an important faculty to use

                          
  
Always remember the main thing to do: constant practice

We are still continuing with Patanjali's sutras, his narrative on the journey to enlightenment, what happens on the way, and everything else around it.

He talks about vairagya, which is to be used in conjunction with constant practice, abhyasa, although he is quite clear that constant practice is the more important. This is near the start of the sutras, so it's as though we are just starting out on our journey.

what does vairagya mean?

He advises us to use a faculty of mind, and the brain: vairagya. This is a word which does not exactly translate into English. It is often said to mean 'detachment', which suggest a separation from. Another translation is discernment. There are so many meanings for vairagya. It can also mean an indifference to the worldly. Not desiring worldly objects, aspects, and everything around this. And all of these meanings are where the misunderstandings arise.

There is an exalted state of vairagya, where one is not desiring, not wanting, indifferent to owning, having, wanting, material aspects and belongings. This is something which happens along the spiritual Path. The wanting just gets less and less. And yet here is Patanjali, at the beginning of our journey, telling us to not 'want'. How can we possibly do that at the beginning, when we first set out?

how can we utilise vairagya?

We can't, of course. because we are still identifying with the inner chitter chatter. because that's what we are doing when we first set out. And because Patanjali is talking about vairagya, which I'll call discernment here, it helps to remember that this is what Patanjali is actually talking about: discernment concerning the inner life in the form of vrittis, inner thoughts, inner feelings, inner reactions.

                           

How can we do that? Patanjali does go on to dissect knowledge, patterns of thought and all other bits and pieces concerning all of this. Personally, I found all of these to be quite overwhelming, and noticed that myself, and many others, got caught up in all of this. Analysing, identifying all sorts of things. And overthinking about it all. Being stuck, mentally. Which is not what the spiritual journey, nor One's Own Life, is supposed to be about.

Now, wiser and older and much further along the path than when I first started to learn (it was only book knowledge then, I might add) about all of these things, I would say to approach all of this mind stuff differently:

• don't overthink things. We all do this, but it's something to move away from. Simply because we are happier when we let go of this tendency. Notice things, yes. We need to observe Things in Life, how things are going, where we can see that things might be headed. This is where discernment comes in
• don't get side tracked. We can waste so much time and energy doing this. If you are sure that you are on the correct Path, stay on it. If it keeps not working out, then use discernment here, move on, do something else 

vairagya in it's essence

In the Higher Aspects of vairagya, one does what ever is needed to be done, without any thought of personal reward, without any thought of trying to control an outcome. It is a High Energy and Consciousness State of Being to aspire to. It is certainly attainable. Another spiritual system would call it being in a Neutral state. 

non attachment to the outcome

Patanjali suggests non attachment to the outcome of something. This is what many large Ashrams have as their foundation. The aspirants there work without attachment to the outcome of their work (in theory). Well, we are all human and very few people actually manage this. 

But, there is a very human reason for doing this: letting go of the attachment to the outcome. The outcome of something is often different to what we start off with believing that it will be. We can block the real outcome by putting our own perceptions, rules and regulations, onto what we believe that an outcome must be.

rather, do this

• keep doing what you need to do for something. Be consistent
• let go of anything that is not needed for what you are doing, for the outcome. Be discerning