The Nature and Purpose of Renunciation

In examining the contents of the Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads, the first, and possible the most significant, issue I want to explore is the Brahmanical self-understanding of the meaning and nature of renunciation. What is the purpose of renunciation? What theological definition of a renouncer's status does the Brahmanical tradition provide? How does that definition affect other significant elements of the Brahmanical religious world? The Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads do not deal with these issues explicitly. A well-developed theology of renunciation, however, underlies their discussions of such central issues as the rite of renunciation and the rules governing a renouncer's life. It is this theology that I want to explore in this section, drawing on information provided by these and other Brahmanical texts.

A point that we need to bear in mind as we explore the Brahmanical theology of renunciation, however, is that the very institution of renunciation as a single entity was the creation of the same theology (Sprockhoff 1976, 288–95). There were many lifestyles and institutions of holiness, old age, and separation from society in ancient India. Evidence of these institutions is found in the Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads themselves. The Laghu-Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣad, for example, contains a rite for withdrawal from society in the case of a person who recovers from a lifethreatening illness. Such a withdrawal was probably connected with the rite in extremis described in several major Upaniṣads.