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Sannyasa (), sometimes spelled sanyasa, is the fourth stage within the Hinduism system of four life stages known as ashramas, the first three being brahmacharya (celibate student), grihastha (householder) and vanaprastha (forest dweller, retired). Sannyasa is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young brahmacharis have the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits.
Sannyasa, a form of asceticism marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is characterized by a state of disinterest in and detachment from material life, with the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits.S. Radhakrishnan (1922), The Hindu Dharma, International Journal of Ethics, 33(1): 1-22DP Bhawuk (2011), The Paths of Bondage and Liberation, in Spirituality and Indian Psychology, Springer, , pages 93-110 An individual in Sanyasa is known as a sannyasi (male) or sannyasini (female) in Hinduism. Sannyasa shares similarities with the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, and the sannyasi and sannyasini share similarity with the and bhikkhunis of Buddhism.Harvey J. Sindima (2009), Introduction to Religious Studies, University Press of America, , pages 93-94, 99-100
Sannyasa has historically been a stage of renunciation, ahimsa (non-violence), a peaceful and simple life and spiritual pursuit in Indian traditions. However, this has not always been the case. After the invasions and establishment of Muslim rule in India, from the 12th century through the British Raj, parts of the Shaivism (Gossain) and Vaishnavism (Bairagi) ascetics metamorphosed into a military order, where they developed martial arts, created military strategies, and engaged in guerrilla warfare. These warrior sanyasi (ascetics) played an important role in helping European colonialism establish themselves in the Indian subcontinent.
The term Saṃnyasa makes appearance in the , and , the earliest layers of Vedas (2nd millennium BCE), but it is rare. It is not found in ancient Buddhist or Jaina vocabularies, and only appears in Hindu texts of the 1st millennium BCE, in the context of those who have given up ritual activity and taken up non-ritualistic spiritual pursuits discussed in the Upanishads. The term Sannyasa evolves into a rite of renunciation in ancient Sutra texts, and thereafter became a recognized, well discussed stage of life (Ashrama) by about the 3rd and 4th century CE.
Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā, pravrajitA Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany Yati, yatin Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany Sramana and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts.Patrick Olivelle (1981), Contributions to the Semantic History of Saṃnyāsa, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 101, No. 3, pages 265-274
However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC mentions Rishi (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy men), with characteristics that mirror those found in later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. For example, the Rigveda, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions Munis as those with Kesin (केशिन्, long haired) and Mala clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron), engaged in the affairs of Mananat (mind, meditation).GS Ghurye (1952), Ascetic Origins, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 162-184;
These Munis, their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya (bachelor student). One class of Munis were associated with Rudra.Arthur Llewellyn Basham, The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism, , Another were Vratyas.
Those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join a group (similar to Christian mendicant orders). Some are , homeless mendicants preferring solitude and seclusion in remote parts, without affiliation. Others are cenobites, living and traveling with kindred fellow-Sannyasi in the pursuit of their spiritual journey, sometimes in or Matha/Sangha (a Hermitage, the practice of seclusion known generally as monasticism).SS Subramuniyaswami, , in What Is Hinduism? (Editors of Hinduism Today), Jan-Mar 2006, , page 102
Most Hindu ascetics adopt celibacy when they begin Sannyasa. However, there are exceptions, such as the Saiva Tantra school of asceticism where ritual sex is considered part of liberation process.Gavin Flood (2005), The Ascetic Self: Subjectivity, Memory and Tradition, Cambridge University Press, , Chapter 4 with pages 105-107 in particular Sex is viewed by them as a transcendence from a personal, intimate act to something impersonal and ascetic.
