Yoga Sutra 1.15

Vairāgya (non-attachment)

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda

15. Dṛṣṭānuśravika viṣaya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra saṁjñā vairāgyam. Dṛṣṭa = seen, experienced; anuśravika = heard, revealed; viṣaya = object; vitṛṣṇasya = of him who is free from cravings; vaśīkāra = mastery; saṁjñā = consciousness, clear knowledge; vairāgyam = non-attachment.

The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving from objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.

Normally, the mind gets attached by seeing or hearing something. It is mainly through the eyes and ears that the mind goes out and gathers things to satisfy its desires. Before the mind is attracted to something it sees or hears, you should have discrimination to see whether that object is good for you or not. The mind should not just go and grasp as it wants.

Non-attachment should not be misunderstood to be indifference. Vairāgya (non-attachment) literally means “colorless.” Vi is “without;” rāga is “color.” Every desire brings its own color to the mind. The moment you color the mind, a ripple is formed—just as when a stone is thrown into a calm lake, it creates waves in the water. When the mind is tossed by these desires one after the other, there won’t be peace or rest in the mind. And with a restless mind you can’t have steady practice. When you want to do something constantly, your mind should not be distracted by other desires. That’s why this sort of dispassion or non-attachment must always go with the practice. Any practice without this non attachment can never be fulfilled.

Many times people say, “Oh, I have been practicing meditation for so many years. I pray daily, morning and evening.” Yes, they do that; we have to accept it because we see them sitting in meditation every day or going to the church or temple. Sometimes they sit in front of the altar for hours and hours. There are people who read the whole Bible every day. There are people who repeat the Bhagavad Gītā every day—they won’t even eat until they do that. The moment they get up, they go in front of the altar and repeat the entire Gītā before even drinking a glass of water! But still they remain in the same state. The reason is that their minds are still dissipated because of the different desires. How many people stand in front of the altar and think of their business or allow their eyes to wander about to see how many of their friends are there? Temples and churches have become social centers. They have lost their original purpose because the minds of the people are more attracted to worldly things than to prayer. The lips may repeat the prayer mechanically like a phonograph record, but the mind wanders to other places. That’s why you can’t collect and compose the mind unless it is free from distracting desires. Meditation is possible only when the mind is free from attachment. In fact, you need not even practice meditation if your mind is completely free from all selfish desire. You will see that you are always at ease; you will never become restless and never disappointed. So we need the practice and the non-attachment; and, of these two, the non-attachment is the more important.

Immediately somebody will ask, “If you are unattached, won’t you lose all incentive and become dull?” No. When we say unattached, it means without personal desires. If you really want to be greedy, be greedy in serving others. Try to remove the suffering of other people. Once you are unattached in your personal life, you can serve others, and by doing that you will find more and more joy. That’s why sometimes I say that the selfless person is the most selfish one. Why? Because a selfless person doesn’t want to lose his or her peace and happiness.

Even with God, do not have personal desire or attachment. Many people approach God and say, “God, give me this; give me that; help me win this campaign,” or “If you help me pass this examination, I will light ten candles.” We try to do business with God. It only shows our own ignorance. Those very candles were given to us by God, so what is the idea of giving them back to God as if we have created something? Our desirous mind deludes us, and we become ignorant. The discrimination of a desirous person gets completely faded. His or her interest is to achieve things, that’s all; the desirous person doesn’t bother to wait and think.

The Vedantic scriptures say: “Even the desire for liberation is a bondage.” “Mokṣabhekṣo bandhaḥ.” Even if you desire liberation, you are binding yourself. Every desire binds you and brings restlessness. To get the liberation you have to be completely desireless.

Is it possible to be desireless? No. Actually, it is not possible. As long as the mind is there, its duty is to desire. It seems to be contradictory. But the secret is that any desire without any personal or selfish motive will never bind you. Why? Because the pure, selfless desire has no expectation whatsoever, so it knows no disappointment no matter what the result. But though it expects nothing, it has its own reward. When you make someone happy, you see his or her happy face and feel happy yourself. If you have really experienced the joy of just giving something for the sake of giving, you will wait greedily for opportunities to get that joy again and again.

