Sannyāsa Initiation Lecture

Prabhupāda: ... and sat means om tat sat, the Absolute Truth. Sannyāsa.

[aside:] So stop that sound.

So renouncement, simply giving up something, is not very good idea. You must have something better. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg 2.59].

[The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.]

If you get something better, then you give up something inferior. Our Vaiṣṅava philosophy, renouncement means renouncement of sense gratification. The Māyāvāda sannyāsa means karma-tyāga, simply reading Vedānta philosophy, sāṅkhya philosophy, and everything given up. But our Vaiṣṅava philosophy is giving up the wrong thing and accepting the right thing—side by side.

Simply if I give up, it will not stay very long time. If I simply by sentiment give up, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, "This world is false and Brahman is the real, reality," so there are so many sannyāsīs we see, they give up the so-called mithyā world and come to the Brahman realization by meditation. By meditation, meditation... Then meditation means hospital and school. Because there is no Brahman, there is no reality. So after much meditation, comes to the conclusion that "Now I am a sannyāsī. I must open school, college and daridra-nārāyaṅa sevā and goat-nārāyaṅa killing." This kind of sannyāsa has no meaning. Daridra-nārāyaṅa sevā, by killing goat nārāyaṅa. Goat is not Nārāyaṅa; simply daridras are Nārāyaṅa. If you accept one as Nārāyaṅa, why should you not accept the other as Nārāyaṅa?

So this kind of false sannyāsa is not accepted by the Vaiṣṅavas. Vaiṣṅavas, they accept sannyāsa for better activities. For better activities means dedicated life for satisfying the Supreme Lord. Mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja. Anyone who has sacrificed his life for Kṛṣṅa, he's sannyāsa. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ, sa sannyāsī [Bg 6.1].

[The Blessed Lord said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic: not he who lights no fire and performs no work.]

Na niragnir na cākriyaḥ. One who has given up... A sannyāsī is not supposed to cook. Ni..., niragniḥ. And na niragnir na yogī. But anāśritaḥ karma-phalam.

Tyāgī means karma-phala tyāga. This is tyāga, real tyāga. Suppose you are working. You are doing some business and getting lakhs of rupees' profit. If you can give up that profit for Kṛṣṅa, that is sannyāsa. Otherwise, "I shall enjoy fully the profit and I have become a great devotee"? No. Sannyāsa means, as it is stated, anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ. Karma-phalaṁ. There must be some karma-phala, whatever you do. There must be some result, bad or good.

So anāśritaḥ, without taking shelter of the result of activities, kāryaṁ karma karo... "It is my duty." Just like Arjuna did. Arjuna understood that Kṛṣṅa wanted the fight. He took it, kāryam, that "I, this, this, I must do. This I must do. Kṛṣṅa wants it. Because my business is to satisfy Kṛṣṅa. I cannot become nonviolent, as I wanted to become falsely, 'Kṛṣṅa, I don't want to fight with my cousin-brothers, my nephews, my grandfather.' That was my sense gratification."

Kṛṣṅa immediately said, "What kind of nonsense you are talking, that you won't fight, won't fight? This is not good." Kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame... "What kind of nonsense you are speaking? You have come to fight in the battlefield, and now you are talking that nonviolence. So don't talk all this nonsense, because you are My friend, My cousin-brother. It does not look well." Anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam [Bg 2.2]. "These things are done by the anaryas, not by a gentleman." Anārya-juṣṭam akīrti-karam. "You..., this, this will be infamous for you. Don't do like that." Then He explained to him Bhagavad-gītā. And when he understood, then he took sannyāsa. What is that sannyāsa? Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava [Bg 18.73]:

[Arjuna said, My dear Kṛṣṅa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.]

"Yes, I'll fight." That's all. So this is sannyāsa. Anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ [Bg 6.1].

[The Blessed Lord said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic: not he who lights no fire and performs no work.]

