99-620: Satyananda Saraswati (25 December 1923 – 5 December 2009), was a Sanyasi , yoga teacher and guru in both his native India and the West. He was a student of Sivananda Saraswati , the founder of the Divine Life Society , and founded the Bihar School of Yoga in 1964. He wrote over 80 books, including the popular 1969 manual Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha . Satyananda Saraswati was born in 1923 at Almora, Uttaranchal , into
198-609: A mendicant through India, extending his knowledge of spiritual practices and spending some time in seclusion. In 1962, Satyananda established the International Yoga Fellowship Movement in Rajnandgaon . This inspired the establishment of ashrams and yoga centres spiritually guided by Swami Satyananda in India and around the world. In 1964, he founded the Bihar School of Yoga at Munger, with
297-521: A paramahamsa sannyasin and performed vedic sadhanas including Panchagni ("Five fires"), an intense spiritual practice performed outdoors surrounded by four fires under the Indian sun. It was during the Panchagni sadhana that he claimed to have received the divine mandate "Take care of your neighbours as I have taken care of you". There too, he conducted a 12-year Rajasooya Yajna which began in 1995 with
396-473: A tantric bhairavi , Sukhman Giri, who gave him shaktipat and directed him to find a guru to stabilise his spiritual experiences. In another version of his life in Yoga from Shore to Shore , he stated that he would become unconscious during meditation and that "One day I met a mahatma, a great saint, who was passing by my birthplace...So he told me I should find a guru." At age eighteen, he left his home to seek
495-676: A central place in early Mahāyāna, also because they "may have given access to fresh revelations and inspiration". Indian Mahāyāna traditions refer to numerous forms of samādhi , for example, Section 21 of the Mahavyutpatti records 118 distinct forms of samādhi and the Samadhiraja Sutra has as its main theme a samādhi called 'the samādhi that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of all dharma s' ( sarva-dharma-svabhavā-samatā-vipañcita-samādhi ). Buddhist Pali texts describe three kinds of samādhi which
594-490: A decedent's estate. Viṣṇu Smriti in verse 6.27, for example, states that if a debtor takes Sannyasa , his sons or grandsons should settle his debts. As to the little property a Sannyasin may collect or possess after renunciation, Book III Chapter XVI of Kautiliya's Arthashastra states that the property of hermits (vánaprastha), ascetics (yati, sannyasa), and student bachelors (Brahmachári) shall on their death be taken by their guru , disciples, their dharmabhratri (brother in
693-577: A family of farmers and kshatriyas , the warrior caste. It is claimed that he was classically educated and studied Sanskrit , the Vedas and the Upanishads . He stated that he began to have spiritual experiences at the age of six, when his awareness spontaneously left the body and he saw himself lying motionless on the floor. This experience of disembodied awareness continued, leading him to saints of that time such as Anandamayi Ma . He claimed to have met
792-417: A gross level the breath is equal in both nostrils, and on the subtle level pranic flow in ida and pingala nadis is balanced. This is called the sushumna breath because the residual prana of the sushuma, the kundalini , flows in sushumna nadi, causing sattva guna to dominate. "It creates a feeling of peace. That peace is ānanda". In sānanda samādhi the experience of that ānanda, that sattvic flow,
891-618: A group (similar to Christian mendicant orders ). 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 (a Hermitage , the practice of seclusion known generally as monasticism ). Most Hindu ascetics adopt celibacy when they begin Sannyasa. However, there are exceptions, such as
990-668: 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 ( Gossain ) and Vaishnava ( Bairagi ) ascetics metamorphosed into a military order, where they developed martial arts, created military strategies, and engaged in guerrilla warfare . These warrior sanyasi (ascetics) played an important role in helping European colonial powers establish themselves in
1089-999: A person in Sannyasa is described by many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Bhagavad Gita discusses it in many verses, for example: ज्ञेयः स नित्य संन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ् क्षति । निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥५-३॥ He is known as a permanent Sannyasin who does not hate, does not desire, is without dualities (opposites). Truly, Mahabaho ( Arjuna ), he is liberated from bondage. Other behavioral characteristics, in addition to renunciation, during Sannyasa include: ahimsa (non-violence), akrodha (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures), asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and shaucha (purity of body, speech and mind). Some Hindu monastic orders require
