Sramana: Ain’t No He

I have been reading Sramana Mitra, a desi MIT alumni, for quite a while now. The writer’s thoughts on strategy are always interesting. Not much declarative living, or sharing of personal information on the blog though, which may explain why I didn’t realise Sramana is a she not a he. It turns out I am not the only person to make the same mistake.

Sramana is a lovely name though… for a man or woman…

“SRAMANA (Sanskrit), SAMANA (Pali): Contemplative. Literally, a person who abandons the conventional obligations of social life in order to find a way of life more “in tune” (sama) with the ways of nature. See also Parivrajaka. Sramana is derived from “Srama” — to exert, effort, labor or to perform austerity. It is mixed in with the meaning “Sama” — equal, evenly distributed, to emancipate from Karma.

One who performs acts of mortification or austerity is called “Sramana” (Sramati tapasyatiti Sramanah). According to the definition, a being is himself responsible for his own deeds. Salvation, therefore, can be achieved by anybody irrespective of caste, creed, color or culture. The Cycle of Rebirth to which every individual is subjected is viewed as the cause and substratum of misery. The goal of every person is to evolve a way to escape from the cycle of rebirth, namely by discounting ritual as a means of a emancipation and establishing from the misery of Samsara, through pious religious activities.” (from angelfire)

According to Wikipedia Sramana means wandering monk, so I am of course a fan… But she doesn’t look too austere…