What is the Cause of Renunciation?
What is the Cause of Renunciation?
In my college days, I had a very young friend named Pratibimb.
One day, we met during a morning walk.
He told me that he had a very sweet experience last night.
I asked, “What was so sweet that you’re excited to share?”
He said, “At night, I fell in love with a princess from a large kingdom.
Fortunately, she also fell in love with me.
Her father, the king, was getting old.
When I met him and asked for the princess’s hand in marriage,
he quickly agreed and said:
‘I was worried for my daughter, as I couldn’t find a suitable partner for her.
I don’t have a son, so I was concerned about my kingdom’s future.
But now that you’ve come, being brilliant and brave, you’ve solved both of my problems.
Next week is Durga Puja, and I’ll get you both married.’
I got married and lived in the kingdom for many years.
I was very happy with all my servants and the princess.
We had many children — they were all beautiful, wise, intelligent, loving, and respectful.
One day, the king told me he was too old to manage the kingdom,
so he handed over everything to me.
He made me the king, and I ruled over a vast part of the world.
Then, all of a sudden, my dream broke when the morning alarm rang.
And now, here I am with you.”
I said, “That’s quite a story!”
He replied, “Yes, but what does it mean?”
I said, “It was just a dream.”
He insisted, “Nothing happens without reason. There’s a message in it for me.”
I asked, “Are you still serious about the dream? How long do you plan to hold on to it?
A day, a week, a month, or longer?
Why not wake up to the reality of life?”
After thinking for a while, he said, “I’ve renounced everything.”
Surprised, I asked, “What? What have you renounced?”
He said, “I’ve renounced the kingdom, the power,
the sweet queen, and our many children.
Now I’m free. I no longer need to worry about
running a government or keeping my family happy.
No one can blame me for any mistakes
that caused suffering for my people.”
I interrupted, “What are you talking about?
How can you renounce something that was never yours?”
He said, “No, it was a real experience for me.
I was so deeply involved that
I believed many years had passed, and the pleasure felt real.
So, I’ve renounced that reality.”
I replied, “But that was the reality of
an unreal world — a dream of your own mind.”
He said, “So what? I’ve still renounced it.”
I asked, “How did you renounce something
without leaving anything behind?”
He replied, “How can you say I didn’t leave anything?
I’ve let go of my ignorance. Now I’m awake, more aware.
The world before awakening was unreal, and after awakening, I’ve renounced it.
I still remember it vividly, but it no longer holds me back.
I’m awake. I know it was a dream — a creation of my own mind’s power.”
Another day, he came to me and said,
“For the past year, I’ve been buying lottery tickets,
and today I won a crore of rupees.
But the problem is, I need to pay 35% of my money to the government.”
I asked him, “How come it’s your money?
Are you awake or still dreaming?”
He replied, “I bought the lottery, I won, so it’s my money.”
Our final exam results were due.
He failed and had to repeat the semester.
He said, “I put in my best efforts, but I still failed.
The professors are terrible, and God is unfair.
I don’t deserve this failure.”
I said, “If good things can happen by luck,
bad things can happen by luck too.
You may call this bad luck.
Why don’t you wake up?
Neither that money was yours, nor is this failure.
In both situations,
you got to experience two radically different outcomes.
How are these experiences any different
from your dream experience, both give rise to real feelings within you?”
He replied,
“How can I consider this a dream?
That money was real, this failure is real, and that kingdom was unreal.”
I asked, “How do you know something is real and something is unreal?”
He said, “When we’re dreaming, things are unreal,
so it’s easier to renounce them.
But when we’re awake, things are real, and it’s harder to let them go.”
I said, “Why don’t you check for yourself?
Perhaps you’re walking, running, dating,
or eating in another sleep state.
And one day, you’ll wake up from this.
Then, you’ll realize what happened was unreal,
and renouncing it will be easy.
Until then, think of all this as real and suffer.
That’s the only way.”
Taking all the cosmic dance around you seriously,
assuming you’re awake before self-realization,
is the root of your suffering, guilt,
happiness, and all mental emotions.
Oh Pratibimb, wake up and renounce.
You need not leave or run away from anything.
A ten-year-old doesn’t say he has renounced his toys.
He knows these toys have their existence and relevance,
but feeling happy with them is no longer possible.
A sick person doesn’t say he has renounced normal food.
He’s living on a prescribed diet,
but soon he’ll return to his regular routine.
It is not renunciation, but punishment.
A realized one doesn’t say he has renounced the world.
Because he knows there was nothing really holding him,
and he was holding on to nothing.
All were mental constructs.
One day, with realization, things are renounced naturally, without effort.
Until then, suffering is the only option.
And remember, enjoyment is just another side of suffering.
Both are part of an ignorant life.
Oh Chaitanya, what is the Cause of Renunciation?
Deeper knowledge of the Self or
Superfluous, surface level knowledge of the Sansara?
Hari Om Tat Sat
Yours Truly Hari
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