What if a young male Sai devotee wants to become a sannyasi/monk? How do other family members, especially mother, handle it?
Given below is a modified version of a comment I made elsewhere, which I felt may be useful to some readers of my posts:
Hindu astrologers refer to those whose destiny is to become a sannyasi (monk) as "sannyasa yogam" which I think translates to "good fortune of being a monk". However, in my considered opinion, vairagya (detachment/dispassion) from worldly temptations including name & fame is absolutely vital for anybody who wants to lead such a life. Many spiritual aspirants may strongly aspire to be a sannyasi but not really have the vairagya from worldly temptations to become one. I am given to understand that traditional Hindu ashrams having an order of sannyasis/monks, have a testing stage which I believe can be for some years, where a person is ordained first as a Brahmachaari. If the senior monks of the order, and the person himself, are convinced during these years of testing that the person has demonstrated that he is fit to be ordained as a sannyasi/monk, then they go ahead and give him the "diksha" of becoming a sannyasi/monk and ordain him as one.
I think that if such sannyasihood/monkhood is a divine calling then that call cannot be ignored. It has to be answered.
It is natural for mothers to get worried about their son having such a desire. Even the great Adi Shankara's mother had that worry. There is another angle which is somewhat sensitive but must be considered. In the past, and perhaps to some extent in the present too, there was/is also a concern about the mother losing the security of the adult son looking after her.
But I must also say that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, as far as I know, did not ordain anybody as a sannyasi/monk. From what I observed and heard during the period of Oct. 2002 to Mar. 2011 when I was privileged to offer free service to Bhagavan (physical form) in Prasanthi Nilayam system, I saw that he encouraged those young men who wanted to stay unmarried and serve in Bhagavan's mission, to do some service activity in the ashram system which would give them some money to keep body and soul together, and to also serve their parents. Young men serving their parents was a very important directive of Bhagavan, and I have seen some cases of UNMARRIED young men serving in Prasanthi Nilayam system WITHOUT becoming formal sannyasis, and being obedient and dutiful towards their parents. I view such people as very inspiring, though largely unsung, Sai devotee young adults.
So to me it is absolutely clear that Bhagavan showed us that if a young man does want to lead an unmarried life dedicated to spirituality, it is NOT NECESSARY for that person to become a monk/sannyasi which typically involves renouncing family ties (including that of parents). Bhagavan showed that such young men can very well lead an unmarried and dedicated spiritual life in Prasanthi Nilayam ashram system WITHOUT breaking family ties, especially ties to parents. And further, Bhagavan VERY MUCH ENCOURAGED such persons to serve their parents instead of renouncing their parents.
Hindu astrologers refer to those whose destiny is to become a sannyasi (monk) as "sannyasa yogam" which I think translates to "good fortune of being a monk". However, in my considered opinion, vairagya (detachment/dispassion) from worldly temptations including name & fame is absolutely vital for anybody who wants to lead such a life. Many spiritual aspirants may strongly aspire to be a sannyasi but not really have the vairagya from worldly temptations to become one. I am given to understand that traditional Hindu ashrams having an order of sannyasis/monks, have a testing stage which I believe can be for some years, where a person is ordained first as a Brahmachaari. If the senior monks of the order, and the person himself, are convinced during these years of testing that the person has demonstrated that he is fit to be ordained as a sannyasi/monk, then they go ahead and give him the "diksha" of becoming a sannyasi/monk and ordain him as one.
I think that if such sannyasihood/monkhood is a divine calling then that call cannot be ignored. It has to be answered.
It is natural for mothers to get worried about their son having such a desire. Even the great Adi Shankara's mother had that worry. There is another angle which is somewhat sensitive but must be considered. In the past, and perhaps to some extent in the present too, there was/is also a concern about the mother losing the security of the adult son looking after her.
But I must also say that Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, as far as I know, did not ordain anybody as a sannyasi/monk. From what I observed and heard during the period of Oct. 2002 to Mar. 2011 when I was privileged to offer free service to Bhagavan (physical form) in Prasanthi Nilayam system, I saw that he encouraged those young men who wanted to stay unmarried and serve in Bhagavan's mission, to do some service activity in the ashram system which would give them some money to keep body and soul together, and to also serve their parents. Young men serving their parents was a very important directive of Bhagavan, and I have seen some cases of UNMARRIED young men serving in Prasanthi Nilayam system WITHOUT becoming formal sannyasis, and being obedient and dutiful towards their parents. I view such people as very inspiring, though largely unsung, Sai devotee young adults.
So to me it is absolutely clear that Bhagavan showed us that if a young man does want to lead an unmarried life dedicated to spirituality, it is NOT NECESSARY for that person to become a monk/sannyasi which typically involves renouncing family ties (including that of parents). Bhagavan showed that such young men can very well lead an unmarried and dedicated spiritual life in Prasanthi Nilayam ashram system WITHOUT breaking family ties, especially ties to parents. And further, Bhagavan VERY MUCH ENCOURAGED such persons to serve their parents instead of renouncing their parents.
Comments
Post a Comment