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    HOW TO GET VAIRAGYA


    OM

    In enjoyment there is fear of disease; in social position, the fear of falling off; in wealth, the fear of (hostile) kings; in honour, the fear of humiliation; in power, the fear of foe men; in beauty, the fear of old age; in scriptural erudition, the fear of opponents; in virtue, the fear of traducers; in body, the fear of death. All the things of this world pertaining to human beings are attended with fear; renunciation alone stands for fearlessness.

    ¾Vairagya Sakatam of Bhartrihari.

    Spotless freedom from desires means such a dissatisfaction in respect of all objects from Brahma down to inanimate things as is felt in respect of the excrement of a crow.

    ¾Acharya Sankara


    Vairagya Dindima


    (A Proclamation of Dispassion)

    There lurk thieves in the frame viz., lust, anger and greed to steal the jewel of thy wisdom. Therefore awake! awake!!

    Birth is full of pains : old age is full of miseries: woman is again and again the source of all miseries and pains. This ocean of Samsara is full of grief. Therefore wake up! wake up!!

    You have no mother, no father, no relatives, no brothers, no wealth, no house, (nothing will remain for ever, nothing will follow you after death). Therefore wake up! wake up!!

    You are bound in this world by desires, actions and manifold anxieties. Therefore you don’t know that life is slowly decaying and is wasted away. Therefore wake up! wake up!!


    !

    Remember The Lord
    (The world is full of vanities)

    It is the only duty of the Sadhus to remember and make others remember the “Right” (Absolute) and it is the only duty of the Sadhus, to be the guide of the whole world.

    The days are passing away speedily.

     

    Remember the (holy) Name of Sri Rama, i. e., remember God. Give up all the worldly and the sexual enjoyments, and all other deeds, too. Not a dama (1/20th part of an anna) will go with you. Only they get (something) who give (something). The days are passing away speedily.

    Brothers, friends, relatives and family members—All these are related to you as long as you live. Otherwise “who is yours”? (Dear Ones!) On whose strength have forgotten the (holy) Name of Hari! (the Almighty)? The days are passing away speedily.

    You have already travelled over the 84 lakhs of Yonis (wombs) of the animal world. It is very fortunate of you that you have got this human body. Still you have not done anything (for the next birth). And therefore, you will have to repent for it. The days are passing away speedily.

    If you entangle yourselves in worldly enjoyments after the objects, Oh foolish people! You entangle yourselves in the clutches of the so-called death. And why! Are you hoping for breaths (after breaths)? (Remember) what is gone is gone for ever. They, those that have passed away will never return. The days are passing away speedily.


    Even This Will Pass Away

     

    Once in Persia reigned a king,
    Who upon a signet ring,
    Carved a maxim strange and wise,
    When held before his eyes,
    Gave him counsel at a glance,
    Fit for every change and chance:
    Solemn words, and these were they:
    “EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    Trains of camel through the sand
    Brought him gems from Samarcand;
    Fleets of galleys over the seas
    Brought him pearls to rival these,
    But he counted little gain,
    Treasures of the mine or main;
    “What is wealth?” the king would say,
    “EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    Mid the pleasures of his court
    At the zenith of their sport,
    When the palms of all his guests
    Burned with clapping at his jests,
    Seated midst the figs and wine,
    Said the king, “Ah, friends of mine.
    Pleasure comes but not to stay,
    “EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    Woman, fairest ever seen
    Was the bride he crowned as queen,
    Pillowed on the marriage-bed
    Whispering to his soul, he said,
    “Though no monarch ever pressed
    Fairer bosom to his breast,
    Mortal flesh is only clay!
    “EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    Fighting on the furious field,
    Once a javelin pierced his shield,
    Soldiers with a loud lament
    Bore him bleeding to his tortured side,
    “Pain is hard to bear;” he cried.
    “But with patience, day by day,
    EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    Towering in a public square
    Forty cubits in this air,
    And the king disguised, unknown,
    Gazed upon his sculptured name.
    And he pondered, “What is fame?”
    “Fame is but a slow decay!
    “EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    Struck with palsy, sore and old,
    Waiting at the gates of gold,
    Said he with his dying breath
    “Life is done, but what is Death?”
    Then as answer to the king
    Fell a sunbeam on his ring;
    Showing by a heavenly ray.
    EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”

    —Theodore Tilton


    Song Of Vairagya

    Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama
    Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama:
    Why do you search in vain
    For pleasure outside?
    Go to the fountain source
    In the subjective Atma:
    Awake, arise, stop not
    Till the goal is reached.

