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

[Ven Balakrishnan]

Thanks Kartik.

I can also only reiterate the sequence of verses in GVK that I initially quoted, but for brevity just repeat the first, which is in accord with your point.  

829. Since it is impossible to know beforehand the last moment of one’s life, it is best for one who has a firm determination [to put an end to birth and death] to renounce at the very moment he gets disgust for the body and world.

venkat



> On 18 Jun 2021, at 18:27, S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> 
> 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
> 
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