Renunciation and its effect

There is a doctrine known as the Doctrine of Renunciation. Life does not allow one to stand at a point for long. One has to leave that point and advance forward in life. Also there is no such point where, after reaching, one can say that this is the place where I will stick to. One has to always move along with life.

The way of this world is not to cling on to anything for good. One has to move forward. In order to move forward one has to set aside many a things. Then only one can advance. One has to unify his own way with this way of the world. Then only can one be set free. If one can't achieve this unification, he will feel unhappy and inglorious. Things acquired may as well be snatched away from him.

One must not allow this world to snatch things away from him. Rather, he should give up before that can happen. This way one has to prepare him for the ultimate renunciation. This is basically a matter of mind and heart rather than body.

By foregoing things, one does not get poor. Rather, he moves towards completeness. Whatever one clings on to, he binds himself to it. So long as a child is inside his mother's womb, he does not get his mother. He gets her only when he comes out of the womb. He gets physically detached first before he can get his mother. Similarly, one can get something fully only when he can somewhat alienate or detach himself from it. The horse attached to the cart has no control of ownership over the cart. The cart belongs to the person who drives the cart. He is not attached to the cart.

This way, real work is that one which one does without expecting any benefit out of it. When work itself is a joy, benefit automatically flows out of it. The moment one attaches benefit he gets embedded within the work itself.

There are two basic properties in this world, one is to take and the other is to give. A proper balance between the two is absolutely necessary. If one takes more, he gets caged up, and if he gives more, he feels deprived. If ones' work fails to set him free, he becomes a slave, and if he seeks freedom without doing anything constructive, he perishes.

Renunciation does not lead to emptiness; it leads to completeness with authority. Renunciation does not mean giving up worldly life. In one way it means to refrain from consuming something or stop indulging into something.

But questions still remain. Why should one give up ? Why should he not keep on enjoying all that is around him ? Does not giving up leads one to a deserted land ? One really gives up something by offering it to his God. One will find total fulfillment from such an offering. Ultimately it will lead to a state where one will feel happy, contented and peaceful from within. That is the ultimate aim. Ultimate happiness puts an end to all the questions.

Everyday give something to the needy (ex. a handful of grains) without anybody's knowledge, thereby avoiding all kinds of praise from others. One should give it not out of a sense of duty, but as an offering one is making to someone who is also a creation of the Almighty. This will keep on accumulating and one day make one so supremely happy and contented that he will even be able to give up everything he possesses, and yet remain as filled up as ever.

Also, through ones' everyday prayer, he can make his path towards total renunciation more clear and definite. Then all work becomes a joy, all relationship becomes sweet and true, and the grace of God reigns supreme in his life.

Translation based on Bengali works (essays) of Rabindranath Tagore

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