He was first of all judging, "If I kill my cousin-brothers, my grandfather, there will be bad result. I'll go to hell." Now, later on decided, "Hell or heaven, I don't care for it." That is called anāśritaḥ. "I don't take shelter of hell or heaven. I take shelter of Kṛṣṅa." A devotee does not discriminate what is hell or what is heaven. Nārāyaṅa-parāḥ sarve na kaścana na bibhyati [SB 6.17.28].

[Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṅa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.]

One who is nārāyaṅa-parāḥ, devotee, he doesn't care for what is hell or heaven. Svargāpavarga-narakeṣu api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ [SB 6.17.28]. A devotee... Just like Nārada: he goes to hell, he goes to heaven. He has got freedom to go everywhere. Tulyārtha-darśinaḥ. For him, there is no hell, there is no heaven. He's preaching Kṛṣṅa consciousness wherever he goes. That's all. He has nothing to do.

Just like we went to that Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad. We were received by the jail authorities, where Gandhi was put into jail. Who was with me in that...? You were... You were also there? No. So we went to jail. There, they made very good arrangement. The prisoners, they received us, they chanted Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra. So it was a good function. So we want to..., went to jail. But what we have got to do with the jail? We have no business with the jail. Similarly, sometimes we are invited in a very rich man's house, governor's house. We go there. That is heaven. So we have nothing to take, either from this heaven or from that hell. We have to chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra anywhere. That is our business.

So,

nārāyaṅa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ [SB 6.17.28]

[Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṅa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.]

So this renouncement, for preaching Kṛṣṅa consciousness, that is real sannyāsa. Just like when I went to your country, actually sometimes I had to live in a hell according to our Indian standard, Vedic standard. So what can be done? Hell or heaven, I have to do my duty. It doesn't matter. Factually... I do not want to describe those things. So this sannyāsa means do not care for personal sense gratification—"Oh, this is inconvenience. This is convenience." Simply go on preaching Kṛṣṅa consciousness.

So this sannyāsa. Anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ, sa sannyāsī yogī. He's yogī, he's sannyāsī in everything, who is simply working for Kṛṣṅa. There will be some result, loss or gain. So if there is loss, that is Kṛṣṅa's. If there is gain, that is also Kṛṣṅa's. Not that loss is Kṛṣṅa's and gain is mine. No. Not like that. Everything Kṛṣṅa's. We have to work for Kṛṣṅa.

[aside:] So, so take this mantra.

Śyāmasundara: These are the copies of the two mantras. Two pages.

Prabhupāda: No. Come on. First Bhavānanda come. You also take. Chant this mantra: Etām...

[devotees chant mantra responsively with Prabhupāda]

No. Stand up. Etām.... Stand up.

etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām upāsitāṁ pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ ahaṁ tariṣyāmi duranta-pāraṁ tamo mukundāṅghri-niṣevayaiva [SB 11.23.57]

[śloka chanted responsively two more times]

Come on. Whose this is? Yours? Give that garland. Come on. Give him garland.

Devotees: Haribol!

Prabhupāda: [indistinct] Stand up. So... Give him. So the purport of this verse, etāṁ sa āsthāya, "This sannyāsa order I am accepting." Why? Etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām: just to fix up my mind steadily on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, parātma-niṣṭhā. My only life is meant for serving the Supreme Lord, original Nārāyaṅa, not daridra-nārāyaṅa. That is my niṣṭhā. Etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhā.

You... If we serve the Supreme Nārāyaṅa, the daridra-nārāyaṅa is automatically... There is no such word as daridra-nārāyaṅa. The poor souls, they can be served automatically. Just like taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ [SB 4.31.14].

[As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.]

