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 Sannyas, as defined in traditional sense is all about renunciation. People who follow the path of sannyas are expected to lead very austere and ascetic lives, setting aside all desires and comforts. In the Vedic tradition, the four stages in a spiritual aspirant’s life are brahmacharya, grahastya, vanaprastha and sanyas. As a student, one learns about life, actions, achievements and fulfillment. As a householder, he acts on his learning and lives as a contributing member of society. On retirement, he hands over the reins to the next generation, and withdraws to a quiet place to evaluate his experiences and to contemplate on the purpose of his life. In the last stage, he frees himself from all dependencies and lives the life of inner freedom.
With Osho evolved a new meaning of sannyas, a radical shift from the traditional viewpoint. Of self-exploration and meditation which does not involve renouncing the world or anything else.
In older times sannyasi used to abandon the world. He just ran away from the world, where he was called upon to shoulder any number of responsibilities, and this escape made everything so easy and convenient for him. Sitting in a cave or a monastery, he had no responsibilities, no worries; he led a secluded and shrunken life. But Osho saw sannyas as something positive. Osho said, “To me, sannyas does not mean renunciation, it means a journey to joy. To me, sannyas is not any kind of negation, but a positive attainment. A sannyas that withdraws from life becomes bondage, and a sannyas that negates freedom is really not sannyas. Freedom is the very soul of sannyas. For me, sannyas has no limitations, no inhibitions, no rules and regulations. It does not accept any imposition, any regimentation, any discipline. I call him a sannyasin who has the courage to live in freedom and who accepts no bondage, no organisation, no discipline whatsoever. Therefore, in order to tell people what real sannyas is, we are investing it with a new meaning, a new concept. Sannyas has to live, it is the most profound, the most precious treasure that mankind has. But how to save it, preserve it, is the question,”
Sannyas was denied to women in the past. But with Osho, women and the youth were initiated into His neo-sannyas movement. Osho says, “ninety-nine percent women are reliable: they come through the heart. Nobody can refute their hearts. Their approach is through trust and love.” And for the youth, Osho shares “my sannyas is totally different: it has nothing to do with age. It has something to do with youth rather than old age. The younger you are, the more possibility there is of entering into my sannyas. Even those who are old physically but young spiritually will feel attracted towards it.
I am not teaching you escape from life. I am not teaching you the other world. I am teaching you how to live this life with great gratitude, with immense joy, with ecstasy. I am not anti-life. I am all for life, because to me life is God. There is no other God.”
- Editor
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