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#17327878806711188-491: A portion with other living beings, sprinkling the remainder with water he should eat it as if it were a medicine. 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
1287-475: A range of martial arts. Nath Siddhas of the 12th century AD, may have been the earliest Hindu monks to resort to a military response after the Muslim conquest. Ascetics, by tradition, led a nomadic and unattached lifestyle. As these ascetics dedicated themselves to rebellion, their groups sought stallions, developed techniques for spying and targeting, and they adopted strategies of war against Muslim nobles and
1386-527: A rite of renunciation in ancient Sutra texts, and thereafter became a recognized, well discussed stage of life (Ashrama) by about the 3rd and 4th century CE. Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā, Yati, Sramana and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts. 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
1485-500: A single process that leads to awakening. She concludes that "the fourth jhāna is the optimal experiential event for the utter de-conditioning of unwholesome tendencies of mind and for the transformation of deep epistemological structures. This is because one embodies and actualizes an awakened awareness of experience." The earliest extant Indian Mahāyāna texts emphasize ascetic practices, forest-dwelling, and states of meditative oneness, i.e. samādhi . These practices seem to have occupied
1584-487: A six-stage model, explicitly rejecting Vacaspati Misra's model. Vijnana Bikshu regards joy ( ānanda ) as a state that arises when the mind passes beyond the vicara stage. Whicher agrees that ānanda is not a separate stage of samādhi . According to Whicher, Patanjali's own view seems to be that nirvicara-samādhi is the highest form of cognitive ecstasy. According to Sarasvati Buhrman, " Babaji once explained that when people feel blissful sensations during sādhanā , on
1683-764: A spiritual master. In 1943, at the age of twenty, he met his guru Sivananda Saraswati and went to live at Sivananda's ashram in Rishikesh . Sivananda initiated him into the Dashnam Order of Sannyasa on 12 September 1947 on the banks of the Ganges, and gave him the name of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. He stayed with Sivananda for a further nine years but received little further formal instruction from him. In 1956, Sivananda sent Satyananda away to spread his teachings. Basing himself in Munger , Bihar , Satyananda wandered as
1782-448: A tour of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, North America between April and October 1968. The foreign and expatriate students also established new centres of teaching in their respective countries. In 1988 Satyananda handed over the active work of his ashram and organisation to his spiritual successor, Niranjanananda Saraswati , and left Munger. In September 1989 he moved to Rikhia, Deoghar , Jharkhand . There he lived as
1881-449: 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 (those with a criminal record) and others as not qualified to become Sannyasa ; while other texts place no restrictions. The dress,
1980-671: A widower may choose Sannyasa if desired, but in general, states verse II.10.17.5, Sannyasa is suited after the completion of age 70 and after one's children have been firmly settled. Other texts suggest the age of 75. The Vasiṣṭha and Āpastamba Dharmasūtra s, and the later Manusmṛti describe the āśrama s as sequential stages which would allow one to pass from Vedic studentship to householder to forest-dwelling hermit to renouncer. However, these texts differ with each other. Yājñavalkya Smṛti , for example, differs from Manusmṛti and states in verse 3.56 that one may skip Vanaprastha (forest dwelling, retired) stage and go straight from
2079-442: Is "Samma Samadhi" (Right Concentration), and only the first four Jhanas are considered "Right Concentration". When all the jhanas are mentioned, the emphasis is on the "Cessation of Feelings and Perceptions" rather than stopping short at the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception". According to Gunaratana , the term ' samādhi ' derives from the roots ' sam-ā-dhā ', which means 'to collect' or 'bring together', and thus it
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#17327878806712178-412: 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 behavioral state of
2277-523: Is called this light. The Munis , girdled with the wind, wear garments of soil hue; They, following the wind's swift course, go where the Gods have gone before. These Munis , their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya (bachelor student). One class of Munis were associated with Rudra. Another were Vratyas . Hinduism has no formal demands nor requirements on