For the Bhakti (devotion) traditions, liberation consists of being an eternal servant to the Divine and release from Saṃsāra (rebirth in future life);NE Thomas (1988), Liberation for Life: A Hindu Liberation Philosophy, , 16(2): 149-162 for Yoga traditions, liberation is the experience of the highest Samādhi (deep awareness in this life);Knut Jacobsen (2011), in Jessica Frazier (Editor), The Bloomsbury companion to Hindu studies, Bloomsbury Academic, , pages 74-83 and for the Advaita tradition, liberation is jivanmukti – the awareness of the Supreme Reality (Brahman) and Self-realization in this life.Klaus Klostermaier (1985), Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, 35(1): 61-71Andrew Fort (1998), Jivanmukti in Transformation, State University of New York Press, Sannyasa is a means and an end in itself. It is a means to decreasing and then ultimately ending all ties of any kind. It is a means to the soul and meaning, but not ego nor personalities. Sannyasa does not abandon the society, it abandons the ritual mores of the social world and one's attachment to all its other manifestations.Lynn Denton (2004), Female Ascetics in Hinduism, State University of New York Press, , page 100 The end is a liberated, content, free and blissful existence.M Khandelwal (2003), Women in Ochre Robes: Gendering Hindu Renunciation, State University of New York Press, , pages 34-40, 173P Van der Veer (1987), Taming the ascetic: Devotionalism in a Hindu monastic order, Man, 22(4): 680-695
Other behavioral characteristics, in addition to renunciation, during Sannyasa include: ahimsa (non-violence), akrodha (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures), asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and shaucha (purity of body, speech and mind).Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, , page 96-97, 111-114Barbara Powell (2010), Windows into the Infinite: A Guide to the Hindu Scriptures, Asian Humanities Press, , pages 292-297 Some Hindu monastic orders require the above behavior in form of a vow, before a renunciate can enter the order. Tiwari notes that these virtues are not unique to Sannyasa, and other than renunciation, all of these virtues are revered in ancient texts for all four Ashrama (stage) of human life.KN Tiwari (2009), Comparative Religion, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 33-35
Baudhayana Dharmasutra, completed by about 7th century BC, states the following behavioral vows for a person in SannyasaMax Muller (Translator), Baudhayana Dharmasūtra Prasna II, Adhyaya 10, Kandika 18, The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIV, Oxford University Press, pages 279-281
In some texts, such as Sannyasa Upanishad, these were classified by the symbolic items the Sannyasins carried and their lifestyle. For example, Kutichaka sannyasis carried triple staffs, Hamsa sannyasis carried single staffs, while Paramahamsas went without them. This method of classification based on emblematic items became controversial, as anti-thematic to the idea of renunciation. Later texts, such as Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad stated that all renunciation is one, but people enter the state of Sannyasa for different reasons – for detachment and getting away from their routine meaningless world, to seek knowledge and meaning in life, to honor rites of Sannyasa they have undertaken, and because he already has liberating knowledge.
The Dharmasutra and Dharmaśāstras give a number of detailed but widely divergent guidelines on renunciation. In all cases, Sannyasa was never mandatory and was one of the choices before an individual. Only a small percentage chose this path. OlivellePatrick Olivelle (1993), The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, Oxford University Press, posits that the older Dharmasūtras present the Ashramas including Sannyasa as four alternative ways of life and options available, but not as sequential stage that any individual must follow. Olivelle also states that Sannyasa along with the Ashrama system gained mainstream scholarly acceptance about 2nd century BC.Patrick Olivelle (1993), The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, Oxford University Press, , page 94
Ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism consider Grihastha (householder) stage as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as human beings in this stage not only pursue a virtuous life, they produce food and wealth that sustains people in other stages of life, as well as the offspring that continues mankind.RK Sharma (1999), Indian Society, Institutions and Change, , page 28Alban Widgery (1930), The Principles of Hindu Ethics , International Journal of Ethics, 40(2): 232-245 However, an individual had the choice to renounce any time he or she wanted, including straight after student life.What is Hinduism? (Editors of Hinduism Today), , Family Life and Monastic Life, Chapter 10 with page 101 in particular
The and Āpastamba Dharmasūtras, and the later describe the āśramas as sequential stages which would allow one to pass from Vedic studentship to householder to forest-dwelling hermit to renouncer.See discussion of the development of the āśrama system in "Renouncer and Renunciation in the Dharmaśāstras." However, these texts differ with each other. Yājñavalkya Smṛti, for example, differs from Manusmṛti and states in verse 3.56 that one may skip Vanaprastha (forest dwelling, retired) stage and go straight from the Grihastha (householder) stage to Sannyasa.
Although a renouncer's practitioner's obligations and property rights were reassigned, he or she continued to enjoy basic human rights such as the protection from injury by others and the freedom to travel. Likewise, someone practicing Sannyasa was subject to the same laws as common citizens; stealing, harming, or killing a human being by a Sannyasi were all serious crimes in Kautiliya's Arthashastra.See for example, Book IV, Wikisource; see also Book IV, Chapter XI which declared murder of an ascetic as a capital crime.
