The Philosophy of the Upanishads c12.s3.t3: 3. The Sannyâsa

The Philosophy of the Upanishads c12.s3.t3

Language: English

c12.s3.t3.6 — 4 parts

3. The Sannyâsa

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The Sannyâsa, which is originally only the rejection of the entire Brâhmanical mode of life with its three âs'ramas, assumed in course of time the position of a fourth and highest âs'rama, which as a rule, though not necessarily, would first be entered upon towards the close of life after passing through the stages of brahmac'ârin, gṛihastha and vânaprastha. It thus, however, gained a further meaning. If it was originally an apparent consequence of the knowledge of the âtman, it became now a final and most certain means by which it was hoped to attain that knowledge. The Sannyâsa accordingly is represented as such a means to the knowledge of the âtman and to emancipation in a series of later Upanishads (the most important are *Brahma*, *Sannyâsa*, *Âruṇeya*, *Kaṇṭhas'ruti*, *Paramahaṃsa*, *Jâbâla*, *Âs'rama*); and from these we propose to endeavour to sketch a picture of this most characteristic feature of Indian religious life. Remembering however the slight regard which the Sannyâsins, following the example of Yâjñavalkhya,¹ entertain for the Vedic tradition, and the lack of other authority, it is intelligible that the rules and formulas out of which the Sannyâsa Upanishads have been compiled are in details full of contradictions.

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¹ Bṛih. 3. 5, 4. 4. 21.

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(1) *Preliminary conditions of the Sannyâsa*. A clear distinction between these four âs'ramas is found only in Jâb. 4 and Âs'r. 1–4. The latter Upanishad distinguishes the third and fourth stages by the fact that all four varieties of the vânaprastha continue to observe the sacrifice in the forest, while the four varieties of the sannyâsin are absolved from it. Jâb. 4 enjoins entrance into the sannyâsa only after passing through the stages of brahmac'ârin, gṛihastha and vânaprastha, but permits the transition direct from any stage. Similarly in Kaṇṭh. 1 the injunction is given to renounce the world “in the right order,” while in Kaṇṭh. 2 a deviation from it is allowed. In Sanny. 1 renunciation is defined as an “advance beyond the stages of life” (therefore still not a fourth stage). According to the descriptions of Sanny. 2 and Kaṇṭh. 4 the transition is direct from the position of householder to renunciation; and the reason for this may be either that gṛihastha and vânaprastha are still placed side by side as preliminary stages of renunciation,¹ or that vânaprastha and sannyâsin are not yet definitely separated.²

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¹ As in Chând. 2. 23. 1.

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² As in Âs’r. 3-4, and later.

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(2) Departure from life. The Sannyâsa demands a surrender of all possessions, a resigning the seven upper and seven lower worlds, which on this occasion are enumerated,³ an abandonment of sons, brothers, relatives,⁴ of father, son and wife,⁵ of teachers and relatives,⁶ of children, friends, wife and relatives,⁷ a leaving behind of family.⁸ In one passage only⁹ is permission given for him who renounces the world to be accompanied by his wife. The Sannyâsa is accordingly a complete separation from life; and therefore in this instance also, as at death, a purification (saṃskâra) by sacred text and ceremonies has to be observed.¹⁰ In particular the candidate for renunciation has still to offer a sacrifice for the last time, in the description of which the texts greatly differ. In Sanny. 1 an offering is prescribed to the deceased and a sacrifice to Brahman (brâhmeshti); henceforth the man who has renounced the world lives without offerings to the deceased and sacrifices.¹¹ Kaṇṭh. 4 requires that in the first place for twelve successive days an agnihotram with milk shall be proffered, during which time the sacrificer himself shall live only on milk; then after selecting once again as before all the hitherto recognised sacrificial priests,¹² he is to offer a vais’vânara sacrifice (i.e. to Agni Vais’vâ- nara, probably to be understood as in Chând. 5.

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19–24),¹ accompanied by a mouse to Prajâpati (perhaps as ransom from the duty of begetting), and a cake of three layers to Vishnu.² In Jâb. 4, on the contrary, the sacrifice to Prajâpati is disapproved of, and only that to Agni as Prâna is demanded (probably therefore the vais'vânara, sacrifice), but subsequently direction is given for a Traidhâtavîya offering to the three elements, sattvam, rajas and tamas. Thus too in Jâb. 4, in harmony with the separation of all four stages here carried out, he who enters upon the Sannyâsa is thought of as a vânaprastha; and this is the ground of the immediately following prescription, that the priests shall cause the fire to be brought from the village; if no fire is to be had, the offering shall be made in water, “for water is all the deities.”³ This offering is made with the words, “Om! I offer to all the deities, svâhâ,” where the word om implies all three Vedas;⁴ and thereupon the sacrificer shall taste the fat and savoury meats of the sacrifice. According to Kanth. 1 he is to stretch his limbs symbolically over the sacrificial utensils, thereby signifying his renunciation of them. Kanth. 4 commands him to throw his wooden vessels into the fire, the earthen into water, and to give the metal ones to his teacher;

