All World
Gayatri Pariwar

The sannyasi and the yogi are one like Shuka and Janaka

Sannyasa and yoga represent the highest flights of the human spirit. Sannyasa and yoga are ideals which are impossible to attain in their fullness here on the earth while we are confined within the body, but human thought can rise to such heights. A true yogi and a true sannyasi will exist only in definitions; the ideals will always be beyond our reach. But we have to take as examples persons who have approximated the ideals, and say, on the lines of geometry, ‘Let so and so be taken as a perfect yogi and so and so be taken as a perfect sannyasi.’ While talking about sannyasa, the names of Shuka and Yajnavalkya are usually mentioned.

As examples of karmayogis, Janaka and Krishna have been mentioned, in the Gita, itself. Lokmanya Tilak has listed a number of yogis and sannyasis in his treatise ‘Gita-Rahasya.’ He has written that King Janaka, Lord Krishna etc. took the path of karmayoga while Shuka and Yajnavalkya took the path of sannyasa, implying that these two paths are mutually exclusive. But a little reflection will show that they are not so. Yajnavalkya was a sannyasi and Janaka was a karmayogi. Janaka, the karmayogi was a disciple of Yajnavalkya, the sannyasi and Shuka, a disciple of Janaka took the path of sannyasa. What this means is that yogis and sannyasis are parts of the same chain; yoga and sannyasa constitute a single order; they are not mutually exclusive paths.

Vyasa told Shuka, his son, “Shuka, my son, you have certainly attained self-knowledge, but it lacks the seal of confirmation from a guru [1]. So I would like you to go to Janaka, the King for this purpose.” Shuka thereupon proceeded to meet King Janaka. On the way to the palace, he passed through the capital city, observing the urban scene which was unknown to the young hermit. When he reached the palace and met the King, the following conversation took place -

Janaka - What brings you here, young man?
Shuka - To gain knowledge, sir.
Janaka - Who has sent you?
Shuka - Vyasa, my father, has asked me to meet you.
Janaka - Wherefrom have you come?
Shuka - From the ashram [2].
Janaka - While coming here from the ashram what did you observe in the market?
Shuka - I observed sweetmeats made of sugar piled up everywhere.
Janaka - What else did you see?
Shuka - I saw sugar-statues walking on the streets and talking with each other.
Janaka - What did you see next?
Shuka - I then saw the palace steps, made of sugar.
Janaka - And what thereafter?
Shuka• Everywhere I found pictures made of sugar.
Janaka - What are you seeing now?
Shuka - A sugar-statue is talking to another sugar-statue.
Janaka - Well, you may go now. You have indeed attained self-knowledge. [3]

Thus Shuka got what he wanted: the recognition from Janaka that he has attained self-knowledge. The point is that Janaka, the karmayogi, accepted Shuka, the sannyasi as his disciple.

There is another interesting story about Shuka. King Parikshit had been cursed that he would die after seven days. He wanted to prepare himself for the impending death; he wished to be instructed by a guru as to how to be so prepared. He sent for Shuka, Shuka came and sat in cross-legged position, narrating the Bhagawata [4] to him continuously for full seven days. He never changed his sitting position. What was remarkable is that he felt no strain although he was made to exert himself too much. Though he was constantly working, it was as if he was not doing anything. There was no feeling of fatigue. Thus it is clear that yoga and sannyasa are not mutually exclusive.

That is why the Lord says, ‘Ekam sankhyam cha yogam cha, yah pashyati sa pashyati’ (He truly sees who sees both sankhya and yoga as one). He who realizes that yoga and sankhya are one understands the true secret. Let a true sannyasi, with mind completely pure and still, dwelling in the divine consciousness, stay amongst us for just a few days. Imagine how much he will illuminate and inspire our lives! His mere sight, mere presence will achieve what good works accumulated over years cannot. Even a look at a photograph can cleanse the mind, pictures of dead persons can arouse devotion and love in the heart and purify it. When this is the case, imagine the inspiration one can derive from being in the presence of a living sannyasi!

Both the sannyasi and the yogi do loksamgraha [5]. In the case of the sannyasi, action appears to have been renounced, but the apparent inaction is full of action. It is packed with infinite inspiration. A jnani sannyasi and a jnani karmayogi are on the same plane. Terms differ, but meaning is the same. Yoga and sannyasa are two forms of the same principle. When a wheel is rotating very rapidly, it appears to be unmoving. This is the case with a sannyasi. Mahavira, Buddha, Nivrittinath [6] were such realized souls. Although all the activity of such a sannyasi appears to have come to a standstill, he is doing immense work. Thus, a yogi is a sannyasi and a sannyasi is a yogi. These terms are synonymous and interchangeable.

But still yoga is better than sannyasa

Nevertheless, the Lord has given a little more weight to yoga. He says that karmayoga is superior to sannyasa. Why does He say so when there is no difference between them? What does it mean? When the Lord says so, it is from the standpoint of a seeker. Doing everything without being active oneself is possible for a realized soul, not for a seeker. But it is possible for a seeker, at least to some extent, to follow the way of doing everything without getting attached to work, i.e. acting outwardly but remaining inactive within. Working without acting will be a riddle for a seeker; he will be at a loss to understand it. For a seeker, karmayoga is the path as well as the destination.  But sannyasa is only the destination; it cannot be the path. Hence, from the standpoint of the seeker, karmayoga is superior and preferable to sannyasa.

