The Mango Grove

C hapter 1 S annyä S é Ö häkura

and remaining fixed in purity, he chants the gäyatré mantra and the japa of the holy name.” 8

In the Padma Puräëa it is said:

ekaväsä dvidväsätha çikhé yajïopavétavän kamaëòalu-karo vidväàs-tridaëòo yäti tat-param

“Wearing one or two pieces of cloth, maintaining the tuft of hair, and continuing to wear the sacred thread, with a water pot in his hand, a learned sannyäsé, who is the best of men, attains the Supreme Lord.” 9

The Four Types of Sannyāsa

In a lecture on Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami spoke on the sannyäsa-äçrama:

“...There are four types of sannyäsé: kuöécakaù, bahvodaù, haàsa and niñkriya. The kuöécakaù-sannyäsé lives next to the family without attachment. He leaves his family but stays close by. He may build a cottage and live there. He receives some maintenance from his family but he has no attachment. The bahvodaù-sannyäsé gives up all material activities and engages fully in transcendental activities.* The haàsa-sannyäsé is jïäna-prada, fully engaged in transcendental knowledge. The niñkriya-sannyäsé is one who stops all kinds of activities. The niñkriya-sannyäsé is a paramahaàsa...” 11

* Author’s note: He does not stay near his village but moves away and goes to beg in other villages.

A lwAys E mbr A c E d by K åñë A

The Two Categories of Sannyāsa

There are two categories of sannyäsa; dhéra and narottama sannyäsa. This is discussed in the First Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam:

gata-svärtham imaà dehaà virakto mukta-bandhanaù avijïäta-gatir jahyät sa vai dhéra udähåtaù

“He is called dhéra, undisturbed, who goes to an unknown, remote place and, freed from all obligations, quits his material body when it has become useless.” (Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.13.26)

Without deciding where he is going, he just leaves home. His family members do not know when or where he quits his body. He is known as a dhéra-sannyäsé. Another name of dhéra-sannyäsa is vibhätsa-sannyäsa. Such a person, who feels that the family burden is very great and does not feel capable of earning money and maintaining a family, leaves home for this reason. He comes under this category, known as dhérasannyäsa or vibhätsa-sannyäsa. They are free of aspirations for name, fame and adoration therefore no one can bind them. He has developed complete detachment from the material body and the objects of sense enjoyment, which are çabda, sparça, rüpa, rasa and gandha – sound, touch, form, taste and smell. He just goes out without deciding where he will go next. Then he accepts a bona fide guru, accepts tattva-jïäna from that tattva-vit guru, and finally he quits his body when he finds it useless. No one knows where he goes and where he quits his body. That is dhéra-sannyäsa.

12

yaù svakät parato veha jäta-nirveda ätmavän