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elsewhere he is to throw the broken wood into the fire.⁵ Thereby he symbolically takes the fire, which henceforth he will no longer maintain, into himself,⁶ or into his body.⁷ The sacrificial fire he takes up into the fire of his belly,⁸ the Gâyatrî⁹ into the fire of his speech.¹⁰ It is probably this taking up of the sacrificial fire into his own body which is symbolically intended when he who has renounced the world, addressing the fire, has to consume a handful of ashes from the embers,¹ or to smell the fire.² Besides this ceremony, mention is made of a special initiation (dīkshā),³ which must be completed by means of the hymn Atharvav. 11. 8:—“When Manyu chose himself a wife from out of the saṅkalpa,” etc. Since this hymn expresses itself in depreciatory style of the origin of the body,⁴ this application of it perhaps meant that a man thereby declared himself free from his own body. After thus separating himself from sacrificial duties, a highly significant act followed, upon which accordingly stress is laid by all the texts, namely the laying aside of the sacred thread, the token that he belongs to the Brâhmanical class,⁵ and the lock of hair which indicates his family descent.⁶ Henceforth meditation alone is to serve as the sacrificial cord,⁷ and knowledge as the lock of hair,⁸ the timeless âtman is to be both sacred thread and lock of hair for him who has renounced the world.⁹ According to Kaṇṭh. 4 the sacred thread, according to Jâb.

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6 this and the lock of hair, are offered in water with the words “svâhâ to the earth”; according to Âr. 2 the sacred thread and lock of hair are to be buried in the earth or sunk in water. The later systematising of Âs’r. 4, which distinguishes four grades of Sannyâsins, insists on the retention of the lock of hair and the sacred thread by the Bahûdaka, the lock of hair without thread by the Haṃsa, and allows only the Paramahaṃsa as the highest grade to dispense with lock of hair and sacred thread, or even to shave the head. On this point also difference of opinion exists. Kaṇṭh. 2, 3, 4 demands removal of the hair of the head, Jâb. 5 complete baldness, Kaṇṭh. 5 only a lesser tonsure, Sanny. 3 and Kaṇṭh. 5 removal of the hair on the privy parts and armpits. Last of all, the separation from the son takes place, who accompanies his father for a certain distance, after which with festive greetings both turn right round and go their way without looking back; and the son is not permitted to shed tears.¹

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³ Âr. 1.

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⁴ Âr. 1.

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⁵ Âr. 5.

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⁶ Kaṇṭh. 4.

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⁷ Par. 1.

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⁸ Âr. 2.

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⁹ Sanny. 2. 7.

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¹⁰ Sanny. 1.

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¹¹ Par. 4.

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¹² Kaṇṭh. 1.

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¹ Kanth. 1 and 4.

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² Kanth. 4.

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³ cp. sup. p. 190 f.

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⁴ Jâb. 4.

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⁵ Sanny. 1, Kanth. 4.

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⁶ Sanny. 1.

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⁷ Sanny. 2. 4.

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⁸ In which for the future he offers the prâna-agnihotram, sup. p. 124 f.

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⁹ i.e. the Veda, Chând. 3. 12. 1.

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¹⁰ Âr. 2.

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¹ Kaṇṭh. 4.

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² Jâb. 4.

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³ Sanny. 3, Kaṇṭh. 5.

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⁴ cp. the translation, Allgemeine Einleitung, pp. 270-277.

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⁵ Kaṇṭh. 2, 3, 5, Âr. 1, 3, 5, Brahma 3.

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⁶ śikhâ, Kaṇṭh. 2, 3, Âr. 1, Brahma 3, Par. 1.

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⁷ Kaṇṭh. 2, Brahma 3, Par. 2.

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⁸ Kaṇṭh. 2, Brahma 3.

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⁹ Par. 2.

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¹ Kaṇṭh. 2 and 3.

