lessons

[Anand Hudli]

  Nagy wrote:

>                                       Hari Om
>
>Namaste!    Request members (interested) to briefly explain the meaning
of
>following statements.   It will definitely help in understanding what
Iam
>trying to understand.  I have that faith!
>
>"Abhyasa Vairaghyabhyam tannirodhaha"
>
>"Abhyasena tu Kaunetya Vairagyena cha  gruhyate"
>
>
>                                                                Nagy
>

 Your first quote comes from the Yogasuutras of Patanjali. I can't
 remember the exact number of the suutra offhand, but it occurs in
 the first paada, called the samaadhipaada.

 Yoga is first defined by the suutra "yogashchittavR^ittinirodhaH",
 Yoga is the stopping of the chitta VR^itti, ie. the activity of the
 mind. It is towards this end that it is suggested that by constant
 practice, abhyaasa, and detachment/dispassion, vairaagya, this
 checking of the activity of the mind can be achieved.

 Your second quote comes from the Giitaa as Sadananda writes.
 Adding to what he wrote, I would say that Shankara, in the
 commentary defines abhyaasa, practice as "chittabhuumau
 kasyaaMchit.h samaanapratyayaavR^ittiH chittasya", meaning
 the prevalence or continuation of a constant idea on some
 plane/ground of the mind. And Shankara defines vairaagya or
 dispassion as, "dR^ishhTaadR^ishhTeshhTabhogeshhu doshhadarshana-
 abhyaasaat.h vaitR^ishhNyaM", by the practice of finding out the
 defects (doshha's) in desirable experiences in the spheres of the
 seen and the unseen (or in other words in this world as well as in
 the world hereafter), one attains vaitR^ishhNyaM, lack of craving.
 This freedom from craving is detachment or vairaagya.

 So Shankara here gives us insight into how to achieve vairaagya or
 dispassion which is spoken of by Krishna. By seeing the inherent
 defects in all enjoyable experiences in the phenomenal world,
 including the enjoyable experiences one might experience in heaven,
 etc., one is able to give up, at least temporarily, the craving for
 such experiences. But the mind is so strong that even if one gives
 up craving temporarily, the mind brings back the craving in full
 force sometime later. So the seeing of the defects of the enjoyable
 experiences has to be practised constantly and the freedom from
 craving has to be thus reinforced. This leads to permanent
 freedom from craving. This is then the state of vairaagya which
 Krishna is talking about.

 Anand




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