2376-580: Is closely associated with the modern form of yoga nidra , a deep relaxation technique. Satyananda wrote over 80 books, including his popular 1969 manual Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha . Satyananda's writings have been published by the Bihar School of Yoga and, since 2000, by the Yoga Publications Trust established by his disciple Swami Niranjanananda. An Australian Royal Commission investigated allegations of child sexual abuse at
2475-434: Is considered a form of detachment in daily life similar to Sannyasa . Sharma states that, "the basic principle of Karma yoga is that it is not what one does, but how one does it that counts and if one has the know-how in this sense, one can become liberated by doing whatever it is one does", and "(one must do) whatever one does without attachment to the results, with efficiency and to the best of one's ability". Ascetic life
2574-420: Is controversial, but it seems to me that the third and fourth jhanas are thus quite unlike the second." Alexander Wynne states that the dhyana -scheme is poorly understood. According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as sati , sampajāno , and upekkhā , are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states, whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving
2673-574: Is dedicated to Sannyasa and to Yoga , or about 20 each, with some overlap. The renunciation-related texts are called the Sannyasa Upanishads . These are as follows: Mahasamadhi Samādhi ( Pali and Sanskrit : समाधि ), in Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism , Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivation of Samādhi through various meditation methods
2772-606: Is essential for the attainment of spiritual liberation (known variously as nirvana , moksha ). In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path . In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali . In Jain meditation , samadhi is considered one of the last stages of the practice just prior to liberation. In
2871-402: Is generally translated as "concentration." In the early Buddhist texts, samādhi is also associated with the term samatha (calm abiding). In the commentarial tradition, samādhi is defined as ekaggata , one-pointedness of mind ( Cittass'ekaggatā ). Buddhagosa defines samādhi as "the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object [...]
2970-552: Is retained in Zen and Dzogchen. The stock description of the jhānas , with traditional and alternative interpretations, is as follows: Appended to the jhana -scheme are four meditative states, referred to in the early texts as arupas or as āyatana . They are sometimes mentioned in sequence after the first four jhānas and thus came to be treated by later exegetes as jhānas. The immaterial are related to, or derived from, yogic meditation, and aim more specific at concentration, while
3069-424: Is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path . When samadhi is developed, things are understood as they really are. Samma-samadhi is explicated as dhyana , which is traditionally interpreted as one-pointed concentration. Yet, in the stock formula of dhyāna samādhi is only mentioned in the second dhyana , to give way to a state of equanimity and mindfulness , in which one keeps access to
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3168-443: Is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young brahmachari s 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 disinterest in and detachment from material life, with
3267-405: Is untainted by any other vrittis , or thoughts, save the awareness of the pleasure of receiving that bliss". According to Maehle, asamprajñata samādhi (also called nirvikalpa samādhi and nirbija samādhi ) leads to knowledge of purusha or consciousness, the subtlest element. Heinrich Zimmer distinguishes nirvikalpa samādhi from other states as follows: Nirvikalpa samādhi , on
3366-641: The Bhakti (devotion) traditions, liberation consists of being an eternal servant to the Divine and release from Saṃsāra (rebirth in future life); for Yoga traditions, liberation is the experience of the highest Samādhi (deep awareness in this life); and for the Advaita tradition, liberation is jivanmukti – the awareness of the Supreme Reality ( Brahman ) and Self-realization in this life. Sannyasa
3465-457: The Grihastha (householder) stage to Sannyasa . The Jabala Upanishad mentions one who gets vairagya of any class or gender can renounce or take sanyasa. Nevertheless, Dharmaśāstra texts document people of all castes as well as women, entered Sannyasa in practice. After renouncing the world, the ascetic's financial obligations and property were adjudicated by the state, in the manner of
3564-570: The Indian subcontinent . Saṃnyāsa in Sanskrit nyasa means purification, sannyasa means "Purification of Everything". It is a composite word of saṃ- which means "together, all", ni- which means "down" and āsa from the root as , 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
