Renunciation of Renunciation

Question: Can we wear gems, such as in a ring, in this Age of Kali? Does it give any spiritual value to the jiva soul?

It does not give any spiritual value, but it may give us some physical value, just as when we take some medicine from a doctor. If I am sick, I do not say, 'O Krishna, please remove my disease.' We do not enlist such trifle things in our prayers. We just go to a doctor and get his help. If there is anything lacking, you must take it. This attitude must be there. For example, we wear warm clothes in the winter – we do not say, 'I will not wear any warm clothes. Let Krishna protect me; otherwise, I will stay as I am, unprotected.' That sort of rude prayer (praying to Him for material things) is not devotion proper.

We should take whatever is necessary, whatever is easily available. For example, if I see that it is possible to secure some winter clothes, I shall accept them. At the same time, I must not focus my whole attention on that, thinking, 'I must anyhow secure some warm clothes!' Similarly, to make too much of purchasing medicine and paying to doctors is also not good. Too much of anything is bad. The same applies to food also. I shall accept whatever will help me in my service to the Lord, and I shall accept only as much as required – not more, not less. 'Adhikye nyunatayam cha chyavate paramarthatah. If one accepts more or less than necessary for practising life, then they will be removed from spiritual life.' If I take less and my energy diminishes and I cannot devote maximum energy to Him, then it will be my loss.

For example, if a king's officer is very miserly and does not like to spend money on protecting the property, then he is doing disservice to the king. He should spend from the king's fund for the protection of the king's property; but if he is miserly, he will be responsible for any harm or loss. Everything belongs to Krishna, and we shall take as much as necessary to render maximum service to Him. That will be the economy proper. But if I become a miser and refuse to accept and utilise Krishna's things, thinking, 'I am taking too much. It is all a waste,' and if, as the result, I cannot render the standard service, then I will be the loser.

Krishna is infinite, and Krishna's property is infinite, too. So, I will take as much as I can, but I will take it to render maximum service to Him. That should be my object. There is no want of anything – it is all infinite. Krishna is not going to become a bankrupt if He maintains His devotees. So, devotees will accept as much as it is required for their service.

yuktahara-viharasya, yukta-chestasya karmasu
yukta-svapnavabodhasya, yogo bhavati duhkha-ha

'For a person who eats, relaxes, and works in a regulated way, and who keeps regular hours in proper measure, his practice of yoga dispells all his suffering.'

(Srimad Bhagavad-gita, 6.17)

This applies not only to taking food but even to sleep also.

prapanchikataya buddhya hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago vairagyam phalgu kathyate
anasaktasya visayan yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam uchyate

'If you reject everything without knowledge of its relationship to Krishna, is not complete renunciation. When you are not attached to anything but at the same time accept everything in relation to Krishna, then you are rightly situated above possessiveness.'

(Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.2.255-256)

Rejecting things is phalgu-vairagya (deceptive, or false, renunciation). Real renunciation or detachment (yukta-vairagya) means I will take whatever is necessary for the maximum service I can render; not more, not less.

aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim
naradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim
antar bahir yadi haris tapasa tatah kim
nantar bahir yadi haris tapasa tatah kim

'What is the necessity for penance if you worship the Lord? And what is the necessity for penance if you do not worship the Lord? What is the use of penance if the Lord is inside and outside? What is the use of penance if the Lord is not inside and outside? (In all cases, it is of no use.)'

(Narada Pancha-ratra, 1.2.6)

Doing penance and taking minimum (as little as possible) is not my object of life. I want maximum service, so I shall accept whatever is favourable to that. Renunciation is not my object. My object is service – efficient service of a high magnitude and quality – and I shall take whatever is necessary and whatever is available for that service.

