Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra-s, classified Vairāgyam as Apara and Para.
The psychological state in which the desires are controlled is called Vairāgyam. The one who observes and manages [OM] his desires becomes different and special; he starts growing internally. Therefore Vairāgyam which involves the observation and management of desires has a lot of importance in practical life.
A student who is preparing for a public examination needs to manage his own desires to bring more attention to his studies. He may like games, watching movies, reading poems or spending time with friends on social media or in a mall. How can he do so many activities without suffering his main attention which is the preparation for the exam? It is practically impossible. His need to pass the exam with a decent result is the most important one. And he has many other interests as I mentioned above, among which he has to choose which one can be attended and which one should be managed or postponed; even postponement of the satisfaction of a desire is a kind of management. If the student is not capable of doing this process of observing his desires and managing them, he cannot prepare for his exam. He should be capable of choosing which interests are important and which are unnecessary in nature. The ability to choose this is called the power of discrimination. In this manner, discriminating the desires and managing them on the basis of this awareness is helpful for leading a good functional life. This is the initial level of Vairāgyam; this kind of Vairāgyam which is inevitable in an ordinary day-to-day life is called Apara Vairāgyam or, as Patanjali calls it in his Yoga Sutra-s, Vasikara Vairāgyam.
Apara Vairāgyam:
दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसम्ज्ञा वैराग्यम् ॥१-२५॥
dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣayavitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasamjña Vairāgyam (1-25)
dṛṣṭa anuśravika viṣaya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra samjña Vairāgyam - The state of mind, in which the desire-s in the both dṛṣṭa and anuśravika types are under control, is called Vaśīkāra.
Desires are of two kinds: 1. Those due to the direct experience of the individual; like the longing for having more chocolates after tasting once. This kind of desires are called dṛṣṭa. 2. Those after being attracted by the description of another person; like increasing the interest towards cosmetics after watching the advertisements. These kinds of desires are called anuśravika. When all the negative desires in both these types are under control, and the individual allows only the positive interests for a good functional life, that state of mind is called Vasikara Vairāgyam.
(Vaśīkāra Vairāgyam is one of the four Apara Vairāgyam-s, namely yatamāna, vyatireka, ekendriya and Vaśīkāra. There is much more to talk about Apara Vairāgyam, because it is the practice of a beginner. I will elaborate more in another article.)
Para Vairāgyam:
तत्परं पुरुषख्यातेर्गुणवैतृष्ण्यम् ॥१-२६॥
tatparam puruṣkhyāter guṇavaitṛṣṇyam (1-26)
The Para Vairāgyam is the state of mind as a result of realising the true nature of Ātma and overcoming the influence of Triguṇa-s - Satvaguṇa, Rajoguṇa and Tamoguṇa.
Para Vairāgyam is common for those who have progressed in the realisation of Atma through spiritual self-editing, purification and knowledge. When the individual realises that he is not this body-mind unit and he is Atman, all his desires connected with the body-mind unit will disappear. He knows that desires related to any aspect in life are only the creation of Triguṇa-s. Satva-Rajas-Tamo guṇa-s function only in the body-mind unit; they have no effect on Atma. Through this realisation the realised one gets rid of all desires, irrespective of their merits and demerits. Positive desires in daily life also will not be important for the Yogi; he has grown beyond the worldly interests because he knows that Atma, the Supreme Self, has no worldly connections. Such a perfect and complete Vairāgyam is called Para Vairāgyam.
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