Volume 7 | Sept-Dec 2017

ISKCON Sannyasa Ministry Newsletter

Srila Prabhupada on “What is a Sannyasi?”

"Now you are sannyasi, sannyasi

means responsible, you must be
responsible for the spiritual progress of
the devotees, to see that the right
standard is being observed in all
departments. Just as I am doing.
Sometimes I go to the bank, sometimes
keep accounts, sometimes preach, hold
the class, write books, sometimes
cook—sannyasi should be expert in all
departments, and he should distribute his experience to others,
that's all. So I think you are the right man for assisting me in
this way in the European continent, and Krsna has brought
you to the right place, so with great enthusiasm go forward.
Thank you very much." (SPL to Pusta Krsna, 8th Nov, 1972)

From the Sannyasa Minister:

This seventh issue of the Sannyasa Newsletter includes a variety

of information about sannyasa and sannyasis, ancient and
modern. In this issue, Srila Prabhupada explains the practical
side of how an ISKCON sannyasi should engage his energies in INSIDE THIS ISSUE
diverse services in Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan
movement, while Kripamoya Prabhu’s article gives us a history of • Sannyasa Dharma &
the various aspects of etiquette and austerity that classical Ramanujacarya
sannyasis in the varnashrama system were expected to follow. • An Expanding
Ekalavya Prabhu's article tells us something about the present Ministry
organization of the Sannyasa Ministry and then we are also told
about the services and qualities of one of ISKCON’s senior • Sannyasa Training
sannyasis, Bhakti Caitanya Maharaja. • Sannyasi Profile:
Bhakti Caitanya
Swami
Your servant,
Prahladananda Swami Website:
www.sannyasacandidates.com
Email (Secretary):
[email protected]

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 PROFILE: BHAKTI
CAITANYA SWAMI

Originally from New Zealand, Bhakti

Caitanya Swami joined the Hare
Krishna movement in London, early in
1973. Almost a year before, as a
philosophy student at Auckland
University, he had first seen his future
spiritual master walking across the
campus with his followers. Srila
Prabhupada initiated Bhakti Caitanya
Swami later in 1973, giving him the
name Raghubir Dasa. Eleven years later
in Mayapur, the order of sannyasa was
awarded to Bhakti Caitanya Swami who
is an initiating spiritual master for
many devotees around the world.

Bhakti Caitanya Swami initially served

in the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and
also distributed Srila Prabhupada’s
books from 1973 until 1980. Then
Bhakti Caitanya Swami moved to South Africa, where, from 1980 to 1982, he served as temple
president in the rural community of Cato Ridge. Thereafter he did fund raising for the building of
the Temple of Understanding in Durban, which opened in 1985. This extraordinary temple
combines modern design with traditional Vedic architecture and is one of South Africa’s
landmarks. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists visit each year.

From 1985 until 1988 Bhakti Caitanya Swami served as regional secretary for South Africa, and he
then participated in an outreach project in Johannesburg from 1988 until 1991. From that time
until now, Bhakti Caitanya Swami is mostly engaged in traveling and spreading Krishna
consciousness in an authoritative and accessible way. His permanent base is Durban, where his
gentle and saintly presence provides stability.

After joining the GBC in 1998, Bhakti Caitanya Swami’s assignments have included Angola,
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Estonia.
Furthermore, he acts as co-GBC for Mauritius, Northwest Russia, Eastern Siberia, Western
Siberia, Latvia, South Africa, and Lithuania. Bhakti Caitanya Swami has served as chairman of the
GBC in 2002-2003 and as vice chairman in 2001-2003 and then again in 2010-2011. Within the
strategic planning team effort, Bhakti Caitanya Swami is involved in the team building committee.

His special interests include filming, photography, and parikrama (visiting holy places of deep
spiritual import). The splendid outcome of these interests can be seen in the impressive series of
appealing documentaries of holy pilgrimages in India and festivals around the world and in books
such as Vrindavan: The Playground of God and Traveling in the Service of Srila Prabhupada,
Volumes 1, 2 and 3.
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 Sannyasa Dharma
By Kripamoya Dasa

Practically everyone has now heard the title ‘Swami’ and knows that it is mostly used in
reference to a spiritual person, a holy man, who travels and dresses in orange robes. It is
worth investigating the ancient order of sannyasa to see how they lived, before we continue to
examine some modern versions of the sannyasa life and how they are related to the guru-
disciple relationship.

According to Sanskrit etymology, the word samnyasa or 'sannyasa' means 'renunciation' or

'abandonment'. It is a tripartite compound of san (collective), ni (down) and asa (from the
root as, meaning 'to throw' or 'to put'). So a literal translation of the word would be 'laying it
all down'.

