|
Who is great: a sannyasi or a householder? Both are great. Each is great in his place. Greatness lies neither in the robes we wear, nor in the ashrama we live. "Renunciation and service" - the twin ideal in life makes one great. Everybody irrespective of caste, creed, religion, language and region can practise them. A sannyasi or a householder is great in proportion to the observance of the twin ideal "renunciation and service".
A princess, the only daughter of a king was allergic to matrimony. Her father, a king, therefore was worried about her and the future of the kingdom. He wanted her to get married. After repeated requests she agreed to marry a genuine sannyasi. The father was happy and so gave due publicity. Everywhere, there were sannyasis. The princess saw one genuine sannyasi at a distant place and chose to marry him. But the sannyasi went deep into the forest avoiding her. His was real renunciation. The king and the princess, tired of their search for the monk, sat under a green wood tree's shade. They were hungry as well. The birds of a family, living in a nest above, wanted to shower hospitality on the guests. So, one after the other, all of them jumped into the fire offering themselves as food to the tired guests at their abode. They as householders have renounced their lives.
Renunciation and service make us great, not the order or ashrama that we belong to.
"My children must be ready to jump into fire, if needed, to accomplish their work. Now work, work, work! We will stop and compare notes later on. Have patience, perseverance, and purity.India wants the sacrifice of at least a thousand of her young men - men, mind, and not brutes."--- Swami Vivekananda
| 
