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Vairagya and Tyaga

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Home > Paths o f Yoga > Raja Yoga > Practice of Raja Yoga > How to f ind Peace of Mind> Vairagya and Tyaga(Dispassion & Renunciation)

By Swami SivanandaWhat Is Vairagya?

If the mind is constantly thinking of tea and if it gets pain when you do not get it, it is said thatyou have got 'Aasakti' (attachment) f or tea. This 'Aasakti' leads to bondage. The practice of'Vairagya' (dispass ion) demands you t o renounce this 'Aasakti' f or tea. Mere giving up of takingtea does not constitute the essence of 'Vairagya'.

Study Vairagya-Prakarana in Yoga Vasishtha. You will have a comprehensive understanding o fthe real Svarupa of Vairagya. A clean description of the actual dispassionate mental st ate o f SriRama is given. Palatable dishes, ref reshing beverages, af f ectionate f ather and mother, brother,dear f riends, diamonds, pearls, f lowers, sandal, ornaments, so f t beds, gardens had noatt raction f or him. On the contrary, their very sight gave him intense pain.

In Vairagya, Brahmacharya is Antargata (hidden). Vairagya includes celibacy in thought , word and

deed.

Two Kinds Of Vairagya

Vairagya (dispassion, indif f erence, non-attachment) is o f two kinds, viz., (i) Karana Vairagya(Vairagya on account of so me miseries) and (ii) Viveka-Purvaka Vairagya (Vairagya on account ofdiscrimination between real and unreal). The mind of a man who has got the f ormer type ofVairagya is simply waiting f or a chance to get back the things t hat were given up. As so on as thef irst opportunity of f ers itself, the man gets the downfall and goes back to his f ormer state.Vishaya does havoc in him with a vengeance and redoubled f orce f rom reaction. But the o therman who has given up the objects on account o f Viveka, on account of illusory nature ofobjects, will have spiritual advancement. He will not have a downf all.

How Vairagya Dawns

Note how Vairagya arises in the mind. The transitory and perishable nature of all things createsa sort of disgust in all minds and, in proportion to the depth and subtlety of nature, this reactionf rom the world works more or less powerfully in the mind of every individual. An irresist ible

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f eeling arises in our mind, viz., that the f inite can never sat isf y the Inf inite within us, that thechanging and perishable cannot sat isf y the changeless and deathless nature of ours .

When you are not impressed with the idea of rich living, rich style of living cannot att ract you.When you are impressed with the idea that meat and wine are not at all pleasurable, they cannottempt you. In that case, if you do not get meat and wine or rich living, you will not be agonised atall in your mind. Why are you att racted towards a young, beautif ul lady? Because, owing to yourignorance, you vainly think you will get pleasure through her. If you have got Viveka, it will at o ncetell you that you will get immense pain through her. Then the mind will recede or withdraw f rom

the o bject, woman.

Sadhana Without Vairagya Goes To Waste

When Vairagya appears in the mind, it opens the gate to Divine Wisdom. From dissatis f action(with the sense- objects and worldly sense-enjoyments) comes aspiration. From aspirationcomes abstraction. From abstract ion comes the concentrat ion of the mind. From theconcentration o f the mind comes meditation or contemplation. From contemplation comesSamadhi or Self -realisation. Without dissatisf action or Vairagya, nothing is possible.

Just as cultivation in a stony land or saltish earth becomes absolutely f ruitless, so also Yogicpractices and Atma-Vichara (enquiry of the Soul) done without Vairagya (dispassion andindif f erence to the sensual enjoyments) becomes f ruitless. Just as water, when it leaks into the

rat-holes, instead o f running into t he proper channels in agricultural f ields, becomes wasted anddoes not help the growth of plants, grains, etc., so also , the eff orts of an aspirant become awastage if he has not got the virtue Vairagya. He gets no spiritual advancement.

Intense Vairagya Necessary For Moksha

There must be intense (Tivra) Vairagya in the minds o f the aspirants, throughout t he period o ftheir Sadhana. Mere mental adhesion will not do f or success in Yoga. There must be intenselonging for liberation, a high degree of Vairagya plus capacity f or Sadhana (spiritual practice).Then only they will get Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Moksha. It was o nly Raja Janaka and Prahladawho had Tivra Vairagya (intense dispassion). This kind of Vairagya is necessary f or quickrealisat ion. It is very dif f icult to cross the ocean of Samsara with a dull type of Vairagya. The

crocodile of sense-hankering (Trishna) for sense-enjoyments and sense-objects will catch theaspirants by the throat and, violently snatching away, will drown them half -way.

Enemies Of Vairagya

The Curse of Af f ection

Delusion proceeds f rom af f ection. It is a common observation that a person is distressed if thecat eats his domest ic fo wl; but when his af f ections are not touched, f or instance, if the cat eatsa sparrow or a mouse, he expresses no so rrow. You must , therefore, roo t out af f ection, whichis the cause of vain att achment. The body generates numerous germs which people are anxiousto remove; but to one variety they give the name "children," for which their lives are wasted away.Such is the delusion of the world.

At the back o f af f ection and love, there is grief and sorro w. Af f ection is mixed with sorro w. At theback of pleasure, there is pain. Pain is mixed with pleasure. Man sows the poisonous seed ofso rrow under the name of love, from which quickly spring up shoo ts of af f ection which contain af ire dangerous as lightning; and f rom these shoo ts , grow trees of so rrow with innumerablebranches which, burning like a heap of covered straw, slowly consume the body.

The knot of af f ection is st rengthened by long indulgence. Af f ection has entwined its threadsaround the hearts of men. The principal means t o get rid of af f ection is to consider that this is af leeting existence. In this wide world, how many millions o f parents , wives, children, uncles andgrandf athers have passed away. You should consider the so ciety o f f riends as a momentaryf lash of lightning and, revolving this o f ten in your mind, enjoy f elicity.

