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(Translated from Bengali)

(From the Diary of a Disciple)

[Place: The Alambazar Math. Year: 1897.]

After Swamiji’s first return to Calcutta from the West, he always used to place before the zealous young men who visited him the lofty ideals of renunciation, and anyone expressing his desire of accepting Sannyāsa would receive from him great encouragement and kindness. So, inspired by his enthusiasm some young men of great good fortune gave up their worldly life in those days and became initiated by him into Sannyāsa. The disciple was present at the Alambazar Math the day the first four of this batch were given Sannyāsa by Swamiji.

Often has the disciple heard it from the Sannyāsins of the Math that Swamiji was repeatedly requested by his brother-monks not to admit one particular candidate into Sannyāsa, whereupon Swamiji replied: “Ah, if even we shrink from working out the salvation of the sinful, the heavy-laden, the humiliated, and the afflicted in soul, who else are to take care of them in this world? No, don’t you please stand against me in this matter.” So Swamiji’s strong opinion triumphed, and always the refuge of the helpless, he resolved out of his great love to give him Sannyāsa.

The disciple had been staying at the Math for the last two days, when Swamiji called him and said: “Well, you belong to the priestly class; tomorrow you get them to perform their Shrāddha, and the next day I shall give them Sannyāsa. So get yourself ready by consulting the books of ceremonials today.” The disciple bowed to this mandate of Swamiji, and the ceremony was duly gone through.

But the disciple became very much depressed at the thought of the great sternness of Sannyāsa. Swamiji detecting his mental agitation asked him, “Well, I see, you feel some dread in your mind at all this experience, is it not so?” And when the disciple confessed it to be so, Swamiji said: “From this day these four are dead to the world, and new bodies, new thoughts, new garments will be theirs from tomorrow—and shining in the glory of Brahman they will live like flaming fire! ‘न कर्मणा न प्रजया धनेन त्यागेनैके अमृतत्वमानशु:—Not by work, nor by progeny, nor by wealth, but by renunciation alone some (rare ones) attained Immortality’ (Kaivalya Upanishad).”

After the ceremony, the four Brahmachārins bowed at the feet of Swamiji. He blessed them and said, “You have the enthusiasm to embrace the loftiest vow of human life; blessed indeed is your birth, blessed your family, blessed the mothers who held you in their womb! ‘कुलं पवित्रं जननी कृतार्था—The whole family-line becomes hallowed, the mother achieves her highest!’”

That day after supper, Swamiji talked of the ideal of Sannyāsa alone. To the zealous candidates for Sannyāsa, he said: The real aim of Sannyāsa is “आत्मनो मोक्षार्थं जगद्धिताय च—For one’s highest freedom and for the good of the world”. Without having Sannyāsa none can really be a knower of Brahman—this is what the Vedas and the Vedānta proclaim. Don’t listen to the words of those who say, “We shall both live the worldly life and be knowers of Brahman.” That is the flattering self-consolation of crypto-pleasure-seekers. He who has the slightest desire for worldly pleasures, even a shred of some such craving, will feel frightened at the thought of the path you are going to tread; so, to give himself some consolation he goes about preaching that impossible creed of harmonising Bhoga and Tyāga. That is all the raving of lunatics, the frothings of the demented—idle theories contrary to the scriptures, contrary to the Vedas. No freedom without renunciation. Highest love for God can never be achieved without renunciation. Renunciation is the word—“नान्य: पन्था विद्यतेऽयनाय—There’s no other way than this.” Even the Gitā says, “काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदु:—The sages know Sannyāsa to be the giving up of all work that has desire for its end.”

Nobody attains freedom without shaking off the coils of worldly worries. The very fact that somebody lives the worldly life proves that he is tied down to it as the bond-slave of some craving or other. Why otherwise will he cling to that life at all? He is the slave either of lust or of gold, of position or of fame, of learning or of scholarship. It is only after freeing oneself from all this thraldom that one can get on along the way of freedom. Let people argue as loud as they please, I have got this conviction that unless all these bonds are given up, unless the monastic life is embraced, none is going to be saved, no attainment of Brahmajnāna is possible.

Disciple: Do you mean, sir, that merely taking up Sannyāsa will lead one to the goal?

Swamiji: Whether the goal is attained or not is not the point before us now. But until you get out of this wheel of Samsāra, until the slavery of desire is shaken off, you can’t attain either Bhakti or Mukti. To the knower of Brahman, supernatural powers or prosperity are mere trivialities.

Disciple: Sir, is there any special time for Sannyāsa and are there different kinds of it?

Swamiji: There is no special time prescribed for a life of Sannyāsa. The Shruti says: “यदहरेव विरजेत् तदहरेव प्रव्रजेत्—Directly the spirit of renunciation comes, you should take to Sannyāsa.” The Yogavāsishtha also says:

युवैव धर्मशील: स्याद् अनित्यं खलु जीवितम्।
को हि जानाति कस्याद्य मृत्युकालो भविष्यति॥

—“Owing to life itself being frail and uncertain, one should be devoted to religion even in one’s youth. For who knows when one’s body may fall off?”