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(3) Dress and Equipment. On these also great differences of opinion exist. The robe should according to Sanny. 3, Kaṇṭh. 5 be dark red, according to Jâb. 5 colourless, according to Kaṇṭh. 2 torn or made of bark, according to Sanny. 4 patched. Âsr. 4 permits the Bahûdaka to wear a loin-cloth and dark red robe, the Paramahaṃsa only rags and a loin-cloth. Par. 4 requires of the latter that space be his clothing, Jâb. 6 that he should live “naked as he was born.” Together with the coat, girdle and thread, the staves also of palâśa, bilva or aśvattha wood, which serve to distinguish the castes, must be laid aside.² In their place the triple staff, composed of three staves twisted together (tridaṇḍam, probably as a token of the reconciliation of caste differences), makes its appearance,³ but even this is sometimes forbidden.⁴ We have instead the single staff (token of complete reconciliation),⁵ or the staff of bamboo.⁶ Even this however is prohibited⁷ with the remark that he who carries knowledge alone as his staff is rightly named a man with a single staff. Âsr. 4 introduces system again here by permitting the triple staff to the Bahûdaka, to the Haṃsa the single staff, and allows no staff to the Paramahaṃsa. Similarly in Sanny. 3 a sieve, in Kaṇṭh. 5 a ragged cloth is allowed for the straining of liquid, to prevent the destruction of any living thing; on the contrary, in Jâb. 6 and the verses of Kaṇṭh. 5 even cloth-strainers are forbidden. A covering is permitted by Par. 1, but Par. 2 prohibits this for the highest grade. A summary in verse is given of the objects which a less strict observance allows to the Sannyâsin :—

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² Âr. 5.

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³ Sanny. 4.

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⁴ Kaṇṭh. 5, Jâb. 6, Âr. 2.

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⁵ Par. 1.

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⁶ Âr. 3.

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⁷ Par. 3.

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Pot, drinking-cup and flask,
The three supports, a pair of shoes,
A patched robe giving protection
In heat and cold, a loin-cloth,
Bathing drawers and straining cloth,
Triple staff and coverlet.¹

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¹ Sanny. 4. ² Kaṇṭh. 5. ³ Âśr. 4. ⁴ Kaṇṭh. 5. ⁵ Sanny. 4, 5. ⁶ Sanny. 2, 4. ⁷ Kaṇṭh. 2. ⁸ Âr. 4. ⁹ Kaṇṭh 5, Jâb. 6. ¹⁰ Kaṇṭh. 2. ¹¹ Âr. 5. ¹² Kaṇṭh. 5.

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These same objects, the very verse being repeated, are elsewhere forbidden to the Sannyâsin,² and with this the enumeration in the prose of Jâb. 6 agrees. Another passage³ allows them to the Bahûdaka, and forbids them only to the Paramahaṃsa. The direction of Âr. 5, that he who has renounced the world shall bear the syllable *om* on his limbs, is unique.

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(4) *Food*. The Sannyâsin must live by begging,⁴ only bread given in charity and broken fruits are to be his food,⁵ or water, air and fruits.⁶ Food should be asked of all four castes,⁷ the distinctions of which have no longer any existence for the Sannyâsin. Âśr. 4 distinguishes here also four grades; the Kuṭîc'aras are to beg in the houses of their children, the Bahûdakas of well-to-do Brâhman families, and the Paramahaṃsas alone of all four castes. In begging the Sannyâsin is to employ a clay or wooden vessel, or a gourd,⁸ but elsewhere the rule is laid down that his belly should form his vessel,⁹ his hand,¹⁰ or his belly or hand.¹¹ He who has renounced the world "shall eat the bread of charity, but give no alms" (*bhikshâs'î na dadyât*, for which might be read with a very slight change *bhikshâs'î 'shad adyât*, "living on the bread of charity he shall eat little").¹² This would be in harmony with other passages, according to which he who has renounced the world should use his food only as medicine,¹ should avoid eating sufficient to put on fat, but should remain thin.² Nevertheless, should he feel weak, he should not pursue these and other abstinences so far as to give rise to disorder:³ if he is ill, he should practise self-mortification only in the spirit or by means of words.⁴ Elsewhere it is said, extending the theory of the Prāṇāgnihotra:⁵ “That which he eats in the evening is his evening sacrifice, in the morning his morning sacrifice, at the new month his new moon sacrifice, that at the full moon his full moon sacrifice, and when he cuts (afresh) in the spring the hair of his head, his beard, the hair of his body, and his nails, that is his agniṣṭoma (a kind of Soma sacrifice ”).⁶

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¹ Kaṇṭh. 2, Ār. 3.

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² Kaṇṭh. 2.

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³ Kaṇṭh. 2.

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⁴ Jāb. 5.

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⁵ *sup.* p. 124 f.

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⁶ Kaṇṭh. 4.

