Comments on: Go Within or Go Without

By: swami bv tripurari

swami bv tripurari — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:55:13 +0000

Rupa Goswami has written that in the beginning of one's practice a little knowledge and renunciation may be helpful. Overall the position of renunciation in bhakti is that of renouncing things that are unfavorable to bhakti yukta-vairagya.. Sri Rupa has also used the phrase bhogadi-tyagah krsnasya hetave “renunciation of enjoyment for pleasing Krsna, to get His mercy in order to attain him.” Otherwise renunciation as a path unto itself is something altogether different. Regarding the principles of no meat eating, etc., these come from the Bhagavatam itself with regard to the influence of Kali. It does not seem to me to be much to ask people to be vegetarian, give up intoxication, refrain from sex outside of a monogamous relationship, and to earn an honest living. I think more than renunciation, such practices are considered part of living an ethically sound life. If our guru asks us to adopt these principles, then doing so should be seen as favorable to our bhakti.

By: Prue

Prue — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:00:51 +0000

Hari Krishna,

I like the positive view of austerity presented in this article. In our consumer society, austerity nearly always carries a negative connotation. The idea of austerity as a way to reach the superior pleasure of the soul within is rarely mentioned.

It has been said that the essence and ultimate goal of austerity is to give up our exploitative material ego and also that this giving up is a by-product of devotion. So devotion will produce austerity, but how useful is the practice of austerity in producing devotion?

Worminstool says the denial of gratification of the ego can open the door to transcendental realisation, but how can the practice of austerity alone enable one to realise the self? How can the negative process of denying the material ego enable us to realise our ‘true’ ego or spiritual self?

Given all this, how useful do you think the 4 regulative principles (no meat, intoxication etc) are to aspiring devotees? How does the practice of these restrictions help us achieve the ultimate goal of giving up our material ego? What emphasis or importance should be placed on their practice?

By: swami bv tripurari

swami bv tripurari — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:57:27 +0000

My response is that I don’t think your comment has much to do with the article.

By: Worminstool

Worminstool — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:47:26 +0000

How about “go without and go within”?
If we go within for the sake of not going without, then at what point does our spiritual pursuit translate into an occupation instead of self-realization?

By: sanjaya

sanjaya — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:17:12 +0000

i was just going to take that very nice statement (the bold part) and put it on my fb status..
thank you very much, Maharaj..
what a source of inspiration..

By: Kula-pavana

Kula-pavana — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:55:01 +0000

Very nice article, lots of good points.
The older and more tired of material life I get, the more I think about the freedoms of ascetic life.
The lesson of “giving is getting” is also easily learned in family life. The more we give to our family members, the more we receive in return. But family life often lacks the simplicity and serenity of ascetic life. Ultimately we need to unload all of our burdens and entanglements in order to prepare for the next phase of our journey.

By: swami bv tripurari

swami bv tripurari — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:31:49 +0000

How true. From the article:

The ascetic’s abnegation—his or her renunciation of personal interests in favor of the interests of others—is at the heart of the ascetic’s spiritual practice. The sacred Hindu text, Srimad Bhagavatam, informs us in an advocacy of devotional asceticism that “giving up aggression toward others is the highest gift.” The ascetic accomplishes this by eradicating his or her ego of exploitation within the context of replacing it with an ego of dedication. His or her renunciation and austerity is thus is a by-product of their dedication. That which appears on its surface to be negative and world denying has its origin in something sublime.

By: Worminstool

Worminstool — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:15:32 +0000

Ultimately, asceticism requires that the ego also be as deprived of gratification and excess as would be the physical and mental bodies of the ascetic.
This is where actual asceticism begins with the fasting of the ego from prestige, honor and notoriety.
Unless and until the ego is disciplined and denied the gratification that it seeks, the actual asceticism never takes place nor does self-realization occur.
Physical and mental asceticism are not complete asceticism if in fact the ego is not included in the ascetic discipline of denial of gratification.
Asceticism must be practiced on all levels of being before it can lead to actual transcendental existence.
Superficial physical asceticism without actual subjugation of ego might make for a successful occupation, but it cannot open the door of transcendental realization.