Vairagya: Non-Attachment

More than this…there is nothing

This was sadhana this morning: just sitting with the 5 elements and the 5 senses. To let…it..all…go. When I sit long enough, my body begins to rock, almost saying to me, “There, there child, you are held. Trust me.” Then the tears…

Being aware of even attaching to non-attachment is an interesting experience.

In yoga, non-attachment is called Vairagya. It is different from the western ego-based, materialized idea of it. In yogic terms non-attachment literally means, “non-coloring,” or a “non-smeared” state. It is the process of detaching from our karmic impressions and the actions created by them. 

Para Vairagya is the highest state non-attachment and of knowledge; it is a state of being in non-attachment. It is the capacity of a nervous system to stay in a calm and tranquil state amid the tumultuous events of the world. To reiterate, the difference being: the former is the process, the latter is a state.

We spend so much time doing, efforting, planning, creating…trying to change the world “for the better.” Looking to the future and shaming ourselves and others over the past. This is attaching. What if we understood that the world is just a reflection of us? That in the egoic effort to change and create, we are denying ourselves of our Self…a self-sacrifice for our “plan?” And, what if we understood this “plan” is simply a defense against, and an escape away from  being with our own individual tender heart?

What if we understood there is no need to change anything? For where you are at in this moment is perfection? Pain is inexorable from growth. If you are in a pain-period of your life, you are growing, and that too is perfection. This is the practice of non-attachment. 

There is a greater intelligence that exists. It always has. Some call it Source. Some call it Nature. Some call it God. It is a roadmap borne from the heart and gut space. We forget it when we get caught up in the transactional world. We remember it when we do our Sadhana. This is not to say we cut off from or remove ourselves entirely from the physical world. If we did that, we’d no longer see our reflection in others; we would lose our compass for where our inner work lies. 

We are called to utilize both: the manifest and the manifest worlds. When we drop down into this beautiful state of gently rocking between the physical and non-physical world, there will be harmony within the body. The polarity will softly disappear. The remnants of the fighting over denial of soul will be both: up-taken by the body for nourishment, and excreted as bio waste and utilized by the earth as nourishment. It’s always both. 

What if we understood that “the work” is simply to find peace and tranquility in our individual hearts? That in doing so, the Soul and it’s purpose would spontaneously emerge? What if we had so much trust in this process that we knew when many of us did this, the collective consciousness would grow, nearly without effort? How would life be different then?

Previous
Previous

The Toxic Shame/Failure Loop

Next
Next

Core Work: Abandonment of the Self