November 4, 2012
I first read this beautiful poem of Swami Vivekananda in the moving biography of his by Swami Nikhilananda of the Ramakrishna Mission. Hinduism Today in an article in August 1999, called the song "a compelling reminder of the supreme spiritual path." I came across this again recently and cannot resist posting this here.
THE SONG OF THE SANNYĀSIN
Wake up the note! the song that had its birth
Far off, where worldly taint could never reach,
In mountain caves and glades of forest deep,
Whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fame
Could ever dare to break; where rolled the stream
Of knowledge, truth, and bliss that follows both.
Sing high that note, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Strike off thy fetters! bonds that bind thee down,
Of shining gold, or darker, baser ore--
Love, hate; good, bad; and all the dual throng.
Know slave is slave, caressed or whipped, not free;
For fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind.
Then off with them, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Let darkness go, the will-o'-the-wisp that leads
With blinking light to pile more gloom on gloom.
This thirst for life forever quench; it drags
From birth to death, and death to birth, the soul.
He conquers all who conquers self.
Know this and never yield, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
"Who sows must reap," they say, "and cause must bring
The sure effect: good, good; bad, bad; and none
Escapes the law. But whoso wears a form
Must wear the chain." Too true; but far beyond
Both name and form is âtman, ever free.
Know thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
They know not truth who dream such vacant dreams
As father, mother, children, wife and friend.
The sexless Self--whose father He? whose child?
Whose friend, whose foe, is He who is but One?
The Self is all in all--none else exists;
And thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
There is but One: the Free, the Knower, Self,
Without a name, without a form or stain.
In Him is mâyâ, dreaming all this dream.
The Witness, He appears as nature, soul.
Know thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Where seekest thou? That freedom, friend, this world
Nor that can give. In books and temples, vain
Thy search. Thine only is the hand that holds
The rope that drags thee on. Then cease lament.
Let go thy hold, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Say, "Peace to all. From me no danger be
To aught that lives. In those that dwell on high,
In those that lowly creep--I am the Self in all!
All life, both here and there, do I renounce,
All heavens and earths and hells, all hopes and fears."
Thus cut thy bonds, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Heed then no more how body lives or goes.
Its task is done: let karma float it down.
Let one put garlands on, another kick
This frame: say naught. No praise or blame can be
Where praiser, praised, and blamer, blamed, are one.
Thus be thou calm, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Truth never comes where lust and fame and greed
Of gain reside. No man who thinks of woman
As his wife can ever perfect be;
Nor he who owns the least of things, nor he
Whom anger chains, can ever pass through mâyâ's gates.
So, give these up, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Have thou no home. What home can hold thee, friend?
The sky thy roof, the grass thy bed, and food
What chance may bring--well cooked or ill, judge not.
No food or drink can taint that noble Self
Which knows Itself. Like rolling river free
Thou ever be, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Few only know the truth. The rest will hate
And laugh at thee, great one; but pay no heed.
Go thou, the free, from place to place, and help
Them out of darkness, mâyâ's veil. Without
The fear of pain or search for pleasure, go
Beyond them both, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Thus day by day, till karma's power's spent,
Release the soul forever. No more is birth,
Nor I, nor thou, nor God, nor man. The "I"
Has All become, the All is "I" and Bliss.
Know thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Swami Vivekananda (1895, Thousand Island Park, New York)
This song could well be considered a commentary on what the Bhagavad Geeta has to say about tyāga and sannyāsa in many different sections. I have tried to list a few verses from the Bhagavad Geeta which I think are relevant to understanding Swami Vivekananda's masterpiece. Here they are:
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति |
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ||५-३||
GYeyaH sa nityasa.nnyaasii yo na dveshhTi na kaaN^kShati .
nirdvandvo hi mahaabaaho sukhaM bandhaatpramuchyate .. 5-3..
He should be known as a eternal SANNYASI who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs-of-opposites, O Mighty-armed, he is easily set free from bondage.
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि |
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः ||५-१८||
vidyaavinayasampanne braahmaNe gavi hastini .
shuni chaiva shvapaake cha paNDitaaH samadarshinaH .. 5-18..
Sages look with an equal eye upon a Brahmana endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, on an elephant, and even on a dog and an outcaste.
इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः |
निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद् ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः ||५-१९||
ihaiva tairjitaH sargo yeshhaa.n saamye sthitaM manaH .
nirdoshhaM hi samaM brahma tasmaad.h brahmaNi te sthitaaH .. 5-19..
Even here (in this world) , birth (everything) is overcome by those whose minds rest in equality; BRAHMAN is spotless indeed and equal; therefore they are established in BRAHMAN.
