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Three rods means

Expressions researched:
"Three rods means"

Lectures

Initiation Lectures

This tridaṇḍī sannyāsa, this daṇḍa, rod, is consisting of four rods. Three rods means the body, mind... Karmaṇā manasā vācā. Karmaṇā means working; manasā, by thinking; vācā, by talking. Everything should be for Kṛṣṇa. And there is another rod that is the living entity. So within this packet there are four rods, symbolizing mind, body, and words. Word is very important thing. Now preaching will be through words, by presenting words.
Initiations and Lecture Sannyasa Initiation of Sudama dasa -- Tokyo, April 30, 1972:

Prabhupāda: So this is the technique of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and anyone who is ready to act for Kṛṣṇa, not for his personal sake, he is a sannyāsī. So actually anyone in this institution, they are all acting for Kṛṣṇa, but this sannyāsa order is accepted in pursuance of the great ācāryas, as we have already explained, great ācāryas. So for preaching work, especially in India, preachers are generally sannyāsī. And I know that even in Buddha philosophy, a Buddhist, a person following Buddhist religion, he has to take sannyāsa at least for some time. Is it not? Any Buddhists here?

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupāda: He has to take sannyāsa for some years. Again he may come back to householder life. So sannyāsa order is Vedic order. Lord Buddha also appeared in India, and he inaugurated the Buddha philosophy. That is also sannyāsa. Bhikṣu. They are called bhikṣu, Buddha-bhikkhu. So this is a spiritual order. Otherwise, anyone who is acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a sannyāsī. That is, practical sannyāsa. So our Sudāmā das Goswami Mahārāja, from this day will... He is already engaged in preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He will now take special advantage and preach all over the world Kṛṣṇa consciousness and make his life successful. That is the mantra: etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām; parātma-niṣṭhām. Parātma-niṣṭhā means working for the Supreme, niṣṭhām. Adhyāsitāṁ pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ. Pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ, many great ācāryas. So we are coming through paramparā system. So we at the present moment we are Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He took sannyāsa. His spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, was also a sannyāsī. His spiritual master, Mādhavendra Purī was sannyāsī. My spiritual master was Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He was also sannyāsī. I am also sannyāsī. So in this way, by the disciplic succession, we accept this sannyāsa order. That is a formality. We have to follow the formality. And this tridaṇḍī sannyāsa, this daṇḍa, rod, is consisting of four rods. Three rods means the body, mind... Karmaṇā manasā vācā. Karmaṇā means working; manasā, by thinking; vācā, by talking. Everything should be for Kṛṣṇa. And there is another rod that is the living entity. So within this packet there are four rods, symbolizing mind, body, and words. Word is very important thing. Now preaching will be through words, by presenting words. Vaikuṇṭha guṇanuvarṇane. Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (SB 9.4.18). Vacāṁsi, our talks should be always engaged in describing the glories of the Lord. That is the proper use of our talking. Otherwise, there are frogs also, they are vibrating, "kakaka, kakaka, kakaka, kakaka." That kind of vibration is simply inviting death. You know in every country there are frogs, especially in rainy season they enjoy. They think, "We are now enjoying life," by "kakaka kakaka." So the result is that the snake, in the darkness they cannot see where is the frog, but by the sound he can understand, "Here is a frog," and he comes and swallows it. So our, this talking, nonsense talking whole day and night—in the assembly, in the conference, in the business, in so many ways we are talking, "kakaka, kakaka"—the result is that we are inviting death very soon. But if we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra or engage our talking for glorifying the Lord, then death cannot touch. Death cannot touch means we are making our way to become immune from death.

This accepting of this daṇḍa means full faith in the Supreme. There are four rods within this bundle. One rod is representing himself, and the other three rods means his body, mind, and word. So the person who is accepting sannyāsa order, he is dedicating from this moment his personality, his body, his mind and his words.
Gurudasa Sannyasa Initiation -- San Francisco, July 21, 1975:

So the mantra means etām, "by accepting this daṇḍa or sannyāsa order," sa āsthāya, "taking shelter of it," parātma-niṣṭhām... This accepting of this daṇḍa means full faith in the Supreme. There are four rods within this bundle. One rod is representing himself, and the other three rods means his body, mind, and word. So the person who is accepting sannyāsa order, he is dedicating from this moment his personality, his body, his mind and his words. Why? Now, parātma-niṣṭhām, simply for service of the Supreme. So am I accepting something new? No. Upāsitāṁ pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ. All the great personalities in our guru paramparā system, all the four ācārya system, they have done it. Rāmānujācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Madhvācārya, Nimbārka—there are four Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas. So they were all sannyāsīs. Now, directly, our sampradāya is Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. Gauḍīya-sampradāya means the Vaiṣṇavas of the Bengal. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is accepted as the supreme guru of this sampradāya. So His guru was Īśvara Purī, and his guru was Mādhavendra Purī. And this Mādhavendra Purī belonged to the Madhva-sampradāya; therefore our sampradāya, this disciplic succession, is called Madhva-Gauḍīya sampradāya.

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu also accepted sannyāsa in very young age, when He was only twenty-five years. So why? Tyaktvā tūrṇam, rājya-lakṣmīṁ dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very, very well situated. He was born in a very respectable high brāhmaṇa family, Jagannātha Miśra, and mother's side, the Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, he was very respectable brāhmaṇa. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu's learning, nobody could excel Him, He was so learned scholar. And when He was sixteen years old, He defeated one of the most learned scholar of India, Keśava Bhāratī. So learning, family... And wife? Personally goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīpriyā and Viṣṇupriyā, most beautiful and young. Viṣṇupriyā was His second wife, so faithful, so beautiful, personally goddess of fortune, such wife. And mother, most affectionate. There is no comparison with Śacī-mātā. So this was... And influence? When He was twenty years old, He could, by His command, gather 100,000 people to protest against Kazi, He was so popular. So popularity, born in high family, having good wife and good mother, everything complete—still, He took sannyāsa. Therefore it is said, pūrvatamair mahadbhiḥ. Why? Now, just to show mercy to the fallen souls. Māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayā (SB 11.5.34). Just to show mercy to the fallen souls. This the the meaning of sannyāsa. One must be very merciful. Vaiṣṇavas, they are merciful. All devotees of God, Vaiṣṇava, they are merciful. You know Lord Jesus Christ, how he was merciful.

Page Title:Three rods means
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:13 of Nov, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:2