3663-663: The Institute of Noetic Sciences , has compared the experience of seeing the earth from space, also known as the overview effect , to savikalpa samādhi . According to Ian Whicher, the status of ānanda and āsmitā in Patanjali's system is a matter of dispute. According to Maehle, the first two constituents, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types of samāpatti . According to Feuerstein: "Joy" and "I-am-ness" [...] must be regarded as accompanying phenomena of every cognitive [ecstasy]. The explanations of
3762-633: The Rinzai school of Zen stress sudden insight, while the Sōtō school of Zen lays more emphasis on shikantaza , training awareness of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. Historically, many traditional Japanese arts were developed or refined to attain samādhi , including incense appreciation (香道, kodō ), flower arranging (華道, kadō ), the tea ceremony (茶道, sadō ), calligraphy (書道, shodō ), and martial arts such as archery (弓道, kyūdō ). The Japanese character 道 means
3861-469: The Samhitas , Aranyakas and Brahmanas , the earliest layers of Vedic literature (2nd millennium BCE), 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
3960-480: The jhanas proper are related to the cultivation of the mind. The state of complete dwelling in emptiness is reached when the eighth jhāna is transcended. The four arupas are: Although the "Dimension of Nothingness" and the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception" are included in the list of nine jhanas attributed to the Buddha, they are not included in the Noble Eightfold Path . Noble Path number eight
4059-481: The jhānas and the contemporary criticisms of the commentarial interpretation. Based on this research, and her own experience as a senior meditation-teacher, she gives a reconstructed account of the original meaning of the dhyanas . She argues that the four jhānas are the outcome of both calming the mind and developing insight into the nature of experience and cannot not be seen in the suttas as two distinct and separated meditation techniques, but as integral dimensions of
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4158-472: The Mughal Empire, and became a political force during the early years of British Raj . In some cases, these regiments of soldier monks shifted from guerrilla campaigns to war alliances, and these Hindu warrior monks played a key role in helping British establish themselves in India. The significance of warrior ascetics rapidly declined with the consolidation of British Raj in late 19th century, and with
4257-591: The Pali canon, but explicitly enumerated in the Visuddhimagga, such as mindfulness of breathing ( ānāpānasati ) and loving kindness ( mettā ). While the Theravada-tradition interprets dhyana as one-pointed concentration, this interpretation has become a matter of debate. According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four rupa-jhanas describes two different cognitive states: "I know this
4356-541: 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 of the Hindu Sannyasin is moksha (liberation). The idea of what that means varies from tradition to tradition. Who am I, and in what really do I consist? What is this cage of suffering? For
4455-644: The Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales, Australia during the 1970s and 1980s. Alleged abuses by and against multiple individuals took place between 1974 and 1989, with eleven witnesses alleging abuses in Australia, and two witnesses alleging abuses in both Australia and India. Two witnesses alleged that Satyananda, who was no longer alive at the time of the Royal Commission, had sexually abused them; this evidence
4554-547: The Spirit as the object of meditation all become one. The separate wave of the soul meditating in the ocean of Spirit becomes merged with the Spirit. The soul does not lose its identity, but only expands into Spirit. In savikalpa samādhi the mind is conscious only of the Spirit within; it is not conscious of the exterior world. The body is in a trancelike state, but the consciousness is fully perceptive of its blissful experience within. Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell , founder of
4653-487: The Sultanate state. Many of these groups were devotees of Hindu deity Mahadeva , and were called Mahants . Other popular names for them was Sannyasis , Yogis , Nagas (followers of Shiva), Bairagis (followers of Vishnu) and Gosains from the 16th to the 19th centuries; in some cases, these Hindu monks cooperated with Muslim fakirs who were Sufi and also persecuted. Warrior monks continued their rebellion through
4752-471: 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 (stage) of human life. Baudhayana Dharmasūtra , completed by about 7th century BC, states the following behavioral vows for a person in Sannyasa These are
4851-410: The activities of Sivananda Math, which provides free medical care and basic amenities to the people of Rikhia and the neighbouring villages, and supplies methods for the villagers to develop their own livelihood, thus enabling the development of a self-sustained society. He entered into the state of Mahasamadhi , i.e leaving the body at will on 5 December 2009 Swami Satyananda's teachings are based on
