What is vairagya or non-attachment?
In Sanskrit vairagya, means to be free from attachment, without rejecting anything. It represents a state of mind that is continuously observing the nature of events and is unaffected. Non-attachment can easily be developed, provided we can expand our awareness to see the reality behind things.
The word ‘vairagya’ is composed of two words: raga meaning attraction and vi meaning not to be affected. ‘Vi’ is a prefix which in combination with raga means ‘not being affected by attraction’. Once one is attracted to something, the possessive qualities of one’s nature and ego manifest. Sometimes that attraction can be positive, sometimes negative.
Positive attraction is known as non-attachment, acceptance of situations without reacting negatively to them. It is expressed in the prayer of St Francis of Assisi: “Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is discord let me sow love.” This is not a philosophical statement, but a very practical one.
One tends to run away from discord without having the strength to plant the seeds of love. However, if vairagya is practised, there is no reaction but acceptance of a condition as being real. Discord and anger are real, so what is the use of reacting against them? Therefore, non-attachment is a state of mind which is full of viveka, discrimination, having the ability to discriminate and act accordingly. That is the yogic concept of non-attachment.
What is the state of sthitaprajna?
In one’s own mind, if the association between the senses and oneself is observed, if the association between the thoughts, emotions, feelings, desires and oneself is observed, if the association between the samskaras, karmas and oneself is observed, one suddenly realizes that one has been carrying a lot of unnecessary luggage and it has not allowed one to be stable. Therefore, most of the saints and the techniques or principles of spiritual life have emphasized the need to reduce attachment. The Bhagavad Gita describes sthitaprajna or stable wisdom (2:56):
Duhkheshvanudrignamanaah sukheshu vigatasprihah;
Veetaraagabhayakrodhah sthitadheermuniruchyate.
He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after pleasures,
and is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.
The intellect or buddhi, when connected with action and reaction, senses, worldly objects and the desire for pleasure, creates a state or a nature which is known as vyabhicharini, flirtatious, having a flirtatious buddhi. Like a honey bee which goes to twenty flowers to collect pollen, the human nature goes to twenty objects seeking pleasure. Just as the honey bee, after collecting pollen brings it back to its hive and stores it, similarly buddhi which has run around the world seeking pleasure, stores all that accumulated information internally. All that is stored is an experience of the search for pleasure, nothing more than that. It is classified into categories: successful and not successful, attainable and not attainable. Knowing about this is easy and simple, but disassociating is the most difficult part. Yoga says if one wants to go to the highest level of yoga, one has to disassociate.
Is the idea of open heart and open mind opposite to vairagya and viveka or are they the same?
By developing viveka, discernment, and vairagya, non-attachment, one develops an open heart and open mind. Having an open mind is viveka and having an open heart is vairagya. To have an open heart, the first thing to do is to free oneself from self-generated passions, and then one will experience non-attachment. With the experience of non-attachment, new feelings will be generated which will be more universal and transcendental in nature. Non-attachment or vairagya is necessary in order to have an open and all-expansive heart.
Viveka is not rationality; it is not even having a good store of knowledge. It is the process by which knowledge can be differentiated from non-knowledge; ‘right’ can be differentiated from ‘wrong’. This aspect is also developed when there is acceptance of life and no struggle against it.
What is attachment and detachment?
Attachment is an attraction or a like which one expresses in many different ways to people, situations, possessions, and definitely in one’s own projections and communications. Nobody knows how to live without attachment. The yogic concept of attachment has been defined in the Yoga Sutras as a condition that can either create some form of attraction whether sensory, sensual, emotional, intellectual, subjective or objective, or some form of repulsion; raga and dwesha, like and dislike. This is the concept of attachment in a nutshell. It is the human tendency to identify with, to link up and relate to something very intimately from a personal point of view. Detachment is a strong word. The understanding of detachment is to repulse something to which one is attached or attracted. This is where the negative qualities of the human mind come to the surface and make a person insensitive and self-centred. Reactions that happen due to the influence of such negative individual traits can often lead to discord and disharmony.
Yoga says no to detachment. One should not avoid situations in life or even in oneself, but learn to accept the existence of the things that are there. Once one has accepted them and knows their nature, it is possible to become non-attached.
What is the nature of the mind?
Attachment and detachment are the two realities of life. As long as there is an individual mind and personality one cannot escape from them, for they are manifestations of the mind which can only be transcended when one transcends the mind. The nature of fire is to burn; that of water is to flow constantly; wind cannot be still. They have their movement and are controlled by their inherent nature. In the same way, the mind is influenced by its own nature.
Yoga considers these two aspects of attachment and detachment to be forces controlling the mind on the gross level. Whether or not one considers thoughts, emotions or intellect to be mind, it is their nature to feel attraction and repulsion. In yoga, the concept of individuality itself is the result of attraction, where the transcendental, unmanifest form of energy is attracted towards gross, material manifestation. This attraction is experienced in life by emotions and thoughts. There is attraction due to the concept of individuality and the creation of an emotional link. Wherever there is sensory and sensual experience there is bound to be attraction, which manifests in a material way.
How can one transcend attachment?
Vairagya enables one to observe the qualities and tendencies of the mind, and to act according to proper judgement, knowing the limitations and pitfalls of every experience of nature. There is a way to convert attachment into spiritual force: the external flow of awareness and energy are made to go inwards. When consciousness and energy move together in an outward direction, manifestation of the mind and mental experiences takes place. By making these two forces flow inwards one can transcend attachment and develop sharp concentration, awareness and faith.
The only tool which can convert attachment into a transcendental force is faith, and to experience the energy in a state of intense faith, concentration is required.
Through concentration, making the mind one-pointed either on an external object such as guru or an idea such as God, one can ultimately awaken the faith which will lead to surrender. This surrender will help drop the old understanding of the mind and its nature, give a new identity and experience of the mind beyond the senses, reverse the flow of energy and consciousness, and fuse normal external attachment with a transcendental idea.
Concentration becomes a tool to attain faith. The intensity of faith is experienced in the state of surrender. Surrender pulls the mind away from gross experiences and links it to the divine experience. In this way, attachment can be a form of spiritual evolution. That same attachment that one feels externally can be felt internally for God and guru, and can give the experience of the highest transcendental reality.