Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #50 – Some Sannyāsī!

Some Sannyāsī! [1]

I was sitting on a wooden bed in my small room in Vrindavan. The floor was packed with visiting Iranian Vaiṣṇavas. Consistent with their refined culture, they piled their gifts next to me on my bed. There were dozens of fresh pomegranates as big as my head (well, almost), boxes of the best pistachios in the world, sweet lemons, dates, figs, and orange blossom cookies. And that is just a partial list. You get the idea. My bed was filled to the rafters, so to speak, with an ocean of exotic Persian goodies. Suddenly in walks Bhaktin Meaghan, an actress from New York. She squeezed into the small space next to the bed, paid obeisances, and then looked up at the mountain of fine delicacies on my bed right above her and quips, “Some sannyāsī!” There is nothing like playfully irreverent New York humor. I loved it.

But twenty years later I’m still “some sannyāsī!”

I needed to leave India for a week for visa reasons. I chose Thailand because of its proximity to India, and I have one student there whose family would cook for me and bring prasādam. When a friend found out about my trip, he made me a deal I could not refuse. He offered to pay for my tickets and the hotel! When I arrived, I had no idea he would book the best. I couldn’t imagine a more majestic five-star palace. To make matters worse, the receptionist saw me in my sannyāsa robes and demonstrated how much people in that country revere monks. She gave me what looked like the king’s suite. The room was even much better than the one my patron paid for! So, I did what I usually do wherever I am. I looked at the place through the eyes of the śāstra.

Here’s what I saw.

The Science of Material Enjoyment

These places employ the science of comfort to perfection. From the construction and organization of the rooms to the attentiveness of the staff, there was nothing I could think of that might be lacking in terms of hospitality. Each guest is treated like God. When the environment moves according to one’s desires it creates a sense that one is the enjoyer and controller. So I observed people practically floating around the place in that mode of happiness.

Duality

There is sand in the sweet rice, as the saying goes. As nice as something might be, it just takes one small thing to ruin it. I remember when I was young how much I hated school and the joy of Friday. By Sunday the joy was already mixed with the dread of Monday. I would have to return to the grade level factory of modern education that I abhorred. It’s the “last meal on death row” phenomenon. How can we enjoy something that will soon end to be replaced by what we hate or even fear? So yes, people floated around in a mode of happiness but was it real joy? Could they ever escape the existential dread of the problems that the temporality of their lives offered?

Happiness is consciousness not things

The face is the index of the mind. As much as the guests were lavished with comfort and served heavenly delights, their joy could not match that of the simple smiles of the humble Thai people who served them. They almost assuredly lived in simple families with modest amenities. The contrast in countenance, however, was stark, showing that happiness is consciousness not things.

Logos (a divine rational order)

There is a divine rational order. I wrote about this extensively.[2] Basically, there is objective truth, a standard of beauty and so on, and when things are done according to those standards it creates a sense of harmony. This hundred- room hotel features a large courtyard of pools, waterways, and gardens with small forest bowers, all weaving around the hotel. It’s stunning. My patron even joked that it’s “sannyāsī-proof.” He noticed my black marker had stained the couch in my room. He thought he would be charged for the damage but was amazed when he frantically started to rub the stains with a damp towel. It so easily wiped clean. Is there anything they have not thought of?! Anyway, I love when I see things done in a manner according to the right standards. It reminds me of God, even when used the wrong way.

Some sannyāsī

As I am writing this in the early morning sitting on my large balcony overlooking the marvelous gardens and waterways, I think of the simple sadhus of Govardhan and how they live happily in the simplest dwellings. I can’t help but hanker for Braja. I then look at myself and think “some sannyāsī!”

[1] The word “some” can be used sarcastically as an ironic understatement to imply that something is worthless or far below expectations.

[2] https://wavesofdevotion.com/2025/01/27/logos-logic-and-prasādam-2/