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    Abhyasa Vairagya

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    atulsahu24
    The document discusses the teachings of Maharishi Patanjali on Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion/non-attachment) from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It states that Patanjali and Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita both taught that Abhyasa (regular yoga practice) and Vairagya (withdrawing the mind from external pleasures and consolidating mental energies) are needed to achieve yoga and still the mind. It defines Abhyasa as the discipline employed to remain in union with oneself, and Vairagya as withdrawing the mind from outer pleasures and controlling mental energies.

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    Abhyasa Vairagya

    Uploaded by

    atulsahu24
    639 views6 pages
    The document discusses the teachings of Maharishi Patanjali on Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion/non-attachment) from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It states that Patanjali and Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita both taught that Abhyasa (regular yoga practice) and Vairagya (withdrawing the mind from external pleasures and consolidating mental energies) are needed to achieve yoga and still the mind. It defines Abhyasa as the discipline employed to remain in union with oneself, and Vairagya as withdrawing the mind from outer pleasures and controlling mental energies.

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    Abhyasa Vairagya

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    The document discusses the teachings of Maharishi Patanjali on Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion/non-attachment) from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It states that Patanjali and Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita both taught that Abhyasa (regular yoga practice) and Vairagya (withdrawing the mind from external pleasures and consolidating mental energies) are needed to achieve yoga and still the mind. It defines Abhyasa as the discipline employed to remain in union with oneself, and Vairagya as withdrawing the mind from outer pleasures and controlling mental energies.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    639 views6 pages

    Abhyasa Vairagya

    Uploaded by

    atulsahu24
    The document discusses the teachings of Maharishi Patanjali on Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion/non-attachment) from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It states that Patanjali and Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita both taught that Abhyasa (regular yoga practice) and Vairagya (withdrawing the mind from external pleasures and consolidating mental energies) are needed to achieve yoga and still the mind. It defines Abhyasa as the discipline employed to remain in union with oneself, and Vairagya as withdrawing the mind from outer pleasures and controlling mental energies.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    You are on page 1of 6

    Maharishi Patanjali

    Abhyasa and Vairagya:


    Practice and Centeredness
    The two pillars of Yoga Sadhana

    Shriram Sarvotham

    Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion Page 1 of 6


    Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion

    Maharishi Patanjali teaches Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya


    (centeredness, dispassion) in order to achieve the state of Yoga. In
    this presentation, we looked at the Yoga Sutras where Maharishi
    Patanjali defines what is Abhyasa and Vairagya, and why we
    should do it.

    The same teaching was given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in


    Bhagavad Gita, in Chapter 6 on Dhyana Yoga. Lets look at this
    first.

    After Lord Krishna expounds the teaching on Meditation


    (Dhyana), Arjuna asks a question that most of us can identify with.
    Here are the relevant verses from the Bhagavad Gita (Chap. 6) that
    captures this dialog:

    Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion Page 2 of 6


    Maharishi Patanjali, who composed the Yoga Sutras several
    hundreds of years after the Bhagavad Gita, echoes the same
    teaching Abhyasa and Vairagya to bring mind to a place of
    tranquility. Here are the relevant Sutras:

    First, what is Yoga according to Maharishi Patanjali?

    Yoga is stilling the uncontrolled movements (restlessness, chatter)


    of the mind.

    Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion Page 3 of 6


    And how can we still the uncontrolled mind chatter?

    Calming the restlessness of the mind is achieved by Abhyasa and


    Vairagya.

    Maharishi Patanjali precisely defines what is Abhyasa:

    The means (practices, discipline, etc) that is employed in order to


    remain in a state of union (harmony) with ones own Self is called
    Abhyasa

    What are the three ingredients of Abhyasa for it to be fruitful?

    Abhyasa is to be practiced for a long time (that is, several years),


    without interruption (no holidays!), with honor and respect
    (without grumbling or unenthusiastic). Then, we become
    established and grounded in the state of Yoga.

    What is Vairagya?

    Withdrawing the flow of mental energies outward towards what


    we perceive or what we hear to be pleasurable and consolidating
    & controlling the mental energies is called Vairagya.

    Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion Page 4 of 6


    Maharishi Patanjali talks about Parama Vairagya or the highest
    form of Vairagya:

    The highest form of Vairagya is when we are established in


    awareness of our true nature. When we discover that the joy we are
    seeking resides within us, we relinquish our attachment towards
    the outer. In other words, we are freed from the bondage of the 3
    gunas of the Prakriti.

    Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion Page 5 of 6


    Let us conclude with a Prayer on Maharishi Patanjali:

    Meaning:
    I offer reverence to the eminent sage Patajali, who removed the impurities
    of the mind through yoga, of speech through grammar, and of the body
    through medicine.

    The upper body of human shape, holding a conch (divine sound), discuss
    (wheel of time) and sword (discrimination), I bow down to the white (pure)
    thousand-headed (elevated awareness), I respectfully bow to Patanjali.

    Word to PDF Abhyasa and Vairagya: Practice and Dispassion Page 6 of 6

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