Everything about Sannyasin totally explained
» "Sanyasi" redirects here. For the motion picture, see Sanyasi (1975 film)
Sannyasa, (
Devanagari: संन्यास) is the
renounced order of life within
Hinduism. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the
varna and
ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young
monks who wish to dedicate their entire life towards spiritual pursuits. One within the sanyass order is known as a
sannyasi or
sannyasin.
Etymology
in
Sanskrit means "renunciation", "abandonment". It is a tripartite compound of [[copulativea|]] has "collective" meaning,
ni- means "down" and is from the root, meaning "to throw" or "to put", so a literal translation would be "laying it all down".
Typology
There a number of types of sannyasi in accordance with socio-religious context. Traditionally four types of forest hermits with different stages of dedication. In the recent history two distinct orders are observed 'ekadanda' (lit.
single stick) and 'tridanda' (lit.
tripple rod) safron dressed monks, first being part of
Sankaracarya tradition second is sannyasa followed by various
vaishnava traditions and introduced to the west by followers of the reformer
Siddhanta Sarasvati. Austerities and attributes associated with the order as well as expectations will differ to both.
Lifestyle and goals
The sannyasi lives without possessions, practises
yoga meditation — or in other traditions,
bhakti, or devotional meditation, with prayers to their chosen
deity or
God. The goal of the Hindu Sannsyasin is
moksha (liberation), the conception of which also varies. For the devotion oriented traditions, liberation consists of union with the Divine, while for Yoga oriented traditions, liberation is the experience of the highest
samadhi (enlightenment). For the
Advaita tradition, liberation is the removal of all ignorance and realising oneself as one with the Supreme
Brahman.
Within the
Bhagavad Gita, sannyasa is described by
Krishna as follows:
"The giving up of activities that are based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life [sannyasa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call renunciation [tyaga]." (18.2)
Application
The term is generally used to denote a particular phase of life. In this phase of life, the person develops
vairāgya, or a state of determination and detachment from material life. He renounces all worldly thoughts and desires, and spends the rest of his life in spiritual contemplation. It is the last in the four phases of a man, namely,
brahmacharya,
grihastha,
vanaprastha, and finally sannyasa, as prescribed by
Manusmriti for the
Dwija castes, in the Hindu system of life. However, these four stages are not necessarily sequential, but on the other hand can not be reversed, in other sense they're progressive phases, one can skip one, two or three ashrams, but can never revert back to an earlier ashrama or phase. Various Hindu traditions allow for a man to renounce the material world from any of the first three stages of life.
Monasticism
Unlike monks in the Western world, whose lives are regulated by a monastery or an abbey and its rules, some Hindu sannyasin is a loner and a wanderer (parivrājaka). Hindu monasteries (
mathas) never have a huge number of monks living under one roof. The monasteries exist primarily for educational purposes and have become centers of pilgrimage for the lay population. Ordination into any Hindu monastic order is purely at the discretion of the individual guru, who should himself be an ordained sannyasi within that order. Most traditional Hindu orders don't have women sannyasis, but this situation is undergoing changes in recent times.
Danda as spiritual attribute
In the
Varnashrama System or Dharma of
Sanatana Dharma, the '
danda' (Sanskrit;
Devanagari: दंड, lit.
stick) is a spiritual attribute and
axis mundi of certain deities such as
Bṛhaspati, and holy people such as
sadhu carry the danda as an austerity and marker of their station as a mendicant renunciate or
sannyasin.
Sannyasa Upanishads
Of the 108
Upanishads of the
Muktika, 23 are considered Sannyasa Upanishads.
They are listed with their associated Veda ((KYV) "The Faces of God"
(SV)
(KYV)
(ŚYV)
[[MaitrayaniyaUpanishad|]] (SV)
(SV)
(KYV)
(AV)
(ŚYV)
(SYV)
(SYV)
(SV)
(AV)
(SV)
(AV)
(KYV)
(KYV)
(SYV)
(KYV)
(SYV)
Noted sanyasis
Adi Shankara (approx 788 – 820)
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486 - 1533)
Totapuri (1780-?)
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950)
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874 – 1937)
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977)Further Information
Get more info on 'Sannyasin'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://sannyasa.totallyexplained.com">Sannyasa Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