Hope and Anticipation

Hope and anticipation are the opposite of Vairagya and Tyaga. They fatten the mind. To beperfectly hopeless is a very high state f or a philosopher. It is a very bad state f or worldlings.They always say with contempt: "He is a hopeless man." Worldlings and philosophers move

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towards diametrically opposite poles.

How To Develop Vairagya

Those who do no t develop the painless Vairagya inherent in one's self and that with greatf elicity and happiness are, at best , but vermins in human shapes. When a bee f inds that its f eetare stuck in the honey, it s lowly licks its f eet several times and then f lies away with joy. Even so,extricate yourself f rom the mind's st icking and clinging to this body and children-honey owing toRaga and Moha through Vairagya and meditat ion and f ly away f rom this cage of f lesh and boneto the Source, Brahman or Absolute.

It is very dif f icult to wean some children. They suck the breast even when they are three or f ouryears o ld. The mother applies so me nim-paste to the nipples. The child is weaned quickly. Evenso , you will have to get a medicine of nim-paste f or t he mind to get it weaned from sensualobjects. Sit in a solitary room. Think of the miseries of this earthly lif e, its cares, worries,anxieties, hunger, thirst , sins, temptations, passion, f ighting, f ears, vanity, disease, death, oldage, so rrow, grief , tribulation, loss, f ailures, disappointments, hostility, scorpion st ings,mosquito bites, etc. This will serve as an ef f icient nim-paste to wean the mind f rom Samsara.You must think in the above- manner daily.

Remember constant ly the pains of various kinds pertaining to this mundane existence. Moha willvanish if you repeat t he following line of Chapter XIII of Gita several times daily: "Janma-mrityu-

jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosha-anudarsanam-Insight into the pain and evil o f birth, o ld age andsickness ." Always make the mind understand clearly that there is only pain in this world. Ref lectof ten on the instability of this world. This is t he f irst Sadhana f or aspirants. They can thusdevelop Vairagya. The mind will be weaned f rom objects . Attraction f or sense-objects willgradually vanish.

Renunciation Brings About Moksha

Shun the earthly objects as f ire or poison or of f al. Renounce all desires and cravings. This itselfis Moksha (f reedom). Renunciation o f desires brings about the annihilation of the mind.

Annihilation of the mind brings on the destruct ion of Maya, because the mind alone is Maya.Maya is enthroned in the imagination o f the mind. How cunning she is ! A Viveki knows her t ricks

well. She is awf ully af raid of the man of renunciation and Atmavichara. She bows to him withf olded hands.

What Is True Renunciation?

The mind is t he all-in-all and its mastery leads to the renunciation o f all. Chitt a-Tyaga aloneconst itutes the renunciation o f all. True renunciation lies in the abnegation o f the mind. Itconsist s in renouncing all desires and egoism and not world-existence. Through such a mentalabnegation, you will be able to f ree yourself f rom all pain. Then will come immortality in lif e orenjoyment of the inf inite delight o f existence f ree f rom ego, f ounded on oneness o f all inBrahman.

Sannyasa-a Mental State

Sannyasa is a mental state only. It is Gerua or colouring of the heart and not of cloth alone. Heis a veritable Sannyasin who is f ree f rom passions and egoism and who possesses all theSattvic qualities, even though he lives with the f amily in the world. Chudala was a queen-Yogini-Sannyasini, though she was ruling a kingdom. That Sannyasin who lives in the f orest , but who isf ull of passions is worse t han a householder and a worldly-minded foo l. Sikhidhvaja was aworldly man, though he lived in the f orest naked f or very many years.

True renunciation is the renunciation of all pass ions, desires, egoism and Vasana. If you have astainless mind, a mind f ree f rom attachment, egoism and passion, you are a Sannyasin-nomatter whether you live in a f orest o r in the bustle of a city, whether you wear white cloth or anorange-co loured robe, whether you shave the head or keep a long tuf t o f hair.

Shave the mind. Someone asked Guru Nanak, "O saint, why have you not shaved your head?You are a Sannyasin." Guru Nanak replied, "My dear f riend, I have shaved my mind." In f act, themind should be cleanly shaved. Shaving the mind consists in getting rid of all sorts ofattachments, pass ions, egoism, Moha (inf atuation), lust , greed, anger, etc. This is the realshaving. External shaving of the head has no meaning so long as there is internal craving,

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Trishna.

Many have not understoo d what t rue renunciation is. Renunciation o f physical objects is norenunciation at all. The real Tyaga (renunciation) consists in the renunciation o f egoism(Ahankara). If you can renounce this Ahankara, you have renounced everything else in the world.If the subtle Ahankara is given up, Dehadhyasa (identif ication with t he body) automatically goesaway.

Vedanta does no t want you to renounce the world. It wants you to change your mental att itudeand give up this f alse, illusory 'I'-ness (Ahamta) and mineness (Mamata). The snake-charmerremoves only the two po isonous f angs of the cobra. The snake remains the same. It hisses,raises its hood and shows the teeth. In f act, it does everything as before. The snake-charmerhas changed his mental attitude towards t he snake. He has a f eeling now that it has go t nopoisonous f angs. Even so, you must remove the two poisonous f angs of the mind, viz., Ahamtaand Mamata o nly. Then you can allow the mind to go wherever it likes. Then you will have alwaysSamadhi o nly.

You must renounce the Tyagabhimana also. The Tyagabhimana is very deep-root ed. You mustrenounce the idea, "I have renounced everything." "I am a great Tyagi"- this Abhimana of theSadhus is a greater evil than the Abhimana of householders, "I am a landlord; I am a Brahmin,etc."

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