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम् |
स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ||५-२०||
na prahR^ishhyetpriyaM praapya nodvijetpraapya chaapriyam.h .
sthirabuddhirasammuuDho brahmavid.h brahmaNi sthitaH .. 5-20..
Resting in BRAHMAN, with steady intellect and undeluded, the knower of BRAHMAN neither rejoices on obtaining what is pleasant, nor grieves on obtaining what is unpleasant.
बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम् |
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते ||५-२१||
baahyasparsheshhvasaktaatmaa vindatyaatmani yatsukham.h .
sa brahmayogayuktaatmaa sukhamakShayamashnute .. 5-21..
With the self unattached to external contacts, he finds happiness in the Self; with the self engaged in the meditation of BRAHMAN, he attains endless happiness.
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् |
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ||५-२३||
shaknotiihaiva yaH soDhuM praak{}shariiravimokShaNaat.h .
kaamakrodhodbhavaM vegaM sa yuktaH sa sukhii naraH .. 5-23..
He who is able, while still here (in this world) to withstand, before the liberation from the body (death) , the impulse born out of desire and anger, he is a YOGIN , he is a happy man.
कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम् |
अभितो ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं वर्तते विदितात्मनाम् ||५-२६||
kaamakrodhaviyuktaanaa.n yatiinaa.n yatachetasaam.h .
abhito brahmanirvaaNaM vartate viditaatmanaam.h .. 5-26..
Absolute Freedom exists everywhere for those self-controlled ascetics, who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts and who have realised the Self.
अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः |
स संन्यासी च योगी च |६-१|
anaashritaH karmaphalaM kaarya.n karma karoti yaH .
sa sa.nnyaasii cha yogii cha .6-1.
He who performs his bounden duty without depending on the fruits-of-actions --- he is a SAMNYASIN and a YOGIN
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज |
अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ||१८-६६||
sarvadharmaanparityajya maamekaM sharaNaM vraja .
ahaM tvaaM sarvapaapebhyo mokShyayishhyaami maa shuchaH .. 18-66.
Abandoning all DHARMAS, (of the body, mind, and intellect) , take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not.
Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post
THE SONG OF THE SANNYĀSIN
Wake up the note! the song that had its birth
Far off, where worldly taint could never reach,
In mountain caves and glades of forest deep,
Whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fame
Could ever dare to break; where rolled the stream
Of knowledge, truth, and bliss that follows both.
Sing high that note, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Strike off thy fetters! bonds that bind thee down,
Of shining gold, or darker, baser ore--
Love, hate; good, bad; and all the dual throng.
Know slave is slave, caressed or whipped, not free;
For fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind.
Then off with them, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Let darkness go, the will-o'-the-wisp that leads
With blinking light to pile more gloom on gloom.
This thirst for life forever quench; it drags
From birth to death, and death to birth, the soul.
He conquers all who conquers self.
Know this and never yield, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
"Who sows must reap," they say, "and cause must bring
The sure effect: good, good; bad, bad; and none
Escapes the law. But whoso wears a form
Must wear the chain." Too true; but far beyond
Both name and form is âtman, ever free.
Know thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
They know not truth who dream such vacant dreams
As father, mother, children, wife and friend.
The sexless Self--whose father He? whose child?
Whose friend, whose foe, is He who is but One?
The Self is all in all--none else exists;
And thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
There is but One: the Free, the Knower, Self,
Without a name, without a form or stain.
In Him is mâyâ, dreaming all this dream.
The Witness, He appears as nature, soul.
Know thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Where seekest thou? That freedom, friend, this world
Nor that can give. In books and temples, vain
Thy search. Thine only is the hand that holds
The rope that drags thee on. Then cease lament.
Let go thy hold, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Say, "Peace to all. From me no danger be
To aught that lives. In those that dwell on high,
In those that lowly creep--I am the Self in all!
All life, both here and there, do I renounce,
All heavens and earths and hells, all hopes and fears."
Thus cut thy bonds, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Heed then no more how body lives or goes.
Its task is done: let karma float it down.
Let one put garlands on, another kick
This frame: say naught. No praise or blame can be
Where praiser, praised, and blamer, blamed, are one.
Thus be thou calm, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Truth never comes where lust and fame and greed
Of gain reside. No man who thinks of woman
As his wife can ever perfect be;
Nor he who owns the least of things, nor he
Whom anger chains, can ever pass through mâyâ's gates.
So, give these up, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Have thou no home. What home can hold thee, friend?
The sky thy roof, the grass thy bed, and food
What chance may bring--well cooked or ill, judge not.
No food or drink can taint that noble Self
Which knows Itself. Like rolling river free
Thou ever be, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Few only know the truth. The rest will hate
And laugh at thee, great one; but pay no heed.
