Rules for Sannyasa

Shribrahmanya said

This is praiseworthy, most fortunate Vamadeva, and should be lauded. You are Shiva's great devotee, supreme among knowers of Shiva and Shivaa, and nothing in the three worlds is unknown to you. Still, to show compassion to the worlds, I will tell you. See: everyone in the world is deluded by many texts and deceived by Paramesha's wonderful maya. They do not know the true meaning of supreme Pranava, or of Parameshvara, the attributed and attribute-free brahman, origin of the three divinities. I raise my right hand and take a pledge and tell you: this is truth, I say it again, this is truth, I repeat, this is truth.

Shiva and Shivaa are the meaning of Pranava. This has been described in the foremost shruti, smriti, agama and other texts and in the Puranas. Words cannot reach him, nor thought. One who knows that bliss fears nothing anywhere. The whole universe, beginning with Brahma, Vishnu and Indra and including all elements and senses, first arose from him; nothing anywhere is his cause. Lightning, sun and moon cannot light him; his radiance lights the whole universe in every direction. He himself has all prosperity and so is called Sarveshvara. Those who desire liberation meditate on him in the cavities of their hearts. He pervades everything, his self is light, radiant consciousness, supreme Purusha. His beautiful Shakti cannot be reached by feeling; she has attributes and has none. Shivaa is mysterious and partless. Sage, yogis who desire liberation should meditate in order on his three forms, gross, subtle and beyond both. Among all gods he is partless, the original and eternal divinity. Since his nature is knowledge and action he is chanted of as the supreme self. Sadashiva is himself the image of the lord of the gods. There are five mantras in the divinity's body and his image has five parts. He is like pure crystal, pleasant, with cool radiance, with five faces, ten arms and fifteen eyes. Ishana is his diadem, the eternal Purusha his face, Aghora his heart, Vamadeva his private parts and Sadya his feet. His image has both parted and partless forms. The six Shaktis, omniscience and the others, are the six limbs of his image. The Shakti of sound throbs in the lotus of his heart. He is adorned on the left by his own Shakti, Manomani. I will explain the rules for the six kinds of mantras and their placement, collectively and individually, all based on Pranava. First the order of instruction must be stated. Listen, sage. Four varnas are spoken of in the world and are famous, but the shruti speaks of conduct only for the first three; shudras are outside the shruti's scope because their substance is service. In their own stages of life all three varnas should practise only the dharma stated in shruti and smriti, never anything else, for by the karma those texts name one can gain siddhi. Paramesha said this when he laid down the Vedic path: by following the sacred conduct of the varnas and stages one worships Parameshvara, and many supreme sages have gained union with him so. The shruti says sages are satisfied by celibacy, gods by sacrifices and rites, and ancestors by offspring. Having freed himself from three debts so, a person must leave for the forest-dweller's stage. Conquering his senses he must bear heat and cold, joy and misery. The ascetic will keep a restrained diet and practise yama and the other parts of yoga so his understanding becomes firm and does not waver. So he will gradually become pure in self and detach from all karma, and, leaving all karma, worship knowledge alone. That becomes unity with Shiva and gives the fruits of a liberated-in-life one, known as the best state, faultless and reached by those who have controlled themselves.

For the worlds' welfare and out of affection for you I will describe its nature, wise one; listen attentively. A supreme, intelligent mendicant must approach a teacher who knows the truth of all the texts' meanings and is skilled in Vedanta. A discriminating person approaches him by the rules and makes every effort to please him, bowing like a long rod. The guru is said to be Shiva and Shiva the guru. Having decided so he states his intention, and after the guru's permission keeps the vows and lives on milk for twelve days. By the rules, on the fourth or tenth of the bright fortnight he rises in the morning and bathes, purifies himself and does the daily rites. He invites his guru and by the norms performs the Nandi-shraddha. The Vishvadevas are described under the name Satyavasus. For a god-shraddha, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha are the three named; for a rishi-shraddha, the offspring of human fathers and divine women; in a god-shraddha, the Vasus, Rudras and Adityas are described; in a human-shraddha the four lords among sages, Sanaka and the others; in a being-shraddha, which comes after, the five great elements; the four aggregates of elements are said to be the eyes and other categories that are the senses. For an ancestor-shraddha three are included: father, grandfather and great-grandfather. For a mother-shraddha: mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. For a self-shraddha, four: oneself, father, grandfather and great-grandfather with their wives. For a maternal-grandfather shraddha: the mother's father, grandfather and great-grandfather. In every shraddha an even number of brahmanas is thought of, invited, their feet washed attentively by him, and he rinses his own mouth. He does this japa: let the particles of dust from their feet be like trails of smoke and sanctify my line; they are the cause of every prosperity and a bridge across the shoreless ocean of samsara; let the dust from the brahmanas' feet purify me, bright as a thousand suns that destroy all darkness, like wish-cows that yield all wishes, like the embodied form of waters from every tirtha; let it save me. Then he lies like a rod on the ground in full prostration, stands facing east and remembers Shambhu's lotus feet. Seated firmly he holds the pure, sacred thread, does three breath-controls and, naming the lunar day, says: I have decided to take renunciation, and as part of it must perform eight shraddhas, from the Vishvadeva-shraddha to the maternal-grandfather shraddha; I will do them by the rules and ask your permission. He then flings the darbha grass to the north, rises, touches water and begins the invitation of the brahmanas. With sanctified water in his hand he touches their hands and says: at this moment I invite you for the Vishvadevas; please favour me. This is the procedure in all cases. Having invited them so, he draws ten mandalas starting from the north, has the brahmanas stand inside and worships their feet with unbroken rice. He addresses the Vishvadevas by name and says, "This is foot water," offering kusha grass, flowers, rice and water. After offering foot water he stands facing north and washes his own feet, rinses his mouth and seats them in pairs, saying, "This is a seat for the brahmana, a form of the Vishvadevas," and offering a seat spread with darbha, standing with some darbha in his hand. He says: this is a Nandi-shraddha performed for the Vishvadevas; I invite you to be present. They reply that they accept. When the bulls among brahmanas accept he says: let my resolution be complete and my wishes accomplished; may you favour me. He puts rice and other food in clean, separate vessels of pure plantain leaves, covers them with darbha, sprinkles water on them himself, lovingly takes each vessel and sets it on the ground. Then rice is offered to the gods and others in the dative. Taking the food he offers it to the gods with "svaha," saying, "This is not for me." This is the procedure in every case.

