The Bhagavad Gita – the Sanyasa Yoga (सन्यास योग)

The Bhagavad Gita – the Sanyasa Yoga (सन्यास योग)
श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता ॥ ॥ ॐ श्री परमात्मने नमः ॥ ॥ अथ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता ॥

Shree Krishna has explained about the Sanyasa Yoga in chapter 18 of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.

Sanyasa (renunciation) is wholly renouncing the desire for all kinds of enjoyment of this world and the next. God may be realized through seven types of renunciation.

Among them, it has been stated that, the first five types of renunciation indicate the first stage of Wisdom, renunciations upto the sixth type indicate the marks of the second stage of Wisdom, and renunciations upto the seventh type indicate the marks of the third stage of Wisdom. He, who attains ripeness in the third stage of Wisdom above, at once realizes God, the embodiment of Existence, Knowledge and Bliss. He loses all connection with this transient, destructible, impermanent world.
 
Seven classes, the marks of renunciation are mentioned below:

1. Total Renunciation of Prohibited Acts through mind, speech and the body such as, theft, adultery, falsehood, deception, fraud, oppression, violence, taking of interdicted food and wrong-doing, etc.
2. Renunciation of acts such as sacrifices, charities, austerities, worship and other desire-born actions performed for the Satisfaction of Worldly Desires e.g., wife, progeny, and wealth, etc., or with the object of curing diseases and terminating other forms of suffering.
3. Total Renunciation of worldly Thirst Honour, fame, social prestige, wife, progeny, wealth and whatever other transient objects regarding them as an obstacle in God-realization.
4. Renunciation of the habit of extracting Service or money from others with a selfish motive.  But non-performance of which causes pain to anybody or adversely affects the traditional ways of action and worship, performance of it disinterestedly, and only for general good, is not an act of the satisfaction of desire.
5. Total Renunciation of indolence (laziness) and desire for fruit in the Performance of all duties viz. cultivation of devotion to God, worship of the celestials, service of the parents and other elders etc. as mentioned below:
   1. Renunciation of indolence in the practice of devotion to God regarding it as the supreme duty of one’s life. Renouncing idleness in listening, reading glory of God, practise constant Japa, together with meditation.
   2. Renunciation of desire in the practice of devotion to God regarding all enjoyments of this world as perishable and hindrances in the path of devotion to God. No prayer should be offered to God for obtaining any object. 
   3. Renunciation of indolence and desire in connection with the worship of celestials. Worship should be offered to a celestial with enthusiasm, according to the prescribed rules, without expression of any desire for the satisfaction of any worldly interest.
   4. Renunciation of indolence and desire in the service of Parents and other elders. It is man’s supreme duty to render daily services, in all possible ways, to parents, the preceptor, and other persons who are one’s superior in Ashrama, age, qualifications, or in whatever other respect it may be, and daily offer them obeisance.
   5. Renunciation of indolence and desire in the Performance of sacrifices, charities, austerities and other auspicious deeds Sacrifices, e. g., the daily obligatory five Great Sacrifices, and other occasional sacrifices, should be performed. Through gifts of food, clothing, learning, medicine, and wealth, etc., attempt should be made, according to one’s capacity, to make all creatures happy, through mind, speech and the body. The five Great Sacrifices are as follows:
   6. Sacrifice to gods (performance of Agnihotra, etc.);
   7. Sacrifice to rishis (study of the Vedas, performance of Sandhya and Japa of Gayatri, etc.);
   8. Sacrifice to the Manes (performance of Tarpana, Shraddha etc.);
   9. Sacrifice to Persons (entertainment of guests);
   10. Sacrifice to all created beings (performance of Balivaisvadeva)].
   11. Renunciation of indolence and desire in the performance of proper work for maintenance of the family through earning of Livelihood. Works should be performed by a person free from greed.
   12. Renunciation of indolence and desire in work for preservation of the body, according to the scriptures, e.g., pertaining to food, dress, medicines etc., only with the object of God-realization, regarding pleasure and pain, profit and loss, life and death as equal. All forms of desire are destroyed, and there remains only the one strong desire for God-realization.
6. Total Renunciation of the sense of mineness and attachment with regard to all worldly objects and activities through mind, speech and body and developing dispassion & pure love for God.
7. Total Renunciation of subtle desires and egotism with regard to the world, the body and all actions. Due to total lack of identification with the body, there should be no trace of any sense of doership with regard to all actions done through the mind, speech and body.