    (Rama Rama … …)

    How long you want to remain
    Slave of passion, tell me please?
    Try to seek peace within
    By dispassion; practice (Vairagya and Abhyasa)

    (Rama Rama … …)

    Are you not really fed up
    With illusory objects?
    Enjoy the Atmic Bliss
    By Manana, Nididhyasana,
    Reflection, meditation.

    (Rama Rama … …)


    Song Of Jnana-Vairagya

     

    Sunaja Sunaja Sunaja Krishna
    Tu Gitawala Jnana Sunaja Krishna.

    At first there is a tender emotion and warm affection,
    Then it gross into glowing love, burning passion.

    Through Sravana and Satsang comes admiration,
    Then attraction, attachment, supreme love.

    I want my dear beloved Krishna alone;
    I want neither Mukti nor temporal blessings.

    The world is unreal, full of miseries,
    God alone is real, full of Ananda.

    You are running after the unreal shadow,
    You have forgotten the real substance.

    You came alone (weeping), will go alone (weeping), no one will follow,
    Do Bhajan, do Kirtan, this will follow,

    Why do you fight in vain with your brothers? Fight with the mind and the Indriyas.
    Why do you weep in vain for the death of relatives? Weep for the separation of the Lord.

    The love between husband and wife is selfish love,
    Brothers, sisters are united for selfish ends.

    Death is ever waiting to devour you all,
    That ‘tomorrow’ will never come, open your eyes now (wake up now).

    Life is short, time is fleeting, (many obstacles to Japa and kirtan),
    Apply yourself diligently to Yogic Sadhan.

    This world is a mela for two days,
    This life is a play for two seconds, (This body is a bubble for two seconds).

    When one is in union with God, it is Samadhi,
    The Yogi gets infinite bliss and knowledge.

    Bhakti-Yoga is crossing river by boat,
    Jnana-Yoga is crossing river by swimming.

    A Jnani gets knowledge by self-reliance,
    A Bhakta gets Darshan by self-surrender.

    When there is one Vritti it is Savikalpa,
    When there is Triputi-Laya, it is Nirvikalpa.

    When one is in fourth Bhumika, it is Jivanmukti,
    When there is no body-consciousness, it is Videhamukti.

    When you are in a state of Turiya, it is Jivanmukti,
    When you are in Turiyatita, it is Videhamukti.

    When there is Svarupanas, it is Jivanmukti.
    When there is Arupanas, it is Videhamukti.

    When Jagrat appears as Svapna, it is Jivanmukti,
    When Jagrat appears as Sushupti, it is Videhamukti.


    Four Spiritual Gems

    1. Remember the pains of Samsara
    2. Remember Death
    3. Remember the Saints
    4. Remember God

    1 and 2 will produce Vairagya. 3 will bring inspiration. 4 will cause attainment of God-Consciousness.


    How To Get Vairagya

    (Remember these seven vital points)

    1. Hari Om, Sensual pleasure is momentary, deceptive, illusory and imaginary.
    2. A mustard of pleasure is mixed with a mountain of pain.
    3. Enjoyment cannot bring about satisfaction of a desire. On the contrary it makes the mind more restless after enjoyment through intense craving (Trishnas and Vasanas).
    4. Sensual pleasure is an enemy of Brahma-Jnana
    5. Sensual pleasure is the cause for birth and death.
    6. This body is nothing but a mass of flesh, bone, and all sorts of filth.
    7. Place before the mind the fruits of Self-realization or life in the soul or Brahman or the Eternal, such as Immortality, Eternal bliss, Supreme peace and Infinite knowledge. If you remember the seven points always, the mind will be weaned from the cravings for sensual pleasures. Vairagya, Viveka and Mumukshutva (dispassion, discrimination from the real and the unreal, and keen longing for liberation from birth and death) will dawn. You should seriously look into the defects of sensual life (Dosha-Drishti) and into the unreal nature of worldly life (Mithya-Drishti).

    Read this once daily as soon as you get up from the bed.


    Publishers’ Note

    To The First Edition

    While it will be accepted on all hands that the first and foremost requisite or qualification for an aspirant treading the path of Ancient Wisdom or Yoga is Vairagya born of pure discrimination, it is strange that nowadays when numberless books on Yoga, Vedanta and other allied subjects are displayed at the sales window, none of these learned treatises has ever thought or taken into head to supply this dire and long felt need of spiritual aspirants. At such a time a book on “HOW TO GET VAIRAGYA” by no less an eminent sage, Yogi and philosopher than His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda should be quite welcome to one and all.

