What is Renouncement?

Renouncement is a mental state only. It is coloring of the heart and not of cloth alone. He is a veritable sage who is free from passions and egoism and who possesses all the Sattvic (pure) qualities, even though he lives with the family in the world. There some great persons who were King-Yogi-Sage, though they were ruling a kingdom. That sage who lives in the forest, but who is full of passions is worse than a householder and a worldly-minded fool.

True renunciation is the renunciation of all passions, desires, egoism and subtle desires. If you have a stainless mind, a mind free from attachment, egoism and passion, you are a Sage no matter whether you live in a forest or in the bustle of a city, whether you wear white cloth or an orange-colored robe, whether you shave the head or keep a long tuft of hair.

Shave the mind. Someone asked Guru Nanak, “O saint, why have you not shaved your head? You are a Renounce person.” Guru Nanak replied, “My dear friend, I have shaved my mind.” In fact, the mind should be cleanly shaved. Shaving the mind consists in getting rid of all sorts of attachments, passions, egoism, infatuation, lust, greed, anger, etc. This is the real shaving.

External shaving of the head has no meaning so long as there is internal craving. Many have not understood what true renunciation is. Renunciation of physical objects is no renunciation at all. The real renunciation consists in the renunciation of egoism. If you can renounce this ego, you have renounced everything else in the world. If the subtle Ego is given up, identification with the body automatically goes away.

Spirituality does not want you to renounce the world. It wants you to change your mental attitude and give up this false, illusory 'I'-ness (Ahamta) and mineness (Mamata). The snake-charmer removes only the two poisonous fangs of the cobra. The snake remains the same. It hisses, raises its hood and hows the teeth. In fact, it does everything as before. The snake-charmer has changed his mental attitude towards the snake. He has a feeling now that it has got no poisonous fangs. Even so, you must remove the two poisonous fangs of the mind, viz., Ahamta and Mamata only. Then you can allow the mind to go wherever it likes. Then you will have always Self Realization only!

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda