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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 11
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RENUNCIATION QUESTION: In many people's view, the World is good and enjoyable; why then is it regarded as something to be renounced if we wish to attain Enlightenment? ANSWER: The term "renunciation" has been the subject of much misunderstanding and misinterpretation. In the experience of accomplished Yogis, the World is a beautiful creation of the Supreme Intelligence. So why renounce it? The short answer is that what we must renounce is not the World itself, but our limited and distorted experience thereof. This much should have been understood by now even in the West. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. In our endeavour to solve the problem, therefore, we must identify three main factors, the elucidation of which should lead to a proper understanding of the matter: (1) the definition of the word "renunciation" or sannyas, in Yogic terminology, (2) what it means to the person who renounces (sannyasi or renunciant) and (3) what meaning it can have for society at large. First, what must be accepted as established beyond any shadow of doubt is that human perception of reality is very limited: even animals often possess faculties of sensory perception that are far superior to those of ordinary humans. It is for this very reason, and for the sole purpose of completing, expanding and clarifying our perception of reality, that entire fields of knowledge such as philosophy, religion, science and psychology have been established by the thinking minds of the World. Yet a limited perception of the World is only the beginning of the problem. Limited as it already is, this perception is further distorted by our psycho-mental apparatus: our sense faculties are conditioned to perceive certain data to the exclusion of others; our emotion patterns ensure that we feel in predetermined ways about certain things; and our intellectual training demands that we think in a fixed way about everything. Thus the human mind acts as a filter consisting of sense perceptions, emotions and thought-constructs which allows only a very watered-down and muddled-up picture of reality to enter our field of awareness. This necessarily leads to a faulty understanding of the World which in turn creates an incoherent, inharmonious and ultimately dysfunctional, relationship with the World, leaving us trapped in a truly hopeless situation. In consequence, what Yoga or common sense, suggests, is not that we give up the World but our dependence on a limited and distorted perception of the World. The difficulty lies in the fact that in order to acquire a clearer and more reliable perception of the World, we need to do two things: detach ourselves from the habitual World in order to prevent the mind from constantly re-inforcing and imposing upon us its distorted picture of the World; and direct our conscious attention to those aspects of the World which our mind until now has systematically excluded from the picture. Should anybody prove capable of accomplishing this without any form or degree of isolation from the World, we naturally wish them good luck. We shall not here concern ourselves with those rare cases, but limit ourselves to the majority of Spiritual aspirants who may, as a matter of fact, require from time to time brief or prolonged periods of retirement from, or "renunciation" of, the known World. (The discerning Seeker will, no doubt, have observed that even the opponents of renunciation often offer "retreats" to their followers.) We shall accordingly further investigate the process of renunciation. It will be remembered that what is ordinarily experienced as "World" is just a small fragment of the totality of reality: there is much more to the World than a Spiritually untrained mind allows us to see. Logically speaking then, even if the World were renounced in a negative sense, this would hardly constitute a major issue so long as reality is not renounced in its totality, supposing of course, that such total renunciation be possible. If, on the other hand, the World were to be renounced in a positive sense, this would certainly amount to a positive, rather than negative enterprise. Negative renunciation is the act of rejecting the World as worthless or even harmful and is negative by virtue of its being based on a negative attitude towards the World. It is, of course, not found among genuine Yogis. Yet even this kind of renunciation presupposes a desire in the renunciant to seek something better, which desire must be admitted to be good - or positive - in nature, being potentially conducive to an improved condition or situation. Now, if the desire that prompts the renunciant in his action is essentially good, then the act of renunciation itself cannot be altogether bad. Naturally, we may expect a positive form of renunciation to be even better. Indeed, as we shall presently explain, positive or true renunciation is neither negative nor is it renunciation - in the absolute sense - at all. It must be once more recalled that ordinary experience of reality or "the World" is limited and fragmentary. In consequence, renunciation is the provisional abandonment of a limited mode of experience for the purpose of acquiring a less limited one. (The adjective "provisional" is here used to stress the fact that, having reached a higher level, the renunciant is free to return any time to lower points in the spectrum of experience if he so chooses. In other words, the end result of renunciation is an increased freedom of experience. As a matter of fact, the extraordinary freedom of experience it confers on its followers is precisely what has made Yoga so attractive to generations upon generations of Spiritual Seekers.) When correctly understood, the purpose of renunciation is to enable us to go beyond, or transcend, limited habitual experience together with our psychological dependence on such experience. Once a higher and wider experience of reality has been attained, this will in turn transform, complete - and thereby enhance - our previously limited mode of experience. As a result of this process of transformation, the initially abandoned World is finally seen in a new light and re-integrated into one's expanded experience of life. This is the true meaning of renunciation. In practice, we may identify three forms or levels of renunciation:
