Talks on the Gita -Vinoba 44

Chapter 5 TWO-FOLD STATE OF AKARMA: YOGA AND SANNYASA 23. The Sannyasi and the Yogi Are One Like Shuka And Janaka 24. Sannyasa and yoga represent the highest flights of the human spirit. Sannyasa and yoga are ideals which are impossible to attain in their fullness here on the earth while we are confined within the body, but human thought can rise to such heights. A true yogi and a true sannyasi will exist only in definitions; the ideals will always be beyond our reach. But we have to take as examples persons who have approximated the ideals, and say, on the lines of geometry, ‘Let so and so be taken as a perfect yogi and so and so be taken as a perfect sannyasi.’ While talking about sannyasa, the names of Shuka and Yajnavalkya are usually mentioned. As examples of karmayogis, Janaka and Krishna have been mentioned in the Gita itself. Lokmanya Tilak has listed a number of yogis and sannyasis in his treatise ‘Gita-Rahasya.’ He has written that King Janaka, Lord Krishna etc. took the path of karmayoga while Shuka and Yajnavalkya took the path of sannyasa, implying that these two paths are mutually exclusive. But a little reflection will show that they are not so. Yajnavalkya was a sannyasi and Janaka was a karmayogi. Janaka, the karmayogi was a disciple of Yajnavalkya, the sannyasi and Shuka, a disciple of Janaka took the path of sannyasa. What this means is that yogis and sannyasis are parts of the same chain; yoga and sannyasa constitute a single order; they are not mutually exclusive paths. 25. Vyasa told Shuka, his son, “Shuka, my son, you have certainly attained Self-knowledge, but it lacks the seal of confirmation from a guru So, I would like you to go to Janaka, the King for this purpose.” Shuka thereupon proceeded to meet King Janaka. On the way to the palace, he passed through the capital city, observing the urban scene which was unknown to the young hermit. When he reached the palace and met the King, the following conversation took place—   Janaka - What brings you here, young man? Shuka - To gain knowledge, sir. Janaka - Who has sent you? Shuka - Vyasa, my father, has asked me to meet you. Janaka - Wherefrom have you come? Shuka - From the ashram. Janaka - While coming here from the ashram, what did you observe in the market? Shuka - I observed sweetmeats made of sugar piled up everywhere. Janaka - What else did you see? Shuka - I saw sugar-statues walking on the streets and talking with each other. Janaka - What did you see next? Shuka - I then saw the palace steps, made of sugar. Janaka - And what thereafter? Shuka - Everywhere I found pictures made of sugar. Janaka - What are you seeing now? Shuka - A sugar-statue is talking to another sugar-statue. Janaka - Well, you may go now. You have indeed attained Self-knowledge. Thus Shuka got what he wanted: a certificate from Janaka that he has attained Self-knowledge. The point is that Janaka, the karmayogi, accepted Shuka, the sannyasi as his disciple. There is another interesting story about Shuka. King Parikshit had been cursed that he would die after seven days. He wanted to prepare himself for the impending death; he wished to be instructed by a guru as to how to be so prepared. He sent for Shuka. Shuka came and sat in cross-legged position, narrating the Bhagawata to him continuously for full seven days. He never changed his sitting position. What was remarkable is that he felt no strain although he was made to exert himself so much. Though he was constantly working, it was as if he was not doing anything. There was no feeling of fatigue. Thus it is clear that yoga and sannyasa are not mutually exclusive.