Renunciation Dictionary

sanyasa:

sanyasa (sanyaasa). Renunciation-detachment, mendicancy.

(See also: sanyasa , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Vairagya

(Sanskrit) Dispassion; the power of renunciation by which a yogi is able to pursue the true rather than the false, the eternal rather than the ephemeral.

(See also: Vairagya , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

purushartha: (Sanskrit) "Human wealth or purpose."

The four pursuits in which humans may legitimately engage, also called chaturvarga, "four-fold good" - a basic principle of Hindu ethics.

-       dharma: "Righteous living." The fulfillment of virtue, good works, duties and responsibilities, restraints and observances - performing one's part in the service and upliftment of society. This includes pursuit of truth under a guru of a particular parampara and sampradaya. Dharma is of four primary forms. It is the steady guide for artha and kama.

-       See: dharma.

-       artha: "Wealth." Material welfare and abundance, money, property, possessions. Artha is the pursuit of wealth, guided by dharma. It includes the basic needs - food, money, clothing and shelter - and extends to the wealth required to maintain a comfortable home, raise a family, fulfill a successful career and perform religious duties. The broadest concept of wealth embraces financial independence, freedom from debt, worthy children, good friends, leisure time, faithful servants, trustworthy employees, and the joys of giving, including tithing (dashamamsha), feeding the poor, supporting religious mendicants, worshiping devoutly, protecting all creatures, upholding the family and offering hospitality to guests. Artha measures not only riches but quality of life, providing the personal and social security needed to pursue kama, dharma and moksha. It allows for the fulfillment of the householder's five daily sacrifices, pancha mahayajna: to God, ancestors, devas, creatures and men.

-       See: yajna.

-       kama: "Pleasure, love; enjoyment." Earthly love, aesthetic and cultural fulfillment, pleasures of the world (including sexual), the joys of family, intellectual satisfaction. Enjoyment of happiness, security, creativity, usefulness and inspiration.

-       See: Kama Sutras.

-       moksha: "Liberation." Freedom from rebirth through the ultimate attainment, realization of the Self God, Parasiva. The spiritual attainments and superconscious joys, attending renunciation and yoga leading to Self Realization. Moksha comes through the fulfillment of dharma, artha and kama (known in Tamil as aram, porul and inbam, and explained by Tiruvalluvar in Tirukural) in the current or past lives, so that one is no longer attached to worldly joys or sorrows. It is the supreme goal of life, called paramartha.

See: liberation, moksha.

(See also: Purushartha , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Bhagawan:

(lit., the Lord) One endowed with the six attributes or powers of infinity spiritual power, righteousness, glory, splendor, knowledge, and renunciation. A term of great honor.

(See also: Bhagawan , Yoga, Yoga Dictionary, Siddha Yoga, Siddha Yoga Dictionary)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

TYAGA: Renunciation (of egoism, desires and the world).

(See also: TYAGA ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Arhat (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root arh to be worthy, merit, be able)

Worthy, deserving; also enemy slayer (from ari enemy + the verbal root han to slay, smite)

, an arhat being a slayer of the foe of craving, the entire range of passions and desires, mental, emotional, and physical. Buddhists in the Orient generally define arhat in this manner, while modern scholars derive the word from the verbal root arh. Both definitions are equally appropriate (Buddhist Catachysm 93).

As a noun, originally one who had fully attained his spiritual ideals. In Buddhism arhat (Pali arahant) is the title generally given to those of Gautama Buddha's disciples who had progressed the farthest during his lifetime and immediately thereafter; more specifically to those who had attained nirvana, emancipation from earthly fetters and the attainment of full enlightenment. Arhat is broadly equivalent to the Egyptian heirophant, the Chaldean magus, and Hindu rishi, as well as being generally applicable to ascetics. On occasion it is used for the loftiest beings in a hierarchy: "The Arhats of the 'fire-mist' of the 7th run are but one remove from the Root-base of their Hierarchy -- the highest on Earth, and our Terrestrial chain" (SD 1:207).

Arhat is the highest of the four degrees of arhatship or the fourfold path to nirvana, of which the first three are srotapatti (he who has entered the stream), sakridagamin (he who returns to birth once more), and anagamin (the never returner who will have no further births on earth).

