A very noble endeavor it is to even begin searching for the enlightenment of Sannyas considering the sacrifice one must make. For almost all of us, including the man in the film who begins the journey, it is extremely difficult to conceptualize the true purpose of seeking Sannyas for we are too attached to the material world or a world that provokes us to live a life on behalf of duties that are not motivated purely by spirituality.
Some of us may be thinking that it is very selfish of this man to leave his family for the sake of reaching a goal for himself. But in the Sannyasin perspective I think that the goal is not just for the self but for the whole of the universe because ultimately if true Sannyas is reached and Moksha is truly attained then the self will be dissolved into the universe and thus returning to the one. With the mind-set that this is a possibility we can begin to understand the futility of the attachments we make with things and people in our lives compared to the vastness of the eternal life that is supposedly within all of us. As for that eternal spirit, I sometimes think of such when watching students walking around campus while I myself am doing the same, or watching an animal in the woods, and I think that there is something that connects us, more than just our being alive and conscious in this world. Or maybe it is that we are conscious. Have you ever had an experience where you saw more than just a human when you looked at one or more than just two round spots when you look in someone’s eyes, even an another animals?
I was reading your response and i think you are right about the material attachment of people to things, not only things sometimes but other people as well. This is the most difficult decision to leave someone very dear to you for sannyas. Not everyone would understand!!
ReplyDeleteBut i was thinking on the other hand, it sounds very unnatural for us as humans being in this world looking for someone special then having a family later, raising the kids and seeing the grandchildren being born, and then all of a sudden make a choice to leave this for some questionable purpose. Wouldn't you say that this would contradict our natural way of living? Because it sounds that we are living for a very selfish reason to achieve the goals and then be gone, it seems that we do not need to have a family because it is not necessary, we do not need to be attached to anything and anyone, since all we are here for is just stop being reborn!
PS: It is very difficult to make such a complicated thought clear, i hope you understand what i am trying to say :))