Sannyasa


Sannyasa, sometimes spelled sanyasa, is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as ashramas, the first three being brahmacharya, grihastha and vanaprastha. Sannyasa is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young brahmacharis have the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits.
Sannyasa, a form of asceticism marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is characterized by a state of uninterest in and detachment from material life, with the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits. An individual in Sanyasa is known as a sannyasi or sannyasini in Hinduism. Sannyasa shares similarities with the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, and the sannyasi and sannyasini share similarity with the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis of Buddhism.
Sannyasa has historically been a stage of renunciation, ahimsa, a peaceful and simple life and spiritual pursuit in Indian traditions. However, this has not always been the case. After the invasions and establishment of Muslim rule in India, from the 12th century through the British Raj, parts of the Shaiva and Vaishnava ascetics metamorphosed into a military order, where they developed martial arts, created military strategies, and engaged in guerrilla warfare. These warrior sanyasi played an important role in helping European colonial powers establish themselves in the Indian subcontinent.

Etymology and synonyms

': in Sanskrit nyasa means 'purification', sannyasa means "Purification of Everything". It is a composite word of copulative a| which means "together, all", ni- which means "down" and ' from the root , meaning "to throw" or "to put". A literal translation of Sannyāsa is thus "to put down everything, all of it". Sannyasa is sometimes spelled as Sanyasa.
The term Saṃnyasa makes appearance in the Samhitas, Aranyakas, and Brahmanas, the earliest layers of Vedic literature, but it is rare. It is not found in ancient Buddhist or Jaina vocabularies, and only appears in Hindu texts of the 1st millennium BCE, in the context of those who have given up ritual activity and taken up non-ritualistic spiritual pursuits discussed in the Upanishads. The term Sannyasa evolves into a rite of renunciation in ancient Sutra texts, and thereafter became a recognized, well discussed stage of life by about the 3rd and 4th century CE.
Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā, Yati, Sramana and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts.

History

Jamison and Witzel state early Vedic texts make no mention of Sannyasa, or Ashrama system, unlike the concepts of Brahmacharin and Grihastha which they do mention. Instead, Rig Veda uses the term Antigriha in hymn 10.95.4, as still a part of the extended family, where older people lived in ancient India, with an outwardly role. It is in later Vedic era and over time, that Sannyasa and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. A three-stage Ashrama concept, along with Vanaprastha, emerged about or after 7th Century BC, when sages such as Yājñavalkya left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their Pravrajika lifestyle. The explicit use of the four-stage Ashrama concept appeared a few centuries later.
However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC mentions Muni, with characteristics that mirror those found in later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. For example, the Rig Veda, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions Munis as those with Kesin and Mala clothes, engaged in the affairs of Mananat. The Rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati.
These Munis, their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya. One class of Munis were associated with Rudra. Another were Vratyas.

Lifestyle and goals

has no formal demands nor requirements on the lifestyle or spiritual discipline, method or deity a Sanyasin or Sanyasini must pursue – it is left to the choice and preferences of the individual. This freedom has led to diversity and significant differences in the lifestyle and goals of those who adopt Sannyasa. There are, however, some common themes. A person in Sannyasa lives a simple life, typically detached, itinerant, drifting from place to place, with no material possessions or emotional attachments. They may have a walking stick, a book, a container or vessel for food and drink, often wearing yellow, saffron, orange, ochre or soil colored clothes. They may have long hair and appear disheveled, and are usually vegetarians. Some minor Upanishads as well as monastic orders consider women, children, students, fallen men and others as not qualified to become Sannyasa; while other texts place no restrictions. The dress, the equipage and lifestyle varies between groups. For example, Sannyasa Upanishad in verses 2.23 to 2.29, identifies six lifestyles for six types of renunciates. One of them is described as living with the following possessions,
Those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join a group. Some are anchorites, homeless mendicants preferring solitude and seclusion in remote parts, without affiliation. Others are cenobites, living and traveling with kindred fellow-Sannyasi in the pursuit of their spiritual journey, sometimes in Ashramas or Matha/Sangha.
Most Hindu ascetics adopt celibacy when they begin Sannyasa. However, there are exceptions, such as the Saiva Tantra school of asceticism where ritual sex is considered part of liberation process. Sex is viewed by them as a transcendence from a personal, intimate act to something impersonal and ascetic.

