A Deeper Dive into Guru Gobind Singh's 'Sanyasa'

Sanyasa - Achieving the pinnacle of human experience

Guru Gobind Singh's shabad Re Man Aiso Kar Sanyasa is a beautiful crystallization of some of the deepest wisdom from oneness principles extolled by Indian sages for millennia. Every word and phrase can be used for meditation and for digging deeper. Through this shabad, Guru Gobind Singh gives the same message as Guru Nanak in Japji Sahib, and the same message Shri Krishna gave Arjun in Bhagwad Gita. The highest spirituality and the deepest self is not found by searching in the wilderness; it is found by perfecting one's mind. The one who win's their own mind, conquers the world.

SHABAD, TRANSLITERATION AND ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATION

ਰਾਗ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ ਪਾਤਸਾਹੀ ੧੦ ॥
Raaga Raamkalee Paatasaahee 10 ॥
RAMKALI OF THE TENTH KING

ਰੇ ਮਨ ਐਸੋ ਕਰਿ ਸੰਨਿਆਸਾ ॥
Re Man Aaiso Kari Saanniaasaa ॥
O mind ! the asceticism be practised in this way :

ਬਨ ਸੇ ਸਦਨ ਸਬੈ ਕਰ ਸਮਝਹੁ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ਉਦਾਸਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Ban Se Sadan Sabai Kar Samajhahu Man Hee Maahi Audaasaa ॥1॥ Rahaau ॥
Consider your house as the forest and remain unattached within yourself…..Pause.


ਜਤ ਕੀ ਜਟਾ ਜੋਗ ਕੋ ਮਜਨੁ ਨੇਮ ਕੇ ਨਖੁਨ ਬਢਾਓ ॥
Jata Kee Jattaa Joga Ko Majanu Nema Ke Nakhuna Badhaao ॥
Consider continence as the matted hair, Yoga as the ablution and daily observances as your nails,

ਗਿਆਨ ਗੁਰੂ ਆਤਮ ਉਪਦੇਸਹੁ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਭੂਤ ਲਗਾਓ ॥੧॥
Giaan Guroo Aatama Aupadesahu Naam Bibhoota Lagaao ॥1॥
Consider the knowledge as the preceptor giving lessons to you and apply the Name of the Lord as ashes.1.


ਅਲਪ ਅਹਾਰ ਸੁਲਪ ਸੀ ਨਿੰਦ੍ਰਾ ਦਯਾ ਛਿਮਾ ਤਨ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ॥
Alapa Ahaara Sulapa See Niaandaraa Dayaa Chhimaa Tan Pareeti ॥
Eat less and sleep less, cherish mercy and forgiveness

ਸੀਲ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਸਦਾ ਨਿਰਬਾਹਿਬੋ ਹ੍ਵੈਬੋ ਤ੍ਰਿਗੁਣ ਅਤੀਤ ॥੨॥
Seela Saantokh Sadaa Nribaahibo Havaibo Triguna Ateet ॥2॥
Practise gentleness and contentment and remain free from three modes.2.


ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ ਹੰਕਾਰ ਲੋਭ ਹਠ ਮੋਹ ਨ ਮਨ ਮੋ ਲਯਾਵੈ ॥
Kaam Karodha Haankaara Lobha Hattha Moha Na Man Mo Layaavai ॥
Keep your mind unattached from lust, anger, greed, insistence and infatuation,

ਤਬ ਹੀ ਆਤਮ ਤਤ ਕੋ ਦਰਸੈ ਪਰਮ ਪੁਰਖ ਕਹ ਪਾਵੈ ॥੩॥੧॥
Taba Hee Aatama Tata Ko Darsai Parma Purkh Kaha Paavai ॥3॥1॥
Then you will visualize the supreme essence and realize the supreme Purusha. 3.1.


BACKGROUND - SHABAD HAZARE 

This shabad comes from the Shabad Hazare. Shabad Hazare include ten religious hymns composed by Guru Gobind Singh which are present in Dasam Granth. Some scholar link hazare word to Persian Hijr means separation which linked as the shabads separates us from Maya where it is also believed to be come from word Haazra (means present) i.e. word of Haazar Hazoor. These hymns are primarily composed in Braj and Hindi languages, with plentiful use of sanskritic words. Like the Guru Granth Sahib, these hymns subscribe to the oneness direction of the mool mantra; they inspire a revolution of the mind and they are against idolatory and meaningless ritual practices.