    True, the subject of Vairagya has been dealt with in the sacred books of India by ancient sages like Vasishtha, Vyasa, Yajnavalkya, Bhartrihari and others, but nowhere will the reader get a clear, concise and compact knowledge of the subject, at the same time suited to modern-conditions, tastes and requirements. While emphasis was laid on ruthless renunciation, mental as well as, physical, by the ancients as a precondition to Self-Realization, it is quite refreshing and heartening to hear from the Himalayan Yogi that “Vairagya is purely an internal mental state,” “it is not a mere external show,” and “a man may remain in the busy world amidst various luxuries, and yet he may possess perfect Vairagya, while a Sadhu who lives in a cave in the far-off regions of the Himalayas may be keenly attached to his Kamandalu, walking stick or piece of cloth.”

    It is earnestly hoped that the object with which this publication has been undertaken will be realized in the fullest measure.

    THE PUBLISHERS
    1st October, 1938.


    Preface

    “Happiness is within,” “What is Vairagya?” “Miseries of mundane existence,” “Body,” “Woman,” “World,” “Essence of Vairagya-Satakam” and “Inspiring stories.”

    In “Happiness is within,” I have emphasized that happiness which is the driving motive of all human endeavours is not in the perishable objects of the world, but is within one’s own self and that even the very little momentary pleasure you get from sensual enjoyments is but a reflection of the Atman Bliss only. Real and lasting happiness can be had only from God, or the Atman, which shines in the chambers of your heart.

    In the chapter entitled “What is Vairagya,” I have pointblank stated that Vairagya does not consist in running away in home, shirking the duties and responsibilities of life but that it is purely an internal state and that a man while living in the world amidst various luxuries may be a perfectly dispassionate soul. The chapter is for the sake of convenience and ease divided into thirteen headings, all useful and interesting. The need for renunciation of desire as a means to liberation from bondage, varieties of Vairagya, its various stages, how to develop it, the path of renunciation, what Vairagya is and what it is not¾these and many other allied topics have been nicely handled.

    “Miseries of mundane existence” is the inspiring title of the third chapter. It should be borne in mind that ignorance is the real cause of all misery and hence it should by all means be done away with and Self-Knowledge attained, if these miseries of mundane life are to come to an end. One may easily renounce wife, son and property, but to renounce name and fame is an extraordinary feat of the highest spirituality. To attain knowledge of Self such a degree of renunciation is indispensably necessary. I have condemned building of Ashrams and making disciples with a reservation clause because this to me seems to be the prime cause of failure to attain the goal of Yoga practice in the case of many a good aspirant nowadays.

    Chapter four deals with “Body.” Attachment to body is the cause of misery and bondage and this attachment is of course due to ignorance of the Reality. When attachment for one’s own body comes, then desire for sensual enjoyments, lust, anger, greed, worry, anxiety and innumerable other miseries also come in its train. If this is cut at the root by negating the body and identifying one’s self with the supreme Self, then all miseries and sorrows will come to an end. Hence the condemnation of attachment to the body.is purely carnal; it is not pure, unselfish love. Hence condemnation of such love is justified.

    “World” is the title of the sixth chapter. Due to ignorance man believes that the world in which he lives is a solid reality and that there is nothing beyond it. He therefore wants to indulge in all sorts of sensual pleasures with a view to get happiness from them. Had he known that the world in which he lives is unreal and that there is something else which is an embodiment of Happiness, realizing which one enjoys highest bliss, he would not do so. With a view to get happiness from objects, he undergoes severe pain, tortures and tribulations and yet he does not get the least satisfaction from them. I have tried to convince the reader that this world of names and forms is unreal, transitory and fleeting, that God, or the Atman alone is real and full of bliss and that he should try to realize the Atman and get the happiness he wants from it.

    In the next chapter entitled “Essence of Vairagya-Satakam” I have given in a nutshell the sum and substance of Bhartrihari’s century of verses which will be found very useful to those who cannot afford to obtain each and every book pertaining to Yoga or Vedanta.

    In chapter eight, entitled “Inspiring Stories,” the reader gets half a dozen thrilling and inspiring stories of great saints and Yogis of ancient India, which are calculated to produce deep Vairagya in him, and it is my firm belief that a book on Vairagya like the present one has never been presented to the public as yet.

