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Renounced order of life (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 3.17-20 -- New York, May 27, 1966:

Ṭhākura Haridāsa was a man in renounced order of life. Now for him, it is, there is injunction that those who are in renounced order of life, they should not sit down in a secluded place with woman. Why a renounced order of man? It is... The śāstra injunction is that, so far Vedic literatures are concerned, they are very much strict about association, free association of man and woman. They are very much strict. They have compared woman as fire and man as the pot of butter. So, according to strict Vedic principle, except one's own wife, nobody sit down in a private place with woman, even she happens to be a mother, even she happens to be a daughter, even she happens to be a sister. So much restriction is there. Mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nāviviktāsano bhavet: (SB 9.19.17) "Either she is your mother, either she is your daughter, either she is your sister, don't sit down in a secluded place alone with woman." So such a stricture is there. Now, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, at dead of night a woman came before him and she was sitting. She (he) was chanting. So according to this restriction or injunction, she (he) has committed wrong. No. She (He) has not committed wrong because he was trying for her benefit. He was sitting there not with the purpose of sense gratification. He was sitting with that woman with the purpose of converting him (her) for self-realization. He had no other intention. His only intention was: "Well, this poor creature has come to me. Never mind whatever her intention is. And if I am elevated, if I have anything, anything relationship with my Supreme Lord, I must do something good to this poor creature so that her life also may become successful. That was his intention. He had no other intention. Therefore, naiva tasya kṛtena arthaḥ. Therefore for him there is no restriction.

Lecture on BG 3.17-20 -- New York, May 27, 1966:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī, because his whole day's business was just to stand before a householder's door because every householder milking. And people know that this swamiji or this sage has come to take some milk. "Oh Bābā, whatever you want you take." So what? Say one pound or less than one pound drinks and goes away. The whole day was finished business. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī was doing like that. He wouldn't go anywhere, and simply, early in the morning he would stand before a householder's door and take little milk and the whole day he would travel naked. He has recommended that "Why you are anxious?" You, I mean to say, those who are in the renounced order of life, those who have left the world simply for self, spiritual realization... So Śukadeva Gosvāmī advises that "You, if you have actually left home for spiritual realization, then you haven't got any problem for maintaining your life. You have no problem." So he recommends, cīrāṇi kiṁ pathi na santi. "Well, I am naked." Of course, you do not wish to run on as naked. You require some cloth. All right, find out some cloth in the street. There are so many cloth thrown in the street. So you can pick up one of them. So your cloth problem is there solved. Cīrāṇi kiṁ pathi na santi diśanti bhikṣāṁ naivāṅghripāḥ. Aṅghripāḥ means these trees. They have got fruits. So you can ask a tree, apple tree, to give you some apple to eat. So your clothing and eating problem is solved. All right, then your shelter... Ruddhā guhāḥ kim. Oh, you find out some cave. There is nice place. So the house problem is solved. Then water? There are many rivers. There is no water problem. So he has recommended like that.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Bombay, March 21, 1974:

Bhagavān means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhaga, we generally know, bhāgya, opulence, fortune, a man is called bhāgyavān. This bhāgyavān word comes from the word bhaga, Bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, six kinds of opulences: wealth, strength, influence, education, wisdom, beauty, and renunciation. These are opulences. If a man is wealthy, he's attractive. He attracts. Any man, very wealthy, he attracts. Similarly, if he's very strong, if he's very influential, if he's very learned, wise, if he's very beautiful... He or she, it doesn't matter. Or if he's a great renouncer, one who has renounced everything for public benefit, naturally we have got attraction. So in this material world we find some wealthy man, some rich man, some strong man, some beautiful man, some wise man, one renounced man, but they are only fragmental. Fragmental, very small quantity. Any man... You can take a rich man. He may be very rich man, but, in comparison to the other persons in the material world, but nobody can claim that "I am the richest man." No. That is not possible. Nobody can claim. "I am the wisest man," nobody can claim. "I am the strongest man," that is also, nobody can claim. However one strong may be, he is under the rules and regulation and material nature. He cannot go beyond that. Therefore you cannot find Bhagavān, or the Supreme Person, possessing all these opulences. That is not possible. But here it is said, bhagavān uvāca. That means He's the richest, He's the strongest, He's the most beautiful, the wisest, and the most renounced order of life. Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Vrndavana, August 6, 1974:

The Six Gosvāmīs, they gave up their material opulence. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat. They gave up their... They were ministers of the government, very exalted position. Their associates were most aristocratic persons. But he gave up everything. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm. Maṇḍala-pati means leaders of the society, big, big men, zamindars or government officers. So he gave up, tucchavat, considering them most insignificant. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā. They have, gave up their opulent family. He was also belonging to the aristocratic family. He gave up. And became a mendicant, beggar, madhukārī. They were asking one cāpāṭi from one gṛhastha. They would not accept three or four or..., cāpāṭis at a place. Only half, one, like that. All in this way. So so much in the renounced order of life. But they lived—how? Gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī-kallola-magnau muhuḥ. They were always thinking of the gopīs' dealing with Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 5.3-7 -- New York, August 26, 1966:

Now, what do you mean by renunciation? Suppose I am in the renounced order of life. What I have renounced? Oh, you are, you have got clothing. I have got also clothing. It may be less costly. Or you are living in some room. Oh, I am also living in some room. So what is the difference between you and me? Renunciation. Suppose a mendicant becomes..., he has renounced everything. In India you'll find, simply a loincloth he's wearing, even naked body. Sometimes, they are naked. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the monkey, monkey is completely naked, and he eats fruit. Markaṭa-vairāgya. Markaṭa-vairāgya..., mendicantism just like the monkey. He is... He is living in a jungle. Suppose a sage or saintly person goes to the jungle. So monkey is there in the jungle. Oh, he has renounced. He has no clothing. He's naked. And he eats also only fruits. Just like the sages also eat only fruit. So these are not qualification, simply eating fruit or renouncing. The real qualification is that how much one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in the service of the Lord. That is the qualification. Otherwise, if I am in renounced, I am naked, I eat, only eat fruit, and I live within jungle, and I have got many lady monkeys with me, oh, what sort of renouncement that is? That is not... That is called "monkey renouncement."

Lecture on BG 6.32-40 -- New York, September 14, 1966:

So if we want to control the mind, then we have to adopt these regulative principles of life. Not that we have to give up, but we have to make regulated. Vairāgya. Then it will be possible to adopt. And the best thing is that engage your mind always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are trying to engage our students twenty-four hours either in this way or that way, this way or that way, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is samādhi, trance, transcendental situation. You can eat, you can enjoy, you can dance, you can see, you can work—all things for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That will automatically make you renounced order of life.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Bombay, January 13, 1973:

There is definition of Bhagavān. Not that any rascal advertises himself Bhagavān and he becomes Bhagavān. No. Parāśara Muni, father of Vyāsadeva, gave us what we mean by Bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, and vān means one who possesses opulence. Just like we have our practical experience. Anyone who is very rich, he's attractive. He becomes attractive. Many men go to him for some favor. One who is very influential, he becomes very attractive. One who is very famous, he becomes attractive. One who is very learned, wise, he becomes attractive. One who is very wise, he becomes attractive. And one who is in the renounced order of life Renounced order of life means one who possesses everything but renounces, does not use it for his personal benefit. Just like a person who is very charitably disposed, he gives everything to the public. He's also very attractive. So these are six kinds of attraction. So Bhagavān means one who is in full possession of all these attractive features, He's Bhagavān. Not any rascal loitering in the street and becomes Bhagavān. No. That is misleading.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- London, March 9, 1975:

You cannot give up the attachment spirit, but you have to change the attachment. That is freedom. We have got so many attachments for this material world. You have to transfer that attachment for Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha. He doesn't say that "You give up your attachment." How you can give up your attachment? That is not possible. He says, "Just transfer the attachment to Me." So all of a sudden to transfer the attachment to Kṛṣṇa and give up our all attachment for this material world, that is called renounced order of life. But Kṛṣṇa says, "You do this," but it is not so easy. It is not so easy. Therefore we have to go to the person... Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). This is the śāst..., Vedic injunction, that in order to learn that art, how to transfer your attachment to Kṛṣṇa, you must approach to guru. He will teach you. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means that we are teaching people how to give up this material attachment and become attached to Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 10.1 -- New York, December 27, 1966:

And renunciation. That is also another attraction. If a man is in the renounced order of life. Renunciation means one has got all these things, richness, fame, beauty, knowledge, but he renounces everything for some higher purpose. Just like, in our country, for national movement, so many rich men, they renounced everything.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:

Bhāgavata recommends, tat śraddhā, śraddadhānā munayo jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā (SB 1.2.12). There must be sufficient knowledge. Otherwise this kind of vairāgya has no meaning. I have, I've taken renounced order of life, but I've, privately I've got all these nonsense, illicit sex, intoxication, gambling—that is not required. Real knowledge means there must be renouncement of this nonsense. That is real knowledge.

