Very often a seeker may feel that the circumstances of a busy life of a working person with a family is not conducive to Self Realization. It is all too easy to come to this conclusion since a lot of Sages were also renunciates (sannyasin), in the sense that they were not married with a family or did not have the usual encumbrances of a family man. It is tempting to say that if only one could only have more time to meditate or chant or contemplate on the teachings of the Guru, one could perhaps consider the goal of Self Realization as a feasible goal. It is tempting to say that because of a busy life of work, kids or family and other duties and worries associated with a worldly life, one does not find the time to pursue the goal of Self Realization. Let us suppose, you were free from all of the duties of a family life and work life and were able to live in a cave or in the forest with all the time to devote yourself to the lofty goal of Self Realization. In that case, do you really believe that you would have no distractions or worries? As long as you have identity with the body and mind, you will have worries and distractions since you will have to meet the needs of the body and the mind (also called desires).
True Renunciation is not just giving up your worldly duties (dharma). On the other hand, True Renunciation is giving up your identity with the body-mind entity, the ego. True Renunciation is giving up the notion of being a person, a so-and-so with a name and title. True Renunciation is giving up the idea or concept of being an individual. True Renunciation is giving up the idea of being the first person, the "I". True Renunciation is merging with the Self as One, with no separation whatsoever.
True Renunciation is possible for absolutely any one who has a sincere desire to be free, irrespective of one's station in this world. To do so, one need not give up one's work or family or any other duty in this world. Instead, one has only to turn one's attention to the Self. You realize that you are already a True Renunciate, since there is nothing apart from the Self. All else is just an illusion.
