Vairagya

Vairāgya (Devanagari: वैराग्य, also spelt Vairagya) is a Sanskrit term used in Hindu philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures in the material world (Maya). The Hindu philosophers who advocated vairāgya told their followers that it is a means to achieve moksha.

Etymology

Vairāgya is an abstract noun derived from the word virāga (joining vi meaning "without" + rāga meaning "passion, feeling, emotion, interest"). This gives vairāgya a general meaning of ascetic disinterest in things that would cause attachment in most people. It is a "dis-passionate" stance on life. An ascetic who has subdued all passions and desires is called a vairāgika.

In Hindu texts

The concept of Vairāgya is found in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, where it along with practice (abhyāsa), is the key to restraint of the modifications of the mind (YS 1.12, "abhyāsa-vairāgyabhyāṁ tannirodhaḥ"). The term vairāgya appears three times in the Bhagavad Gita (6.35, 13.8, 18.52) where it is recommended as a key means for bringing control to the restless mind. It is also the main topic of Mokṣopāya or Yoga Vasistha.

Another important text on renunciation is Vairāgya shataka or "100 verses of Renunciation", a part of the Śatakatraya collection by Bhartṛhari.

Further reading

• The Vairagya-Satakam Or The Hundred Verses On Renunciation. Advaita Ashrama. 1916.