I am writing about Vairāgyam, the freedom from desire, in this article.
Observing and Managing [OM] the desires in mind is the most practical method. Observing what is there in mind is the first step. Thoughts, emotions etc should be observed; There can be various kinds of thoughts and emotions. They can be observed and their significance is understood. Among these various emotions, desires can also be discovered; and also, the nature of the desire can be understood. This understanding of the nature of the desire is necessary to manage it. If the wish is positive, it should be cultivated and if it is negative, it should not be followed with actions. The desire that appears in mind may stay in mind, as a thought or as an emotion, which may eventually dissolve in the mind itself. We may take it as a slogan that “let the negative desires and tendencies may perish in the mind before they are converted into action”.
All kinds of wishes and longings, whether they are positive or negative, are not acceptable for a Yogi who is seeking complete liberation, Mokṣa. But for the common man, who is not still worried about the attachments and detachments in life, should destroy negative desires and construct positive wishes in mind. This is for his better experience of life. The construction of the positive wishes in the mind helps the individual to function well in his workplace as well as in the family. These two levels of the process, one: building up a good personality by purifying the mind from negative habits and two: the Yogic method of complete eradication of all kinds of desires, both together are called Vairāgyam in the Yogasutra-s of Patanjali.
The state of mind where there is no Rāga or attachment towards the objects, living beings or ideas is called Vairāgyam; Desirefree mind. It is a happy state of mind. A desirefree person would not be an inactive one; he would act perfectly without the influence of desires and negative thoughts.
(Let me make it clear that desire and responsibility are two different faculties. You should act with responsibility; not with desire. I will write about it in another article.)
We are talking about desire and the expected freedom from it. As I mentioned in the beginning, freedom from desire is called Vairāgyam.
Patanjali talks about two kinds of Vairāgyam: Apara Viragyam and Para Vairāgyam. I have already mentioned in this article that before one becomes interested in Yogic perfection by getting free from all desires, he may be leading a good life with positive thoughts and wishes. The Yogic state of mind where any desire whether positive or negative is never accepted, is called Para Vairāgyam; whereas the state of mind of a good man who eradicates all negative thoughts from his mind and leads a life of positive thinking, is called Apara Vairāgyam.
Apara Vairāgyam:
दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयवितृष्णस्य वशीकारसम्ज्ञा वैराग्यम् ॥१-२५॥
dṛṣṭānuśravikaviṣyavitṛṣṇasya vaśīkārasamjña Vairāgyam (1-25)
dṛṣṭa anuśravika viṣya vitṛṣṇasya vaśīkāra samjña Vairāgyam - The desire for the matters which are experienced through senses and understood through descriptions, are all eradicated; this kind of Vairāgyam is called Vaśīkāra.
(Vaśīkāra Vairāgyam is one of the four Apara Vairāgyam-s, namely yatamāna, vyatireka, ekendriya and Vaśīkāra.)
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.
I will explain more about the Apara and Para Vairāgyam-s in another article.