Lecture on SB 1.13.12 -- Geneva, June 3, 1974:

"Mahātmā Vidura had already adopted the renounced order of life, and therefore he did not return to his paternal palace to enjoy some material comforts. He accepted out of his own mercy what was offered to him by the Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, but the purpose of living in the palace was to deliver his too much materially attached elder brother, Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Dhṛtarāṣṭra lost all his state and descendants in the fight with Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, and still, due to his sense of helplessness, he did not feel ashamed to accept the charity and hospitality of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira." Suppose you create some enemy, always fought with your enemy. So if you accept his hospitality and live there, thinking that "I am living very comfortably," it is not very good sense.

Lecture on SB 1.15.39 -- Los Angeles, December 17, 1973:

Nitāi: "Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after placing Mahārāja Parīkṣit on the imperial throne of Hastināpura, and after posting Vajra, the grandson of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as the king of Mathurā, accepted the renounced order of life."

Prabhupāda: Yes. This was the system, that one must retire. Just like at the present moment, although people are asking the president that "You retire, you resign," he is not resigning, obstinate. Because he knows, "This is the first and last chance. I am not going to be elected again. So stick to the post and take as much money as possible." That's all. But formerly, they voluntarily retired, the kings.

Lecture on SB 1.15.50 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1973:

At the time of retirement, there is no more responsibility. Here is it said, patīnām anapekṣatām. They are retiring from home without any consideration, "What will happen to our wife Draupadī?" No. "Now everyone should take care of himself. We are also going alone." This is retirement. Anapekṣatām, without waiting for anyone, alone, simply depending on Kṛṣṇa. This is called renounced order of life. So this is the process of retirement, not that to make arrangement in the family that "I am now retiring. You send me some money, and I shall maintain myself." No. No dependence. Simply dependent on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said, ekānta-matir āpa. Ekānta. Actually, Kṛṣṇa saves us. Why we should depend on others? Kṛṣṇa saves. Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who is completely dependent upon Me," yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22), "I personally bring whatever his necessity is." That is the promise of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. So renounced order means no more dependence on father, mother, husband, daughter. No. Completely dependent on Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.15.50 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1973:

Prabhupāda: Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he was wandering all over the world alone, naked, even no cloth. Simply while walking on the street early in the morning, he would stand anywhere, because in those days, every house, they had cows, and the time for milking is early in the morning. We are also milking cows in London, in our Letchmore Heath, early in the morning. That is the time. Here also the same system?

Devotee: Oh, yes.

Prabhupāda: So any house he would stand before, and those who were milking, they would give him a glass of milk. That's all, finished, for the whole day. That was Śukadeva Gosvāmī's practice. So in this way one has to depend... In the renounced order of life, one has to depend completely on God. That's all. That is renounced order.

Lecture on SB 2.2.5 -- New York, March 5, 1975:

And spiritualistic life means that one should be trained up as brahmacārī. Then regulated life in gṛhastha, regulated life. Gṛhastha is not bad. Family life is not bad. Therefore it is called gṛhastha-āśrama. Āśrama means..., this very word is meant where the spiritual cultivation is practiced. That is called āśrama. So it may be household life, it may be renounced order of life, it may be brahmacārī, student's life, or retired life. The spiritual culture must be there. That is human civilization. If there's no spiritual culture, that is not human society. That is animal society. The cats and dog, they have no spiritual culture. So in the spiritual culture the renounced order should be only dedicated for the service of the Supreme Lord, not for taking easy money from others and utilizing it for sense gratification. That is not renounced.

Lecture on SB 2.3.23 -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1972:

"O King Rahūgaṇa, the perfectional stage of devotional service, or the paramahaṁsa stage of life, cannot be attained unless one is blessed by the dust of the feet of great devotees. It is never attained by tapasya (austerity), the Vedic worshiping process, acceptance of the renounced order of life, the discharge of the duties of household life, the chanting of the Vedic hymns, or the performance of penances in the hot sun, within cold water or before the blazing fire." In other words, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the property of His pure unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Kṛṣṇa to another devotee; Kṛṣṇa is never obtainable directly.

Lecture on SB 5.5.30 -- Vrndavana, November 17, 1976:

So take Caitanya Mahāprabhu's first mercy, and then preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You'll be successful. It is not possible nowadays to imitate Ṛṣabhadeva. Just like the Jains, they imitate that. What their imitation...? Not a single Jain up till now has become perfectly in the renounced order of life. So they say so. It was imitated by one king in the South India, and he is the originator, propounder of the Jainism. They say. But you cannot imitate Ṛṣabhadeva. That is not possible in this age. Better try to follow the instruction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa. Your life will be perfect.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

Sanātana, he was so strict in renounced order of life, so that gave Caitanya Mahāprabhu too much pleasure: "Oh, it is very nice." But while he was coming, his brother-in-law gave him a nice blanket. That was on the body of Sanātana. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu several times overlooked about that blanket.

