Understanding Vairagya (dispassion/non-attachment)

The word Vairagya is derived from the word ‘raga’ (likes, attraction, attachment), the attraction which arises due to pleasure derived from any object. Vairagya is the opposite of ‘raga’ and means the absence of attachment to the pleasure that we derive from the objects of desire. Even though the word vairagya is derived from ‘raga’, it also includes the opposite of raga called ‘dvesha’ (dislike) which arises as a result of repulsion toward an object. Raga (likes) and dvesha (dislikes) are strong negative forces which create disturbance, and pain in the mind.

 How do we get “attached”?

“Likes” (raga) and “dislikes” (dvesha) are two feelings that drive our day to day life. Doing, or thinking about what we like gives us pleasure. Anything that we do or think about with a sense of dislike is bound to cause frustration and pain. When we like an experience, it gets registered in our memory as a pleasant experience. As such, we like to repeat it. When we repeat it frequently it becomes a habit. We get attached to that experience and want more of it. The reverse is true for an experience that we dislike. We develop an aversion to it. If a situation demands that we repeat the experience that we dislike, we find the experience painful.

It is this attachment to what we like and aversion to what we dislike that eventually leads to suffering. We know from our experience that it is not always possible to fulfill our desires. Non-fulfillment of desires leads to negative emotions like anger, hatred etc.

Most of what we like and dislike is driven by what we perceive through the five senses. Each of the five sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, skin and the tongue – have their own objects that they desire. As a result, we get attached to the objects of the senses that provide pleasant sensations of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste.

What are we most attached to? My guess – our possessions – wealth, members of family, loved ones, friends, possessions like our clothes, electronic items, watch, household goods, bank accounts, stock market funds … and the list goes on. This sense of attachment based on possessiveness starts from a very young age. Kids are deeply attached to their toys. In early youth, especially these days, kids are attached to their electronic gadgets. Of course, as kids grow older, they start getting attached to other items that they possess, as mentioned above.

Why do we feel attached to our possessions? Because we attach a sense of identity to these items. We believe that our Self is defined by these items. If I don’t have these items, I have a lower self-esteem. 

Attachment to thoughts

It is not just material items that we are attached to. We are attached to our thoughts, our ideas, our principles, our way of thinking etc. As an example, let’s say we are working on an issue related to the project we are assigned at our job. It is very important to finish this work by a certain deadline. Suddenly, a thought comes to mind, “I haven’t played tennis in a long time; let me call my friend so I can set up a game for the evening”. Now this thought takes over our mind and I start not just planning the game, but actually playing the game in my mind, trying to play well enough to defeat my friend. Guess what? We have pushed the project work into the background with the result that we may not be able to finish it within the deadline.

Look at it this way – who created that thought of tennis? Did I? No, it just popped up on its own. How? Based on some past experience that was stored in my memory. The Sanskrit word for these past impressions stored in our subconscious levels is ‘samskaras’. Maybe I looked out the window and saw lovely sunshine which was enough to trigger the thought of tennis. But the key point to note here is that I was NOT the creator of that thought. If I can recognize this fact, then there is a better chance that I will not get “attached” to the thought and will be able to get back to my project work. If you recognize the thought as something important needing your attention, you may just want to jot it down on a piece of paper so it gets out of your way and you can get back to finishing your current task. You can always get back to the other item that you jotted down as soon you are done with the current work.

Attachment to family, loved ones

When I talk of non-attachment in my yoga classes, the first question I hear is, “how can I not be attached to my family, my kids? If I am not attached, how can I love them?” This is where we need to dig deeper into the whole idea of detachment. When we are attached, it is our ego that begins to play a role in all our thoughts and actions. Because I am attached, I want my child to get good grades in school. I am now identifying my own happiness with how well the child performs in school. If he does well, I feel happy; if not, I am upset and maybe share my displeasure with the child by scolding him or punishing him in some way. Many times this results in alienating the child from us. On the other hand, if we are able to function at the level of pure intellect, without being influenced by the ego, we will be able to provide much better guidance to the child.

We often hear parents saying to their kids, “Oh! you make me so proud of you!”. Why do we say that? Because it fulfills the needs of our ego. The child gets the message, “whatever I do should please my parents”. In the process we are actually taking away the child’s ability to learn what is “right” for them. Rather, the child only learns to please the parents. What the parents like is purely driven by their ego. Maybe they would like the child to fulfill their own dreams about things that they themselves were unable to achieve in life. When we are not attached, we gain the freedom to think more clearly and offer guidance that will help the child develop their self-confidence and self-esteem rather than simply satisfying our ego. 

