God realization through Practice of Renunciation

Living even the life of a householder, man can realize God through the practice of renunciation. Indeed, 'renunciation' is the principal means for attaining God. Therefore, dividing them into seven classes, the marks of renunciation are being shortly written below:

(1) Total Renunciation of Prohibited Acts

            This is non-performance, in anyway whatsoever, through mind, speech and the body, low acts prohibited by the scriptures, such as, theft, adultery, falsehood, deception, fraud, oppression, violence, taking of interdicted food and wrong-doing, etc.

(2) Renunciation of Acts performed for the Satisfaction of Worldly Desires

This is non-performance of sacrifices, charities, austerities, worship and other desire-born actions,  with a selfish motive (If under the pressure of circumstance, one is compelled to do an act sanctioned by tradition and the scriptures, which is by nature rooted in desire, but non-performance of which causes pain to anybody or adversely affects the traditional ways of Action and worship, performance of it disinterestedly, and only for general good, is not an act of the satisfaction of desire) for gaining objects of enjoyment, e.g., wife, progeny, and wealth, etc., or with the object of curing diseases and terminating other forms of suffering. This is the second type of renunciation.

(3) Total Renunciation of Worldly Thirst

Honor, fame, social prestige, wife, progeny, wealth and whatever other transient objects are automatically gained by the force of Prarabdha (Karma, which has begun to bear fruit), the desire for their increase should be regarded as an obstacle in God-realization, and renounced. This is the third type of renunciation.

(4)  Renunciation of the habit of Extracting Service from Others with a Selfish Motive

Asking for money, or demanding service from another, for personal happiness; and acceptance of things and service given without one's asking for the same; or entertaining any desire in the mind for getting by any means one's self-interest served by another; all these and similar ideas of getting service from another for the satisfaction of self-interest should be renounced (If non-acceptance of physical service from another, or offer of eatables by another, where one is entitled to accept such service or offer, causes any pain to anyone, or in anyway hinders the education of the people, in that case, acceptance of service, abandoning selfishness, and only for the pleasure of the offered of service, is not harmful. for non-acceptance of service done by the wife, son or servant, or of eatables offered by friends and relatives, is likely to cause them pain and may prove harmful, so far as propriety of social conduct is concerned.) This is the fourth type of renunciation.