Monday, October 22, 2007

Smashaana Vairagya

I'm very much interested in Hindu philosophy and Vedas and make it a point to absorb some whenever I can.
This post is on one such topic.
Smashaana vairaagya, when loosely translated reads as graveyardly detachment.I don't even know whether graveyard can be used as adjective.

It refers to the kind of detachment where in, the mind behaves as that of one found in the dead,a.k.a it's dead.The mind lives in a different reality which has got nothing to do with the world in which the body resides.This word is also used to mock some persons, who attain or behave to have attained a spiritual awakening overnight and act as if they are the embodiment of spirituality.In reality this is nothing close to being spiritual and most of them don't stay there for long.

Human beings are programmed to be full of desire and there is nothing wrong in wanting something.The problem doesn't lie there.In fact everyone should give in to their desires and devote their energies in fulfilling them.

This may sound gibberish,but let me explain.There are two kinds of desires.The first one is "the desire to become" and the other one is "the desire to do".The problem lies when somebody desires to become something.
There is a desire to do something and you do it and you become happy.This is natural and perfectly fine.Then, there is a desire to become.In order to become something(happy),we do something and this is where the source of all the pain and suffering lies.

I do something.I will become something.
I will earn money.I will become happy(rich)
I will write a good post.I will become happy(traffic)
I will look good.I will become happy(attract people)
I will hurt him.I will become happy.
I will work hard.I will become happy.(promotion/raise)

These are all fools' recipes for disaster.
Action and desire should be separated in order to find true happiness.
Do something not to BECOME happy,but do something because you find happiness doing it.

Earn money because the process of earning money makes brings you happiness and not under the assumption that becoming rich will bring you joy.Write a good post because you enjoy writing it.Look good because looking good makes you FEEL good.Work hard because you like your work and not to impress your boss.Hurt others not because you will be happy because of it, but because you are (sadistically)happy while you are hurting others.

Action, in anticipation of something(in return) is bound to cause pain.Action in vacuum is necessary.Many are able to separate their actions from expectations.But this is accompanied by a side-effect(a dangerous side side-effect)
With the loss of expectation, comes the loss of desire to act.Once there is nothing to expect from anything or anyone, there is a loss of of an important ingredient that drives life:desire.

The hindu philosophy calls this state as Smashaana Vairaagya.(or graveyardly detachment.)
Many think they have arrived,they have found their calling,their true self.But mistake not;it is a dangerous state and sooner or later they snap out of it and get back to their old habits as a cured drug addict who gets back to his addiction.Only this time, no one can cure him again.

Hence this kind of detachment should be avoided at any cost.This(Now) is happiness.That(tomorrow) is happiness.Everything is happiness and this is as simple as it gets.

Finally, love someone because you love him/her and you love loving that person;you're happy loving that person.And not because you WILL be happy IF you love.
There is a subtle difference between them and it needs to be discovered.(quickly)

It is supremely difficult to be able to continue being actionable, and still be detached from it's results and expectations.

This is summed up by just one line of bhagavad gita:

"Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana."

"You have a right to perform your prescribed action,but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action.
Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities,and never be associated to not doing your duty."
(translation source:
"Bhagavadgeetha As It Is by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada")

So simple.So relevant.

9 comments:

David said...

the idealist heart wounds the easiest

DESPERADO said...

but we still strive hard for idealism(true love,eternal happiness,....)
Life's funny.

TK Kerouac said...

Great post!

I'd still like more traffic though...

Enemy of the Republic said...

I think about acheiving detachment as explained in the Gita a lot. I think I have at least one to 2 more lifetimes to get there.

I love this stuff. Sorry I've not been around.

Dust-bunny said...

Thank you for posting a comment on my "other" blog...I wasn't aware that anyone posted, because usually I get an email alerting me. So I appreciate it!

...as for you being "depressing", you obviously have a sense of humor...when I saw "4 depressing comments", I laughed out loud!

Enemy of the Republic said...

I just came back to tell you how much I liked this post.

I hope to be back to regular blogging in 2 weeks. Everything hit the fan last week and now I have so much catching up to do. But when I can, I will visit my buds like you.

Tai said...

Seems to me it's a simple as "do it 'cus you want to, not because you'll get anything for it."
Or maybe I'm missing something?

DESPERADO said...

TK Kerouac:I agree.Amen!!

Dust-bunny:thanks for the nice comment.You've got a pretty nice blog too.

Enemy:Appreciate your thoughtful comments.Your writings have been and will continue to be a source of inspiration and help at times.

Tai:
that's correct.
It's more like do it bcoz you have to."Have to" in a more of righteous kind of way and not as compulsion.

Behind Blue Eyes said...

I really liked this post, I looked at it awhile back but didn't comment because sometimes I have to think about stuff for awhile. I always enjoy it when someone can take a sacred text and interpret it for me. I'm not always very good at that myself, not one of my strong points. Your post helped me to do that. I've met a few people who are like you are talking about, not very many. They have a certain 'aura' about them, don't they. Truthfully, sometimes they can be hard to relate to, their very life seems to chastise you though they don't mean to. They gives me courage though, we all need someone lighting the way in front, to show us that following a spiritual pathway really does work. To let us know that the things that we are told are not fairy tales but really are possible.

"I walk the lonely roads,the only one that I've ever known."