 
In the person, who has reached the sixth stage of renunciation stated above, there may be, now and then, some slight manifestation of attachment, when there is any special contact with objects of enjoyment; but in the person, who has reached the seventh stage of renunciation, there can be no attachment, even when there is contact with objects of enjoyment for in his conception, except God, no other object remains. That is why this renunciation has been described as Supreme Dispassion. Following attributes make their appearance:
 
Truthfulness (Statement of facts in sweet words, representing exactly what is realized by the mind and the senses),

1. Non-stealing,
2. Continence (self-restraint on bodily functions),
3. Abstaining from vilification (making damaging statement against anybody),
4. Modesty,
5. Un-haughtiness (absence of arrogance),
6. Artlessness (unskilful),
7. Purity (external purity in food, conduct, body, earning wealth etc.; internal purity by destruction of attraction, repulsion, deception etc.),
8. Contentment (Want of thirst for worldly things),
9. Endurance (Bearing contradictory experiences like heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc.),
10. Satsanga,
11. Spirit of Service,
12. Sacrifice,
13. Charity,
14. Austerity (Sufferings undergone for the practice of one’s own Dharma) ,
15. Study (Study of the Vedas and other elevating scriptures and practice of Kirtana of God’s Name and glory),
16. Mind-control,
17. Sense-control,
18. Humility,
19. Straightness (body & mind),
20. Compassion,
21. Faith,
22. Discrimination (real knowledge about true & false),
23. Dispassion (lack of attachment for anything),
24. Living in seclusion,
25. Poverty (Want of accumulation of wealth with the sense of mineness),
26. Lack of doubt and distraction,
27. Cessation of Desires,
28. Personal Magnetism (which can influence of wicked persons to abstain from sinful conduct and engage in virtuous deeds),
29. Forgiveness (lack of desire to inflict any form of punishment),
30. Patience (Not to get upset even in the face of the greatest difficulty),
31. Absence of malice (Not to bear malice even against one who is maliciously disposed),
32. Fearlessness,
33. Pridelessness,
34. Peace (Total absence of desires and cravings and maintenance of constant cheerfulness in the mind),
35. Exclusive Devotion to God, etc.

 
The Sannyasa yoga is discussed by Shree Krishna as under (in bracket, chapter. verse) (the relevant Sanskrit verses of Bhagavad Gita are mentioned at the bottom):

Sanyasa (renunciation) is giving up (wife, children, wealth, other goods and Yajna, charity, penance & puja etc.) of all actions motivated by desire and the wise declare that Tyaga consists in relinquishing the fruit of all actions (18.2).
Sanyasi (man of renunciation):

1. He who has neither aversion for action which is leading to bondage nor attachment to that which is conducive to blessedness imbued with the quality of goodness, he has all his doubts resolved, is intelligent and a man of true renunciation (18.10).
2. Since all actions cannot be given up in their entirety by anyone possessing a body, he alone who renounces the fruit of actions is called a man of renunciation (18.11).
3. The threefold fruit of action—evil, good and mixed—accrues after death to the non-abandoners (सकामी), but no fruits to the abandoners (सन्यासी) (18.12). 

Hence, there seven fold renunciations to realise God.
 

Reference:

1. The Bhagavad Gita, Gita press, Gorakhpur
2. Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Sivananda, a divine life society publication
3. Srimad-Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna math, Mylapore, Madras – 600004.   
4. https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_giitaa/bhagvadnew.html?lang=sa

 
Chapter: 18
काम्यानां कर्मणां न्यासं संन्यासं कवयो विदुः । सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं प्राहुस्त्यागं विचक्षणाः ॥ १८-२॥ न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशले नानुषज्जते । त्यागी सत्त्वसमाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्नसंशयः ॥ १८-१०॥ न हि देहभृता शक्यं त्यक्तुं कर्माण्यशेषतः । यस्तु कर्मफलत्यागी स त्यागीत्यभिधीयते ॥ १८-११॥ अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्रं च त्रिविधं कर्मणः फलम् । भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु संन्यासिनां क्वचित् ॥ १८-१२॥
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