“The Supreme Lord said, To give up the results of all activities is called renunciation [tyaga] by the wise. And that state is called the renounced order of life [sannyasa] by great learned men.” (Bhagavad-gita, 18.2)

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काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं सन्न्यासं कवयो विदु:
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणा:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kāmyānāṁ karmaṇāṁ nyāsaṁ
sannyāsaṁ kavayo viduḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ
prāhus tyāgaṁ vicakṣaṇāḥ

1. Be simple and straightforward

“I need this task accomplished. The due date is one week from today. I would like to monitor the progress along the way. This means that you should start right away. Take this as the topmost priority. It is urgent. There is no room for delay. The deliverable in question cannot be postponed.”

2. Remind of previously completed favors

“I need this task accomplished. Consider the many favors I have done for you. Oh, you cannot recall any of them? Your memory not helping matters? Well, there was that time years ago when you needed a reference for a job application.

“I believe you had been fired from your previous position. We won’t relive the sordid details. I know you blame the employer, but I think if you had not been so foolish there would not have been cause for termination.

“Anyway, during the transition you could not list the last place of employment on your job application. Instead, you had me make up a job for you. I pretended to be someone else on the phone. It was a glowing recommendation. The reference check passed. You were able to land the new job. That move has since resurrected your career.

“I don’t bring it up often, because as a friend I do not mind offering assistance. I thought you were my friend. I thought you would have the same eagerness to help me. It is a shame that I have to bring all of this up, as it is otherwise in the distant past.”

3. Yell and scream

“Stop putting up resistance. Just do it! You are the most selfish person I know. Seriously. It is just ridiculous. I ask you for the simplest favor and you have trouble. What if I behaved the same way? The next time you ask for anything, I am going to be equally as irascible. You don’t want to see that side of me. You will never want to talk to me again. Is that what you would like? I swear, you are totally useless.”

4. Bribe

“Listen, I understand that you are busy. We all have our responsibilities. We have obligations to others. But I really need this done. What is it going to take? What if I gave you some money? I will make it worth your while. Name your price. I am totally serious. Think of it like a blank check.”

5. Approach in a humble manner

This is the way of the sannyasi of the Vedic tradition, particularly if they are in the parivrajaka stage. They completely renounce material life. They beg for a living, behaving similar to the homeless person living on the street.

Except the transition is voluntary. The renunciation is intentional. The helpless state facilitates full and total surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The sannyasi relies on the blessings from the Divine to continue in life.

The forced change to a humble stature also helps in another way. The objective of sanatana-dharma, when approached in the mode of duality, when viewed as something distinct from other ways of living, is to reconnect with the Divine consciousness. It is a merging of two entities, the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. This linking is also known as yoga.

A message should be judged on its own merits. For instance, if I am teaching someone the mathematical principle of one plus one, and how it equals two, the truth stands on its own. If I have one apple and add another apple, I now have two apples. This is one of the basic teachings of mathematics. It is the foundation upon which other principles can be explained and understood.

At the same time, others are more likely to accept the message, to absorb the jnana, if I carry some credentials to back my standing. If I am known as a teacher of mathematics, there will be more attention to the message. If I am known for my intelligence, for my ability to think critically and rationally, for my sober headedness, then others are more likely to want to hear what I have to say.

With the revival of sanatana-dharma in the material world, one of the key principles is vairagya. This is renunciation. The Sanskrit word in the literal sense means the lack of attachment. The principle stands on its own. Renunciation of material living, which is operating under dualities, of seeking a false sense of happiness, is worthwhile. Vairagya and jnana go together; renunciation and knowledge.

At the same time, what if I am considered to be attached in the visible sense, with wife, children, family, homes, cars, and bank balance? Others may criticize the messenger. They will say that I have no idea what vairagya means. I am only bluffing. Therefore, I should not be recommending it to others.

The sannyasi provides a visual to the implementation of vairagya. They are in the humble state, and so when they present the principles of sanatana-dharma, others are more likely to listen. This was the mission of Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was the ideal sannyasi in this age.

“It is the duty of a mendicant (parivrajakacharya) to experience all varieties of God’s creation by traveling alone through all forests, hills, towns, villages, etc., to gain faith in God and strength of mind as well as to enlighten the inhabitants with the message of God. A sannyasi is duty-bound to take all these risks without fear, and the most typical sannyasi of the present age is Lord Chaitanya, who traveled in the same manner through the central Indian jungles, enlightening even the tigers, bears, snakes, deer, elephants and many other jungle animals.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.6.13 Purport)

Mahaprabhu humbly asked others to chant the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. He presented the philosophy of achintya-bhedabheda-tattva through the living example of a travelling mendicant. In every town and village, the holy names of Hari would be heard.

Mahaprabhu is asking nicely. He is not forcing. Material nature already compels us to move in this direction and that. We are in illusion the entire time, but if we follow the yoga of devotion we have the chance to experience the real kind of freedom, where we are unencumbered in our glorification of the one who is both nirguna and saguna.

In Closing:

To my vision came,
Chanting the holy name.

Not with bank balance filled,
Only highest truth distilled.

That to the Supreme One bound,
Happiness in His shelter found.

Message from Mahaprabhu taken,
Such that my illusion forsaken.

Categories: the five

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion, yoga