAY BE REGARDED, IN A WAY, AS A MEANS OF
 ENQUIRY THROUGH DISPASSION. INSTEAD OF WASTING ONE’S LIFE
 BY ENTERING THE ORDER OF ASCETICS BEFORE ONE IS FIT FOR IT, IT IS
 BETTER TO LIVE THE HOUSEHOLDER’S LIFE.
 ...
 
 
Specifically note the phrases in ALL CAPS (emphases mine). RM obviously accepts that sannyAsa-ashrama is
definitely GOOD for Self-realization. However, he also says that it is NOT a good idea if one is NOT FIT
for sannyAsa! This is the key point - not everyone (I would estimate >90%) is eligible to take up sannyAsa.
For most of us, better to stay in the householder path until one attains the requisite maturity.
 
Regards,
Kartik