In the first instance, physical and mental interaction with other human beings is drastically reduced, as in the case of monks living in a monastic community, or altogether suspended, as in the case of a hermit who lives well outside the range of human society. In the second, interaction with material reality needs neither be restricted nor completely suspended but continued on a level that is not conducive to psychological attachment or dependence. In the third instance, the aim is to eliminate all forms of attachment, including to non-material forms of existence such as the astral or other planes. While in the first case, reduction or suspension of contact with society may still leave the renunciant open to psychological attachment to such contact, all attachment is eliminated in relation to physical reality in the second case and in relation to both physical and non-physical reality, in the third. The last two levels do not include physical isolation as a necessary condition, the renunciation taking place on the psychological and Spiritual level, respectively. In other words, social contact needs not be an impediment to Spiritual development, provided that it is accompanied by the correct inner attitude. As already observed, renunciation is a process of transcending limited experience along with our psychological dependence on, or addiction to, such experience. It is a conscious transition from the psychological to the Spiritual field of experience and is understood as such by authentic, that is, Spiritually informed practisers of renunciation. This transition does not mean the total and permanent elimination of limited, psychological experience from our field of awareness but its integration into the larger and more real sphere of Spiritual reality. As such, it represents a positive step forwards in a person's Spiritual evolution. As for the meaning it can have for society, it is known from archaeological, historical and other sources, that various forms and degrees of withdrawal from ordinary life have been practised in all human societies from earliest prehistoric times down to our day. The stone-age shamans of Asia and Europe, the native medicine men of America and Australia, the priests, magicians and prophets of Ancient Egypt, India and Greece, religious leaders like Orpheus, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad, as well as 20th century sages like Ramana Maharshi of Arunachala, are reported to have spent periods of isolation, partial or total, from what is commonly termed "the World". The fact is that these episodes of temporary isolation are not regarded as having produced results detrimental to the society or tradition in question. Ancient Pagan sanctuaries, Hindu ashrams, Buddhist and Christian monasteries, have always been important seats of knowledge and great sources of inspiration to entire populations. In fact, if we define renunciation as the abandonment, temporary and partial or otherwise, of certain situations, activities or experiences, then it must be admitted to constitute a factor so fundamental to all human life as for its exclusion therefrom to appear neither desirable nor indeed possible. Thus, a new-born baby begins life in this World by abandoning the mother's womb. A child abandons the state of childhood to reach adulthood. An adult abandons this life for the next, hopefully better, life. When we walk, we abandon a patch of earth and place our foot on another in order to move forwards. When we exhale, we expel a volume of used air so we can inhale fresh air. When we think, we let go of a thought so we can generate a new one. A political leader may temporarily retire from the cares of state to collect his thoughts and gather the strength to better discharge the duties of his office. An artist or scientist may avoid social contact to concentrate on the work of art or scientific discovery he is about to make and so on... When seen from this perspective, the whole of life proves to be a constant flow of letting-go instances, of "moments of renunciation" which are all directed towards the attainment of something good, positive, creative. As far as Yoga is concerned, it has always been accepted practice among the followers of the Yoga Path to temporarily or permanently renounce the comforts and pleasures of ordinary life and devote themselves to Spiritual practices exclusively. However, to interpret this as negative indifference to the World, means to completely misunderstand the Yogis' motives and intentions and to be blind to their true function in the World. Suppose a host, in the course of a party and with the full satisfaction of his visitors in mind, leaves his guests to ensure that the supply of food, drinks and entertainment is running according to plan. To the uninformed guests, his absence may appear to amount to a blatant disregard of his duties, when in fact the reverse is true. Something similar happens in the case of Yogis who, unbeknown to outsiders, contribute in a variety of essential ways to Mankind's welfare while externally appearing to be wholly detached or disinterested. The fact is that regardless of how renunciation is interpreted by the uninitiated, the Yogis of India have always been regarded by their fellow citizens as compassionate beings. Historically speaking, out of compassion for the World, Yogis have often renounced their state of blissful isolation to resume social interaction at all levels of life. Many have acted as advisers