Nath Siddhas of the 12th century AD, may have been the earliest Hindu monks to resort to a military response after the Muslim conquest.Alf Hiltebeitel, Their name is Legion, in Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics, University of Chicago Press, , page 332-334 and footnote 104 on page 333 Ascetics, by tradition, led a nomadic and unattached lifestyle. As these ascetics dedicated themselves to rebellion, their groups sought stallions, developed techniques for spying and targeting, and they adopted strategies of war against Muslim nobles and the Sultanate state. Many of these groups were devotees of Hindu deity Shiva, and were called Mahants. Other popular names for them was Sannyasis, Yogis, Nagas (followers of Shiva), Bairagis (followers of Vishnu) and Gosains from the 16th to the 19th centuries; in some cases, these Hindu monks cooperated with Muslim fakirs who were Sufi and also persecuted.
Warrior monks continued their rebellion through the Mughal Empire, and became a political force during the early years of British Raj. In some cases, these regiments of soldier monks shifted from guerrilla campaigns to war alliances, and these Hindu warrior monks played a key role in helping British establish themselves in India.P van der Veer (2007), Book Review, The American Historical Review, 112(1): 177-178, The significance of warrior ascetics rapidly declined with the consolidation of British Raj in late 19th century, and with the rise in non-violence movement by Mahatma Gandhi.
Novetzke states that some of these Hindu warrior ascetics were treated as folk heroes, aided by villagers and townspeople, because they targeted figures of political and economic power in a discriminatory state, and some of these warriors paralleled Robin Hood's lifestyle.Christian Novetzke (2011), Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India, Columbia University Press, , pages 173-175
Six of the Sannyasa Upanishads – Aruni, Kundika, Kathashruti, Paramahamsa, Jabala and Brahma – were composed before the 3rd-century CE, likely in the centuries before or after the start of the common era, states Sprockhoff; the Asrama Upanishad is dated to the 3rd-century, the Naradaparivrajaka and Satyayaniya Upanishads to around the 12th-century, and about ten of the remaining Sannyasa Upanishads are dated to have been composed in the 14th- to 15th-century CE well after the start of Islamic Sultanates period of South Asia in late 12th-century.
The oldest Sannyasa Upanishads have a strong Advaita Vedanta outlook, and these pre-date Adi Shankara.Stephen H Phillips (1995), Classical Indian Metaphysics, Columbia University Press, , page 332 with note 68 Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism (Advaita) Vedanta philosophy.Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, , pages 62-63 This may be, states Patrick Olivelle, because major Hindu monasteries of early medieval period (1st millennium CE) belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The 12th-century Shatyayaniya Upanishad is a significant exception, which presents qualified dualistic and Vaishnavism (Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) philosophy.Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, , page 81 note 27
Etymology and synonyms
in Sanskrit nyasa means purification, sannyasa means "Purification of Everything". saMnyAsa Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany It is a composite word of copulative a which means "together, all", ni- which means "down" and from the root , meaning "to throw" or "to put". A literal translation of Sannyāsa is thus "to put down everything, all of it". Sannyasa is sometimes spelled as Sanyasa.Angus Stevenson and Maurice Wait (2011), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, , page 1275
History
Jamison and Michael Witzel stateJamison and Witzel (1992), Vedic Hinduism , Harvard University Archives, page 47 early Vedic texts make no mention of Sannyasa, or Ashrama system, unlike the concepts of Brahmacharya and Grihastha which they do mention.JF Sprockhoff (1981), Aranyaka und Vanaprastha in der vedischen Literatur, Neue Erwägungen zu einer alten Legende und ihren Problemen. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens und Archiv für Indische Philosophie Wien, 25, pages 19-90 Instead, Rigveda uses the term Antigriha (अन्तिगृह) in hymn 10.95.4, as still a part of the extended family, where older people lived in ancient India, with an outwardly role. It is in later Vedic era and over time, that Sannyasa and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. A three-stage Ashrama concept, along with Vanaprastha, emerged about or after 7th Century BC, when sages such as Yajnavalkya left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their Pravrajika (wanderer) lifestyle.JF Sprockhoff (1976), Sanyāsa, Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus I: Untersuchungen über die Sannyåsa-Upaninshads, Wiesbaden, The explicit use of the four-stage Ashrama concept appeared a few centuries later.Patrick Olivelle (1976), Vasudevåśrama Yatidharmaprakåśa: a treatise on world renunciation, Brill Netherlands,
For Sanskrit original: Rigveda Wikisource;
For English translation: Kesins Rig Veda, Hymn CXXXVI, Ralph Griffith (Translator) The Rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati (वति, monks who beg).