If the root is watered, then the trunk and branches and the twigs and the leaves and the flowers, automatically. Prāṅopahārāc ca yathendriyāṅām. Prāṅopahārāc. Just like offering foodstuff to the stomach. Then every indriya, every sense is satisfied. Two, two examples are given. One may argue, "Suppose I am watering. That is also nice. I water to the root, I water to the leaf also." The injunction is that there is no necessity of watering the leaves. You simply water the root. But if you argue that "What is the harm...? Suppose I..., root, offer water to the root, as well as to the leaves and twigs." Just like somebody says, "All right. Why we shall only worship Kṛṣṅa? Why not other demigods?" although it is not necessary.

But the next example is given that prāṅopahārāc ca yathendriyāṅām. Just like offering foodstuff to the stomach, the senses automatically become healthy, then now, if you say, in the same way... Just like offering to the root as well as to the leaves, that "Yes, I shall offer foodstuff to the stomach as well as to the ears and eyes," then what the result will be? The result will be that your eyes and ears will be stopped functioning. [laughter] Therefore this very example is given. This, this is not required at all. Similarly, by worshiping Kṛṣṅa, you don't require to endeavor to worship the demigods, to worship the daridras, to worship the this and that. It will be automatically done.

Just like in our temples, everywhere, we are daily feeding so many daridras. So many. In Los Angeles, in New York, and Māyāpur also, daily we are feeding five hundred to one thousand people. They are daridras. So that is the duty of every temple. There we're feeding not only Hindus and, only, but Muslims also. Anyone. Anyone come here and take prasādam. And the whole village is so satisfied with these activities. Temple means there must be sufficient foodstuff. Anyone who comes for foodstuff, he should be given.

So by worshiping Kṛṣṅa, these things automatically done. There is no need of extra endeavor. Parātma-niṣṭhā. This is called parātma-niṣṭhā. Etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhā. Not only now; from time immemorial, all the temples in India, they have got sufficient foodstuff. Even at Nātha-dvāra, if you pay them only two anna or four annas, they'll give you so much nice prasādam. The two annas, four annas, the priestly order, they take. Otherwise, prasāda is distributed.

So by worshiping Kṛṣṅa... Kṛṣṅa is not hungry. He's fully satisfied. He doesn't require to eat. Temple worship means to distribute the prasādam to the poor. That is temple worship. Temple worship does not mean that you, you bring some rice from the neighborers and cook it and eat yourself and sit, sleep down, bās. No. Temple worship means you must distribute prasādam... You should... To the poor. Everyone is poor. Not that the rich man is not poor. Actually, I have seen one rich man, he was coming for asking some prasādam. In my..., before my taking..., when I was gṛhastha, I was going in so many temples, asking for some prasādam. That's a long history. So there is no question of, if one is financially poor, he should come to the temple. Everyone should come to the temple and ask for prasāda. That is required.

So parātma-niṣṭhām. The sannyāsī should worship the Deity in the temple and feed the poor. Poor does not mean that one who has no leg, no ears, or no... Poor... Everyone who is spiritually poor, he should be given prasādam. By eating, prasāde sarva-duḥkhānāṁ hānir asyopajāyate [Bg 2.65].

[For one who is so situated in the Divine consciousness, the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such a happy state, one's intelligence soon becomes steady.]

That is called paramātma-niṣṭhām. Yajña. It is called yajña-śiṣṭāśino santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. It is not poor-feeding; it is distributing the resultant action of yajña. This worship is yajña. So yajña-śiṣṭāśino... If you feed some men, not the so-called poor—everyone—then they'll be freed from their sinful activities. Yajña-śiṣṭāśino santaḥ mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. Kilbiṣaiḥ means sinful activities.

Therefore prasāda distribution. Because everyone is engaged simply duṣkṛtinaḥ, simply sinful activities—eating everything, doing everything, and their life is full of sinful activities. Therefore to deliver them, this prasāda distribution is required. Mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. Not that cooking in an, like a hotel, and sometimes, out of compassion, we distribute prasādam. That kind of, means bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṅāt [Bg 3.13],

[The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.]

simply for feeding myself or yourself. Just like in marriage ceremony and other ceremonies we do. That, that bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpā, they're simply eating pāpā.