Sannyasa is part of the varna and ashram system, a system of social organisation found within
the Vedas and practised for thousands of years. The purpose of any kind of progressive human
society, the Vedas say, is so that by collective endeavour the maximum number of people can
be simultaneously healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and spiritually enhanced. The varna-ashram
system flows naturally according to psycho-physical propensity and life-stages, and provides
the maximum level of opportunity for yoga and spiritual attainment, the ultimate purpose of
human life.

There are four life stages for brahmanas in the varna-ashram system. The student life of the
brahmachari is meant for studying and developing good character; the married life of the
householder or grihasta, for raising a family, developing wealth, performing religious deeds
and giving in charity; the life of the retired person is meant for performing austerity and
developing gradual detachment; and the life of the sannyasi for withdrawal from the world
and a life of renunciation.

The Sannyasi Guidebook

There is a teacher – and a manual – for everything in

life, and similarly there is a great deal of advice on how
to be a sannyasi. One of the more famous manuals
originated from someone who created hundreds of
sannyasis himself: the great mediaeval Vaishnava,
Srila Ramanujacarya (1017-1137).

The great acharya had several people in his life that he

regarded as gurus. One of them, Yadava Prakash, was a
philosophy teacher when Ramanuja was a boy. At that
time, the teacher regarded him as an annoying child
who did not fully understand the Upanishads. Later on
in his life, however, he had a complete change of heart
and submitted himself as a humble student of the
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 grown-up Ramanuja. When Ramanujacarya required a guidebook for his renounced
monks, he asked his former teacher to use his knowledge of the scriptures to compile
one. The result was Yati-Dharma Samuccaya. The Sanskrit word Yati is another word
Kripamoya Dasa

for sannyasi, or renounced person. The book includes many details derived from the
writings of ancient sages. It explains how a man should live when in the fourth stage of
life, what he should wear, how he should beg for his food, how he should eat and travel,
and how he should keep his consciousness elevated and his behaviour chaste to the life
of an ascetic. Here are some brief extracts:

Appearance
One who is an ascetic should carry the triple-staff, or tridanda.
One should either be shaven-headed or one may wear one’s hair in a top-knot. If
shaven-headed he must shave his head on the lunar day that falls between the 14th day
of the growing moon and the first day of the dark (new) moon. He should not shave
during the four-month long monsoon period.
One should dye one’s cloth using the reddish-orange rock gairika. These three things
may be white: one’s upavita (the sacred thread draped on the left shoulder of all
brahmana males), the strainer (small cloth to strain out insects from drinking water),
and one’s teeth.

Behaviour
The sannyasi should be homeless, and be free from pride and anger. He may stay only
one night in a village, but five in a town. He must not enter a home where the husband
is not present, but may enter the threshold if it is raining.

The Ten Vows

Featured article: Sannyasa Dharma

A sannyasi must take ten vows as follows:

1. Not to injure anyone – human or animal - in word or deed. This includes the
following nine elements: Causing anyone anxiety, causing pain, causing someone
to weep, calumny (making malicious statements so as to injure someone’s
reputation), destroying someone’s happiness, conquering someone, drawing blood,
making someone grovel, obstructing someone’s welfare, killing or acting as an
accessory to killing
2. To tell the truth
3. To be honest in one’s dealings
4. To live in poverty
5. To live in obedient service of one’s guru
6. To observe inner and outer cleanliness
7. To suppress anger
8. To refrain from wrongful conduct in mental, verbal and physical acts
9. To always avoid carelessness.
10. To live in chastity. There are eight elements of ‘broken chastity’, as follows: To
remember previous sexual actions, to recount them to others, to engage in amorous
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Kripamoya Dasa

play with a woman, to look at a woman, to speak in secret with a woman, to

formulate one’s intentions for sexual action, to make a firm resolve, to perform the
act, the opposite of ‘broken chastity’ is chastity.

Possessions
Featured article: Sannyasa Dharma

Water-pot (known as a kamandalu); water-strainer; fine thread and needle; clothes dyed
reddish-orange; a sling bag; a begging bowl (kundika); a loincloth; a sitting stool;
sandals; a ragged shawl; a cloth yoga band to fix the posture during meditation; an
umbrella; and a string of rosary beads.
Of these, five possessions are obligatory: one’s sacred thread or upavita, the danda, the
strainer, loincloth and waistband.

