Sutra 1.12
अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः॥१२॥
abhyāsa-vairāgyābhyāṁ tan-nirodhaḥ ॥12॥
abhyāsa=practice; vairāgyābhyāṁ=through non-attachment; tat=their (of the vrittis); nirodhaḥ=cessation, restraint
"Their suppression (is brought about) by persistent practice and non-attachment"
Taimni
"abhyasa" and "vairagya" will be discussed in the subsequent sutras.
Aranya
"By practice and detachment, these (vrittis) can be stopped."
Mind can either flow towards good or towards evil. The mind that flows down the path of ‘viveka’ (discrimination) which leads to ‘kaivalya’, is the path to good. That which flows down the path of non-discrimination, leading to cycles of birth and rebirth, is the path to evil. Among these, the flow towards sense-objects is reduced by renunciation and the habit of discrimination can be cultivated only by constant practice. Thus, in order to control the vrittis of the mind, both practice and discrimination are needed.
Discussion
A question was raised – can absorption in an activity, like loving a child or solving an equation, be done without attachment? The general feeling was that detachment or renunciation implies not being bound by the results of any action. Kailasam brought about the point that detachment implies being completely absorbed in the present moment with no expectation of any desired result. He gave the example of Michael Jordan, the basketball player, who could be so totally absorbed (being ‘in the zone’) in the game at any given time that nothing else – the result of the game, name and fame etc – would matter to him. Getting into that level of focus and awareness required a long and arduous period of ‘abhyasa’ (practice).
Sutra 1.13
तत्र स्थितौ यत्नोऽभ्यासः॥१३॥
tatra sthitau yatno-‘bhyāsaḥ ॥13॥
tatra=of these (abhyasa and vairagya); sthitau=in steadiness; yatnaḥ=effort; abhyāsaḥ=practice
"Abhyasa is the effort for being firmly established in that state (of Citta Vritti Nirodha)"
Taimni
Abhyasa is the effort required to attain the state of ‘chitta vritti nirodha". Different systems of yoga may provide different means of attaining that state. Patanjali has provided us with the eight limbs of yoga as the prescribed means. Each advanced teacher may also introduce variations to the main teachings based on his or her personal experience and background.
Aranya
"Exertion to acquite ‘sthiti’ or a tranquil state of mind devoid of fluctuations is called practice"
The effort, energy and the enthusiasm needed to achieve a calm state of mind is called practice.Constant practice is needed to maintain whatever state of calmness one has achieved and strive to go deeper with further practice. As per Mandukya Upanishada, "…. when the wise man exerts himself with energy, knowledge and renunciation, his soul reaches the abode of Brahman".
Sutra 1.14
स तु दीर्घकालनैरन्तर्यसत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमिः॥१४॥
sa tu dīrghakāla nairantarya satkāra-āsevito dr̥ḍhabhūmiḥ ॥14॥
saḥ=that (practice); tu=indeed; dīrgha=prolonged; kāla=time duration; nairantarya=without interruption; satkāra=reverence; āsevitaḥ=cultivated, practiced; dr̥ḍha=firm; bhūmiḥ=ground
"It (abhyasa) becomes firmly grounded on being continued for a long time, without interruption and with reverent devotion."
Taimni
Three conditions must be fulfilled in order for the practice to be firmly established:
- must continue for a long time
- there should be no interruptions
- must be pursued with devotion and in a spirit of reverence
Most people who undertake the path of yoga do not have a strong enough will to carry on until the final objective is achieved. They either give up in the middle or continue half-heartedly. This happens mainly due to spiritual immaturity of the participant and constant attraction to material pursuits.
How long it will take for the final goal to be achieved depends largely upon past samskaras as well as adherence to the three conditions mentioned in this sutra. It may, in fact, be several lives before the goal is reached. Even though at times the goal may seem illusive, we must never slacken the efforts.
It is important to maintain the practice without interruptions. Any interruption can actually take us a few steps back and we may lose the ground that we have gained. Major transformational changes are required at different levels of consciousness before we can get to the final state. It is, therefor, critical that we continue the practice uninterruptedly.
Given the arduous nature of the task at hand, the sadhaka needs to pursue it with whole-hearted devotion and sincerity. Circumstances and samskaras from past lives may act as roadblocks in adopting a one-pointed approach. That is why it is important to follow the path with devotion and a sense of reverence.
Aranya
"That practice when continued for a long time without break and with devotion becomes firm in foundation"
The word ‘constantly’ implies daily and, if possible, every moment. Quote from Chhandogya Upanishad, "that whic is done with proper knowledge, with devotion and in conformity with the scriptures, becomes more forceful".
Discussion
This, in my opinion, is a very important sutra as it highlights the problems that we face in carrying out simple day-to-day activities in our lives. Two of the most common interruptions in my daily life are emails and phone calls. I am in the habit of keeping my MS Outlook open all the time. Whenever a new email comes in (and there are plenty of those, mostly of the junk variety), the computer beeps and distracts the attention from whatever I am trying to concentrate on. In the last few weeks I have tried to keep the email program shut and open it only a few times a day to check email. Even this I am finding hard to maintain as a habit. It will be nice to know what kind of interruptions others face in pursuit of their daily activities and how they overcome them.
Sutra 1.15
दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसंज्ञा वैराग्यम्॥१५॥
dr̥ṣṭa-anuśravika-viṣaya-vitr̥ṣṇasya vaśīkāra-saṁjṇā vairāgyam ॥15॥
dr̥ṣṭa=seen, perceived thru five senses; anuśravika=heard, thru vaidic/scriptural knowledge; viṣaya=sense objects; vitr̥ṣṇasya=of one who is free from sensual cravings; vaśīkāra=total control over; saṁjṇā=consciousness; vairāgyam=dispassion, non-attachment
"The consciousness of perfect mastery (of desires) in the case of one who has ceased to crave for objects, seen or unseen, is Vairagya."
Taimni
The word Vairagya is derived from the word Raga which has been defined as the attraction which arises due to pleasure derived from any object. Vairagya therefore means the absence of any attraction towards objects which give pleasure. Vairagya also includes the term ‘dvesha’ which arises as a result of repulsion from any object. Raga and dvesha are strong disturbing forces which create vrittis in the mind-field. It is important for the sadhaka to understand the significance of non-attachment as it is almost impossible to achieve chitta-vritti-nirodha unless one can eliminate raga and dvesha. Even to acheive a state of vairagya, constant practice (abhyasa) is needed.
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-dertermined 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 ‘vashikara samjna’.
Aranya
"When the mind loses all desire for objects seen or described in the scriptures it acquires a state of utter desirelessness which is called detachment"
Objects seen may include women, food, drinks, power etc and those described in scriptures may include ‘going to heaven’. Only when the mind, as a result of acquiring discriminative knowledge, is not influenced by the above objects and is indifferent to good and evil, it is said to have reached ‘vairagya’.Through discriminative knowledge one begins to realize that worldly things breed the three-fold misery (physical, mental and supernatural -‘adhibhautika, adhyatmika, and adhidaivika’) and that enjoyment of worldy objects is being scorched by fire.
The final state of ‘vairagya’ is reached in three stages – (1) yatamana – making a constant effort not to indulge in sense enjoyments, (2) vyatireka – partial success in the above, and (3) ekendriya – when by practice the sense-organs are completely free from objects and only a mental tendency to attachment remains. Complete vairagya happens when even that mental tendency disappears.
Discussion
Pashupati raised a question, "is depression same as vairagya since you have no desire at that time?". The general feeling was that the answer was ‘no’ since depression is a mental disease and is, in fact, caused by unfulfilled desires. Another question, "should we not fight evil?". The answer that came up was that we need to fight evil but even that has to be done with a sense of detachment, that is, without the ego getting involved. Subhsh cited the example of Bhagavad Gita where the whole war was fought to fight evil so that righteousness can be upheld.
Lea asked the question as to how to determine what is evil and what is not. This can be determined under the guidance of a ‘guru’ or study of the scriptures. ‘Satsangha’ or the company of good people can also help us understand what evil is so we can act appropriately. Pashupati wanted to clarify the difference between ‘vairagya’ and ‘tyaga’. Vairagya is derived from the root ‘raga’ which means color. So in vairagya our mind is not ‘colored’ by any of the wordly objects even though we are living in this world, whereas ‘tyaga’ implies compleley giving up all worldly objects.
I got my answer Perfectly…