Vairagya (non-attachment, dispassion) 

Vairagya could either mean non-attachment or detachment. It is detachment when we are already attached to something, and we want to get rid of that attachment. On the other hand, it is non-attachment when we want to avoid getting attached to any new sense objects. For example, I may be attached (addicted!) to checking my phone for any email or whatsapp messages every few minutes. Realizing that this habit wastes a lot of my time, I may decide to do something about this habit. Trying to get rid of this ‘attachment’ would be termed ‘detachment’.

Does vairagya mean we don’t enjoy anything in life? No, it doesn’t mean that at all. We want to enjoy all aspects of life but we don’t want to get attached. We enjoy our cup of coffee or a piece of cake; however, we don’t want to get attached to them. When I am attached to my cup of coffee which I must have a 7 AM, then if I don’t get that coffee, I might develop a headache or some other syndrome. We should avoid this kind of attachment. As mentioned above, vairagya means not getting attached to the expected outcome of our efforts.

Discussion of vairagya in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (YSP)

As we recall, the definition and the purpose of yoga given in the YSP is to subdue the fluctuations that are constantly going on in the mind – “yogash-chitta-vritti-nirodhaH” (sutra 1.2). These fluctuations are given in five categories – right knowledge (pramana), wrong knowledge (viparyaya), imaginary knowledge or fancy (vikalpa), sleep (nidra) and memory (smriti). To subdue these fluctuations, in sutra 1.12, Patanjali recommends that we do these two things – abhyasa (practice) and vairagya (non-attachment). Abhyasa is defined as practice done for a long period of time (dirgha-kala), without interruption (nairantarya) and with a sense of devotion and faith (satkara-asevitaH) (sutra 1.14). Since calming the mind is a difficult task, long period of time could mean multiple lifetimes. Of course, in every new birth, one doesn’t start with a new, clean slate. You start at the level of spiritual evolution that you attained in previous life. The subtle body including the samskaras, memories etc. gets stored in the “karma bag” which transmigrates to the next life. The practice must also be done without interruption, on a regular schedule. If you miss your practice, you have the possibility of dropping the level of spiritual advancement that you have attained so far.

Two levels of vairagya

Patanjali discusses two levels of vairagya in the sutras. One is usually referred to in the literature as “apara vairagya” (lower form of dispassion) and the other “para vairagya” (highest form of dispassion).

The lower form of vairagya is discussed in the sutra 1.15:

दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम्॥१५॥

dr̥ṣṭa-anuśravika-viṣaya-vitr̥ṣṇasya vaśīkāra-saṁjṇā vairāgyam ॥15॥

The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment. 

The word “drishta” (seen) in the sutra is supposed to include the attraction that we feel through all the five senses – sight, touch, smell, taste, hearing. When we have a pleasurable experience through our senses, we develop a strong attachment for that object. This develops a strong desire in us to experience the same pleasure over and over again. It is when that pleasure is unavailable or denied to us for whatever reason, we become extremely unhappy or “stressed out”. That is what causes suffering and pain in us. 

In the sutra, ‘vishaya’ are the material objects which produce the attraction and consequent attachment. Desires can be classified in two ways. The first kind are the result of direct perception through the five senses. These are referred to as ‘drishta’ (seen) in the sutra. The second kind are those that followers of the orthodox religion expect to gain in the life after death. These include the desire of going to ‘heaven’ after death. According to our scriptures, even heaven is only a temporary abode and one must come back to human birth after spending a pre-determined time in heaven. To achieve final liberation, one must go beyond any such desires.

Vairagya does not mean giving up desires because you are sick or old or have other preoccupations. An old man may lose his sex drive for the time-being. This is not vairagya. Vairagya implies conscious elimination of desires which lead to attachment. True vairagya cannot be attained by cutting yourself off from the material world and living in a forest. Real vairagya happens as a result of spiritual evolution which leads to the onset of ‘viveka’ or discrimination. The consciousness of one who has this kind of mastery over the senses has been termed as ‘vaśīkāra-saṁjṇā ’. 

Vairagya during yoga practice

Even while doing your own asana and pranayama practices, you need to keep the concept of vairagya in your mind. For example, let us say that you are not able to touch your toes in the standing forward bending pose (Uttanasana). One of the objectives of your yoga practice may be to touch the toes one day. You may have set a goal of achieving that objective in a month’s time. If you are attached to this outcome, you may be severely disappointed and disheartened if you are unable to touch the toes after a month’s practice. You may even try to go beyond the limits of your flexibility in an effort to touch the toes which may result in serious injury. On the other hand, if you are not attached to this outcome, you will continue to practice without any negative feelings or any judgment. That way you stand a much better chance of achieving your goal soon. 

Highest form of vairagya

The highest form of vairagya is discussed in sutra 2.16:

तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम्॥१६॥

tatparaṁ puruṣa-khyāteḥ guṇa-vaitr̥ṣṇyam ॥16॥

“The highest Vairagya is one in which, on account of the awareness of the Purusha, there is cessation of even the desire for the three Gunas.” (2.16) 

In this sutra, Patanjali talks about the higher form of vairagya which relates to the knowledge or awareness of Purusha. If you recall, Purusha is the consciousness principle or the Self. Purusha and Prakriti are the two realities mentioned in the Samkhya philosophy. Prakriti is the material counterpart of Purusha. The purpose of the practice of yoga is to understand that our true identity is nothing but the Purusha, not this mind-body complex which is a part of Prakriti. When we attain that objective, it is called self-realization. As the sutra states, this awareness of the Purusha is associated with total desirelessness of the three gunas of Prakriti.

Play of the three Gunas

Prakriti is a composite of the three gunas – sattva (purity), rajas (action) and tamas (dullness). Tamas also includes negative tendencies like anger, greed etc., or the desire to hurt someone etc. In most cases, it is a combination of two or sometimes even all three gunas that propels our actions. For example, desire to hurt someone may be a combination of rajas and tamas – tamas for bringing about the desire to hurt and rajas to put that desire into action of hurting the other person. 

Gunas are the reason why we act in a certain way at a given time. All our thoughts, behavior patterns, plans etc. are based on the guna that is dominating at the time. Our interest, of course, is in diminishing the influence of rajas and tamas so that the sattva guna becomes more dominant. It must be kept in mind that we need all the three gunas all the time. If you don’t have tamas, you will never be able to sleep when you are tired at night. If you don’t have rajas, you will never get to work on time or not get there at all! The point is that it is the dominance of rajas and tamas over sattva that causes problems for us. Our interest thus is to shift the dominance of the gunas from rajas and tamas toward sattva. But eventually even attachment to sattva needs to be eliminated. We really want to go beyond the three gunas by transcending any attachment to them. That is possible only when you have been able to merge back to the original Prakriti, called unmanifest Prakriti. The word “vaitrishnyam” in the sutra means having absolutely no desire for any of the three gunas. When we are able to transcend the three gunas, we would have attained “self-realization” or liberation. That represents the highest form of non-attachment known as “para-vairagya”. The term “viveka khyati” used here means pure discriminatory wisdom that will allow us to attain the state of highest non-attachment.

Vairagya in the Bhagavad Gita

The concept of non-attachment has been dealt with in great depth in the Bhagavad Gita as well. In one of the most often quoted shlokas (2.47), Lord Krishna says that we should do our duty without any attachment to the expected outcome of our actions:

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन | मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||

karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana | mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi

“Your choice is in action only, never in the result thereof. Do not be the author of the results of action. Let your attachment not be to inaction.”(2.47)

Often our actions are motivated by some expected outcome. For example, we may work hard expecting a raise or a promotion. Non-attachment does not mean that we should not have set goals in life, or that our work is not motivated by goals. Non-attachment simply means that we are not attached to the expected outcome of our actions. We have full control only over the actions that we do. We do not have full control over what the outcome of our actions will be. However, if we don’t get the result that we expected, we feel miserable, dejected and disheartened. This is where the value of non-attachment comes in. When we understand the value of non-attachment, we accept the results of our actions without emotional upheaval. When the results are unfavorable, we can calmly analyze the whole situation and hopefully do a better job next time so that the projected goals can be achieved. This attitude will help us stay calm and peaceful in even the most difficult situations in life.

Practicing vairagya

As noted earlier, our attachment to objects of attraction is triggered by what is stored in our memory as past impressions called samskaras and vasanas. We get caught up in these past impressions by delving in the past. If we can learn how to stay in and with the present moment, we can diminish the influence of our past samskaras. In the present moment, our mind remains peaceful and joyful. That is when we can focus better on the current task at hand.

Patanjali, in the yoga sutras, provides the eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) as the means to cleanse and purify the mind and get rid of the negative influence that the samskaras have on our thoughts and behaviors. Patanjali states that when we are able to purify the mind then we can start working from our pure intuitive wisdom, not from our attachment to the past. This practice can bring us closer to the higher states of vairagya.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the concept and practice of vairagya.