Danda
The danda is composed of three bamboo sticks each three-quarters of an inch thick.
They should reach up to the hair and should contain 6, 8 or 10 joints that do not
protrude. 2 or 5 strings, known as mudras tie the three sticks together top and bottom.
String made from cow’s hair must be tied below the second section from the top.
"One who accepts in his mind the rod of chastisement for his speech, body and mind is
known as a tridandi -- one who has accepted the threefold rod of chastisement." (Manu-
samhita 12.10)

Begging
The sannyasi must live by begging. All his meals must be begged, but only once in the

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 day at certain times. There are five types of begging:
Madhukara – Begging ‘in the manner of a bee’, from either 3, 5, or 7 houses only. Such
houses must not be deliberately selected.
Prakpranita – ‘Offered in advance.’ Sometimes the sannyasi may wake and find that
the food has already been left for him, right where he slept.
Ayacita – ‘Unsolicited.’ The sannyasi has performed his morning rituals and is about
Featured Article

to set off for begging, but food is given before he goes on his alms-round.
Tarkalika – ‘Contemporaneous’ – The sannyasi is proclaimed by a brahmana
householder even as he approaches him.
Upapanna – ‘Offered’ – He is given food after begging. This may also include being fed
at an ashram or monastery, where the food is brought by local devotees.
Each type of begging is good, but the timing must be observed: “Beg when the smoke
from cooking fires has stopped rising, when pestles have stopped pounding, the meal
for the family has come to an end and the remnants have been put away.” (So says the
sage Manu)
The controlled sannyasi will beg and eat only after midday. These are the divisions of
the day: Pratah is the morning, Sangara the mid-morning and Madhyama the middle

Sannyasa Training 2018

The third training seminar for Sannyasa

Candidates will be held in Sri Dham
Mayapur from February 14th - 16th. The
seminar will be conducted daily from
10:30 am to 1:30 pm for a total of 9
hours. The training will be held at the
Mayapur Institute new campus
classroom / kutir.

The training includes sessions by

sannyasis, as well as presentations by
candidates about their services in
preparation for receiving the order of
sannyasa. His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita
Maharaja has confirmed his attendance.
We are currently working on additional
aspects of the program.

For more information about the

program, please contact:
[email protected]
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 An Expanding Ministry
Ekalavya Dasa

The GBC body created the Ministry of Sannyasa Services in 1988. The first Minister was
Jayadvaita Swami. Since that time, the Ministry has expanded and continues to expand today.

All recommendations made by the sannyasa ministry are offered for review to The GBC body.

Prahladananda Swami is the Sannyasa Minister.

The Sannyasa Standing Committee establishes the principles and practices of the ministry. They
review the recommendations of the Team for Assessment of Sannyasa Candidates (TASC) and
accordingly make recommendations to the GBC.
Prahladananda Swami explains, “The Team for Assessment of Sannyasa Candidates (TASC) was
formed in 2013 for the purpose of evaluating prospective sannyasa candidates in a more objective
manner. We have brought a greater number of qualified devotees to our team, who also have
more time to devote to this service. Thus our evaluation procedure has also become more
thorough.”
The service description of the Team for Assessment of Sannyasa Candidates (TASC) includes;
review the application of potential candidates, and receive reports about present candidates.
Based upon their assessment of the applications and reports, the TASC makes a recommendation
to the Sannyasa Committee, and subsequently to the GBC Body. The recommendations may
include, acceptance as a sannyasa candidate, move up from the 2-year list to the 1-year list, be
approved for sannyasa, etc.
The TASC makes recommendations as to where the candidates should be sent on missions.
Other aspects of the sannyasa candidates progress like education and training as well as the
mentorship system is also overseen by the TASC.
Education and training is an ongoing undertaking facilitated by Krishna Ksetra Swami. He
conducted a special training seminar in Maypur in 2017 for the candidates.

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The Secretariat assists in working on the sannyasa ministry website, vetting applications, collecting
reports, communicating to organize missions, etc, and compiling the Sannyasa Ministry Newsletter
which has 2 issues per year.
After candidates take sannyasa, the ministry continues to facilitate their missions as per the need of
ISKCON. The Ministry endeavours to help ISKCON sannyasis in all respects.
Thus, the Ministry of Sannyasa Services is an expanding ministry which, with the mercy of Lord
Krishna, Srila Prabhupada and all devotees, will continue to expand. In this way, we hope to fulfill the
mandates of the GBC body and desires of Srila Prabhupada, to uphold the highest standards of sannyasa
in ISKCON.

Ministry of Sannyasa Services:

• Minister: Prahladananda Swami

• Sannyasa Standing Committee: Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Bhakti Gauravani Goswami,

Bhaktivaibhava Swami, Hrdaya Caitanya Das, Prahladananda Swami, and Sivarama Swami

• Team for Assessment of Sannyasa Candidates (TASC): Bhakti Prabhava Swami, Hanuman
Dasa, Krishnadas Kaviraja Dasa, Prahladananda Swami (facilitator), Srivas Dasa, Srivas Pandit
Dasa, Sruti Dharma Dasa, and Vedavyasa Priya Swami

• Education and Training: Krishna Kshetra Swami

• Secretariat: Brajsunder Dasa, Citra Devi Dasi, Damodar Caitanya Dasa, Dharmatma Dasa,
Dhruva Dasa, Eklavya Dasa, Priti Vardan Dasa, Sutapa Dasa, and Bhakta Vikas Chavan