Is Sannyasa Forbidden in Kali-yuga?

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Is Sannyasa Forbidden in Kali-yuga?

by Swami B.V. Giri

 

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Krsna Talk No. 34

 

Some time ago, a sannyasi that could not maintain his vows of

renunciation wrote

an apologetic letter on the internet addressed to his disciples and

friends

wherein he explained the numerous reasons why he could not continue

in the

renounced order of life.

 

In order to excuse his weakness, the apologetic sannyasi quoted a

verse from the

Brahma-vaivarta Purana to substantiate his opinion that sannyasa is

not meant

for the people of Kali-yuga.

 

asvamedham gavalambham sannyasam palapaitrkam

devarena sutopattim kalau panca vivarjayet

 

"Five things are forbidden in the age of Kali -- horse-sacrifice,

cow-sacrifice,

acceptance of sannyasa, offering flesh to the forefathers and

begetting a child

in the womb of the wife of one's elder brother." (Brahma-vaivarta

Purana,

Krsna-jnama Khanda 185.180).

 

Regrettably, by quoting this verse from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana

as evidence

that the sannyasa-asrama is ineffective in Kali-yuga, our former

sannyasi has

inferred that his own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, as well as

his

parama-guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and all other

great acaryas

like Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhva were misguided or even foolish for

having

accepted sannyasa and having awarded sannyasa to their disciples in

Kali-yuga.

 

The now retired sannyasi has unwittingly fallen into the clutches of

the

anti-devotional parties who use this very same argument against

Srila Sarasvati

Thakura and his pure representatives. The anti-devotional parties

argue that in

the Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Caitanyadeva Himself quotes this verse

indicating

that even if one has the qualities of a sannyasi, it is not

recommended in the

age of Kali.

 

However this verse was quoted by the Lord in connection with cow

killing during

his conversation with the Chand Kazi, and not in connection with

sannyasa.

Furthermore, soon after His dialogue with the Kazi, Mahaprabhu

traveled to Katwa

in order to take sannyasa Himself from Sri Kesava Bharati. We also

find that

when Mahaprabhu resided in Purusottama-dhama, many of His close

associates were

sannyasis. Sri Svarupa Damodara, Paramananda Puri, Ranga Puri, Visnu

Puri,

Brahmananda Bharati, Kesava Puri, Govinda Puri, Sukhananda Puri,

Brahmananda

Puri, Nrsingha Puri, Nrsingha Tirtha and others were all in the

renounced order

of life. Mahaprabhu's own diksa-guru Sripada Isvara Puri Gosvami was

also a

sannyasi, so how could Mahaprabhu possibly be against the acceptance

of sannyasa

in Kali-yuga?

 

In the book, The Golden Staircase, Srila Sridhara Deva Gosvami

Maharaja explains

what type of sannaysa has been forbidden in this present age.

 

"The answer is explained in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. This is a

general question

not only for the Gaudiya sampradaya, but also for the followers of

Ramanuja,

Madhvacarya, and even Sankaracarya. The Buddhists may not care for

the

directions of the Puranas, but the Sankara school and the Vaisnava

schools

accept sannyasa. Sankara was a sannyasi and for the most part his

successors

were all sannyasis as well. This is true of Ramanuja also,

Madhvacarya, and the

Visnusvami sampradaya also.

 

The interpretation is this: in Kali-yuga, sannyasa in the strict

sense of

karma-sannyasa is forbidden. Karma-sannyasa means that you leave

everything, and

that type of sannyasa is not possible in Kali-yuga. It is described

in the

sastras that in Satya-yuga, as long as a man's bones exist, that is

how long he

will live. Along with the longevity of the bones, the life will be

there. In

Treta-yuga, life may be maintained by the nervous system; but it is

stated that

in Kali-yuga 'kalav-annagatah pranah' -- one's longevity depends on

food.

Therefore sannyasa in the strict sense is not possible in Kali-yuga.

 

Previously, Valmiki was engaged in tapasya for so many years that

the insects

captured his whole body and reduced his flesh into earth, yet he

remained

present within his bones. Then later, by the help of some spiritual

miracle his

whole body was restored. But in Kali-yuga, without food it is not

possible to

live. All penances have been especially adjusted for Kali-yuga, and

the only

continuous fast allowed in Kali-yuga is for twenty-four hours - not

more than

that. In other ages, at least twelve days fasting was generally

done. If a

person had done anything wrong, then according to the smrti-sastra,

twelve days

fasting was the standard punishment for any sins. But in Kali-yuga,

twenty-four

hours fasting is the maximum because without food a man cannot

survive.

 

If he were to take karma-sannyasa while being so extremely dependent

on material

giving and taking, then he wouldn't be able to maintain his

existence. But the

life of Vaisnava tridandi-sannyasa, which is not very extreme --

take prasadam,

do service -- is a sort of modified form based on yuktahara viharas

ca, and one

living according to this principle can take sannyasa.