MAIN CONCEPT - TRUE SANYAAS AND UDAASI

Historial concept of Sanyaas: 

Sannyasa is a form of asceticism, is marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, represented by a state of disinterest and detachment from material life, and has the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, love-inspired, simple spiritual life. Sanyasis can be called renunciates or ascetics. Sannyasa (saṃnyāsa) is the life stage of renunciation within the Hindu philosophy of four age-based life stages known as ashramas, with the first three being brahmacharya (bachelor student), Grihastha (householder) and Vanaprastha (forest dweller, retired). An individual in Sanyasa is known as a Sannyasi (male) or Sannyasini (female) in Hinduism, which in many ways parallel to the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis of Buddhism and the monk and nun traditions of Christianity, respectively. In Sikhism, there is no ascetism; in the highest state of the individual is Brahmgyani. For someone who does this early in life, there are two options: Grihastha or Sanyaas. Gurbani combines the two and shows a path where Sanyaas can be achieved within grihastha. A more practical way of living a life. 


Sanyas Happens Even Now: 

Renunciation - even now people renunciate. They give up their lives and go on traveling trips. In fact some of their stories are published in books. Eat Pray Love is a book about this. Another example is Walden's Pond. Those who do these experiments come back rejuvinated. Hemingway's granddaughter who writes Wild is the most recent example of a popular work about Sanyasa. 


Sanyaas and Udaas

Sam-ni-aas - having not desire: all together having no desires.
Sa - Ni - aas - literally "with no hope"
Sun - aas: being in zero-ness as Sant Singh Maskeen explains.

Ud-aas - Udar Aaas - Hope from inside, Hope in inside

While Sanyaas is a noun, Udaas is normally a verb. So someone can be in Sanyaas, and someone is udaas. 

Guru Nanak's travels are called udaasis - According to Bhai Gurdaas -
Babe Bhekh Banaya Udaasi ki reet chalaayi
Chadheya sodhan Dharat Lukai

But the Udaasi of Gursikh is within Maaya -
Gursikh Jogi Jaagde Maaya Andar Karan Udaasi



YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A FOREST

Kabir

ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ ॥ 
ਗ੍ਰਿਹੁ ਤਜਿ ਬਨ ਖੰਡ ਜਾਈਐ ਚੁਨਿ ਖਾਈਐ ਕੰਦਾ ॥ 
ਅਜਹੁ ਬਿਕਾਰ ਨ ਛੋਡਈ ਪਾਪੀ ਮਨੁ ਮੰਦਾ ॥੧॥ 


Guru Tegh Bahadur: 
ਧਨਾਸਰੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੯ ॥ 

ਕਾਹੇ ਰੇ ਬਨ ਖੋਜਨ ਜਾਈ ॥ 
ਸਰਬ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਸਦਾ ਅਲੇਪਾ ਤੋਹੀ ਸੰਗਿ ਸਮਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ 

ਪੁਹਪ ਮਧਿ ਜਿਉ ਬਾਸੁ ਬਸਤੁ ਹੈ ਮੁਕਰ ਮਾਹਿ ਜੈਸੇ ਛਾਈ ॥ 
ਤੈਸੇ ਹੀ ਹਰਿ ਬਸੇ ਨਿਰੰਤਰਿ ਘਟ ਹੀ ਖੋਜਹੁ ਭਾਈ ॥੧॥ 

ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭੀਤਰਿ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਨਹੁ ਇਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਬਤਾਈ ॥ 
ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਨੁ ਆਪਾ ਚੀਨੈ ਮਿਟੈ ਨ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕੀ ਕਾਈ ॥੨॥੧॥


NEEDED - A RENUNCIATION OF THE MIND

Everybody is a forest. You want to get lost in a forest and attain peace and silence in a forest. But that can be done in every body. In every house silence can be achieved. What is Sadan. It is Ghar.  Happiness is attained through winning your mind. 

Let the Guru's word be the mundra of the mind. Mundras were worn in the ear to straighten the mind.

Man Jeetai Jagjeet

Sochai Soch Na Hovai
Chupai Chup Na Hovai
Bhukheyaan Bhukh
Sahes Seyaanapaan lakh
Kiv Sacheyara hoyieh
Hukam rajai chalnaa

It is not necessary to starve the body. It is only necessary to control your mind. The best renunciation, is the sacrifice through the mind. The renunciation of K, K, L, M, A:

Tyaagna Tyaagan Neeka, Kaam Krodh Lobh Moh Tyaagna


Guru Nanak in Raag Aasa -

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਮਨੈ ਮਹਿ ਮੁੰਦ੍ਰਾ ਖਿੰਥਾ ਖਿਮਾ ਹਢਾਵਉ ॥ 
ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਕਰੈ ਭਲਾ ਕਰਿ ਮਾਨਉ ਸਹਜ ਜੋਗ ਨਿਧਿ ਪਾਵਉ ॥੧॥ 
ਬਾਬਾ ਜੁਗਤਾ ਜੀਉ ਜੁਗਹ ਜੁਗ ਜੋਗੀ ਪਰਮ ਤੰਤ ਮਹਿ ਜੋਗੰ ॥ 

ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨ ਪਾਇਆ ਗਿਆਨ ਕਾਇਆ ਰਸ ਭੋਗੰ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ 


GIVING UP: Kaam Krodha Hankaar Lobh Hatth Moh Na Man Mo Layaavai

What should we really give up.

