lessons-2

[Ravi Mayavaram]

namaskAram


On Fri, 13 Mar 1998, Chelluri wrote:

>                                    Hari Om
>
>
> Vairagya is curious and is my favorite.  Lets talk about it .    Vairagya can
> be developed by viveka... seeing inherent defects in all enjoyable experience.
> In my view it can also be developed by divine grace.  Dispassion/detachment
> from pleasures develops automatically by Grace.

Divine grace is the only thing which makes everything happens. It is
ever available. But one has to put _effort_ to receive it. I think
that vairAgyam will not come in to being automatically. One has to
cultivate it. I am not saying that it is impossible for God to confer
someone with vairAgyam  just like that. SHE can do anything.  But SHE
will not do it arbitrarily because then one can accuse of partiality.
God is beyond such things. HER grace is ever available, yet we have to
learn through effort to receive it.

>
> Let me state what I understand about vairagya.
>
> Some say one should not shun responsibilities and turn to vairagya for wrong
> reasons.  I think there is no room for reasons, good or bad, in pursuit of a
> goal, in this case vairagya. Dispassion/detachment.   Let us consider two
> situations.
> 1. One who is rich beyond imagination gives up everything recognizing it is
> not permanent.  For example take Gautama Buddha.
> 2. One who is poor gives up his poverty and derive solace in vairagya. (In
> this case lets say Nagy.
> Everybody appreciates the first case and detest the second saying he did that
> for wrong reasons, at least my wife thinks so.  What I feel is, it's not what
> others say, it's what gives permanent happiness that counts.
>
> Appreciate you elaborating on vairagya.   Are there any other means besides
> abhyasa and vairagya for chittanivrutti in shastras.

Swami Vishvarupananda's reply to this was very nice and useful.  In
Tripura Rahasya, I learnt the power of repeated mental associations.
Habits, attachment and bondage, happens through such repeated mental
associations. To reverse the trend one has to cultivate dispassion
through nitya-anitya vastu vivekam and through  prayer. In fact I
recently read that one has to struggle and stay away from the bad
habits (like smoking) for 10 years or so, escape from its clutches.
Effort required cannot be under estimated.

Ravi

mInalochani pAshamochani