    Prasnottari of Sri Sankaracharya is appended at the end, which will be a source of strong inducement to lead a life of dispassion in the world.

    May the students of Yoga and Vedanta in the East and West be all inspired to unstinted action by a perusal of this volume is the earnest prayer of :

    SWAMI SIVANANDA

    15th September, 1938.


    Prayer

    O Adorable Lord! Thou art the subtle. Hence it is very difficult to understand and realize Thee. Thou art the past, present and future. There is nothing but Thee. Thou art the Infinite ocean of Grace and Mercy. Thou art known to Thy devotee alone. Thou art without attributes and without forms and yet Thou possess attributes and forms. It is very difficult to comprehend Thy glory and greatness. Thou art my father, mother, Guru and sole refuge. Salutations unto Thee! Protect me. Guide me. Lift me up from this terrible round of births and deaths.

    O Lord! Thou art the indweller of all Thou art the soul in all! Thou art the womb of all! Thou art the protector of all: Thou art the bestower of fruits of Karma to all: Thou art all; Thou dwellest in all; Thou art the source of all; Thou art the giver of Moksha to all. Prostrations unto Thee!

    O Lord! If Thou art the sun, then I am the ray; if Thou art the ocean, I am the wave: if Thou art the Himalayas, I am the tree; if Thou art the Ganga, I am the drop; if Thou art the garden, I am the flower; if Thou art the electric light, I am the bulb; If Thou art the landscape, I am the grass. By loving Thee, I have become Immortal. The noose of Yama is cut asunder. Salutations unto Thee!

    O Self-effulgent Lord! Thou art the Supporter, the Saviour, the Creator, the Inner Ruler, the Governor, the Master, the Protector and the Deliverer. Thou art the Dispeller of the darkness of ignorance. Thou art the Remover of the miseries and sufferings of Thy devotees. Thou art the Destrayor of the three kinds of sufferings (Tapas) or fevers of human beings. O Venerable Lord! Salutations unto Thee! In Thee I take refuge. Give me purity and devotion. Let my wandering, mischievous mind always rest in Thy blessed Lotus feet.

    O Sovereign Lord of all creations! I do not want any wealth, or Moksha or power or dominion. But I do want that sufferings and troubles of all beings should come to an end for ever. Thou art ocean of mercy. Thou art omnipotent. Thou can do this.

     


    OM

    In Memory of

    Lord Buddha, Raja Bhartrihari and Raja Gopichand,

    who were embodiments of Vairagya,

    who renounced their kingdom,

    throne and their all for the

    attainment of the Infinite

    or

    the final beatitude of life

    or Kaivalya,

    the Supreme Abode of Immortality

    and

    Eternal Bliss

    OM


    !

    Happiness Is Within

    Man wants happiness. He shuns pain. He moves heaven and earth to get the happiness he wants from sensual objects and, lo, gets himself entangled in the inextricable meshes of Maya. Poor man! He does not know that these objects are perishable and evanescent, finite and conditioned in time, space and causation. And what is more, he fails to get the desired happiness from them.

    This world is imperfect (Apurna) and there is uncertainty of life. A barrister-at-law talks at the telephone, ascends the staircase to take his meals and, alas, while ascending he dies on the staircase. Such instances are not uncommon to you all.

    There is not an iota of happiness in objects, because they are insentient (Jada). Even the sensual pleasure is a reflection of Atmic Bliss only. Just as a dog that sucks a dry bone in the street imagines foolishly that blood is oozing out of the dry bone, whereas blood is really oozing from its own palate, so also worldly-minded people foolishly imagine that the happiness they enjoy in everyday life comes from objects only.

    You can find eternal, infinite, supreme peace and bliss only in your Atma which shines in all its splendour and glory in the chambers of your heart. It is an embodiment of Bliss (Ananda Swarupa).

    There is mental uneasiness, dissatisfaction, discontentment and restlessness even in multimillionaires and kings. Some kind of sorrow, misery or pain is invariably present even when they are in the height of enjoyment of worldly pleasures. Show me a man who is perfectly happy? When the marriage of his second son is being celebrated, the remembrance of the death of his first son who passed away only sometime ago torments his mind.

    Mind is so constituted that the rhythm of pleasure and pain is kept up like the rhythm of systole and diastole of the heart. You entertain the fear that the happiness will pass away soon, when you are in happy surroundings. This adds pain, when you are in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures. Even if you remove the pain by some means or other, it again manifests in some form or other such as loss of property, disease, death, hostility and disappointment.