When the light of the lord enters your mind, you remember his Name and you forget those things that burn you: lust, anger, and greed. This is the exercise of conquering your mind. In Raag Maru, Guru Arjan Dev ji says:

ਮਾਰੂ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ਘਰੁ ੪ ਅਸਟਪਦੀਆ 
ਚਾਦਨਾ ਚਾਦਨੁ ਆਂਗਨਿ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਜੀਉ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਚਾਦਨਾ ॥੧॥ 
ਆਰਾਧਨਾ ਅਰਾਧਨੁ ਨੀਕਾ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਰਾਧਨਾ ॥੨॥ 
ਤਿਆਗਨਾ ਤਿਆਗਨੁ ਨੀਕਾ ਕਾਮੁ ਕ੍ਰੋਧੁ ਲੋਭੁ ਤਿਆਗਨਾ ॥੩॥ 


Raja Bhartri on Greed 
भोगा न भुक्ता वयमेव भुक्ताः, तपो न तप्तं वयमेव तप्ताः । 
कालो न यातो वयमेव याताः तृष्णा न जीर्णा वयमेव जीर्णाः ॥ 

Pleasures weren't consumed, only we were; penance weren't 'done'; only we were 'done';
Time didn't pass, only we passed; thirst was not 'over', only we got 'over'. 


HOW TO SEE GOD: Tab hi aatam tat ko darse. 

Aatam Tat is "Spiritual Essence." The promise is that with Simran God is seen here and now. 

Simran is important - if we can embrace the virtues of acceptance, compassion, kindness, love, forgiveness. and if we can cast out the 

Raam Naam Ur Meh Gayo, Jaa Kai Sam Nahi Koy
Jis Simrat Sab Dukh Mitai, Daras Tuharo Hoye


OBTAINING THE ULTIMATE: Param Purakh Kaha Paavai - Going beyond three gunas

Sanyasa is about achieving the pinnacle of human experience. And the pinnacle of human experience is to rise above the thieves of the mind. It is to go beyond the three gunas and become one with God. 

The three gunas are thought to come originally from the Sankhya philosophy (one of six houses of Indian philosophy). Sankhya is a dualistic philosophy that believes in the coexistent and interdependent realities, conscious Purusha and unconscious Prakrti.  Purusha is ever pure, wise and free but it becomes a subject of pain and pleasure when it identifies itself with Prakrti. Prakrti is the material cause of the universe and is composed of three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas that correspond to light, activity and inertia respectively. The state in which the gunas are in equilibrium is called Prakrti but when disturbed the state is called Vikrti. Disturbance of the equilibrium of Prakrti produces the material world, including the mind, which is supposed to be the finest form of material energy.  


The universe -- or brahmand -- is made of five elements. This universe maybe called prakriti of the Sankhya philosophy.  It is really the same as Maya. However, there is a sixth element, the truth, also called paarbrahma, what Guru Gobind Singh calls aatam tatva or the Soul Element. While all the 5 Maya elements are driven by a combination of one of the three gunas (satva, rajas and tamas), the Soul element is beyond the three gunas. This is the state of being one with God. 


Guru Arjan on this (For more read 16th ashtapadi of Sukhmani):

ਸਲੋਕੁ ॥
सलोकु ॥
Salok.
Shalok:

ਰੂਪੁ ਨ ਰੇਖ ਨ ਰੰਗੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਤ੍ਰਿਹੁ ਗੁਣ ਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਿੰਨ ॥
रूपु न रेख न रंगु किछु त्रिहु गुण ते प्रभ भिंन ॥
Rūp na rekẖ na rang kicẖẖ ṯarihu guṇ ṯe parabẖ bẖinn.
He has no form, no shape, no color; God is beyond the three qualities.