The Shāstras are found to speak of four kinds of Sannyāsa: (1) Vidvat, (2) Vividishā, (3) Markata, (4) Ātura. The awakening of real renunciation all at once and the consequent giving up of the world through Sannyāsa is something that never happens unless there are strong Samskāras or tendencies, developed from previous birth. And this is called the Vidvat Sannyāsa. Vividishā Sannyāsa 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 Sannyāsa to give himself up to those pursuits. Markata Sannyāsa 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 Sannyāsa, though in such a case the renouncing spirit does not endure long. Shri Ramakrishna used to say of it, “With this kind of renunciation one hastens away to the up-country and then happens to get hold of a nice job; and then eventually perhaps arranges to get his wife brought over to him or perhaps takes to a new one!” And last, there is another kind of Sannyāsa which the Shāstras prescribe for a man who is lying on his death-bed, the hope of whose life has been given up. For then, if he dies, he dies with the holiest of vows upon him, and in his next birth the merit of it will accrue to him. And in case he recovers, he shall not go back to his old life again but live the rest of his days in the noble endeavour after Brahmajnāna. Swami Shivānanda gave this kind of Sannyāsa to your uncle. The poor man died; but through that initiation he will come to a new birth of higher excellence. After all, there is no other way to the knowledge of the Self but through Sannyāsa.

Disciple: What then, sir, will be the fate of the householders?

Swamiji: Why, through the merit of good Karma, they shall have this renunciation in some future birth of theirs. And directly this renunciation comes, there is an end of all troubles—with no further delay he gets across this mystery of life and death. But then all rules have their exceptions. A few men, one or two, may be seen to attain the highest freedom by the true fulfilment of the householder’s Dharma, as we have amongst us Nāg Mahāshaya, for instance.

Disciple: Sir, even the Upanishads etc. do not clearly teach about renunciation and Sannyāsa.

Swamiji: You are talking like a madman! Renunciation is the very soul of the Upanishads. Illumination born of discriminative reflection is the ultimate aim of Upanishadic knowledge. My belief, however, is that it was since the time of Buddha that the monastic vow was preached more thoroughly all over India, and renunciation, the giving up of sense-enjoyment, was recognised as the highest aim of religious life. And Hinduism has absorbed into itself this Buddhistic spirit of renunciation. Never was a great man of such renunciation born in this world as Buddha.

Disciple: Do you then mean, sir, that before Buddha’s advent there was very little of the spirit of renunciation in the country, and there were hardly any Sannyāsins at all?

Swamiji: Who says that? The monastic institution was there, but the generality of people did not recognise it as the goal of life; there was no such staunch spirit for it, there was no such firmness in spiritual discrimination. So even when Buddha betook himself to so many Yogis and Sādhus, nowhere did he acquire the peace he wanted. And then to realise the Highest he fell back on his own exertions, and seated on a spot with the famous words, “इहासने शुष्यतु मे शरीरं—Let my body wither away on this seat” etc., rose from it only after becoming the Buddha, the Illumined One. The many monasteries that you now see in India occupied by monks were once in the possession of Buddhism. The Hindus have only made them their own now by modifying them in their own fashion. Really speaking, the institution of Sannyāsa originated with Buddha; it was he who breathed life into the dead bones of this institution.

Swami Rāmakrishnānanda, a brother-disciple of Swamiji, interposed, “But the ancient law-books and Purānas are good authority that all the four Āshramas had existed in India before Buddha was born.” Swamiji replied, “Most of the Purānas, the codes of Manu and others, as well as much of the Mahābhārata form but recent literature. Bhagavān Buddha was much earlier than all that.” “On that supposition,” rejoined Swami Rāmakrishnānanda, “discussions about Buddhism would be found in the Vedas, Upanishads, the law-books, Purānas, and the like. But since such discussions are not found in these ancient books, how can you say that Buddha antedated them all? In a few old Purānas, of course, accounts of the Buddhistic doctrine are partially given; but from these, it can’t be concluded that the scriptures of the Hindus such as the law-books and Purānas are of recent date.”

Swamiji: Please read history,¹ and you will find that Hinduism has become so great only by absorbing all the ideas of Buddha.

Swami Rāmakrishnānanda: It seems to me that Buddha has only left revivified the great Hindu ideas, by thoroughly practising in his life such principles as renunciation, non-attachment, and so on.

Swamiji: But this position can’t be proved. For we don’t get any history before Buddha was born. If we accept history only as authority, we have to admit that in the midst of the profound darkness of the ancient times, Buddha only shines forth as a figure radiant with the light of knowledge.

