In popular view, Sanyasi (monk) is one who has renounced the world and samsari (householder) is one who is supposed to be fully involved in the world. The meaning of this has to be really understood. The physical world which we is creation of the Lord. Nobody can renounce the physical world. Renouncing can be done only for what you have. What you don’t have cannot be renounced. For example it is meaningless to say I renounce Taj Mahal or I renounce Empire State building. None of them belong to you anyway. Body, mind and intellect also belong to creation of Lord (Ishwara). Even they cannot be renounced. What is there to renounce other than our mental concepts, images, desires, fantasies and projections. These are our own creation. They can be renounced. Hence Sanyasa boils down to renouncing mental creations not physical objects.
We have to understand that we live in the world. But world lives in us in the form of images, memories. Sanyasa is renouncing the “World in us” not the “world out there “. Even if you go to Himalayas, the World out will be there. Bit colder. But it is there. Sanyasis is one who has renounced the inner world and Samsari is one who is building the inner world by expanding “I”, “me” and “mine”. The concept of monk and householder has nothing to do with the externeal world. It is the innerworld which matters and not the outer world.
However, when there is a change in the inner world, the outer world may or may not change.
We have to ask the question – Do I live in the world or world lives in me as images/impressions. That tells you whether you are a Sanyasi or Samsari.
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