Sivananda

THE PATH BEYOND SORROW

Chapter 4: Real Renunciation

6. False Prophets of the Modern Age

Energy Enhancement Enlightened Texts Sri Swami Sivananda The Path Beyond Sorrow

The modern age is materialistic. The dominant note in the era of today is the materialistic sense of values. Materialism also has many forms. There is a materialism which says that this world alone is everything, that this world alone is worth having. Then there is the other kind of materialism—a subtle materialism which says that God alone is not enough, that there must be the universe also besides Him and that you cannot totally ignore or neglect this universe. To know God alone, according to the votaries of this subtle doctrine, is imperfection; and perfection is to know the ultimate Reality of God as well as this world. They say that you must know God and you must know this universe also in the true sense.

What is knowing the universe? Those who have known the universe have all been deluded by their own knowledge. If you know the universe, in its true sense, that it is absolutely transitory, evanescent, passing, perishable, changeful, worthless, then you will no longer entertain any value for it. But these subtle philosophers say that knowledge should not be one-sided and, according to them, the knowledge of God alone is lop-sided, is one-sided, for it is not powered by a knowledge of the universe also. They do not seem to realize that when God is known, everything is known. This universe is just a shadow-play upon the Permanent Reality which is God, and when the Reality is known (It is infinite, all-pervading, one without a second), everything becomes known. But these people have a peculiar slant upon the subject of Self-realization and the great spiritual goal of life, and they say that you have to know both God and the universe and then only your knowledge is perfect.

What a conception of knowledge these people have! It is like saying that you must have nectar as well as poison. What do they mean: experience both? When you experience God, the experience of the universe vanishes. When you experience the wakeful state, then you cannot have the experience of the dream state. This false philosophy is just like clinging to dreams and those who advocate this philosophy may advance many subtle arguments in support of their thesis. If reason and the teachings of other great teachers do not support them, they have no hesitation in accusing the other teachers of being lopsided, or ignorant, or dogmatic. Even the great Shankara, who has expounded the theory of Maya, comes in for criticism at the hands of these false teachers. They say that Shankara is not right in emphasising the doctrine of Maya. To me, at least, there seems to be no doubt why such people are so ever eager to link God with the world. It is probably because they have a secret (or even perhaps an unconscious) desire for the world. So, in their conscious thought, the world has a hidden validity, a certain value, a certain meaning. Therefore, they still want to hold on to this world and do not like the idea of renouncing it completely from their hearts and minds. Their renunciation, therefore, is not complete. And partial renunciation cannot be. You cannot jump over a chasm between two cliffs in two jumps. There is only one complete jump or no jump at all. You cannot have a sort of half-jump when you want to leap across this chasm dividing the relative existence and the absolute, untrammelled, limitless Cosmic Existence.

The minds of these false prophets are not fully ready for God. This is plain. Hence there is a sort of veiled attempt at refuting the need of renunciation and the doctrine of Maya, and at trying to prove that the world is also important and that one should not completely reject it. I do not agree with this double-think at all. The world has to be rejected. It does not mean running away into the Himalayan caves. It does not mean giving up all the objects of this world. It does not mean that you should throw off your shirt, that you should give up eating normal food, that you should start eating leaves or start living upon water or air. It does not mean any such eccentric and extreme action.

Next: Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 7. Inner Renunciation Is Real Renunciation

Energy Enhancement Enlightened Texts Sri Swami Sivananda The Path Beyond Sorrow

Chapter 4

Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, Blessed children of the Lord! Radiant rays of the eternal Light Divine! Salutations to you all. With great joy I once again speak to you to give you a little message from the Master Sivananda and from the cultural treasure-house of the Sacred Land of the Himalayas, the Land of the Holy Ganges, the Land of the Upanishads and the Vedas at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 1. Renunciation Should Be Based upon Right Understanding
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 1. Renunciation Should Be Based upon Right Understanding, Renunciation has been the key-note of the teachings of the Great Masters of India. Renunciation is the very essence of spirituality and the secret of God-realization. Renunciation is not lethargy, escapism or irresponsibility. It is the great strength that the aspirant has in his onward march to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the strength of renunciation that truly sustains the aspirant in his arduous journey to the Supreme at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 2. Worthlessness of Worldly Life
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 2. Worthlessness of Worldly Life, A life of delusion amidst sensuality, money and sense-objects is the pitiful lot of the normal human being. Life is transitory; death is silently staring at you like a venomous serpent with expanded hood, ever ready to strike. Various dire diseases cause much havoc to the body. Youth abandons the body quickly and old age grips it. He alone is saved who makes haste to utilise this precious life in striving to obtain the summum bonum of life through renunciation, discrimination and inquiry. Maya, the great illusory power of the Supreme, is a very great jeweller. She prepares a skeleton, covers it with flesh and muscles, and hides the various impurities within with a very shining skin. Oh, immediately, a human being is absolutely deluded with this appearancewith this doll prepared by Maya. How long are you going to call this body your self? Develop an undeluded imagination and identify yourself with your real nature, Satchidananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) which is your true Self at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 3. The Riddle of Life
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 3. The Riddle of Life, Try to understand the riddle of life and the riddle of this universe. Acquire discrimination. Take recourse to the company of seekers like yourself, getting together now and then with those of your own nature, those who are spiritually inclined. Even this will quicken your discrimination and give you the spirit of renunciation. Inquire into the nature of the Great Reality. Study books like the Gita and the Upanishads and then you will have a comprehensive understanding of the innumerable problems of life. There is not an iota of happiness in this world. Seek the happiness that is within at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 4. Sensual Pleasures Opposed to Spiritual Bliss
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 4. Sensual Pleasures Opposed to Spiritual Bliss, In the presence of continual sensual pleasures, spiritual bliss cannot exist, just as darkness and light cannot co-exist. If one should come, the other must go. Therefore, show extreme contempt for worldly objects. Destroy all desire from within, Turn the mind away from sensual objects. Give up cravings. Give up deluded attachment and you will develop real renunciation. You yourself have made your life complex and intricate. You have entangled yourself in this quagmire of Samsara by increasing your own desires, your own wants at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 5. The Indispensability of Renunciation
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 5. The Indispensability of Renunciation, At this point, we may try to consider one or two modern trends which have a direct bearing upon the vital subject of renunciation. Is renunciation really necessary? Many people in these modern days fight shy of renunciation. They put forward various ingenious arguments to prove that it is not necessary and that it is even useless. In fact, they go a step further and say that renunciation is harmful at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 6. False Prophets of the Modern Age
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 6. False Prophets of the Modern Age, The modern age is materialistic. The dominant note in the era of today is the materialistic sense of values. Materialism also has many forms. There is a materialism which says that this world alone is everything, that this world alone is worth having. Then there is the other kind of materialisma subtle materialism which says that God alone is not enough, that there must be the universe also besides Him and that you cannot totally ignore or neglect this universe. To know God alone, according to the votaries of this subtle doctrine, is imperfection; and perfection is to know the ultimate Reality of God as well as this world. They say that you must know God and you must know this universe also in the true sense at energyenhancement.org
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 7. Inner Renunciation Is Real Renunciation
Sri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 4: Real Renunciation, 7. Inner Renunciation Is Real Renunciation, After all, where can you go to get away from the world? Even if you go to the Himalayan caves, you are still in the world. What really is needed is not so much the renunciation of the outward form of this world, is not so much the giving up of all outward desires. Renunciation does not mean renouncing merely a house, a beach, a garden or a piece of ground, or a mode of eating. Renunciation means completely renouncing worldliness. This is the secret of true renunciation at energyenhancement.org

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