Vairagyam - Dispassion
What is Dispassion?
- It is not hating the sense-objects or feeling disgusted by them
- It is not constantly running away from all sense- pleasures
- It is also not continuously craving for something or the other
- It is not wanting to enjoy and indulge all the time
- It is a condition when things, people and situations don't have control on us any more
- It is a state of mind when one is "happy irrespective of and in spite of everything"
Why Dispassion Towards Sense-Objects is important?
- Progress is not possible if we keep craving for small things
- One can enjoy when pleasures come, but one should be able to stay calm even in the absence of pleasures
Practice the WOW Theory: WOW-With or Without
- With sense-pleasures, say "Wow"
- Without sense-pleasures, say "Wow"
This attitude towards sense-objects is called Indriyaartheshu Vairaagyam
How to Practice Dispassion?
- Never complain - May be the dinner on your plate today does not have any dish you like, but smile and take whatever has come. When we are able to smile and accept things and situations as they are, slowly things, people and situations stop controlling us.
- Don't entertain likes and dislikes - We divide the entire world into things we like and what we don't like. It is about strong attachments and aversions. We are always wanting to get what we like and go away from what we don't like. Have you ever thought how relaxed and free life can be if we don't have so many likes and dislikes? Think of yourself when you were just 2 year old! You had lesser likes and dislikes. And so you could smile and giggle at anything - a bubble is the water, bright color or a hug from your mother! But today we have likes and dislikes, and so we are constantly looking for special reasons to smile! And so we live sad lives.
- See clearly that over-indulgence in sense-pleasures exhausts us. Often we watch TV to feel relaxed. But have you ever realized that if you watch TV for long hours, after that you are so tired that you just want to sleep? At that time, even if you try to study you can't focus! That means, over-indulgence tires us.
Suppression v/s Dispassion:
- Dispassion is not suppression where I forcibly don't enjoy what I like
- If I go to a friend's birthday party and they serve pizza, but I refuse to eat, I will only suffer.
- But if I eat too much pizza or if I eat only pizza all the time, then too I will suffer.
- So, if I get pizza, I eat and enjoy - but knowing that it has only limited happiness-value. Beyond a limit, it will only cause sorrow.
- So, dispassion is to drop the exaggerated value we give to sense-pleasures through right thinking and clear understanding. This process is called sublimation.
Dispassion is basically the exact opposite of wut last week's topic was about this is how sometimes your mind controls us without thinking and how now we have certain parts that makes us happy and certain parts that don't make us happy u should never have dispassion because it will never help and it will hurt u more in the future
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