ਤਿਸਹਿ ਬੁਝਾਏ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਜਿਸੁ ਹੋਵੈ ਸੁਪ੍ਰਸੰਨ ॥੧॥
तिसहि बुझाए नानका जिसु होवै सुप्रसंन ॥१॥
Ŧisėh bujẖā▫e nānkā jis hovai suparsan. ||1||
They alone understand Him, O Nanak, with whom He is pleased. ||1||

Guru Arjan goes on in Ashtapadi 16 of Sukhmani sahib to explain, exactly how Guru Gobind did, how it is in the end the desires of the mind that need to be controlled. 

Shri Krishna on this: 

This is from the fourteenth chapter of the Bhagwad Gita. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna how he can recognize the man who has gone beyond the three gunas, and what has he done to have gone beyond them?  Krishna replies by listing the characteristics of such a person and by reiterating the central theme in the Gita: non-attachment to the fruits of one's labor:

Whatever quality arises –
Light, activity, delusion –
He neither dislikes its presence
Nor desires it when it is not there.

He who is unattached,
who is not disturbed by the gunas,
who is firmly rooted and knows
that only the gunas are acting

who is equally self-contained
in pain or pleasure, in happiness
or sorrow, who is content
with whatever happens, who sees

dirt, rocks, and gold as equal,
who is unperturbed amid praise
or blame of himself, indifferent,
to honor and to disgrace,

serene in success and failure,
impartial to friend and foe,
unattached to action – that man
has gone beyond the three gunas.

He who faithfully serves me
with the yoga of devotion, going
beyond the three gunas, is ready
to attain the ultimate freedom.

Bhagavad Gita, A New Translation, 14.22 – 26
(Translation by Stephen Mitchell, 2000)

Specifically: 

नान्यं गुणेभ्य: कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति |
गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति || 

"When wise persons see that in all works there are no agents of action other than the three guṇas, and they know me to be transcendental to these guṇas, they attain my divine nature."

Also, Bhagwad Gita Chapter 9, verse 28


शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनै: |
संन्यासयोगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैष्यसि || 28||

śhubhāśhubha-phalair evaṁ mokṣhyase karma-bandhanaiḥ
sannyāsa-yoga-yuktātmā vimukto mām upaiṣhyasi

śhubha aśhubha phalaiḥ—from good and bad results; evam—thus; mokṣhyase—you shall be freed; karma—work; bandhanaiḥ—from the bondage; sanyāsa-yoga—renunciation of selfishness; yukta-ātmā—having the mind attached to Me; vimuktaḥ—liberated; mām—to Me; upaiṣhyasi—you shall reach
Translation
BG 9.28: By dedicating all your works to Me, you will be freed from the bondage of good and bad results. With your mind attached to Me through renunciation, you will be liberated and will reach Me.

Commentary -

Every action has defects, just as fire is covered by smoke.  When we walk on the earth, we unknowingly kill millions of tiny living entities.  In our occupational duties, no matter how careful we are in the fulfillment of our duties, we still end up harming the environment and hurting others.  Even if we eat a cup of yogurt, we still incur the sin of destroying the living entities that reside in it.  Some religious sects try to reduce this involuntary killing by tying a cloth over their mouth.  Even this does not fully eliminate the destruction of living entities in our breath. 

When we perform our actions with the intention of fulfilling our self-interest, we are culpable for the sins we commit, knowingly or unknowingly.  In accordance with the law of karma, we have to reap their karmic reactions.  Good works can also be binding because they oblige the soul to go to the celestial abodes to enjoy their results.  Thus, both bad and good karmas result in the continuity of the cycle of birth and death.   However, in this verse, Shree Krishna gives a simple solution for destroying all karmic reactions of work.  He uses the word sanyās yog, meaning renunciation of selfishness.  He says that when we dedicate our actions for the pleasure of the Lord, we are freed from the fetters of both good and bad results. 

Those who establish themselves in such consciousness are called yog yuktātmā (united in consciousness with God).  Such yogis become jīvan mukt (liberated in consciousness) even in this body.  And, upon leaving their mortal frame, they receive a divine body and eternal service in the divine Abode of God. 

Mary Oliver on Sanyasa 

I have decided to find myself a home in the mountains, somewhere high up where one learns to live peacefully in the cold and the silence. It’s said that in such a place certain revelations may be discovered. That what the spirit reaches for may be eventually felt, if not exactly understood. Slowly, no doubt. I’m not talking about a vacation.

Of course, at the same time I mean to stay exactly where I am.

Are you following me?


Guru Nanak in Raag Shri

To get a broader perspective on Guru Gobind's shabad, it is truly worth reading the following Guru Nanak shabad in Raag Shri. The concepts of controlling desires (aas), residing within (antar), wisdom and understanding self (gyaan and antar ki gat), eliminating ego (haumai hoye vinaas), the detached mind rests in its house (man bairagi ghar vasai), meeting the lord by subduing the mind (man maar mil).  

ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
Siree Raag, First Mehl:

ਮਰਣੈ ਕੀ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਨਹੀ ਜੀਵਣ ਕੀ ਨਹੀ ਆਸ ॥
I have no anxiety about dying, and no hope of living.

ਤੂ ਸਰਬ ਜੀਆ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਪਾਲਹੀ ਲੇਖੈ ਸਾਸ ਗਿਰਾਸ ॥
You are the Cherisher of all beings; You keep the account of our breaths and morsels of food.

ਅੰਤਰਿ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਤੂ ਵਸਹਿ ਜਿਉ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਉ ਨਿਰਜਾਸਿ ॥੧॥
You abide within the Gurmukh. As it pleases You, You decide our allotment. ||1||


ਜੀਅਰੇ ਰਾਮ ਜਪਤ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨੁ ॥
O my soul, chant the Name of the Lord; the mind will be pleased and appeased.

ਅੰਤਰਿ ਲਾਗੀ ਜਲਿ ਬੁਝੀ ਪਾਇਆ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਗਿਆਨੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
The raging fire within is extinguished; the Gurmukh obtains spiritual wisdom. ||1||Pause||


ਅੰਤਰ ਕੀ ਗਤਿ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਗੁਰ ਮਿਲੀਐ ਸੰਕ ਉਤਾਰਿ ॥
Know the state of your inner being; meet with the Guru and get rid of your skepticism.

ਮੁਇਆ ਜਿਤੁ ਘਰਿ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਿਤੁ ਜੀਵਦਿਆ ਮਰੁ ਮਾਰਿ ॥
To reach your True Home after you die, you must conquer death while you are still alive.

ਅਨਹਦ ਸਬਦਿ ਸੁਹਾਵਣੇ ਪਾਈਐ ਗੁਰ ਵੀਚਾਰਿ ॥੨॥
The beautiful, Unstruck Sound of the Shabad is obtained, contemplating the Guru. ||2||


ਅਨਹਦ ਬਾਣੀ ਪਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਹਉਮੈ ਹੋਇ ਬਿਨਾਸੁ ॥
The Unstruck Melody of Gurbani is obtained, and egotism is eliminated.

ਸਤਗੁਰੁ ਸੇਵੇ ਆਪਣਾ ਹਉ ਸਦ ਕੁਰਬਾਣੈ ਤਾਸੁ ॥
I am forever a sacrifice to those who serve their True Guru.

ਖੜਿ ਦਰਗਹ ਪੈਨਾਈਐ ਮੁਖਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
They are dressed in robes of honor in the Court of the Lord; the Name of the Lord is on their lips. ||3||


ਜਹ ਦੇਖਾ ਤਹ ਰਵਿ ਰਹੇ ਸਿਵ ਸਕਤੀ ਕਾ ਮੇਲੁ ॥
Wherever I look, I see the Lord pervading there, in the union of Shiva and Shakti, of consciousness and matter.

ਤ੍ਰਿਹੁ ਗੁਣ ਬੰਧੀ ਦੇਹੁਰੀ ਜੋ ਆਇਆ ਜਗਿ ਸੋ ਖੇਲੁ ॥
The three qualities hold the body in bondage; whoever comes into the world is subject to their play.

ਵਿਜੋਗੀ ਦੁਖਿ ਵਿਛੁੜੇ ਮਨਮੁਖਿ ਲਹਹਿ ਨ ਮੇਲੁ ॥੪॥
Those who separate themselves from the Lord wander lost in misery. The self-willed manmukhs do not attain union with Him. ||4||


ਮਨੁ ਬੈਰਾਗੀ ਘਰਿ ਵਸੈ ਸਚ ਭੈ ਰਾਤਾ ਹੋਇ ॥
If the mind becomes balanced and detached, and comes to dwell in its own true home, imbued with the Fear of God,

ਗਿਆਨ ਮਹਾਰਸੁ ਭੋਗਵੈ ਬਾਹੁੜਿ ਭੂਖ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥
then it enjoys the essence of supreme spiritual wisdom; it shall never feel hunger again.

ਨਾਨਕ ਇਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਰਿ ਮਿਲੁ ਭੀ ਫਿਰਿ ਦੁਖੁ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੫॥੧੮॥
O Nanak, conquer and subdue this mind; meet with the Lord, and you shall never again suffer in pain. ||5||18||

Other links
Sant Singh Maskeen -

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