Jnana Yoga

What is True Vairagya?

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What is True Vairagya? by Swami Sivananda UNNECESSARY torture of the body in the name of Tapas is highly depreciable. This is Asuric Tapas of ignorant persons. This is condemned by Lord Krishna in the Gita. Body is the moving temple of the Lord. It is an instrument for Self-realisation. You cannot do any Sadhana if the body is not...

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What is True Vairagya – Real Detachment, Inner Freedom, and Spiritual Maturity

What is True Vairagya?

by Swami Sivananda

UNNECESSARY torture of the body in the name of Tapas is highly depreciable. This is Asuric Tapas of ignorant persons. This is condemned by Lord Krishna in the Gita. Body is the moving temple of the Lord. It is an instrument for Self-realisation. You cannot do any Sadhana if the body is not kept strong and healthy. Attachment to Vairagya is as much an evil as attachment to sensual objects. Give up Vairagya-Abhimana. This Abhimana of Sadhus and Sannyasins is more dangerous and inveterate than the Abhimana of worldly person.Vairagya-Abhimana is a deadly canker. It is difficult to get rid of the Vairagya-Abhimana as long as there is the body-idea. The feeling, ‘I am a great Vairagi or Tyagi’ is Vairagya-Abhimana. The body of a Sannyasin who has dedicated it unto the service of humanity, is a public property. He has no claim on it because he denies the existence of body and tries to feel always; ‘I am Shiva (Sivoham).’ The public will take care of his body.Lord Buddha tortured the body, did severe austerities, gave up food and yet he was not able to attain the goal. He heard the song:Fair goes the dancing when the Sitar’s tuned,
Tune us the Sitar neither low nor high,
And we will dance away the hearts of men.
The string o’er stretched breaks and the music flies,
The string o’er slack is dumb and music dies,
Tune us the Sitar neither low nor high.
Then he ate food, adopted the middle path and succeeded in achieving Nirvana. Extreme asceticism is not at all necessary for attaining perfection. What is wanted is strong mental Vairagya born of strong discrimination. All bodies are not fit for the practice of severe austerities. The body will drop down if you tax it too much by way of rigid Tapas. Do not spoil your health and body in the name of Tapas. Have a strong, healthy body, but have no attachment for the body. Be prepared to give it up at any time for a noble cause.The care-taker of the horse feeds it with proper nutrition when it is over-worked, when it is ailing. Then only it is ready for further work. Even so, this body should be injected with proper nutrition. Then only it will turn out good work. Then only it will soon regain its lost vitality on account of over-work or ailment. Work will suffer if the body is not well attended to. When the body grows old it must be well protected against cold and well-looked after. If hard Titiksha is practised now it will give way soon. Consequently the other shore of immortality and fearlessness cannot be reached.

O Ram, neglect not this body. The society and Prakriti will extract and continue to extract as much work as possible from those selfless workers who have dedicated their lives to the service of humanity. They are yoked to service till the last breath leaves their bodies. Lord Vishnu instructs Prahlada, My dear Prahlada! Enough of your Tapas. Take care of your body. Rise from your Samadhi. Serve people now. Disseminate Bhakti far and wide. Yoga Vasishtha speaks of one as a ‘Maha Tyagi’ and ‘Maha Bhogi’, who has renounced the idea of ‘I am a Tyagi’ and ‘I am a Vairagi’, who neither accepts nor rejects things that come by themselves by identifying himself with the silent witness, the Immortal Atman, who feel always ‘I am Akarta (non-doer)’, ‘I am Abhokta (non-enjoyer)’ even while moving amidst objects. The Gita says, But the disciplined self, moving among sense-objects, with senses free from attraction and repulsion mastered by the Self goeth to Peace. Chapter II-64.

Some neophytes and raw aspirants pose themselves for ‘Maha Tyagis’ or ‘Maha Bhogis’ and quote scriptures also: ‘We eat without tongues; we see without eyes.’ The thief of the hypocrite will be found out soon. They are just like the people who catch fishes from the Ganges to satisfy their palates and quote Gita: ‘Nainam Chindanti Sastrani Nainam Dahati Pavakah; Na chainam kledayantyapo na soshayati marutah – Weapons cleave him not, nor fire burneth him, nor waters wet him, nor wind drieth him away.’ Sublime philosophy indeed of perverted people with perverted intellect! The gilted ornaments cannot shine for a long time. The crow that shines under borrowed feathers of the peacock will be found out soon. Their Trishnas and Vasanas will burst out and any lay bystander can detect the hypocrite without and difficulty.

A Maha Tyagi or Maha Bhogi will not refuse to accept some mangoes or a cup of milk when they come by themselves. But he will not crave for them. He will not say, ‘I have enjoyed to-day good mangoes or good milk.’ If an aspirant is seriously ailing, if he is not able to eat solid food-stuffs, if there is a feeling of want in him for milk, if he has no money with him to purchase milk, if any devotee causally offers of his own accord some milk, he should not refuse it. God works mysteriously. He takes care of his devotees by working through the minds of various persons.

