20 Dec 2020
[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on November 28, 2020, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]
[Śrī Phani asked: When both karma saṃnyāsa and karma phala tyāga are performed by people in the state of householders (gṛhastha āśrama), why is the stage of sainthood (saṃyāsa āśrama) specially mentioned? Śrī Surya asked: Lord Datta’s āśrama is turīyāśrama, which is a stage beyond even the state of sainthood (saṃnyāsa). Śrī Nikhil said: Today’s satsaṅga is excellent Swāmi! We did not even realise how time passed!]
Swāmi replied: Saṃyāsa āśrama is sainthood. It is higher than gṛhastha āśrama, which is the stage of a householder, from the angle of God descending from the north pole (divine level) to the south pole (ground level). The householder is higher than the saint from the angle of the devotee ascending from the south pole to the north pole. Pravṛtti (worldly life) and nivṛtti (spiritual life) are opposite to each other like two poles, as said by the Veda (Dūramete viparīte viṣūcī…—Veda). Salvation can even be attained while remaining in gṛhastha āśrama, as told in the Gītā (Karmaṇaiva hi saṃsiddhim…—Gītā). A soul gets salvation if he ascends the four steps of jñāna yoga, bhakti yoga, karma saṃnyāsa yoga and karma phala tyāga yoga, without the aspiration for any fruit in return from God. This is equally true in the case of a saint as it is in the case of a householder. When the soul has no aspiration for any fruit in return from God, the fifth step of being patient (śāntiḥ) until the divine fruit is attained, is irrelevant. Of course, in the case of a saint, the sacrifice of the fruit of work (karma phala tyāga) is exempted since the saint does not earn money. The main activity for a saint, as prescribed by the scripture, is the propagation of spiritual knowledge. So, the saint only does the sacrifice of work (service). A householder has to do both the sacrifice of work and the sacrifice of the fruit of work to God. A saint can wander all over the world to propagate spiritual knowledge, whereas, a householder cannot wander so. But the householder is still expected to propagate spiritual knowledge to people living near his or her residence.
However, the present picture is totally different because the propagation of spiritual knowledge can be done even by a householder with the help of a computer sitting at home with his family. The saint is not recognized by his saffron cloth or by not getting married or by not having children. The only identifying criterion of a saint is his sacrifice of work (service), which is the propagation of spiritual knowledge. No saffron cloth, no marriage and no children are connected in any way to the real status of being a saint. The Gītā states this point very clearly (Na karmaṇāmanārambhāt naiṣkarmyaṃ puruṣośnute, na ca saṃnyasanādeva, siddhiṃ samadhigacchati…—Gītā).
Only Incarnations of God like Śaṅkara can be true saints by propagating true spiritual knowledge. An Incarnation is called an Avatāra, which means, He is God descending from the divine level (north pole) to the ground level (south pole). Such a stage of ideal sainthood is not possible for a common man, who is ascending from the ground level to the divine level. The common man has to first attain mental peace, which comes when there is settlement in pravṛtti or worldly life. Only then can the common man build the building of spiritual life on that foundation of pravṛtti. For the ordinary person, a happy and peaceful life is possible only when the person has a wife (or husband) and children. Sex is also a biological need like hunger, thirst, sleep etc. Only Incarnations of God like Śaṅkara, Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa etc., can overcome the biological needs. If one lives with one’s life-partner, this problem of sex is easily satisfied. Otherwise, the person might seek to satisfy the sexual desire through wrong means and bring a lot of disturbance in life. Hence, from the angle of an ordinary soul, it is better to become a householder than a saint. An expert in high jump may even jump over a high wall, but an ordinary person trying to do the same will fall down. An ordinary person should not imitate the expert in high jump. Similarly, it is also important for a person to achieve financial stability in life by getting a job. Otherwise, people might misunderstand the devotee involved in God’s work of propagating spiritual knowledge. They might think that he is doing it to earn money since he is jobless. Hence, financial stability is also essential in these days of the Kali Age, when people easily misunderstand even the genuine devotee.
Detachment from worldly bonds is meaningless without the attachment to God. A householder like King Janaka was married and he stayed with his family. But he was not infected by the fascination for worldly bonds. When it was told to Janaka that his city, Mithilā, was burning, he replied that nothing belonging to him was burning (Mithilāyāṃ pradagdhāyāṃ, na me kiñcana dahyate). The Gītā says that a householder can remain in the worldly bonds without mental attachment to them like the lotus that grows in water without being wetted by it (Padmapatramivāmbhasā…—Gītā). It is only the divine work done by a soul that counts and not the status of the person—whether the person is a saint or a householder. Sage Śuka was the greatest saint. Yet, sage Vyāsa, the father of Śuka, sent Śuka to King Janaka for getting a certificate in spiritual knowledge from Janaka, after passing an examination! The work of propagating spiritual knowledge and the sacrifice of the fruit of one’s work done for the sake of God’s work alone please God and not external identity marks like bachelor-hood, sainthood, saffron cloth etc.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★