Renunciation, Pleasure, and the Good Life in the Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads

The Saṃnyāsa Upanis.ads characterize the life of the saṃnyāsin (renunciate) as devoid of earthly pleasures. A person who forsakes every earthly pleasure, however, seems to forsake the good life. The most convincing reply to this objection insists that the advanced saṃnyāsin does indeed enjoy earthly things, since he is able to enjoy earthly things without desiring them and, hence, without prolonging the painful cycle of rebirth.