Then he does this japa: remembering his lotus feet and japa of his name makes every task full and complete; I worship Ishvara with Amba. After it he says: I have performed the Nandi-shraddha and say I have completed it. When the bulls among brahmanas confirm, he pleases them, lies like a rod on the ground, rises and says to the brahmanas: may this food be like amrita to you. Wise, he folds his hands and entreats them with great affection. By the norms he chants the Shri Rudra sukta, Chamaka sukta and Purusha sukta, meditates on Sadashiva in his heart and does japa to the five brahmanas. At the meal's end he chants the Shri Rudra sukta again and asks the brahmanas' forgiveness, sips water from his palm with that mantra, rinses, washes his feet and goes to where the pinda is to be offered. Silent, he sits facing east, does three breath-controls and says: as part of the Nandi-shraddha I will offer pinda. Having resolved so he draws nine lines starting from the south, spreads twelve blades of darbha over them with tips east, for the five gods, Daksha and the others. Silent, he offers rice and water in three places and asks forgiveness for the others, the mother and the rest. He says "atra pitaro" and worships them with rice and water, so offering in five places, for gods and others; the gods are addressed by name in the dative. In each of the five places three pindas are offered, separately, by the household sutras' path, along with rice for the ancestors' full satisfaction. He then meditates on Sadashiva's lotus feet in his heart, reads the verse again and remembers his lotus feet. According to his means he bows and gives the brahmanas their fee, asks their forgiveness and takes leave. He gives the pindas to cows or throws them into water, and, with words of blessing, eats with his relatives. Next day the intelligent person rises, does his daily rites, fasts and shaves off his hair except that under the armpits and at the groin, shaving head and beard and paring nails; all the hair must be shaved by the rules. He bathes, puts on a washed clean garment, rinses twice, becomes pure in mind and body and, with blessing words, wears ash by the rules. Objects used as oblations and those given to the teacher as fee are naturally pure; all others must be sprinkled with pure water. Things must be given, especially to brahmanas, who are Mahesha's form, and to devotees and the guru, who is Shiva's form. After giving the guru garments and fee he bows like a rod before him. The loincloth, its string, the staff and other things are cleaned with earth. He then gathers the oblation materials and kindling and leaves them at an ocean shore, river bank, mountain, Shiva's temple, forest or cow pen, whichever he judges best. After rinsing he makes his mind as pure as a bunch of flowers. With Aum he chants "namo brahmane," does japa thrice with "agnimile purohitam," names Agni by name and takes the great vow, chanting "ishe tvorje tva," "agna ayahi vitaye" and "shanno devirabhishtaye," and then another text; this continues five years. This is the traditional learning that has come down, told so that you can tell it and the learning flourish. When it is learnt he can easily pursue his questions on dharma, or do japa and pursue the questions on brahman as the Vedas state. He does japa to Brahma, Indra, Surya, Soma, Prajapati, the supreme self in his individual self, the supreme self in the form of knowledge and the supreme self alone, beginning with Pranava and ending with "namah," in the dative. He chants Pranava and eats a fistful of barley meal, rinses twice, touches his navel and chants the mantras beginning with Pranava and ending with "namah," meditating again on the supreme self in his individual self, in the form of knowledge and as itself. This is Prajapati's supreme view. The japa ends with "svaha." After this, chanting Pranava three times, he eats milk, curds and ghee separately and rinses twice, then sits facing east, steady on his seat, steadies his mind and, as instructed, does three breath-controls.