    There is no hope of immortality by means of riches. Such indeed is the emphatic and irrefutable declaration of the Upanishads. "Na karmana na prajayana dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanasuh. Neither by rituals, nor by progeny, nor by riches but by renunciation alone one can attain immortality."

    Mere giving up of objects will not constitute real renunciation. Dear friends, remember this point well. True Tyaga or renunciation consists in renouncing egoism, "I-ness," "mine-ness," selfishness, desires and cravings of all sorts.

    For all beings a human birth is verily difficult to attain, more so with a male body. It is said that there are three things which are rare indeed and are due to the grace of God viz., a human birth, the longing for liberation and the protecting care of a perfected sage. The man who having by some virtuous actions done in previous births obtained a human birth with a male body and a good intellect to boot is foolish enough not to exert for Self-Realization verily commits suicide, for he kills himself by clinging to things unreal.

    You will now ask me the pertinent question : "Why should I realize the Atman?" I say because Self-Realization gives you freedom from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths with its concomitant evils. Hear the emphatic declaration of the Upanishads: "This Atman (Self) which is free from sin, undecaying, undying, free from sorrow, hunger and thirst, with true desires and true resolves-that is what is to be sought after, and which one must wish to understand; one who has sought after his Self and understand It, obtains all worlds and all desires." (Chhandogya Upanishad).

    Hear again the forcible utterances of the same Chhandogya Upanishad: "Yo vai Bhuma tat sukham na alpe sukham asti, bhumaiva sukham bhuma tveva vijijnasitavyah. The infinite (the Great) is bliss. There is no bliss in what is small (finite). The Infinite alone is Bliss. But one should wish to understand the Infinite."

    Every man in this world is restless, discontented and dissatisfied. He feels that he is in want of something, the nature of which he does not really understand. He seeks, in the accomplishment of ambitious projects, the rest and peace that he feels he is in need of. But he finds to his great sorrow and disappointment that worldly greatness when secured is a delusion and a snare. He does not find any happiness in it. He gets coveted degrees, diplomas, titles, honours, power, position, name and fame; he marries; he begets beautiful babies; in short, he gets all that he supposes would give him happiness. But yet he finds no real rest and peace.

    Pious men, saints, sages, Acharyas and prophets are never tired of saying that this restlessness of every man, this state of discontentment, dissatisfaction and uncomfortableness of being ill at ease with himself and his environments is solely due to the loss of the companionship of the partner of his soul, who is ever eternally shining in the chambers of your heart, who is ready to embrace you with outstretched hands, if you really care to see Him and if you are really spiritually thirsty and hungry.

    One anna of pleasure is mixed with fifteen annas of pain. Pleasure that is mixed with pain, fear and worry is no pleasure at all. If you carefully begin to analyze this one anna of pleasure also, it will dwindle into an airy nothing. You will find that it is a mere play of the mind. O man! Wake up. Open your eyes. Develop Viveka. You cannot get the real happiness from finite objects.

    Nitya, Nirupadhika, Niratisaya Ananda (eternal, infinite Bliss) that is independent of objects can be had only in the Immortal Spirit or Atma or Soul or Brahman, the Indweller of your heart. Therefore shun all external things ruthlessly and run to the Feet of the Lord. Develop Vairagya. Vairagya is the rock-bottom foundation for the spiritual path.

    Why do men run after the sensual pleasures? What is their concept of happiness? Do Samskaras force them to repeat the same sensual acts again and again? Is man a mere creature of environment or circumstance? Can he not obliterate his Samskaras by effective and suitable means?

    On account of ignorance man runs hither and thither to seek happiness in objects. A little ginger bread and some sweetmeats, a son and a young wife, some position and power and a little money in the bank to boot will fill his heart with joy and calm down his nerves. That is all he wants. Bliss of Atma, supersensuous Ananda and Peace, spiritual ecstasy and knowledge are unknown to him. He does not want them. Nay, he dislikes them. He hates people who talk about higher and sublime things. Believe me, man can obliterate his Samskaras by Purushartha or right exertion. He is not a creature of environment or circumstance. He is the master of his destiny.