Lifestyle and goals
Hinduism has no formal demands nor requirements on the lifestyle or spiritual discipline, method or deity a Sanyasin or Sanyasini must pursue – it is left to the choice and preferences of the individual.M Khandelwal (2003), Women in Ochre Robes: Gendering Hindu Renunciation, State University of New York Press, , pages 24-29 This freedom has led to diversity and significant differences in the lifestyle and goals of those who adopt Sannyasa. There are, however, some common themes. A person in Sannyasa lives a simple life, typically detached, itinerant, drifting from place to place, with no material possessions or emotional attachments. They may have a walking stick, a book, a container or vessel for food and drink, often wearing yellow, saffron, orange, ochre or soil colored clothes. They may have long hair and appear disheveled, and are usually vegetarians. Some minor Upanishads as well as monastic orders consider women, children, students, fallen men (those with a criminal record) and others as not qualified to become Sannyasa; while other texts place no restrictions.In practice, women for example, entered Sannyasa in enough numbers that Chanakya's Arthashastra in 3rd century BC, mentions women ascetics (प्रव्रजिता, pravrajitā) in several chapters; see for example, R. Shamasastry (Translator) Chapter 23 page 160; also page 551 The dress, the equipage and lifestyle varies between groups. For example, Sannyasa Upanishad in verses 2.23 to 2.29, identifies six lifestyles for six types of renunciates.A. A. Ramanathan, Sannyasa Upanishad The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai, verses 2.23 - 2.29 One of them is described as living with the following possessions,Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, , page 97
The goal
The goal of the Hindu Sannyasin is moksha (liberation).A Bhattacharya (2009), Applied Ethics, Center for Applied Ethics and Philosophy, Hokkaido University, , pages 63-64Andrew Fort and Patricia Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, The idea of what that means varies from tradition to tradition.
The behaviors and characteristics
The behavioral state of a person in Sannyasa is described by many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Bhagavad Gita discusses it in many verses, for example:
Types
Ashrama Upanishad identified various types of Sannyasi renouncers based on their different goals: Kutichaka – seeking atmospheric world; Bahudaka – seeking heavenly world; Hamsa – seeking penance world; Paramahamsa – seeking truth world; and Turiyatitas and Avadhutas seeking liberation in this life.
There were many groups of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Sannyasis co-existing in pre-Maurya Empire era, each classified by their attributes, such as:MM Singh (1967), , Motilal Banarsidass, pages 131-139 Achelakas (Śvetāmbara Jainas without clothes), Ajivika, Aviruddhaka, Devadhammika, Eka-satakas (Śvetāmbara Jainas with 1 cloth), Gotamaka, Jatilaka, Magandika, Mundasavaka, Nigrantha (Śvetāmbara Jainas), Paribbajaka, Tedandikas, Titthiya, Santrottar (Śvetāmbara Jainas with 2 or more clothes) and others.
Literature
The Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras, composed about mid 1st millennium BC and later, place increasing emphasis on all four stages of Ashrama system including Sannyasa. The Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, in verses 2.11.9 to 2.11.12, describes the four Ashramas as "a fourfold division of Dharma".Barbara Holdrege (2004), Dharma, in The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, , page 231 The newer Dharmaśāstra vary widely in their discussion of Ashrama system .
When can a person renounce?
Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, in verse II.10.17.2 states that anyone who has finished Brahmacharya (student) life stage may become ascetic immediately, in II.10.17.3 that any childless couple may enter Sannyasa anytime they wish, while verse II.10.17.4 states that a widower may choose Sannyasa if desired, but in general, states verse II.10.17.5, Sannyasa is suited after the completion of age 70 and after one's children have been firmly settled.Max Muller (Translator), Baudhayana Dharmasūtra Prasna II, Adhyaya 10, Kandika 17, The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIV, Oxford University Press Other texts suggest the age of 75.Dharm Bhawuk (2011), Spirituality and Indian Psychology: Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita, Springer Science, , page 66
Who may renounce?
The Jabala Upanishad mentions one who gets vairagya of any class or gender can renounce or take sanyasa.See , "Renouncer and Renunciation in the Dharmaśāstras." p. 111 Nevertheless, Dharmaśāstra texts document people of all castes as well as women, entered Sannyasa in practice. , "Renouncer and Renunciation in the Dharmaśāstras."