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(5) *Place of abode.* The essential characteristics of the man who has renounced the world are already implied in the three chief names which he bears. As *sannyāsin* he must “cast everything from him,” as *bhikshu* live only as a “beggar,” and as *parivrāj*, *parivrājaka* must wander about homeless as a “pilgrim (vagrant).” He is no longer tied to any locality. He has no further interest in dying in *Avimuktam* (a place at Benares that ensures immediate salvation for those who die there), for he bears always with him the *Varaṇā* and the *Asī* (two streams, between which Benares lies, and from which it derives its name *Vārāṇasī*), as the arches (*varaṇa*) of his eyebrows and his nostrils (*nāsā*).⁷ As a rule he is to make his home by the side of water,⁸ on sand-banks in a river or before the doors of a temple,⁹ or to sit or lie on the bare earth.¹⁰ According to Jāb. 6, he should “remain homeless in a deserted house, or a temple of the gods, on a heap of grass, or an antheap, or among the roots of a tree, in a potter’s shed, by a sacrificial fire, on an island in a river, in a cave in the mountains, a glen, or a hollow tree, by a waterfall, or on the bare earth.” He may tarry only one night in a village, only five nights in a town.¹ An exception is allowed in the rainy season.² During the four months of rain he may remain in a village or a town;³ in the remaining eight he is to wander about either alone or in the company of another.⁴

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⁷ Jāb. 1–2.

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⁸ Kaṇṭh. 2.

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⁹ Sanny. 4, Kaṇṭh. 5.

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¹⁰ Ār. 4.

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¹ Kaṇṭh. 2; according to Âśr. 4, this rule first becomes binding at the Haṃsa stage.

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² Kaṇṭh. 5.

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³ Kaṇṭh. 2.; a gloss makes only two of them, cp. Deussen, Upan., p. 699.

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⁴ Âr. 4.

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(6) Occupation. The Sannyâsin, as we have seen, no longer offers sacrifices, the place of these being taken by the nourishing of his own body,⁵ and similarly he continues to live without study of the Veda,⁶ without the Vedic texts;⁷ but he is to “recite the Âraṇyakam and the Upanishads from all the Vedas.”⁸ All the texts require of him “bathing, meditation, and purification by sacred waters,”⁹ washings at intervals of three days,¹⁰ washings and rinsing of the mouth “with water as the vessel” (i.e. without a vessel).¹¹ In particular there is also enjoined upon him silence,¹² meditation,¹³ and the practice of yoga.¹⁴ His chief virtues are described as “chastity, abstinence from doing injury, poverty and truthfulness.”¹⁵ He says:—“All living creatures are at peace with me, for by me everything has been created.”¹⁶ He must not accept gold, or touch it, not even once look at it.¹⁷ He has abandoned all desire, knowledge is his staff, therefore is he rightly named “with a single staff”; he however who takes the wooden staff, because it gives him freedom “to eat of anything,” is a false sannyâsin, and goes to hell.¹⁸ He on the contrary who has truly renounced the world "should bid farewell to lust, anger, desire, infatuation, deceit, pride, envy, self-will, presumption and falsehood."¹ He is "free from the six surges (of saṃsāra :— hunger, thirst, vexation, error, old age and death), and leaves behind him censure, pride, jealousy, deceit, haughtiness, longing, hatred, pleasure, pain, desire, anger, greed, error, joy, disappointment, self-will and everything of the kind; and because his own body is regarded by him merely as a carcase he turns away for ever from this decaying body, which is the cause of doubt, perversity and error, and directs his mind steadfastly to that (Brahman), makes his home in him, and knows of him, who is tranquil, immutable,—‘I am that timeless one, consisting wholly of bliss and knowledge, it is I myself, he is my highest state, my lock of hair, my sacred thread.’"² He is not elated by praise, does not curse when he is reviled.³ "He does not attract and he does not cast off; for him there are no longer Vedic texts, or meditation, or worship, or visible and invisible, or joined and disjoined, or I and thou and the world, . . . steadfast in pain, in pleasure without desire, in longing self-restrained, in all things dependent neither on beauty nor ugliness, free from hatred and free from joy. The motions of every impulse have been stilled, he abides only in knowledge, firmly founded in the ātman."⁴ "Then he may enter upon the great journey, by abstaining from nourishment, throwing himself into the water or the fire, or choosing a hero's death; or he may betake himself to a hermitage of the aged."⁵

Cites (9)

Paramahaṃsopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Āruṇeyopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Jābālopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Āśramopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Brahmopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Chāndogyopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Kaṭhaśrutyupaniṣad — Sanskrit
Sannyāsopaniṣad — Mādhavayogin, Sanskrit

The Philosophy of the Upanishads c12.s3.t3: 3. The Sannyâsa

Contents

3. The Sannyâsa

Cites (9)