Those who take sannyas have made a glorious decision, for sannyas is the most beneficial stage of one's life. By taking sannyas you are not renouncing anything. You are consecrating yourself for a definite purpose. Therefore, when one takes sannyas one has made the decision to dedicate oneself to the fulfilment of a great purpose which is in the bosom of the Higher Will.
In the last three or four decades the Cosmic Will has been moving in a different order and a message had to be delivered to every man, woman and child in every nook and corner of the world. Such a gigantic task! Who would fulfil it? It was decided that a particular calibre of sannyasin would be required to convey the message to the people of every country. That message is Yoga, and man needs it in order to have a clear vision of his purpose, and to understand his relationship with life.
Progressively, over the last century or so, man has become more and more extrovert. Consequently, he has lost control of himself and become self-destructive.
You know what can happen to a little child if he wanders onto a busy road? He is likely to be crushed by a truck or car, because he is not in complete control of himself and does not understand the traffic signs.
Today, we are like children. We are ignorant of the Laws of Nature. We may be able to handle computers and sophisticated machinery, but we are unable to handle ourselves. When we feel lonely we do not know how to cope. When we are depressed we do not know what to do. When we suffer from insomnia we do not know how to rectify the situation. This means we do not have control over ourselves.
If you survey the situation, you will see what is happening. Some people art going crazy and are being committed to mental asylums. Some are taking revolvers and shooting themselves, or killing people one after the other. Others are Leaping to the helm of political power and just waiting to press the atomic switch.
So you see how important it is for everybody to receive the message of Yoga. They must practise it too. Then in the course of time humanity will have greater control over its impulses. This has been the primary purpose for which sannyasins have been living in the last quarter of the twentieth century and which they A will continue to live for in the first half of the twenty-first century.
Sannyasins should not worry about their liberation, nor should they be troubled about their own sadhana. They do not need to practise Raja yoga, asana, pranayama and meditation. There are only two types of yoga for a sannyasin. One is an inner sadhana called Gyana yoga and the other is Karma yoga. These two forms of yoga prepare the sannyasin to face all situations in life.
A sannyasins needs must be minimum. Sannyasins should not be fussy people. They should not be puritans, and they must be able to live like human beings. With, every breath they should teach Yoga. Wherever they go they must talk about Yoga. If ever they discover a better practice of yoga they must emulate it. They should not worry about a home, their family or religion. Neither should they be concerned about their existence after death.
Today because conditions are congenial and everything is favourable, millions and millions of people throughout the world are wanting to make a change, but they are waiting for a message and a guide. So, for this reason, the number of sannyasins must increase greatly. Thousands of people must come forth with absolutely disciplined personalities and one-pointed attention.
These sannyasins must have a Guru and a purpose. A Sannyasi a without these two prerequisites will only find himself involved in one disaster after another. If you do not have a Guru how can you 'be' a Guru? There has to be someone before you to whom you can bow down. The Guru is the altar and you must sacrifice your head, your ego and your mind.
What do we know of God? Only what we read in the books. Nobody has seen Him, We do not know whether He is black, white, brown or yellow. We do not know whether He lives in the sky, stars, clouds, Himalaya, temples or church. If you believe, then He is; if you do not believe then He is not, but Guru you cannot deny because he is in flesh and blood. You can see his virtues and you can see his glory. Therefore a sannyasin must have a Guru at any cost, and secondly he must have an objective purpose.
Just to do something philanthropic is not the aim of sannyas. A sannyasin must have a vision and a goal. If he has no vision he should ask his Guru to clarify it, as there is no use working in total blindness. If you throw a pearl necklace somewhere and ask a blind person to search for it, he will probably never find it. He may pass by it hundreds of times without knowing It, because he has no vision. Therefore a sannyasin must have a vision of reality, and today the vision is very clear in our minds. It is called Yoga. We give that vision to others in the form of a set of simple practices that everybody can do daily. Yoga does not interfere with a person's culture, religion, nationality or lifestyle. It is the saving science of mankind.