4950-440: The affairs of Mananat (mind, meditation). The Rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati (वति, monks who beg). केश्यग्निं केशी विषं केशी बिभर्ति रोदसी । केशी विश्वं स्वर्दृशे केशीदं ज्योतिरुच्यते ॥१॥ मुनयो वातरशनाः पिशङ्गा वसते मला । वातस्यानु ध्राजिं यन्ति यद्देवासो अविक्षत ॥२॥ He with the long loose locks (of hair) supports Agni, and moisture, heaven, and earth; He is all sky to look upon: he with long hair
5049-640: The aspirant's experience, understanding and sadhana (sustained practice), allowing a harmonious expression of one's inner qualities. In this way the Satyananda system of yoga addresses the qualities of head, heart and hands – intellect, emotion and action – and attempts to integrate the physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of yoga into each practice. Based on the classical texts of Hatha yoga and his personal experience, Swami Satyananda presented Hatha Yoga in his widely-used and much-translated work Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha . Swami Satyananda's name
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#17327878806715148-661: The benefit of renunciation can be achieved ( moksha, or liberation) without asceticism in the earlier stages of one's life. For example, Bhagavad Gita , Vidyaranya's Jivanmukti Viveka, and others believed that various alternate forms of yoga and the importance of yogic discipline could serve as paths to spirituality, and ultimately moksha . Over time, four paths to liberating spirituality have emerged in Hinduism: Jñāna yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Rāja yoga. Acting without greed or craving for results, in Karma yoga for example,
5247-568: The classical commentators on this point appear to be foreign to Patanjali's hierarchy of [ecstatic] states, and it seems unlikely that ānanda and asmita should constitute independent levels of samādhi . Ian Whicher disagrees with Feuerstein, seeing ānanda and asmitā as later stages of nirvicara-samāpatti . Whicher refers to Vācaspati Miśra (900–980 CE), the founder of the Bhāmatī Advaita Vedanta who proposes eight types of samāpatti : Vijnana Bikshu (c. 1550–1600) proposes
5346-480: The commentarial tradition identify as the 'gates of liberation ' ( vimokṣamukha ): According to Polak, these are alternative descriptions of the four dhyanas, describing the cognitive aspects instead of the bodily aspects. According to Polak, in the final stages of dhyana no ideation of experience takes place, and no signs are grasped ( animitta samādhi ), which means that the concentrated attention cannot be directed ( appaṇihita samādhi ) towards those signs, and only
5445-406: The dichotomy of being and non-being. 'Aimlessness', also translated as 'uncommittedness' or 'wishlessness' ( Chinese wúyuàn 無願 , lit. ' non-wishing ' , or wúzuò 無作 , lit. ' non-arising ' ), literally means 'placing nothing in front'. According to Dan Lusthaus, aimlessness-samadhi is characterised by a lack of aims or plans for the future and no desire for
5544-490: 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, Pot, drinking cup and flask – the three supports, a pair of shoes, a patched robe giving protection – in heat and cold, a loin cloth, bathing drawers and straining cloth, triple staff and coverlet. Those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join
5643-456: The external yogas, as they focus on improving the quality of body and mind, the expression of the senses and behavior. They aim at reconditioning and fine tuning the various aspects of the aspirant's personality. Karma, Bhakti and Jnana Yoga are referred to as the internal yogas, as they are concerned with cultivating a positive attitude towards life's situations and the expression of creativity. Here ideas and perceptions can be transformed, based on
5742-608: The first Sat Chandi Maha Yajna, invoking the Cosmic Mother through a tantric ceremony. During this event, Satyananda passed on his spiritual and sannyasa responsibilities to Niranjanananda. During his stay in Rikhia, he undertook the task of constructing homes for the homeless, and established the Rikhiapeeth ashram. Its activities are based on the three cardinal teachings of Sri Swami Sivananda – serve, love and give through
5841-640: The founding guru, had overarching authority at the Mangrove Mountain ashram (and its centres) in his role as head of Satyananda Yoga worldwide." Sanyasi Traditional Sannyasa ( Sanskrit : संन्यास , romanized : saṃnyāsa ), sometimes spelled sanyasa , is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as ashramas , the first three being brahmacharya (celibate student), grihastha (householder) and vanaprastha (forest dweller, retired). Sannyasa
5940-405: 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