Many people think that by renouncing everything, by becoming selfless and desireless, there is no enjoyment. No. That is not so. Instead, you become the happiest man or woman. The more you serve, the more happiness you enjoy. Such a person knows the secret of life. There is a joy in losing everything, in giving everything. You cannot be eternally happy by possessing things.

The more you possess, the more sad you become. Haven’t we seen millionaires, people of high position, prime ministers, presidents? Are they happy? No. The higher the position, the greater the trouble. Only a saint, a renunciate, is always happy because there is nothing for a saint to lose. Because you don’t have anything, you have your Self always. That is the secret. That’s why we say, “Have vairāgya, have dispassion, have non-attachment.” By renouncing worldly things, you possess the most important sacred property: your peace.

There is another aspect, or benefit, of non-attachment. It is mainly a person with a detached mind who can do a job perfectly. As an example, the other day I received a letter from a disciple who runs one of my centers. Another Yoga teacher visited this center and asked, “Don’t your students ask for something more? In my classes, if I don’t teach something new each class, they say, ‘What is this? We paid you and got this yesterday. You are teaching us the same thing today; why should we pay more? Unless you give us something new, we won’t pay you more.’ So I carefully arrange my lessons in such a way that every day I can add something new, so that I can ask for more money. But here, I see the same old stuff every day, and people are coming more and more—and nobody seems to be disappointed.”

Then my child said, “We don’t sell Yoga; we just teach for our joy. The people contribute as they want. There’s no business here, but rather the heart is working. Probably in your case you expect money, and so you are interested in teaching something new every time to get more people and more money.”

It is a fact. The same thing is happening in our other hatha classes also. For years now, people have been coming to the classes and each class has been more or less the same. And every time they come, they contribute something without ever getting tired of it. They could practice the same thing at home, but still they come to the classes because they don’t feel the vibration of business there, but the vibration of Yoga. That is what they don’t want to miss.

Even in my lectures, I don’t quote many scriptures or try to give something new every time. Probably if I were to play back tapes of my past talks, it would be the same ideas again and again. People might say, “The Swami says nothing new—the same old Swami, the same old stuff. Why do they listen again and again?” I feel happy and they all feel happy being there, so they make me happy and I make them happy. We just spend a little happy time together, that’s all. We just talk about something or do something in the name of Yoga. Yes, that is the secret. There is a joy in being together, that’s all. So that is the life of detachment. There is no expectation. We just come together. They don’t feel that they are losing their money, and I don’t feel that I am gaining their money. We are all as one family. We pool our money, our energy and our ideas. What else do we want in this life? And that is Yoga.

So, when the mind is free from personal interest, we do our work well and feel joyful. Our lives become meaningful. If our minds are free from selfishness and there is sacrifice in everyone’s lives, the very world becomes a heaven, an abode of peace and bliss. Everything in this life gives. Sacrifice is the law of life. That is why we admire and adore people who have given their lives for the sake of humanity. Why do we worship Jesus and the cross? Because sacrifice is the meaning of that cross. He sacrificed himself, and we worship that quality; it is not the piece of wood we appreciate, but the sacrifice it represents. He gave his very life for the sake of humanity. It is because of that sacrifice that all the prophets, sages and saints are worshipped as divine beings or as God. It is not only saints, but everything in nature—trees, birds, animals— they all live for the sake of others. Why does a candle burn and melt away? To give light. Why does an incense stick burn to ash? To give fragrance. Why does a tree grow? To give fruit and flowers. Is there anything, sentient or insentient, in this world that lives for its own sake? No. When the entire nature sacrifices, why should we human beings alone lead selfish lives? We are here to give and give and give. What is due to us will come without our worrying about it.

Of course, even here we can wonder, “If I am to lead a sacrificial life, how can I eat, how can I clothe myself or have a house of my own?” You can have all these things to equip yourself to serve others. You must have a bed to rest in to feel refreshed in the morning, in order to go out to serve others. You must eat to have enough energy to serve others. So you do everything with the idea that you are preparing yourself to serve others. Even the practice of meditation is not done just for your own peace but is done because with a peaceful mind you can go out into the world and serve well. With that very idea you can meditate. So, even your Yogic meditation becomes a selfless action. That is what is meant by “Even with God do not have attachment.” This vairāgya, or nonattachment, alone is enough to change your entire life into a joyful one.