Again, are we talking about real renunciation here?
If it is so, then renunciation will mean running away from our social lives.
Our rishis mention renunciation is the quintessence of Veda. It is the spoke of the wheel of life.
What is it?
If it is so important for us, than it cannot be fixing limits of our clothes and food. Neither, it could be escaping from our social life.
Renunciation is growth. It’s your movement from lower values to higher values. When you are child, you used to love toys. When you grow up, you don’t care for those toys any more. You now play with better toys -- name, fame and money. It could be said that now you have renunciated those toys with which the child plays. So you have grown up.
Renunciation is growth.
You grow from one experience to another experience in life, and you move higher and higher in your spiritual journey.
True renunciation doesn’t require leaving anything; it is also not also fixing limits on things. It has nothing to do with material possessions you have, or do not have. It has more to do with your state of mind. About what ideas you are possessing, what desires you are clinging to.
Irony is, at times true renunciation is not achieved by saints who are craving for renunciation. But ordinary people achieve it with least effort. As craving for renunciation is also a barrier to real renunciation.
That’s why doctrine of Gita was so compelling, and Sri Aurobindo mentioned it couple of times that
humanity has not understood the true meaning of Gita. In fact, Gita says that you can have your highest renunciation while sitting on the war-front and fighting battle with your own people as Arjuna did.
Gita talks about the highest nature of renunciation with a vaster scope. For this form of renunciation you don’t have to run away from life, nor do you have to fix limits on things and beings.
It is this renunciation that Maharishi Patanjali refers as the basis of concentration in his eight step process of yoga (Asthanga Yoga). He mentions renunciation as pratyahara – the fifth step after which concentration comes, which is followed by meditation and which proceeds to Samadhi or contemplation.
So to summarize, the principle of concentration is renunciation, and the processes of the concentration could be taken from any form of Yoga. It could be a renunciation through a form of violent action -- described in karma yoga of Gita. It could be yogic postures of Patanjali, followed by pranayama and concentrating on breath and sensations. It could be sitting still, like Buddha with letting all the thoughts pass away. It could be by expressing prayers and compassion like Jesus. Or it could be through methods of concentration on different zones of body and mind. It could be also observing thoughts and emotions. Or, it could be like an Integral Yogi who could use any method as and when required, guided by his inner-guru. All these methods help toward renunciation to some extent which purifies us and we can go on concentrating more and more.