sanātana jānila ei prabhure nā bhāya
bhoṭa tyāga karibāre cintilā upāya

Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was very intelligent; he was minister. He could understand that "Lord is observing my blanket. That means He doesn't like that I should have such valuable blanket on my body." So he thought that "I should give up this blanket."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

Whatever is absolutely necessity, he should accept, not more. Yes. That is renounced order of life, not that in the name of renounced order of life he should live at the expense of the householders, very gorgeously. No. This is not sannyāsa. It is not accepted by Caitanya Mahāprabhu's sampradāya. So He says that "You live by begging from door to door, and you have a valuable blanket on your body. This is contradictory. Now I am glad that you have done this."

gosāñi kahe—'ye khaṇḍila kuviṣaya-bhoga
tāṅra icchāya gela mora śeṣa viṣaya-roga'

"Now You wanted me to be in renounced order of life. I first met you when I was at, in Bengal, in the capital of Gaudadeśa. And You desired me that I should be in renounced order of life. So I came, and my last attachment to that kambala is also now finished by You."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

In some hundred or two hundred years before, these kāyastha were considered very lower caste. So Rāmānanda Rāya belonged to that kāyastha community. But he was very much learned. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He belonged to the brāhmaṇa community, and He was vastly learned. At the same time, He was in renounced order of life. So when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asking question from Rāmānanda Rāya, he felt himself shy, that "I am a householder, and I belong to the kāyastha community, and Lord, You belong to the..., You come from the brāhmaṇa community, and You are so vastly learned. At the same time, You have accepted renounced order. So You are in all respect my master. How is that You are trying to understand from me?"

Festival Lectures

Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami's Appearance Day -- Vrndavana, October 19, 1972:

Here in the material world, if you get a nice government service, what to speak of to become minister, then we are very much proud. But the Gosvāmīs thought of their posts as very insignificant. Without thinking like that, how they can give it up? Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59). You cannot by force become renounced order of life. When you see something better than your present engagement, then you can be renounced. After accepting renounced order of life, if I am still attached to these material things, then that is not advancement.

Jagannatha Deities Installation Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.13-14 -- San Francisco, March 23, 1967:

If you want to make perfection of your duty, then you have to satisfy the Supreme Lord." It doesn't matter what you are. You may be a brahmacārī, you may be a householder, you may be in renounced order of life, and you may be a laborer class, you may be a brāhmaṇa, or you may be administrator. Whatever you may be, it doesn't matter. But your duty, your occupational service, will attain perfection when you try to satisfy the Supreme Lord by your occupation. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no harm that one is born a laborer class or uneducated or one is very learned or one is born of a very high family. These material qualification has nothing to do for spiritual evolution. Spiritual evolution is that you have to satisfy with the, with your talent, with your capacity, with your work, to satisfy the Supreme Lord. That is your perfection.

General Lectures

Speech -- New Vrindaban, August 31, 1972:

Bhaga means fortunes, and vān means one who possesses. These two words combined together makes the word Bhagavān, or the supreme fortunate. We calculate our fortune if somebody is very rich, if somebody is very strong, if somebody is very beautiful, if somebody is very wise, if somebody is in renounced order of life. In this way, there are six opulences, and these opulences, when one possesses in fullness, without any rivalry, he is called Bhagavān. The richest of all, the wisest of all, the most beautiful, the most famous, the most renounced—in this way, Bhagavān.

Lecture -- Jakarta, February 27, 1973:

When I speak of Kṛṣṇa, we mean God. And Kṛṣṇa is the best name of God. Kṛṣṇa means "all-attractive." God must be all-attractive. God cannot be attractive for a few men or few, for a..., by a community. No. God must be attractive by everyone. That is God. So, Kṛṣṇa, by His opulences, by His strength, by His beauty, by His knowledge, by His renouncement—everything complete. Therefore He's God. Kṛṣṇa has... These are the attractive features. If one is very rich, he's attractive. If one is very powerful, he's attractive. If one is very beautiful, then he's attractive. If one is very wise, he's attractive. If one is in the renounced order of life, first-class, he's attractive. So Kṛṣṇa has all these opulences; therefore He's accepted as God—not superficially—by great, great saintly persons.

Evening Lecture -- Bhuvanesvara, January 23, 1977:

"This Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the same person." Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti. "In order to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, He has now appeared as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya." Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti yoga-śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ (CC Madhya 6.254). Śāśvata-purāṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the Purāṇa. Nava-yauvanaṁ ca. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). He's the oldest person, ādi-puruṣa, but nava-yauvana. So in every way you'll find that if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we have to take shelter of this Kṛṣṇa's renounced order of life in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Page Title:Renounced order of life (Lectures)
Compiler:Tugomera
Created:19 of Mar, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=25, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:25