 

Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, Sankaracarya, Ramanuja -- all the pioneers

of the

different sampradayas took sannyasa. That has been interpreted as

karma-sannyasa, but still, sannyasa is of several kinds. There is

also

vidvat-sannaysa, which is considered by the salvationist section to

be the

highest. Their idea is that when one has fully realized that his

connection with

this material realm is a negative one, he will finish his material

encasement

and enter into the spiritual sphere. When he is fully established in

this firm

consciousness that 'my connection with the material world will be

injurious to

me,' he will then relinquish his body and go away to the spiritual

sky. That is

vidvat-sannyasa.

 

There is also narottama-sannyasa:

 

yah svakat parato veha

jata-nirveda atmavan

hrdi krtva harim geyat

pravrajet sa narottamah

 

In the narottama system of sannyasa, one has realized the presence

of or

existence of God within his heart, and thinking of Him, he leaves

his present

engagement and duties of the household and remains outside, anywhere

and

everywhere -- under a tree or in a cave or wherever -- careless of

his physical

needs. He does not immediately relinquish his body, but he takes

whatever food

he gets and when he does not get any food he fasts, and in this way

he goes on.

He leaves his household for good; that is narotttama-sannyasa.

 

And there are also different stages of sannyasa mentioned in the

sastra:

kuticaka, bahudaka, hamsa and paramahamsa progressively. But

tridandi-sannyasa

is when the sannyasi engages himself in the service of Godhead by

spreading His

message and doing some good to the public, and that characteristic

is different.

It is categorically different. The tridandi-sannyasi is not adopting

an attitude

or tactic of leaving all the engagements of this world as a result

of becoming

disgusted with its many temptations. Rather, he is engaging himself

in the

higher duty of the upper world through an agent, so his body has got

utility.

Remaining here, maintaining connection here, he is drawing some

higher thing

from above and distributing that in the environment. That is another

conception

of sannyasa, and it has positive value.

 

This is a similar engagement to that performed by the Lord's closest

associates.

When an incarnation of God comes down, His favorite parsadas, His

friends and

servitors, are also sent by Him to come down to do some service to

help Him.

There are also sub-agents who have received some engagement from the

higher

agent, and by moving within this world in that capacity, they can

earn more

spiritual wealth than those who are very eager to disconnect

completely from

this material plane. They want to try to utilize their connection

with this

mundane plane to earn some substantial wealth of the upper house. So

like the

Lord's parsadas, the tridandi-sannyasis want to work as God's

agents."

 

Although members of the anti-devotional parties and their unwitting

dupes

attempt to condemn the sannyasa-asrama by using the verse from the

Brahma-vaivarta Purana, the following verse from the same Purana has

conveniently escaped their attention.

 

dandam kamandalum rakta-vastram matranca dharayet

nityam pravasi naikatra sa sannyasiti kirttitah

 

"A sannyasi accepts only a danda, water-pot, and saffron-cloth and

resides near

a village -- this is the wealth of the sannyasa asrama."(Brahma-

vaivarta Purana

2.36.9)

 

In fact, throughout the vast body of Vedic literature, only one

verse can be

found wherein the sannyasa order is apparently forbidden in the age

of Kali. In

all the other sastras that were written for the people of Kali-yuga

a man is

repeatedly urged to take up sannyasa.

 

brahmacari grhastho va mrtadaro vanecarah

jnatva samyak param-brahma tyaktva sangan-parivrajet

 

"After he has come to understand the nature of the Supreme, a

student, a

householder, or a forest-hermit should become detached and become a

wandering

mendicant." (Smrti-sastra)

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura desired to reinstitute the

system of

daivi-varnasrama and with this in mind took up the tridanda of a

sannyasi to

preach the sublime message of Sri Caitanydeva all over the world. It

is

bewildering that one can claim to be a follower of Srila A.C.

Bhaktivedanta

Svami Prabhupada, in the line of Srila Sarasvati Thakura and in the

same breath

imply that sannyasa has no value in today's society!

 

Indeed, it is lamentable that in this age many men have taken up the

garb of

renunciation and later discarded it to enter family life. What is

even more

unfortunate is that when such persons cannot admit that the fault

lies with

themselves they instead vilify the sannyasa-asrama as being

impractical,

useless, or even dangerous in Kali-yuga. Such a 'sour-grapes'

philosophy

betrays a significant lack of faith in Sri Guru, the sattvika-

sastras, the

Vaisnavas and Sri Caitanyadeva who has Himself accepted the sannyasa-

asrama in

the age of Kali.

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura accepted sannyasa for the

purpose of

preaching Krsna consciousness all over the world and he passed that

on to his

disciples who in turn passed that on to their Godbrothers and

disciples who in

turn passed that on to their disciples, and who in turn passed that

on to their

disciples. Therefore the conclusion is that if a man wants to preach

Krsna

consciousness and serve his Gurudeva with all his energy then he

should

certainly take sannyasa. This is called sadhu-vrtti, following in

the footsteps

of great acaryas.

 

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