The child sometimes eats food at night while he is sleeping. If the mother asks the child in the morning, ‘Baby, you took food last night,’ he replies, ‘I have not taken anything last night. You are playing and joking with me.’ Such is the condition of a Jivanmukta, or a Maha Tyagi or Maha Bhogi. He eats and yet he does not eat. He eats without a mouth and smells without a nose. Sometimes a man talks at nigh when he dreams. If you ask him when he comes to waking consciousness, ‘O Prem, do you know that you talked last night when you were dreaming? He replies, ‘I do not remember anything.’ Such is the state of a Jivanmukta or a Maha Tyagi and a Maha Bhogi.
Durvasa ate a sumptuous meal and yet he said, ‘I am a Nitya Upavasi. I do not eat anything. I take grass juice only’ because he identified himself with the Atman who is always the witness and the non-enjoyer. Lord Krishna is regarded as a Nitya Brahmachari though he was with Radha, Rukmini and Satyabhama. Sage Tiruvalluvar said to his wife, ‘My beloved! say unto the river that my husband, a Nitya Brahmachari, has commanded you to give path of way. She will at once yield and you can cross it without a boat.’ She repeated the words of her husband and crossed the river immediately. She was quite amazed at the words of her husband and asked him, ‘My Lord! you are living with me and yet you say that you are a Nitya Brahmachari. I am struck with wonder. I am puzzled. Kindly explain this philosophy’. Tiruvalluvar replied, ‘I am immortal Atman. I have realised this through direct cognition (Anubhava). I do not do anything. I am the silent witness. The senses, body, mind and intellect are my instruments. I am entirely distinct from them.’ Tiruvalluvar’s wife understood the nature of the soul and then she became silent.

Ordinary aspirants with delicate health should not take recourse to the practice of drastic austerities. He who has attained Kaya Siddhi can do any kind of Taps because his body is adamantine. If an aspirant with delicate health gives up food and tries to live on Neem leaves alone, the obvious result is that he will get various sorts of gastro-intestinal diseases and pass away soon. This is the fruit obtained by persons who practise Tamasic Tapas.

If you have mastery over the pair of opposites, viz., heat and cold, if you can bear intense heat and intense cold, if you can remain without clothing in the icy Gangotri, this is highly creditable indeed. But if your frame is delicate, if you attempt to stand before the sun in summer for some hours, if you throw off your clothing in the Gangotri all at once, you will die immediately of sunstroke or pneumonia. You should not attempt to take recourse to these hard practices. What little you will gain by Japa and meditation in this birth will be lost and you have lost one chance given by the Lord in this birth to reach him, by your foolish practices or Tamasic Tapas.
An aspirant gave up his clothing all at once. He developed rheumatism, malaria, enlarged spleen and died within a short time. During the period of sickness all cravings that were temporarily suppressed asserted themselves with re-doubled force. He became a slave of the tongue. He craved for many varieties of food. He could not suppress them. He ate indiscriminately and died of acute diarrhoea.

An aspirant said, I have not realised the Self though I did mediation for some years. I am going to commit suicide with the Bhava I am immortal Atman. I have got full Vairagya. No sin will cling to me, because my motive is pure. I will attain Self-realisation. He is actually committed the abominable act. Do you think that he realised his Self by this act? Do you find such a statement anywhere in the scriptures? Certainly not. This is extreme foolishness. Some aspirants who have no idea of the nature of true Vairagya, who have no lived under the guidance of their masters for some time, commit such ignoble acts. They can never get salvation by taking to wrong Tapas though their Bhava (motive) may be pure. They cannot entertain the Bhava ‘I am Atman’ just at the time of committing the act. Horrible thoughts will crowd at the critical juncture. They will have to share obviously the fate of Pretas (ghosts).

The mind should gradually be weaned off its old habits and cravings. If you cut off all at once its pleasure centres, it will get puzzled. That is the reason why young aspirants who take to too much Vairagya commit the ignoble act of committing suicide. You should train the mind in meditation gradually and make it taste the inner bliss. Gradually it will leave off its old habits and old cravings and you can get yourself established in true Vairagya.
The more the Viveka, the more the true Vairagya. The flower of Vairagya gradually grows in the garden of Antahkarana, from the understanding that the world is a mere appearance and full of miseries and that Brahman alone is the only reality full of knowledge and bliss, and through continued practice of meditation and association with the realised souls for a protracted period. Eventually all objects of the world appear before the dispassionate soul as trifling or worthless things. He will not give up his new spiritual life even if the wealth of the whole world is offered to him.

Aspirants should give up those articles of food which they like best for some time. They should discipline all the Indriyas in a perfect manner. They should always lead a simple life. They should always eat simple food. But hey should not become slaves of Vairagya Abhimana. Vairagya is a mental state. The Lord infuses this in his devotees in order to get rid of the clinging to sensual objects.

May you all become Maha Tyagis and Maha Bhogis! May you all be free from the canker of Vairagya Abhimana! May you all possess true lasting Para Vairagya! May you all attain Kaivalya or Perfection!