Arhat is both the way and the waygoer; and while the term is close philosophically to anagamin, the distinction between the two lies in their mystical connotations rather than in their etymological definitions. Arhat has a wider significance inasmuch as it applies to those noblest of the Buddha's disciples who were "worthy" of receiving, because comprehending, the Tathagata's heart doctrine, the more esoteric and mystical portions of his message.

As early as one hundred years after the Buddha died and had entered his parinirvana, differences in the doctrines and discipline of the Order become manifest. In the course of the centuries two basic trends developed into what has become popular to call the Hinayana (the lesser vehicle or path) or Theravada (doctrine of the elders), and Mahayana (the greater vehicle or path). The Theravada emphasized the fourfold path leading to nirvana, total liberation of the arhat from material concerns. The Mahayana held the bodhisattvayana as the ideal, the way of compassion for all sentient beings, culminating in renunciation of nirvana in order to return and inspire others "to awake and follow the dhamma." It is this fundamental difference in goal that characterizes the Old Wisdom School (arhatship) from the New Wisdom School (bodhsattvahood).

See also BUDDHAS OF COMPASSION, PRATYEKA BUDDHAS

(See also: Arhat , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Tyaga: Literally: "abandonment." Renunciation-in the Gita, the relinquishment of the fruit of action.

(See also: Tyaga , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

ashrama dharma: (Sanskrit) "Laws life's orders." Meritorious way of life particular to each of the four stages (ashramas) of life, following which one lives in harmony with nature and life, allowing the body, emotions and mind to develop and undergo their natural cycles in a most positive way. The four stages are as follows.

á      brahmacharya: (Sanskrit) Studentship, from age 12 to 24.

á      grihastha: (Sanskrit) Householder, from 24 to 48.

á      vanaprastha: (Sanskrit) Elder advisor, from 48 to 72.

á      sannyasa: (Sanskrit) Religious solitaire, from 72 onward.

The first two ashramas make up the pravritti marga, (Sanskrit) the way of going toward the world through the force of desire and ambition. The last two are the nivritti marga, (Sanskrit) moving away from the world through introspection and renunciation. See: dharma, grihastha dharma, sannyasa dharma.

(See also: Ashrama dharma , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

sarva-kriya-parithyaga:

sarva-kriya-parithyaga (-parithyaaga). Renunciation of all action.

(See also: sarva-kriya-parithyaga , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sannyasin:

One who, having had his fill of the material world, having fulfilled his family duties, turns to the spiritual path, and dedicates his life to the spiritual growth of himself and those he teaches. There is a Holy Order of Sannyasa whose members don the saffron robes and take vows of renunciation, and allegiance to God.

(See also: Sannyasin , Body Mind and Soul)

Thyaga:

Thyaga: Renunciation (BV-10), (BV-36), detachment (RRV-6b).

(See also: Thyaga , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Gautama

The family name of the Buddha.

There is no certainty about the century in which the historical Gautama lived. Buddhists in various parts of the world date the life of the Buddha to either 624 to 544 BC, 448 to 368 BC, or 566 to 486 BC.

According to Buddhist biographies, Gautama was born the son of a king in Lumbini, now in Nepal near the modern Indian border. He was raised in luxury, but left home at age twenty-nine in search of "the Deathless. " He spent six years after this "Great Renunciation" following the spiritual practices of other ascetic teachers and then experimenting on his own.

At the age of thirty-five he attained enlightenment, rediscovering Truth (Dharma) and thus becoming worthy of the epithet "Buddha," or "Awakened One. " Out of compassion, he spent the next forty-five years teaching what he had rediscovered, and each of the different Buddhist traditions traces its doctrine to his career. He died at the age of eighty.

(See also: Gautama , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

parami, paramita (paaramii, paaramitaa): Perfection of the character. A group of ten qualities developed over many lifetimes by a bodhisatta, which appear as a group in the Pali Canon only in the Jataka ("Birth Stories"): generosity (dana), virtue (sila), renunciation (nekkhamma), discernment (panna), energy/persistence (viriya), patience/forbearance (khanti), truthfulness (sacca), determination (adhitthana), good will (metta), and equanimity (upekkha).

 (See also: Parami, paramita , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Sannyasins:

Sannyasins: those who have embraced the life  of complete renunciation.