What happened to renouncers' property and human rights?
After renouncing the world, the ascetic's financial obligations and property were adjudicated by the state, in the manner of a decedent's estate.See , Viṣṇu Smriti in verse 6.27, for example, states that if a debtor takes Sannyasa, his sons or grandsons should settle his debts. Law of Debt Vishnu Smriti, Julius Jolly (Translator), page 45 As to the little property a Sannyasin may collect or possess after renunciation, Book III Chapter XVI of Kautiliya's Arthashastra states that the property of hermits (vánaprastha), ascetics (yati, sannyasa), and student bachelors (Brahmachári) shall on their death be taken by their guru, disciples, their dharmabhratri (brother in the monastic order), or classmates in succession. Book III, Wikisource
Renunciation in daily life
Later Indian literature debates whether the benefit of renunciation can be achieved ( moksha, or liberation) without asceticism in the earlier stages of one's life. For example, Bhagavad Gita, Vidyaranya's Jivanmukti Viveka, and others believed that various alternate forms of yoga and the importance of yogic discipline could serve as paths to spirituality, and ultimately moksha.Andrew O. Fort and Patricia Y. Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, State University of New York Press, , pages 8-12Gavin Flood (2005), The Ascetic Self: Subjectivity, Memory and Tradition, Cambridge University Press, , pages 60-74 Over time, four paths to liberating spirituality have emerged in Hinduism: Jñāna yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Rāja yoga.Thor Johansen (2009), Religion and Spirituality in Psychotherapy: An Individual Psychology Perspective, Springer, , pages 148-154 Acting without greed or craving for results, in Karma yoga for example, is considered a form of detachment in daily life similar to Sannyasa. Sharma states that, "the basic principle of Karma yoga is that it is not what one does, but how one does it that counts and if one has the know-how in this sense, one can become liberated by doing whatever it is one does", and "(one must do) whatever one does without attachment to the results, with efficiency and to the best of one's ability".A Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, , pages 24-28
Warrior ascetics
Ascetic life was historically a life of renunciation, non-violence and spiritual pursuit. However, in India, this has not always been the case. For example, after the Mongol and Persian Islamic invasions in the 12th century, and the establishment of Delhi Sultanate, the ensuing Hindu-Muslim conflicts provoked the creation of a military order of Hindu ascetics in India.David N. Lorenzen (1978), Warrior Ascetics in Indian History , Journal of the American Oriental Society, 98(1): 61-75William Pinch (2012), Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires, Cambridge University Press, These warrior ascetics formed paramilitary groups called ‘‘'’ and they invented a range of martial arts.
Upanishads
Sannyasa, or the renunciant way of life, is discussed in various Upanishads.
Major Upanishads
Among the thirteen major or Principal Upanishads, all from the ancient era, many include sections related to Sannyasa. The Mundaka Upanishad discusses the path of Sannyasa as a means to attain spiritual knowledge and liberation. It emphasizes the renunciant's simple and austere lifestyle in pursuit of wisdom. The motivations and state of a Sannyasi are mentioned in Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad, a classical major Upanishad that Robert Hume included among his list of "Thirteen Principal Upanishads" of Hinduism. Maitrāyaṇi starts with the question, "given the nature of life, how is joy possible?" and "how can one achieve moksha (liberation)?"; in later sections it offers a debate on possible answers and its views on Sannyasa.Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 327-386
Sannyasa Upanishads
Of the 108 of the Muktika, the largest corpus is dedicated to Sannyasa and to Yoga, or about 20 each, with some overlap. The renunciation-related texts are called the Sannyasa Upanishads.Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads. Oxford University Press, These are as follows:
Nirvāṇa Aruni Upanishad, Maitreya, , Brahma Upanishad, ,Note: This exists in two manuscripts, Brihat and Laghu. See Kathashruti Jabala Upanishad, Paramahaṃsa, Advayatāraka, Bhikṣuka, Turīyātīta, Yājñavalkya, Śāṭyāyani Ashrama,Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 2, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 568, 763-767 Nāradaparivrājaka (Parivrāt), Paramahaṃsa parivrājaka, Parabrahma Joachim F Sprockhoff (1976). 9783515019057, Wiesbaden: Kommissionsverlag Franz Steiner. ISBN 9783515019057
See also
Notes
Cited books:
External links
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