6039-555: The four-stage Ashrama concept appeared a few centuries later. However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC mentions Muni (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy men), 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 (केशिन्, long haired) and Mala clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron), engaged in
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#17327878806716138-399: The intention that it would act as a centre of training for future teachers of yoga as well as offer courses on yoga. Among those who attended courses at the Bihar School of Yoga were students from abroad and students who subsequently emigrated from India. Some of these people in turn invited Satyananda to teach in their own countries. He lectured and taught for the next twenty years, including
6237-485: 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
6336-434: The material realm, in a neutral stance, as different from the kāma -realm (lust, desire) and the arūpa -realm (non-material realm). While interpreted in the Theravada-tradition as describing a deepening concentration and one-pointedness, originally the jhānas seem to describe a development from investigating body and mind and abandoning unwholesome states , to perfected equanimity and watchfulness, an understanding which
6435-504: The meditational practices" he had learned from Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. In the sutras, jhāna is entered when one 'sits down cross-legged and establishes mindfulness'. According to Buddhist tradition, it may be supported by ānāpānasati , mindfulness of breathing, a core meditative practice which can be found in almost all schools of Buddhism. The Suttapiṭaka and the Agama s describe four stages of rūpa jhāna . Rūpa refers to
6534-557: The monastic order), or classmates in succession. Although a renouncer's practitioner's obligations and property rights were reassigned, he or she continued to enjoy basic human rights such as the protection from injury by others and the freedom to travel. Likewise, someone practicing Sannyasa was subject to the same laws as common citizens; stealing, harming, or killing a human being by a Sannyasi were all serious crimes in Kautiliya's Arthashastra. Later Indian literature debates whether
6633-675: 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. Baudhayana Dharmasūtra, in verse II.10.17.2 states that anyone who has finished Brahmacharya (student) life stage may become ascetic immediately, in II.10.17.3 that any childless couple may enter Sannyasa anytime they wish, while verse II.10.17.4 states that
6732-406: The object of meditation. Samādhi is of two kinds, with and without support of an object of meditation: According to Paramahansa Yogananda , in this state one lets go of the ego and becomes aware of Spirit beyond creation. The soul is then able to absorb the fire of Spirit-Wisdom that "roasts" or destroys the seeds of body-bound inclinations. The soul as the meditator, its state of meditation, and
6831-434: The objects of perception. According to Nagarjuna, aimlessness-samadhi is the samādhi in which one does not search for any kind of existence ( bhāva ), letting go of aims or wishes ( praṇidhāna ) regarding conditioned phenomena and not producing the three poisons (namely, passion, aggression, and ignorance) towards them in the future. According to Nagarjuna, emptiness-samadhi is the samādhi in which one recognises that
6930-522: The objects of sense, he falls away from truth and acts; Mind alone is the Samsara , one should purify it with diligence; You are what your mind is, a mystery, a perpetual one; The mind which is serene, cancels all actions good and bad; He, who, himself, serene, remains steadfast in himself - he attains imperishable happiness. – Hymn VI.34 Of the 108 Upanishads of the Muktika , the largest corpus
7029-457: 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 (householder) stage as
7128-593: The oldest Buddhist sutras , on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind that is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions and the Buddhist commentarial tradition, on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance attained by
7227-505: The other hand, absorption without self-consciousness, is a mergence of the mental activity ( cittavṛtti ) in the Self, to such a degree, or in such a way, that the distinction ( vikalpa ) of knower, act of knowing, and object known becomes dissolved — as waves vanish in water, and as foam vanishes into the sea. Swami Sivananda describes nirbija samādhi (lit. "samādhi" without seeds) as follows: "Without seeds or Samskaras [...] All
7326-518: The painful ascetic practices of the Jains, while the arūpa jhāna were incorporated from non-Buddhist ascetic traditions. Alexander Wynne argues that dhyāna was incorporated from Brahmanical practices, in the Nikayas ascribed to Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. These practices were paired to mindfulness and insight , and given a new interpretation. Kalupahana also argues that the Buddha "reverted to