(See also: Sannyasins , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

TAURUS

(April 21 - May 20). The fixed earth sign of the Zodiac called "the Bull" because the Babylonians who invented the sign associated the bull with the beginning of spring. It is the Venusian Impulse, the Eros as opposed to Thanatos (Scorpio). In Egypt, Apis the Bull was an avatar of Osiris. The chief characteristics of Taurus are stubbornness, love of the arts and hedonism, which last is no doubt the reason that Gautama Buddha chose this as the sign of his birth with its Karma of Buddhistic renunciation and austerity. As one of the tetramorphs Taurus incorporates the lesson of velle, "to will."

Some famous Taureans are: Adolf Hitler, Leonardo da Vinci, Hirohito, Wm. Randolph Hearst, Fred Astaire, Theodore Roszak, Shakespeare, Cromwell, Freud, Orson Welles, Tchaikovsky, Irving Berlin, Gary Cooper, Eva Peron, Harry Truman, Daniel Berrigan, John Wilkes Booth, Socrates, Machiavelli, Florence Nightingale, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, L. Frank Baum, Malcom X.

(See also: TAURUS , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Upanishad: (Sanskrit) "Sitting near devotedly."

The fourth and final portion of the Vedas, expounding the secret, philosophical meaning of the Vedic hymns.

The Upanishads are a collection of profound texts which are the source of Vedanta and have dominated Indian thought for thousands of years. They are philosophical chronicles of rishis expounding the nature of God, soul and cosmos, exquisite renderings of the deepest Hindu thought.

Traditionally, the number of Upanishads is given as 108. Ten to 16 are classified as "major" or "principle" Upanishads, being those which philosophers have commented on through the centuries. The Upanishads are generally dated later than the Samhitas and Brahmanas, though some are actually portions of the Brahmanas. It is thought that most were written down in Sanskrit between 1500 and 600 bce.

In content, these popular and approachable texts revolve around the identity of the soul and God, and the doctrines of reincarnation, of karma and of liberation through renunciation and meditation. They are widely available in many languages. Along with the Bhagavad Gita ("song of God") they were the primary scripture to awaken the Western world to the wealth of Hindu wisdom.

See: Upanishad, shruti, Vedas, Vedanta.

(See also: Upanishad , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Tirumantiram: (Tamil) "Holy incantation."

The Nandinatha Sampradaya's oldest Tamil scripture; written ca 200 bce by Rishi Tirumular. It is the earliest of the Tirumurai, and a vast storehouse of esoteric yogic and tantric knowledge. It contains the mystical essence of raja yoga and siddha yoga, and the fundamental doctrines of the 28 Saiva Siddhanta Agamas, which in turn are the heritage of the ancient pre-historic traditions of Saivism.

As the Agamas themselves are now partially lost, the Tirumantiram is a rare source of the complete Agamanta (collection of Agamic lore). Its 3047 verses were, as legend has it, composed in a rather extraordinary way. Before writing each verse, Tirumular would meditate for an entire year, then summarize his meditation in a fourline Tamil verse. He did this for 3,000 years! The allegory is said to mean that 3,000 years of knowledge is compacted in this one book. The text is organized in nine parts, called tantras, summarized as follows:

1)    basic rules of religious morality;

2)    allegorical explanations of Saiva mythological stories; five powers of Siva, three classifications of souls;

3)    a complete treatise on raja yoga;

4)    mantras and tantras;

5)    the essential features of the Saiva religion; the four forms of Saivism, four stages, unorthodox paths, conduct to be avoided;

6)    the Sivaguru, grace, renunciation, sin, penance, jnana, worthy and unworthy persons;

7)    siddha yoga, more on grace, mudras, control of ida and pingala, worlds reached by different classes of yogis after death, refinements of yoga, the satguru;

8)    essential theology: five sheaths, eleven states, three padarthas (Pati-pashu-pasha), 36 tattvas, four states of consciousness, three malas, three gunas, ten karanas, etc.;

9)    the fruits of realization, liberation, jnana, Siva's dances, meeting of the guru.

See: Tirumurai, Tirumular.