By the same reasoning the Lord has, in the Twelfth Chapter, said that saguna is preferable to nirguna [7]. All the organs can be put to use in saguna sadhana [8]; it is not so in the nirguna sadhana where there is no work for the organs. This is difficult for a seeker to follow. In saguna sadhana, eyes can behold the Lord’s form, ears can hear His praise, hands can worship Him (in the form of an idol) and serve the people, feet can be used to go on a pilgrimage. In this way, all the organs can be given some work; putting them to such use, they can be gradually saturated with the divine consciousness. This is possible in saguna sadhana, not in the nirguna one where there is no use for any organ; there is, as it were, a ban on the use of all the organs. Such a blanket ban could very well frighten the seeker. How can then nirguna get imprinted on his mind? If he sits still, his mind will get filled with all sorts of useless and untoward thoughts. The nature of the sense-organs is such that they invariably tend to do what they are told not to do.

Do not the advertisements exploit this very fact? They start with the headline: ‘Don’t read this’. So the reader is intrigued and invariably reads what follows. That is the very purpose of the advertisements - to induce the people to read their contents attentively. In nirguna sadhana, the mind will wander aimlessly, while in saguna bhakti it will be engaged in something or the other. In saguna bhakti, there is place for worship, service, and compassion. The organs have something to do in it. If the organs are so engaged, the mind will not go anywhere even if given freedom to do so; it will get interested in the activities and will inevitably get concentrated without even being aware of it. But if you try to concentrate the mind forcibly, it will run away in no time. It is, therefore, better to engage the organs in some good work and let the mind go anywhere; it will not do so. But if you try to force it to be still in one place, it will invariably run away.

Saguna is superior to nirguna for a man encased in the body, because it is easy. The ingenuity in seeing that the actions leave no trace on the mind even while continuing to do them is better than doing work without acting, because it is easier. In karmayoga there is scope for effort and practice. In it one can control the organs and then try to withdraw the mind from all the activities gradually. This effort can succeed some day, even if it is not immediately possible. Karmayoga is thus easier to follow: It is its special plus point. Otherwise karmayoga and sannyasa are one and the same in their perfect states. In karmayoga, hectic activity appears on the surface but there is perfect peace within, while in sannyasa there is power of moving the whole world without doing anything. Thus both are not what they appear to be. Perfect karmayoga is sannyasa and perfect sannyasa is karmayoga; there is no difference; but karmayoga is easier for a seeker to follow.

Changdeva sent a letter to Jnanadeva. It was nothing but a piece of blank paper, as he could not make up his mind on how to address Jnandeva; Jnanadeva was much younger in years but superior in wisdom. Should he address him respectfully as one addresses an elder or write ‘Chiranjeev’ [9] as one addresses a younger person? Unable to decide, he sent the blank letter. It first reached the hands of Nivrittinath. He ‘read’ it and passed it on to Jnanadeva who too ‘read’ it and passed it on to Muktabai, their youngest sister. Reading the letter, Muktabai exclaimed, “Hey, Changdeva, you are so old, but still you are blank [10] ” Nivrittinath had read something different in that letter. He said, “Yes, Changdeva is blank, which means that he is pure and innocent, and therefore deserves to be taught.” So he asked Jnanadeva to send a reply to this letter. Jnanadeva sent a letter comprising 65 small stanzas. This letter is therefore called ‘Changdeva Pasashti’[11]. Such is the charming story of this letter. It is easy to read written words, but difficult to read what is not written. There is no end to reading it. A sannyasi appears to be empty and blank, but he is full of infinite work.

Although sannyasa and karmayoga are of equal worth in their perfect states, karmayoga has an additional practical value. A currency note and a gold coin of the same denomination have the same value as long as the government is stable; but if the government collapses, the currency note is reduced to a paper whereas the gold coin will have some worth under all circumstances as it is, after all, made of a precious metal. In the perfect state, karmayoga (action) and renunciation of action have the same value, as self-knowledge is there in both of them. Value of self-knowledge is infinite. In mathematics there is a principle that you may add any quantity to infinity, the total remains equal to infinity. Karmayoga and renunciation of karma are of equal value when coupled with self-knowledge, but when self-knowledge is deleted from both the sides, kannayoga is preferable for a seeker. Karmayoga, as already said, is a path as well as the destination while sannyasa is only the destination.  In the terminology of the scriptures, karmayoga is a means as well as the nishtha while sannyasa is only the nishtha, that is, the ultimate state.

[Reproduced with kind permission of Paramdham Publication, Pavnar from Chapter 5 of ‘Talks on The Gita’ by Sant Vinoba Bhave, 16th edition (Jan 2005)]

Notes:

1.    In the Indian tradition, having a guru (a master) was considered a must for spiritual seekers to guide them
2.    Ashram here means a hermitage, a dwelling of the ascetics.
3.    A man who has attained self-knowledge sees that things in the world are different forms of the same single substance. Shuka has used the word ‘sugar’ to indicate that substance.
4.    A great religious and spiritual epic, said to be written by Vyasa
5.    Here it means bringing the people together, holding them together and guiding them along the path of virtue and righteousness.
6.    Elder brother and guru of saint Jnanadeva
7.    ‘Saguna’ means ‘with attributes’ while ‘nirguna’ means ‘without attributes’. These are two aspects of Brahman, or God, who could be saguna (Personal God with attributes) as well as nirguna ( Impersonal, Unmanifest and Absolute). Saguna sadhana or bhakti includes service and idol-worship. Brahman can also be ‘sakar’ (with form) as well as nirakar’ (formless). Different religions and traditions believe in one or more of these aspects. For example, for a devotee, God is saguna as well as sakar. In Islam, God is saguna but nirakar.
8.    Sadhana means spiritual pursuit, i.e. efforts for self-realization or attainment of self-knowledge
9.    Chiranjeev literally means ‘immortal’. Addressing a younger person as Chiranjeev is an expression of the wish that he should live a long life
10.    Implying thereby that he had yet to acquire true knowledge.
11.    Pasasht means 65.