Abhyasa and Vairagya - two wheels in the bicycle of Yoga
During my Yoga teacher training in Yoga Bharathi, Bangalore, I heard for the first time that “Abhyasa and Vairagya always go together”. In Bhagavat Gita chapter 6, when the troubled warrior prince Arjuna tells Sri Krishna that the unsteady and restless mind cannot be controlled, Bhagvan Krishna responds that the mind can be brought under our control through repeated Practice(Abyasa) and Detachment (Vairagya).
Abhyasa is something that we hear all the time. Practice - till you are perfect. Be it sports or a skill or a talent. Be it Math or science, we are always told from a very young age to practice and practice hard. And as a concept, it is pretty clear that we improve in anything that we do repeatedly over a period of time.
Yet Vairagya or detachment, dispassion has been the main teaching of religions, philosophers and Yogis. Simply put it can be related as letting go.
In a deeper sense, my teachers mention, Vairagya is a true measure of our spiritual progress. In fact Yoga brings out this concept in all its paths.
In Karma Yoga, Vairagya is letting go of the fruits or the results that we so commonly expect in everything that we do and do the task at hand well.
In Jnana Yoga, Vairagya is discriminating our true intentions and motives by using our knowledge to understand the things as they are rather than viewing them only from our perspective.
In Bhakti Yoga, Vairagya is a total surrender to a higher power or God by channelling our emotions into love for God.
In Raja Yoga, the path of willpower, Vairagya is at every step as we use our will to control our desires and sensory pursuits in order to progress further.
Considering my worldly ways, the concept of vairagya seemed like a mountain that I could never climb. It always felt alien, I was comfortable with the stress on Abhyasa, but vairagya, I nodded like I understood but never gave it a second thought. So I focussed on what I knew best, Abhyasa - My daily Yoga practice.
With time, I realised when you do your daily Abhyas, Vairagya happens automatically. Because during that one hour, I am not doing the fun things like listening to music, watching TV or catching up with my friends. So in that one hour both Abhyas and Vairagya happen together.
But does it work the other way too?
It's been two years since I practice Yoga regularly, and my daily practice has given me some glimpses into what Vairagya could mean.
My daily practice is a simple flow of different Asanas that I do each day. Some days I am able to rock my practice, other days I drag my feet when my energy levels are low or my mind is disturbed. Often when I notice what went wrong during the days I am not up to it, I realise that I have been too involved in the demands of modern life and stress that my practice took a backseat. So in order to be able to practice daily on a consistent basis, I realised that I may have to give up or ‘Let go’ of other things that are short-term pleasures. For example, late-night movies too many days in a row, makes me miss my morning practice. Same when I relax the discipline around eating habits and consume way too much junk or spicy stuff. So put simply, the lack of Vairagya also meant that my much-coveted practice goes for a toss.
But as I talk to my teachers at YB, they urge, knowing this what would you do next?
Being aware of what we are clinging to or what we enjoy (though it may not help us eventually) is the first step. I am trying to improve my eating habits and stop being distracted by social media so that I can free up more time for what matters. This requires awareness and effort on a daily basis.
Being aware and reflecting on our Abhyasa is also an important factor so that we do not develop raga towards our own practices.
So I realise, that practising Vairagya or giving up something to move on in the path of Yoga is also a way of doing your daily Abhyas or daily practice.
This is the whole beauty of the Yoga system. Everything that you need to know, has been explained. But the truth is without practice, it is just a fanciful theory. No matter how profound or estoric the concept may be, consistent practice can help lead the way in understanding in a step-by-step manner.
So what do you think you need to give up to make your Yoga practice better? Rather, what do you think you have let go unknowingly, as you practice Yoga? Pause, Reflect and BE AWARE!
- Vijaya Hariharan