7425-543: The perception of the six senses remains, without a notion of "self" ( suññata samādhi ). In the Chinese Buddhist tradition these are called the 'three doors of liberation' ( sān jiětuō mén , 三解脫門 ): These three are not always cited in the same order. Nagarjuna , a Madhyamaka Buddhist scholar, in his Maha-prajnaparamita-sastra , listed apraṇihita before ānimitta in his first explanation on these "three samādhi ", but in later listings and explanations in
7524-501: The practice of dhyāna . Samadhi may refer to a broad range of states. A common understanding regards samadhi as meditative absorption: In a Buddhist context, a more nuanced understanding sees samadhi as a state of intensified awareness and investigation of bodily and mental objects or experiences: In Hinduism, samadhi is also interpreted as the identification with the Absolute: Various interpretations for
7623-551: The purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits. An individual in Sanyasa is known as a sannyasi (male) or sannyasini (female) 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 (non-violence),
7722-422: The question, "given the nature of life, how is joy possible?" and "how can one achieve moksha (liberation)?"; in later sections it offers a debate on possible answers and its views on Sannyasa. In this body infected with passions, anger, greed, delusion, fright, despondency, grudge, separation from what is dear and desirable, attachment to what is not desirable, hunger, thirst, old age, death, illness, sorrow and
7821-408: The rest - how can one experience only joy? – Hymn I.3 The drying up of great oceans, the crumbling down of the mountains, the instability of the pole-star, the tearing of the wind-chords, the sinking down, the submergence of the earth, the tumbling down of the gods from their place - in a world in which such things occur, how can one experience only joy ?! – Hymn I.4 Dragged away and polluted by
7920-472: The rise in non-violence movement by Mahatma Gandhi . Novetzke states that some of these Hindu warrior ascetics were treated as folk heroes, aided by villagers and townspeople, because they targeted figures of political and economic power in a discriminatory state, and some of these warriors paralleled Robin Hood 's lifestyle. Sannyasa, or the renunciant way of life, is discussed in various Upanishads. Among
8019-449: The river of the Gunas (personality), one becomes rootless, tottering, broken down, greedy, uncomposed and falling in the delusion of I-consciousness, he imagines: "I am this, this is mine" and binds himself, like a bird in the net. – Hymn VI.30 Just as the fire without fuel comes to rest in its place, so also the passive mind comes to rest in its source; When it (mind) is infatuated by
8118-543: The same work reverted to the more common order. Others, such as Thích Nhất Hạnh , a Thien Buddhist teacher, list apraṇihita as the third after śūnyatā and ānimitta . Nagarjuna lists these three kinds of samādhi among the qualities of the bodhisattva . According to Nagarjuna, signlessness-samadhi is the samādhi in which one recognises all dharmas are free of signs ( ānimitta ). According to Thích Nhất Hạnh, "signs" refer to appearances or form, likening signlessness samadhi to not being fooled by appearances, such as
8217-509: The seeds or impressions are burnt by the fire of knowledge [...] all the Samskaras and Vasanas which bring on rebirths are totally freed up. All Vrittis or mental modifications that arise from the mind-lake come under restraint. The five afflictions, viz., Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga-dvesha (love and hatred) and Abhinivesha (clinging to life) are destroyed and the bonds of Karma are annihilated [...] It gives Moksha (deliverance from
8316-564: The sense objects. Several western teachers (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Leigh Brazington, Richard Shankman) make a distinction between 'sutta-oriented' jhana and ' Visuddhimagga -oriented' jhāna . Thanissaro Bhikkhu has repeatedly argued that the Pali Canon and the Visuddhimagga give different descriptions of the jhanas, regarding the Visuddhimagga -description to be incorrect. Keren Arbel has conducted extensive research on
8415-457: The senses in a mindful way, avoiding primary responses to the sense-impressions. The origins of the practice of dhyāna are a matter of dispute. According to Crangle, the development of meditative practices in ancient India was a complex interplay between Vedic and non-Vedic traditions. According to Bronkhorst, the four rūpa jhāna may be an original contribution of the Buddha to the religious landscape of India, which formed an alternative to
8514-540: The state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered". According to Buddhaghosa, the Theravada Pali texts mention four attainments of samādhi : According to Buddhaghosa, in his influential standard-work Visuddhimagga , samādhi is the "proximate cause" to the obtainment of wisdom . The Visuddhimagga describes 40 different objects for meditation, which are mentioned throughout