Therefore we are prohibited to take prasādam anywhere and everywhere. Because if there is no Deity worship, if we take food from their house, then we partake the sin, resultant action of their sinful activities. We should be careful. Unless it is prasādam, if we accept invitation from anywhere and everywhere, that means we are accepting the sinful activities, resultant action of the sin, person. Therefore a sannyāsī... And it was, formerly, this was the regulation, that sannyāsī would take prasādam in the house of a brāhmaṅa, because a brāhmaṅa is supposed to worshiper of Nārāyaṅa. In every house of a brāhmaṅa there was Nārāyaṅa-śilā. Still some rigid brāhmaṅas, they worship. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu even, He did not accept prasādam from a non-Vaiṣṅava brāhmaṅa. He must be brāhmaṅa, at the same time Vaiṣṅava. Then He would accept.

So this regulation we should follow. We should not accept food. Prasādam. If anyone wants to give us food, then he must arrange for cooking food and offering to the Nārāyaṅa, to the Viṣṅu, Kṛṣṅa. Then we can take. This is the... Otherwise we... Bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātmā... People who are cooking for eating oneself, that cooking, that eating is simply sinful. Without prasādam, whatever we eat, that is we are eating sin, That's all. Therefore we must suffer. We should be careful. Bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpā. This is parātma-niṣṭhā, that we should not accept anything which is not offered to Viṣṅu, or Kṛṣṅa. Parātma-niṣṭhām. Etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām.

This niṣṭhā is not invented by us. Pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ upāsitām. All great predecessors... There were other sannyāsīs, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, even Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was a sannyāsī. So pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ upāsitām. These actions were executed by our previous ācāryas. Pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ upāsitām. Mahadbhiḥ. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ [Cc Madhya 17.186].

[Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.]

You have to follow the ācārya. Ācārya upāsana. Aham... The, what will be the result? Now, ahaṁ tariṣyāmi. I shall cross over.... Tariṣyāmi. Duranta-pāram: the extensive, unlimitedly extensive, the ocean of material existence. Ahaṁ tariṣyāmi duranta-pāraṁ tama. Tama means this material world, which is darkness. Because our business is to go out of this darkness to the light. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. We have to go to the light.

So this is the process. Aham... And what is that process? Tama mukundāṅghri-niṣevayaiva. Mukunda means Kṛṣṅa, one who gives liberation. Hari. Hari means one who takes away all your sinful activities. Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi [Bg 18.66].

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

He's taking; therefore His name is Hari. Mukundāṅghri. Another name is Mukunda. Mukunda means... Muk means mukti, and ānanda means bliss. Kṛṣṅa gives you mukti, deliverance, deliverance from this tama, this material world, and gives you transcendental bliss; therefore His name is Mukunda. Mukundāṅghri: the lotus feet of Mukunda. Niṣevayaiva. Simply by serving the lotus feet of Mukunda, I can do this. This is the sum and substance.

So this sannyāsa order, although it is prohibited in this age... Because so many rascals will accept sannyāsa and do all nonsense things; therefore sannyāsa is prohibited. Just like nowadays in Kali-yuga the..., some of the sannyāsīs, they are eating meat. Disastrous. So this kind of rascal sannyāsism is prohibited in the śāstra. Sannyāsaṁ pala-paitṛkam, devareṅa sutotpattiṁ kalau pañca vivarjayet [Cc Ādi 17.164].

[In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyāsa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife.]

But Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Vaiṣṅava ācāryas, they took sannyāsa for preaching work, not for doing rascaldom. Preaching work. So mukunda ahaṁ niṣevaye. Mukundāṅghri-niṣevayaiva. Simply by serving... Mukunda, Kṛṣṅa, what does He want? He wants that this philosophy of Kṛṣṅa, Bhagavad-gītā, should be spread all over the world. You take up this determination and be steady in your sannyāsī. That is my request.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Haribol. [end]