    Amidst the din and boisterous bustle of worldly activities, there do come moments of tranquillity and peace, when the mind for the time being, however short it may be, soars above the filthy worldly things and reflects on the higher problems of life viz., the why and wherefore of life and the riddle of the universe. Man begins to enquire: "Who am I?" The sincere enquirer becomes serious and gets absorbed in his reflections. He begins to search and understand the Truth. Discrimination dawns on him. He seeks Vairagya, concentration, meditation, and purification of the body and mind and eventually attains the highest Knowledge of Self. But the man whose mind is saturated with worldly Vasanas and materialistic poison is quite heedless and is irresistibly carried away by the two currents of Raga and Dwesha and tossed about helplessly hither and thither in the tumultous Samsaric stream of worldly concerns.

    Ah! How uncertain is sensual life in this world! If you constantly think of the transitory nature of sensual pleasure and its concomitant evils viz., miseries, worries, troubles, tribulations, anxieties and premature death, then you will slowly develop Vairagya. The Vairagya that comes momentarily is due to the loss of either wife, relation, friend, son or property; this will not help you much in the spiritual path. What is really wanted is Vairagya born of discrimination or Viveka.

    In the presence of sensual pleasure, spiritual bliss cannot exist, just as darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Therefore show extreme contempt for worldly objects. Destroy all desires. Turn the mind away from the sensual objects. You will develop Vairagya.

    You yourself have made your life complex and intricate. You have entangled yourself in this quagmire of Samsara. You have multiplied your wants and desires. Everyday you are forging an additional link to the chain of bondage. Simplicity has vanished. Luxurious habits and ways of living are embraced. No wonder there is unemployment everywhere. People are dying of starvation. There is depression in trade. There is unrest everywhere. There is wholesale devastation by earthquake. Divorce courts are also multiplying. One nation is afraid of another nation. One nation suspects that other nations are preparing for a big war. Life has thus become a matter of uncertainty. It has become a mass of confusion, chaos and bewilderment. It has become stormy and boisterous. It is full of under-currents, cross-currents, subterranean currents and mixed currents. Is there no way of escape from these troubles and difficulties? There is only one way. Lead a life of dispassion, self-control, purity, selfless service, cosmic love. Develop the habit of taking the right point of view, right thinking, right feeling, right acting, with right mental attitude or Bhav. Practice devotion and meditation.

    O Mohan! You have no real sustained Vairagya. Your present mental state is due to pecuniary embarrassments. This will not help you in the spiritual path. The mind will be waiting to get back the object renounced, when it gets the first opportunity. No doubt you are a man of spiritual Samskaras. But your Vairagya must be of that type that is born of pure Viveka, (Nityanitya-vastu-Viveka), discrimination between the real and the unreal. This is a rare commodity, a rare virtue, though many people feign to be in possession of the same.

    Thousands of young graduates and young doctors come to me with earthen pots in their hands and attired in orange coloured robes in quest of caves in Uttarakasi and Gangottri for deep meditation and practice of Pranayama. And some young research students in science and some Rajkumars go to the Punjab and Kashmir in silk suits with stiff collars and ties in search of girls for marriage. Is there pleasure or pain in this world? If there is pleasure, why do young educated men retire into forests? If there is pain, why do young men run after wealth, women and position? Mysterious is Maya! Mysterious is Moha!

    Try to understand the riddle of life and the riddle of the universe. Acquire Viveka. Take recourse to Satsang. Enquire into the nature of the Atman. Study the Yoga-Vasishtha and the Upanishads. Then you will have a comprehensive understanding of the innumerable problems of life. There is not an iota of happiness in this world. Seek the happiness within.

    Is not a kingdom valuable to be owned? Is not a summer palace in Kashmir or a pleasant garden with sweet-smelling flowers of various colours nice to live in? Is not the company of young Mabaranis with tender waists and lotus-like eyes dear as life itself, very pleasing? Yet wise, dispassionate men like Bhartrihari, Buddha, Gopichand and others retired into forests kicking all these things as worthless as straw, to realize the Self which alone can confer infinite Bliss, Immortality, and eternal Peace.

    The spirit comes and goes. Therefore you will have to be careful always in nourishing and protecting your spiritual Samskaras with burning Vairagya, intense and constant Sadhana and burning longing for liberation (Mumukshutva). You will have to increase your good Samskaras. You will have to develop them. You will have to multiply them.

    Vairagya is purely an internal mental state. A man may remain in the busy world amidst various luxuries, women and wealth, and yet he may possess perfect Vairagya, while a Sadhu who lives in a cave in the far off regions of the Himalayas may be greatly attached to his Kamandalu, walking stick or piece of cloth.




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