Now the topic of Sannyāsa was resumed and Swamiji said: Wheresoever might lie the origin of Sannyāsa, the goal of human life is to become a knower of Brahman by embracing this vow of renunciation. The supreme end is to enter the life of Sannyāsa. They alone are blessed indeed who have broken off from worldly life through a spirit of renunciation.

Disciple: But many people are of opinion nowadays, sir, that with the increase of wandering monks in the country, much harm has been done to its material progress. They assert it on the ground that these monks idly roam about depending on householders for their living, that these are of no help to the cause of social and national advancement.

Swamiji: But will you explain to me first what is meant by the term material or secular advancement?

Disciple: Yes, it is to do as people in the West are doing by securing the necessaries of life through education, and promoting through science such objects in life as commerce, industry, communications, and so on.

Swamiji: But can all these be ever brought about, if real Rajas is not awakened in man? Wandering all over India, nowhere I found this Rajas manifesting itself. It is all Tamas and Tamas! The masses lie engulfed in Tamas, and only among the monks could I find this Rajas and Sattva. These people are like the backbone of the country. The real Sannyāsin is a teacher of householders. It is with the light and teaching obtained from them that householders of old triumphed many a time in the battles of life. The householders give food and clothing to the Sādhus, only in return for their invaluable teachings. Had there been no such mutual exchange in India, her people would have become extinct like the American Indians by this time. It is because the householders still give a few morsels of food to the Sādhus that they are yet able to keep their foothold on the path of progress. The Sannyāsins are not idle. They are really the fountain-head of all activity. The householders see lofty ideals carried into practice in the lives of the Sādhus and accept from them such noble ideas; and this it is that has up till now enabled them to fight their battle of life from the sphere of Karma. The example of holy Sādhus makes them work out holy ideas in life and imbibe real energy for work. The Sannyāsins inspire the householders in all noble causes by embodying in their lives the highest principle of giving up everything for the sake of God and the good of the world, and as a return the householders give them a few doles of food. And the very disposition and capacity to grow that food develops in the people because of the blessings and good wishes of the all-renouncing monks. It is because of their failure to understand the deeper issues that people blame the monastic institution. Whatever may be the case in other countries, in this land the bark of householders’ life does not sink only because the Sannyāsins are at its helm.

Disciple: But, sir, how many monks are to be found who are truly devoted to the good of men?

Swamiji: Ah, quite enough if one great Sannyāsin like Shri Ramakrishna comes in a thousand years! For a thousand years after his advent, people may well guide themselves by those ideas and ideals he leaves behind. It is only because this monastic institution exists in the country that men of his greatness are born here. There are defects, more or less, in all the institutions of life. But what is the reason that in spite of its faults, this noble institution stands yet supreme over all the other institutions of life? It is because the true Sannyāsins forgo even their own liberation and live simply for doing good to the world. If you don’t feel grateful to such a noble institution, fie on you again and again!

While speaking these words, Swamiji’s countenance became aglow. And before the eyes of the disciple he shone as the very embodiment of Sannyāsa.

Then, as if realising deep within his soul the greatness of this institution, self-absorbed, he broke forth in sweetest symphony:

वेदान्तवाक्येषु सदा रमन्तो

भिक्षान्नमात्रेण च तुष्टिमन्त:।
अशोकमन्त:करणे चरन्त:
कौपीनवन्त: खलु भाग्यवन्त:॥

—“Brooding blissful in mind over the texts of the Vedānta, quite contented with food obtained as alms and wandering forth with a heart untouched by any feeling of grief, thrice blessed are the Sannyāsins, with only their loin-cloth for dress.”

Resuming the talk, he went on: For the good of the many, for the happiness of the many is the Sannyāsin born. His life is all vain, indeed, who, embracing Sannyāsa, forgets this ideal. The Sannyāsin, verily, is born into this world to lay down his life for others, to stop the bitter cries of men, to wipe the tears of the widow, to bring peace to the soul of the bereaved mother, to equip the ignorant masses for the struggle for existence, to accomplish the secular and spiritual well-being of all through the diffusion of spiritual teachings and to arouse the sleeping lion of Brahman in all by throwing in the light of knowledge. Addressing then his brothers of the Order, he said: Our life is “आत्मनो मोक्षार्थं जगद्धिताय च—for the sake of our self-liberation as well as for the good of the world”. So what are you sitting idle for? Arise, awake; wake up yourselves, and awaken others. Achieve the consummation of human life before you pass off—“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.”

Notes

1. Evidently, during the argumentation, Swamiji was taking his stand on the conclusions of modern historical studies, thereby giving his encouragement and support to such new efforts and methods. But we know from one of his letters to Swami Swarupānanda (C.W. Vol. V, p. 171) that Swamiji broke off later on from the position of these modern scholars and worked out the pre-Buddhistic origin of much of modern Hinduism. ↩