8613-835: 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. 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 (without clothes), Ajivika, Aviruddhaka, Devadhammika, Eka-satakas, Gotamaka, Jatilaka, Magandika, Mundasavaka, Nigrantha (Jains), Paribbajaka, Tedandikas, Titthiya and others. 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
8712-481: 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
8811-544: The term Antigriha (अन्तिगृह) 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 (wanderer) lifestyle. The explicit use of
8910-475: The term's etymology are possible, either with the root sam ("to bring together") or sama ( "the same, equalized, the convergence of two distinct things"). According to Dan Lusthaus , samadhi refers to either bringing to consciousness the samskaras ("buried latencies"), or meditative concentration on a meditation object: Etymologies for sam - ā - dhā include: Particular Hindu/yoga interpretations include: Common Chinese terms for samādhi include
9009-600: The thirteen major or Principal Upanishads , all from the ancient era, many include sections related to Sannyasa . The Mundaka Upanishad discusses the path of Sannyasa as a means to attain spiritual knowledge and liberation. It emphasizes the renunciant's simple and austere lifestyle in pursuit of wisdom. The motivations and state of a Sannyasi are mentioned in Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad , a classical major Upanishad that Robert Hume included among his list of "Thirteen Principal Upanishads" of Hinduism. Maitrāyaṇi starts with
9108-415: The transliterations sanmei (三昧) and sanmodi (三摩地 or 三摩提), as well as the translation of the term literally as ding (定 "stability"). Kumarajiva 's translations typically use sanmei (三昧), while the translations of Xuanzang tend to use ding (定 "stability"). The Chinese Buddhist canon includes these, as well as other translations and transliterations of the term. Samma-samadhi , "right samadhi ,"
9207-695: The true natures of all dharmas are absolutely empty ( atyantaśūnya ), and that the five aggregates are not the self ( anātman ), do not belong to the self ( anātmya ), and are empty ( śūnya ) without self-nature . Indian dhyāna was translated as chán in Chinese, and zen in Japanese. Ideologically the Zen-tradition emphasizes prajñā and sudden insight , but in the actual practice prajñā and samādhi, or sudden insight and gradual cultivation, are paired to each other. Especially some lineages in
9306-449: The vows a Sannyasi must keep – Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, abstention from sex, liberality (kindness, gentleness) are the major vows. There are five minor vows: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating. He should beg (for food) without annoying others, any food he gets he must compassionately share
9405-488: The way or the path and indicates that disciplined practice in the art is a path to samādhi . Traditional Samādhi is the eighth limb of the Yoga Sūtras, following the sixth and seventh limbs of dhāraṇā and dhyāna respectively. According to Taimni, dhāraṇā , dhyāna , and samādhi form a graded series: Samādhi is oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and
9504-416: The wheel of births and deaths). With the advent of the knowledge of the Self, ignorance vanishes. With the disappearance of the root-cause, viz., ignorance, egoism, etc., also disappear". Ramana Maharshi distinguished between kevala nirvikalpa samadhi and sahaja nirvikalpa samādhi : Sahaja samadhi is a state in which a silent level within the subject is maintained along with (simultaneously with)
9603-476: The yoga teachings of Swami Sivananda. They emphasize an integral approach known as the Satyananda System of Yoga. They present yoga as a lifestyle to enhance the quality of life, including one's daily activities, interactions, thoughts and emotions, rather than reducing it to a practice or philosophy. This integral system combines six main branches of yoga. Hatha, Raja and Kriya Yoga are referred to as
9702-553: Was deemed "out of scope" and "untested", and accordingly no finding was made against Satyananda in the Australian Royal Commission's final report. The psychotherapist Josna Pakhana and the yoga teacher and researcher Jacqueline Hargreaves write that "shocking levels of abuse were deeply entrenched" in Satyananda's Mangrove Mountain ashram in Australia in the 1970s. They state that the Royal Commission "concluded that Swami Satyananda Saraswati (b. 1923, d. 2009),
9801-504: Was historically a life of renunciation, non-violence and spiritual pursuit. However, in India, this has not always been the case. For example, after the Mongol and Persian Islamic invasions in the 12th century, and the establishment of Delhi Sultanate , the ensuing Hindu-Muslim conflicts provoked the creation of a military order of Hindu ascetics in India. These warrior ascetics formed paramilitary groups called ‘‘ Akharas '’ and they invented
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