What is a Swami?

People often ask questions like, “What is a Swami?” or “Why did you become a Swami?” In places like Rishikesh or Haridwar, India, along the Ganges River, this is not a question that can be asked. Many swamis exist there, and all you have to do is say, “Here, these are swamis!” However, in geographical areas where there are fewer wandering swamis, there are more curious questions.
The word Swami means master; it means striving for mastery, struggling against the petty ego and accumulated habits, so that the eternal Self within can shine. The act of becoming a Swami is not so much an act of becoming, or adding something, or a duty, but it is an act of canceling, of renunciation. A Swami is a monk, one who has set aside all limited worldly concerns so as to direct all his energy towards the direct experience of the highest spiritual attainment and towards service to others. Renunciation is not anti-worldly, in the sense that the world is a bad place. Rather, it is a matter of priorities regarding how one will spend one’s time, the twenty-four hours of a day, and the seven days of a week. Renunciation is traditionally the fourth stage of the four great periods of life, although one who feels the calling can renounce and become a Swami at any stage of life, at any age.
Although there are many lineages of Swamis, with varying beliefs, perspectives, and loyalties, a traditional Himalayan Swami will at some point no longer claim affiliation with a particular group or religion, seeing everything as an outpouring of the one, indivisible reality, truth, or God that is found under many names in different peoples and cultures, including the word Brahman, the absolute reality. Although most of them self-identify as Hindu, other practitioners of the Himalayan tradition have roots in almost every major culture and religion in the world.
The true samnyasi (renunciant or ascetic) does not identify with any form of division or multiplicity. The Sanskrit word samnyasi comes from samnyasyati, which means renouncer. Sam means together, ni means down, and asyati means to throw away. He or she therefore throws away all personal identity, including not only that which is tied to physical objects, but also to nationality, religion, work, or family identity. If there is any external aspect of any identity, such as these, it will be only their perception, which is necessary for the benefit of others whom the samnyasi can serve. Even the name used, by the samnyasi or Swami, is primarily for others.
The aim of a samnyasi or Swami is “atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha”, which means one who strives “for the realization and liberation of the Self and for the benefit of the world.”
There are even deeper aspects to these questions “What is a Swami?” or “Why did you become a Swami?”. One of the most inspiring writings I have come across is a short work written by Pandit Usharbudh Arya, entitled “What is Renunciation?” (It is at the bottom of the page).
This remains in my heart as the clearest written description of what it really means to be a swami. It captures not only with its precise definition, but also with its description of the expected ideal and the spirit of inner desire with the attraction to this path.
Swami Rama also wrote a concise and clear description of the path of renunciation in his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Here, he describes seven important points regarding the path of a swami. This text is also included below, and has been titled “The Basics of Renunciation.”
If you are not familiar with swamis or other monks and are a sincere seeker, it is very important to know and keep in mind that the path of self-realization is not exclusive to renunciant. The two paths, of renunciation of the world and the path of action in the world, are equally valid and fruitful for aspirants who are devotedly engaged in the practices of contemplation and meditation.
Swami Jnaneshvara