Health and Yoga, Pseudo-Vedantic Student

What is True Vairagya – Real Detachment, Inner Freedom, and Spiritual Maturity

What is True Vairagya is an important question for every spiritual seeker. Many people think Vairagya means leaving home, rejecting society, avoiding duties, or becoming emotionless. But true Vairagya is much deeper than outer renunciation. It is the inner freedom that comes when the mind clearly understands the temporary nature of worldly objects and stops depending on them for lasting happiness.

True Vairagya does not mean hatred for the world. It does not mean running away from life out of fear, failure, or disappointment. A person may live in a house, work in society, care for family, and perform duties, yet possess deep detachment. Another person may live in a forest but still think constantly of pleasure, praise, comfort, and ego. Therefore, Vairagya is not decided by location; it is decided by inner attitude.

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What is True Vairagya can be understood through discrimination. The seeker reflects on what is permanent and what is temporary. The body changes, wealth changes, relationships change, emotions change, success changes, and public opinion changes. Even pleasant experiences fade with time. When the mind sees this again and again, attachment naturally becomes weak. This is not sadness; it is wisdom.

True Vairagya is born from understanding, not from frustration alone. Sometimes a person becomes detached after loss, failure, illness, or heartbreak. This may be a beginning, but if it is only emotional reaction, it may not last. When comfort returns, old desires may rise again. Real detachment becomes steady only when the seeker understands deeply that no external object can give permanent peace.

Vairagya also does not mean carelessness. A detached person does not neglect duty, health, family, or work. They perform their responsibilities sincerely, but without egoistic clinging. They use things properly but do not become slaves of them. They love people, but without possessiveness. They work hard, but without anxiety for results. This balance is the beauty of true detachment.

What is True Vairagya becomes clear when we examine desire. Desire promises happiness, but it often brings restlessness. Before fulfillment, there is longing. During enjoyment, there is fear of loss. After enjoyment, there is craving for repetition. If desire is blocked, anger and sorrow appear. Seeing this cycle clearly, the seeker begins to seek peace within rather than chasing endless external satisfaction.

True Vairagya gives freedom from dependence. It does not stop a person from enjoying lawful and simple pleasures, but it removes slavery to them. If something pleasant comes, the seeker accepts it with gratitude. If it goes away, they remain steady. Their happiness is not completely controlled by objects, people, praise, or situations. This inner independence is a sign of spiritual strength.

Vairagya is closely connected with self-knowledge. Vedanta teaches that the true self is pure consciousness, peaceful, complete, and ever free. The body, mind, senses, ego, and world are changing appearances. When the seeker begins to identify less with the changing and more with the witnessing self, detachment becomes natural. True Vairagya is not forced suppression; it is the result of seeing clearly.

A common misunderstanding is that detachment makes a person cold or loveless. In reality, true Vairagya purifies love. Attachment says, “You are mine, and you must behave according to my desire.” Pure love says, “May you be happy and grow.” Attachment controls; love supports. Attachment demands; love gives. When possessiveness becomes weak, compassion becomes stronger.

What is True Vairagya also includes balance in success and failure. If success comes, the detached person does not become proud. If failure comes, they do not collapse. Praise does not intoxicate them, and criticism does not destroy them. They continue to act according to dharma, duty, and wisdom. Such steadiness is not weakness; it is mastery over the mind.

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True Vairagya is necessary for meditation. A mind full of craving cannot rest in silence. It keeps running toward memories, plans, pleasures, fears, and comparisons. Detachment reduces these disturbances. When unnecessary desires become weaker, concentration becomes easier. The mind turns inward and begins to enjoy peace that does not depend on outer conditions.

However, Vairagya should be gentle and mature. Violent suppression of desire can create inner conflict. The seeker should not hate the mind but educate it. Through reflection, prayer, satsang, self-control, meditation, and service, the mind gradually understands what is truly valuable. Lower attachments fall away when higher understanding awakens.

True Vairagya can be practiced in daily life. Eat with moderation, but do not live only for taste. Earn honestly, but do not worship money. Use technology, but do not become addicted. Love family, but do not bind them with selfish expectation. Work sincerely, but offer the result to the Divine. Enjoy what comes by dharma, but remain prepared to let it go.

The highest form of Vairagya is detachment from ego itself. The ego says, “I am the doer,” “I am superior,” “I deserve recognition,” and “Everything should happen according to me.” When this ego weakens, the heart becomes light. The seeker acts as an instrument of truth, service, and divine will. This is the spirit of Karma Yoga and Vedanta.

In the end, true Vairagya is inner freedom from blind attachment to the temporary. It is not escape from life, but wise participation in life. It is not rejection of love, but purification of love. It is not laziness, but action without bondage. Through discrimination, devotion, meditation, selfless service, and self-knowledge, Vairagya becomes firm. When true detachment arises, the seeker becomes peaceful, fearless, balanced, and ready for liberation.

Upanishads on Food

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Devotional India is an international devotional website focused on Hindu temples, saints, spiritual teachings, mantras, and scriptures. We aim to make ancient Sanatan wisdom accessible to modern readers through authentic, informative, and spiritually enriching content.

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