Renunciation is a common word one hears when studying the spiritual traditions.
In some ways,
One could say that this renunciation has kind of been lost over the last millennia and is slightly misunderstood compared to what its original meaning was.
If one were to read the Bhagavad Gita,
One could say that the essence of this book was renunciation.
And actually,
The essence of this book was using karma yoga to reach enlightenment.
So renunciation is actually not renouncing yourself to this world,
To go become a yogi in the mountains,
To give away all material goods.
These things are okay,
Of course,
But in the end,
It was more simplicity in life that was recommended instead of actually renouncing the world itself.
When we read texts such as the Bhagavad Gita,
We start to see the real idea of what renunciation was.
Renunciation is actually the idea of giving up selfishness,
And therefore they wanted selflessness in all action.
This is the key point here,
Selflessness in action.
We need to separate here between having desires and no desires.
When we look at the ancient books,
They never recommended at any stage have no desire,
For they knew that if you had no desire,
This world would never develop and there'd be no benefit for any other human beings.
Therefore,
Desire was seen to be the fuel of life.
The most important aspect here was to separate selfish desire with selfless desire.
Your desire to become enlightened,
For example,
Is that desire for yourself or is that your desire for the benefit of mankind?
For if that desire is for yourself,
You will,
Of course,
Only create more bondage and more attachment.
This was the key here.
As soon as you have selfless desires,
Those desires become more powerful as there is no bondage,
No attachment.
Buddhism called this selfish desire thirst.
What a wonderful word and what a wonderfully simple word to choose to describe selfish desire.
Selfish action makes you feel separated from everybody else in the world and the universe,
Whereas selfless action connects you tightly to the world,
The people around you,
And nature itself.
Renunciation is therefore internal and not external.
Renunciation is an intent.
Renunciation is a mindset,
A mindset of selflessness in action,
A mindset where one wants to benefit humanity,
Where one wants to benefit mankind.
This is commonly why many prayers in the ancient world were,
May I achieve enlightenment for the benefit of mankind.