Go thou, the free, from place to place, and help
Them out of darkness, mâyâ's veil. Without
The fear of pain or search for pleasure, go
Beyond them both, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Thus day by day, till karma's power's spent,
Release the soul forever. No more is birth,
Nor I, nor thou, nor God, nor man. The "I"
Has All become, the All is "I" and Bliss.
Know thou art That, sannyāsin bold! Say,
"Om Tat Sat, Om!"
Swami Vivekananda (1895, Thousand Island Park, New York)
This song could well be considered a commentary on what the Bhagavad Geeta has to say about tyāga and sannyāsa in many different sections. I have tried to list a few verses from the Bhagavad Geeta which I think are relevant to understanding Swami Vivekananda's masterpiece. Here they are:
ज्ञेयः स नित्यसंन्यासी यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ्क्षति |
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ||५-३||
GYeyaH sa nityasa.nnyaasii yo na dveshhTi na kaaN^kShati .
nirdvandvo hi mahaabaaho sukhaM bandhaatpramuchyate .. 5-3..
He should be known as a eternal SANNYASI who neither hates nor desires; for, free from the pairs-of-opposites, O Mighty-armed, he is easily set free from bondage.
विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि |
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः ||५-१८||
vidyaavinayasampanne braahmaNe gavi hastini .
shuni chaiva shvapaake cha paNDitaaH samadarshinaH .. 5-18..
Sages look with an equal eye upon a Brahmana endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, on an elephant, and even on a dog and an outcaste.
इहैव तैर्जितः सर्गो येषां साम्ये स्थितं मनः |
निर्दोषं हि समं ब्रह्म तस्माद् ब्रह्मणि ते स्थिताः ||५-१९||
ihaiva tairjitaH sargo yeshhaa.n saamye sthitaM manaH .
nirdoshhaM hi samaM brahma tasmaad.h brahmaNi te sthitaaH .. 5-19..
Even here (in this world) , birth (everything) is overcome by those whose minds rest in equality; BRAHMAN is spotless indeed and equal; therefore they are established in BRAHMAN.
न प्रहृष्येत्प्रियं प्राप्य नोद्विजेत्प्राप्य चाप्रियम् |
स्थिरबुद्धिरसम्मूढो ब्रह्मविद् ब्रह्मणि स्थितः ||५-२०||
na prahR^ishhyetpriyaM praapya nodvijetpraapya chaapriyam.h .
sthirabuddhirasammuuDho brahmavid.h brahmaNi sthitaH .. 5-20..
Resting in BRAHMAN, with steady intellect and undeluded, the knower of BRAHMAN neither rejoices on obtaining what is pleasant, nor grieves on obtaining what is unpleasant.
बाह्यस्पर्शेष्वसक्तात्मा विन्दत्यात्मनि यत्सुखम् |
स ब्रह्मयोगयुक्तात्मा सुखमक्षयमश्नुते ||५-२१||
baahyasparsheshhvasaktaatmaa vindatyaatmani yatsukham.h .
sa brahmayogayuktaatmaa sukhamakShayamashnute .. 5-21..
With the self unattached to external contacts, he finds happiness in the Self; with the self engaged in the meditation of BRAHMAN, he attains endless happiness.
शक्नोतीहैव यः सोढुं प्राक्शरीरविमोक्षणात् |
कामक्रोधोद्भवं वेगं स युक्तः स सुखी नरः ||५-२३||
shaknotiihaiva yaH soDhuM praak{}shariiravimokShaNaat.h .
kaamakrodhodbhavaM vegaM sa yuktaH sa sukhii naraH .. 5-23..
He who is able, while still here (in this world) to withstand, before the liberation from the body (death) , the impulse born out of desire and anger, he is a YOGIN , he is a happy man.
कामक्रोधवियुक्तानां यतीनां यतचेतसाम् |
अभितो ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं वर्तते विदितात्मनाम् ||५-२६||
kaamakrodhaviyuktaanaa.n yatiinaa.n yatachetasaam.h .
abhito brahmanirvaaNaM vartate viditaatmanaam.h .. 5-26..
Absolute Freedom exists everywhere for those self-controlled ascetics, who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thoughts and who have realised the Self.
अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः |
स संन्यासी च योगी च |६-१|
anaashritaH karmaphalaM kaarya.n karma karoti yaH .
sa sa.nnyaasii cha yogii cha .6-1.
He who performs his bounden duty without depending on the fruits-of-actions --- he is a SAMNYASIN and a YOGIN
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज |
अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ||१८-६६||
sarvadharmaanparityajya maamekaM sharaNaM vraja .
ahaM tvaaM sarvapaapebhyo mokShyayishhyaami maa shuchaH .. 18-66.
Abandoning all DHARMAS, (of the body, mind, and intellect) , take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not.
Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post
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