On Householder and Sanyaasi

Nanda Kumar nkumar at OPPENHEIMERFUNDS.COM
Tue Aug 12 10:43:55 CDT 1997


>The Upanishads are the jnana kanda of the Vedas.  They are meant for
>Sannyasis only.  The Karma kanda of the Vedas like the Gita is
>meant for householders and contains just as many "life-affirming"
>statements.  However the Advaita tradition is very firm that Moksha
>requires Sannyasa.  The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and the
>Upanishads do not diverge on this.

Doesn't the ISHA Upanishad say, "Renunciation is not the renunciation
of the world, rather the renunciation of the Ego and selfishness" ?
How exactly would you define Sanyaasi? If a Sanyaasi can be defined
as a person who is entirely devoid of desires and is totally selfless in all
his activities and has no Ego, is it impossible for a householder to attain
this state?



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