(See also: Tirumantiram , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Society of Friends

Better known as Quakers, an Anglo-American pacifist sectarian movement originating in the religious confusion of the English Civil War and Commonwealth era (1640-60). George Fox (1624-91), a "seeker" discontented with both the Church of England and the Puritan and other sectarian alternatives that flourished during the period, attracted a radical group of followers through his prophetic words and deeds.

According to one tradition, Fox and his followers became known as Quakers when, refusing to swear oaths or otherwise respect the status of the law courts, they urged magistrates to tremble before God rather than the law.

More correctly known as the "Society of Friends (of Truth)," they distinguished themselves theologically from other Christians through their doctrine of the "Inward" or "Inner Light," the manifestation of the divine within each individual that, when recognized and nurtured, inevitably led to religious truth. Friends in Britain flourished despite adversity. Many were jailed for their pacifist and other nonconforming ways, while others organized their resources to alleviate these sufferings until relief came in the form of the Toleration Act of 1689. Barred from the universities and professions, they benefited from their reputation for honesty and hard work and often were successful in business.

Friends rejected hierarchy and churchly authority, organizing instead according to local weekly meetings for worship and progressively less frequent and geographically more encompassing regional meetings for governance. Weekly meetings were not led by ministers, but a clerk was present to record their proceedings. Worship was conducted in silence in a bare meeting house, with individuals speaking only when prompted by the Inner Light. The "friendly persuasion" was transplanted to the New World in 1682 by William Penn, an aristocratic convert who secured a royal land grant in payment of debts owed his family.

The Pennsylvania colony was based on Quaker principles of consensus and fair dealing in its governance; its capital, Philadelphia-"the city of brotherly love"-reflected in its name and spacious layout Penn's hopes for a peaceable society. English demands for support in the French and Indian Wars, however, led to a series of compromises and finally, in 1756, the renunciation of governmental power by the Quakers, who nevertheless continued to constitute a commercial elite in the region. Quakers in the new American nation continued to cope with the problems engendered by their pacifism, which led to suffering but also proved instrumental in securing governmental recognition of the rights of conscientious objectors.

Quakers pursued a peacemaking role by opposing both violence and the injustices that provoked it. Their Inner Light doctrine was incompatible with social inequality, so that women enjoyed equal status to men. Quakers such as John Woolman, Anthony Benezet, and, later, Levi Coffin, were active in the lateeighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century campaign against slavery. Many contemporary British Quakers also became active in reform causes. Their plain speech and dress, modified over time, were also manifestations of this egalitarianism.

Internal divisions manifested themselves early in the nineteenth century in the United States, when social and geographical divisions expressed themselves in theological forms. From 1826 to 1827 followers of Elias Hicks (1748-1830) near Philadelphia rejected the local elite's embracing of evangelical Protestant tenets and symbols, and called for a return to early Quaker practice.

Joseph John Gurney (1788-1847), an English Friend, pressed the evangelical cause further, while John Wilbur's (1774-1856) followers tried to combine the two emphases. Richmond, Indiana, emerged, in the first half of the nineteenth century, as a focus of Gurneyite settlement that was later influenced by the Holiness movement. In the twentieth century, the Philadelphia Meeting-part of the larger General Conference-became the center for Friends concerned with philanthropic and peacemaking activity, while the Friends United Meeting (Richmond, Indiana) and Evangelical Friends Alliance (Cleveland, Ohio) represented more evangelical strains. In the 1990s, Friends in the United States of various affiliations numbered in excess of one hundred thousand; this was somewhat over half of the worldwide membership, with roughly 20 percent of the remainder in Britain.

(See also: Society of Friends , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

swami (m), swamini (f): the title used by a sannyasi who has taken the vows of renunciation; literally one who is with oneself.

(See also: swami , Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

NIVRITTI: renunciation

(See also: NIVRITTI , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Tapasya:

1)  Austerities.

2)  The experience of heat that occurs during the process of practicing yoga. The heat is generated by friction between the senses and renunciation. It is said that this heat, called "the fire of yoga," burns up all the impurities that lie between the seeker and the experience of the Truth.

(See also: Tapasya , Yoga, Yoga Dictionary, Siddha Yoga, Siddha Yoga Dictionary)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

Upeksha (Sanskrit). Lit., Renunciation. In Yoga a state of absolute indifference attained by self-control, the complete mastery over one’s mental and physical feelings and sensations.

(See also: Upeksha , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)