Sometimes, renunciation is also practised for pratistha, a good name of a sadhu. There is one Tinkadi Goswami who wears rough canvass cloth; there are many followers in the Nimbarka sampradaya who make something like a kaupin (loincloth) with wood and iron; and there are also nagas who live bare-bodied and do not care to wear any clothes at all. Such practices can take you to renunciation, and you will end up merging into nothing. So, renunciation (tyaga) is more dangerous for a devotee because it takes them towards pratistha, name and fame that 'I am doing austerity!' Austerity is not the end in itself. Austerity leads to renunciation and sayujya-mukti (merging with the impersonal Brahman). We want service, and we will use whatever is necessary for it.

Ambarish Maharaj could get devotion, but Durvasa Muni was eliminated. Why? When Durvasa approached Narayana, saying, 'I am a brahman, a sannyasi, so I should receive from You more favourable consideration than Ambarish,' Lord Narayan replied, 'Yes, you are a brahman and he is a ksatriya, you are a sannyasi and he is a grihastha, but when you wanted to burn him, he did not back off – he stood there fixed, thinking, "I must have committed some offence at the feet of Durvasa." He stood unflinching with this humility, ready to take the results of his bad actions. He did not shirk away. But you, a sannyasi, fearing for your life, ran to Brahma, Siva and then came to Me. You are so afraid for your body (this is deha-atma buddhi, identifying yourself with the body). Moreover, you are a sannyasi, a brahmana – being a brahman means brahmanya (having brahman culture); you say that you are My devotee, but ekadasi is My vrata (My day). Ambarish put a drop of water on his lips to show respect to ekadasi, not to feed his belly or to disrespect you as his honorable guest – his idea was only to show the superiority of My vrata. You yourself did that, too – you also took something to keep up your vrata intact. And Ambarisa also did it, for My sake, not to insult you. But you could not tolerate it. And you are My devotee more than him...' That was the argument that Lord Narayan Himself put forward to Durvasa. In the end, Lord Narayan said, 'Now you must come to him and apologise to him.' Durvasa asked, 'What if he does not care to forgive me?' Lord Narayan replied, 'No, no. Go and see what the real nature of a devotee is.' So, Durvasa had to come to Ambarish, and Ambarish pacified Sudarsan. Then, Durvasa came to his senses:

aho ananta-dasanam
mahattvam drstam adya me
krtagaso 'pi yad rajan
mangalani samihase

'My dear King, today I have experienced the greatness of devotees of the Supreme Lord. Although I have committed an offence, you have prayed for my good fortune.'

(Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.5.14)

'How noble the characteristic of Narayan's servants! We are all running after Brahma and Paramatma, but our fate is different.'

So, tapasya – to abnegate and cut off our connection with the environment – is not our object. Our object is, rather, to utilise everything for the service of the Lord. Why should we eliminate anything? Why should we disregard anything? They are not to be blamed for anything; the environment is not to be blamed. Everything should be utilised for the service of the Lord. If anything is to be blamed, it is my temperament, my attitude, my desire to exploit. I should not be doing that. My real utility is that I am a servitor and I should engage the whole environment for His service. That is my proper self. This is the demand of purity. We must not denounce, reject or dishonour things. We must use them properly, with reverence, then they will draw benefit from me and bring benefit for me. In other words, they will earn something if I utilise them for the service of the Lord, and I shall also earn something from that. Environment can help me earn more, then why should I reject my environment and all its paraphernalia? Rather, they should excite me. 'Oh, utilise me in the service of the Lord! I am inanimate – I was born inanimate – but I am looking up to you, please utilise me in the service of the Lord. Oh, I am looking up to you with this expectation, but you are rejecting me?' – in this case, I shall become a sinner by rejecting and dismissing the environment. They are not to be blamed for anything.

isavasyam idam sarvam
yat kinchid jagatyam jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha
ma grdha kasyasvid dhanam

'Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. We must, therefore, accept only those things necessary for ourselves, which are set aside as our quota, and we must not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.'

(Isopanisad, 1)

I shall be a unit serving the Lord with everything, with whatever I come across. This is where I will be in my proper position. I am in the midst of the infinite, and the whole infinite is a dedicating world, not an exploiting world. I must come in the midst of such an atmosphere.

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