to political rulers. Others have initiated and supervised the founding of cultural and religious institutions, Spiritual schools, charity organisations, or military orders. Indeed, a number of ancient Yogic or Yoga-inspired texts such as the highly acclaimed Yoga-Vasishta, far from advocating nihilistic inaction, vigurously promote a harmonious blending of Spiritual knowledge and action. Even the most celebrated renunciant of all times, Lord Buddha himself, renounced his high social status and became a mendicant monk only to spend most of his life preaching to growing numbers of followers and laying the foundation of what was to become a major World Religion. In modern times, Shri Aurobindu of Pondicherry (1872-1950) who had begun his carrier as a militant campaigner in India's struggle against British occupation, renounced the World to write a number of Spiritual works and form a powerful movement known as Integral Yoga. Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh (1887-1963), a successful medical doctor, renounced the World to devote himself to the publication of hundreds of books and the establishment of a worldwide Yoga School. Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri (1908-1983), having taken the vows of renunciation early in his life, travelled to many countries, initiating yet another Spiritual movement known as Siddha Yoga. In view of these facts, even the most recalcitrant sceptic must concede that far from being absolute, renunciation often simply means the shifting of one's focus of interaction with the World from the material to a more Spiritual level. This is only natural since, from the perspective of Yoga, the World is not an illusion but a real creation of the Universal Intelligence or God. The intention of genuine Yogis then, is not to forget the World but to adjust and harmonise their experience of the World with the Universal Mind who created it. To ensure that this process of harmonisation is not disrupted or even rendered impossible by ordinary life, short- or long-term isolation from the World may under circumstances become necessary. This may amount to anything from several days to a few months or, in extreme cases, even years. Although the notion of physical or mental isolation, however partial and temporary, may give rise in certain individuals to objections to, and even wholesale rejection of, Spiritual practices, such reactions are as unfounded as a child's fear of going to sleep. The truth is that, as we open ourselves to a broader spectrum of reality, our capacity for sensory perception, emotion, or thought cannot possibly diminish; on the contrary, our experience of the World becomes richer, more harmonious and more enjoyable. In the same way as when tired, ordinary men withdraw from the World and go to sleep in order to better see and enjoy the World upon waking, so also, Yogis temporarily retire from the World so that they may acquire a clearer and broader vision of it which in turn will inspire and enlighten their own life and that of their fellow humans. What must be beyond doubt is that life lived on any of the three levels of renunciation or non-attachment as defined earlier, has the potential of inducing the development in the aspirant of a wide range of essential psychological qualities such as humility, compassion, patience, self-control, resistance to pain, fearlessness, non-attachment, selflessness and will-power as well as psychic abilities such as an enhanced power of intuition, telepathy, clairvoyance etc., all these being the result of close contact with the Spiritual planes and manifestations of the awakening Spiritual power (Shakti) operating on those planes, enabling the successful practiser to offer a valuable living example to others. Finally, one may reasonably argue that, in a World that is becoming more and more intrusive, crowded and alienated from Nature, partial or total withdrawal from ordinary life offers a welcome relief. Indeed, in many cases, it may already constitute a medical necessity. In the light of this, the emotional rejection of the validity of renunciation as a legitimate Spiritual means, demonstrates the Spiritual and psychological immaturity of its opponents. It is the opponents of renunciation who are being negative, first because they base their rejection on the evidently false assumption that what they perceive as being renounced, that is, "the World", is the only or most important aspect of reality and second, because they misinterpret or misunderstand the renouncer's true motives and intention. Those who are irritated by the idea of renunciation should be aware of the not irrelevant fact that their reaction may be the symptom of an underlying psychological fixation with what they perceive as the World. What is more alarming, however, is that this kind of psychological commitment may inadvertently promote the cause of those who seek to suppress the freedom of religious and Spiritual expression that constitutes the very foundation of a free World. Needless to say, such misguided attitudes are already rampant in many places on Earth and are scarcely in need of encouragement from supposedly more enlightened members of the human race. Regardless of how Spiritually untutored outsiders view renunciation, it remains an indispensable practice of great psychological, social and Spiritual benefit to millions of people, especially in the de-Spiritualised and addiction-promoting society of today. In practice, however, whether or not a person should enter on the path of renunciation will be determined by the aspirant's psychological predispositions, Spiritual fitness and external circumstances. At any rate, in Yoga, nobody is forced to renounce anything. Accordingly, we would like to conclude with the words of the Enlightened Masters themselves: Neither seek nor reject, just be your real Self. This, in the final analysis, is the true Yogic attitude.
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