The goal

The goal of the Hindu Sannyasin is moksha. The idea of what that means varies from tradition to tradition.
For the Bhakti traditions, liberation consists of being an eternal servant to the Divine and release from Saṃsāra ; for Yoga traditions, liberation is the experience of the highest Samādhi ; and for the Advaita tradition, liberation is jivanmukti – the awareness of the Supreme Reality and Self-realization in this life. Sannyasa is a means and an end in itself. It is a means to decreasing and then ultimately ending all ties of any kind. It is a means to the soul and meaning, but not ego nor personalities. Sannyasa does not abandon the society, it abandons the ritual mores of the social world and one's attachment to all its other manifestations. The end is a liberated, content, free and blissful existence.

The behaviors and characteristics

The behavioral state of a person in Sannyasa is described by many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Bhagavad Gita discusses it in many verses, for example:
Other behavioral characteristics, in addition to renunciation, during Sannyasa include: ahimsa, akrodha, disarmament, chastity, bachelorhood, avyati, amati, self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita, asteya, aparigraha and shaucha. Some Hindu monastic orders require the above behavior in form of a vow, before a renunciate can enter the order. Tiwari notes that these virtues are not unique to Sannyasa, and other than renunciation, all of these virtues are revered in ancient texts for all four Ashrama of human life.
Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, completed by about 7th century BC, states the following behavioral vows for a person in ''Sannyasa''

Types

Ashrama Upanishad identified various types of Sannyasi renouncers based on their different goals: Kutichaka – seeking atmospheric world; Bahudaka – seeking heavenly world; Hamsa – seeking penance world; Paramahamsa – seeking truth world; and Turiyatitas and Avadhutas seeking liberation in this life.
In some texts, such as Sannyasa Upanishad, these were classified by the symbolic items the Sannyasins carried and their lifestyle. For example, Kutichaka sannyasis carried triple staffs, Hamsa sannyasis carried single staffs, while Paramahamsas went without them. This method of classification based on emblematic items became controversial, as anti-thematic to the idea of renunciation. Later texts, such as Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad stated that all renunciation is one, but people enter the state of Sannyasa for different reasons – for detachment and getting away from their routine meaningless world, to seek knowledge and meaning in life, to honor rites of Sannyasa they have undertaken, and because he already has liberating knowledge.
;Other classifications
There were many groups of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Sannyasis co-existing in pre-Maurya Empire era, each classified by their attributes, such as: Achelakas, Ajivika, Aviruddhaka, Devadhammika, Eka-satakas, Gotamaka, Jatilaka, Magandika, Mundasavaka, Nigrantha, Paribbajaka, Tedandikas, Titthiya, Santrottar and others.

Literature

The Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras, composed about mid 1st millennium BC and later, place increasing emphasis on all four stages of Ashrama system including Sannyasa. The Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, in verses 2.11.9 to 2.11.12, describes the four Ashramas as "a fourfold division of Dharma". The newer Dharmaśāstra vary widely in their discussion of Ashrama system.
The Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras give a number of detailed but widely divergent guidelines on renunciation. In all cases, Sannyasa was never mandatory and was one of the choices before an individual. Only a small percentage chose this path. Olivelle posits that the older Dharmasūtras present the Ashramas including Sannyasa as four alternative ways of life and options available, but not as sequential stage that any individual must follow. Olivelle also states that Sannyasa along with the Ashrama system gained mainstream scholarly acceptance about 2nd century BC.
Ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism consider Grihastha stage as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as human beings in this stage not only pursue a virtuous life, they produce food and wealth that sustains people in other stages of life, as well as the offspring that continues mankind. However, an individual had the choice to renounce any time he or she wanted, including straight after student life.