The Importance of Vairaagya

There is a bird that lives inside a large tree trunk called the koshakara bird. It bores a hole inside the branch and builds its nest close to the bark. In order not to leave any room for invasion by other animals and predators, the bird strengthens its nest on all sides and continues to do so until not even a little space remains. Unfortunately, the bird’s efforts to fortify its nest means there is no space for it to get back out and it perishes.

Similarly, the grihasta or householder tries to shut out the misery and pain of the world. We build our nests of home, family, job and relationships and we build it in such a strong way around us that we leave no room for any spiritual desire to enter. We surround ourselves with sense indulgences. We limit ourselves to such an extent that we stifle ourselves in materialism and do not progress spiritually. We think that material pursuits are the purpose and meaning of life. We don’t leave breathing space for spiritual endeavours. Materialism represents the structure of this cage. That space that should exist for air to enter is vairaagya, dispassion, or simply, the ability to let things go or flow in our life.

The lesson of the story is that if we choose the worldly life of the householder, then we should always ensure there is some breathing space. In other words, contemplate on vairaagya, through which you can escape the shackles of materialism if necessary. When we are faced with serious challenges and we don’t know how to cope, we need an escape hatch, which is the ability to see things as they truly are and to let them go. We must first deeply understand the transience of life and let it take root in our minds. Vairaagya is the air we need to elude the problems. Notice, the solution isn’t always to solve the problems because problems will always exist. We could solve a problem today and tomorrow another one appears. Achievements and losses are part of life.  The best attitude for our situation today is vairaagya; as the saying goes, let the chips fall where they may. Whatever happens, although it may seem to be a negative outcome, in some way, it happens for the best. Sometimes, it might be the best in a general sense, beyond our limited vision of the world. Vairaagya is a deeper understanding that things are happening as they should.

To understand this further, here’s another story. There once was a man who was afraid of mosquitoes. He did everything possible to avoid being bitten by them. He lived in a village near a forest, and the mosquitoes kept him awake at night. He got fed up of the situation and decided to live in the jungle instead. There was a cool breeze blowing through the jungle so there were no mosquitoes there. He didn’t take any weapons with him; he went into the jungle without a gun or sword or knife. He was able to sleep peacefully at last. Living in the jungle seemed to be the solution to all his problems. A short while later, while resting, a wild animal attacked him and ate him.

Similarly, there are people who are disgusted with the world and its cares, worries and anxieties and they think the solution is to leave the world, where the mosquitoes of the world are biting them, and go to a secluded ashram. However, because they are not equipped with spirituality, it is just an escape route. For a while they may not be affected by the cares and worries of the world. However, very soon, the wild animal of maya (the illusory world) overpowers them. Eventually they fall victim to lust or weath or fame or some other worldly lure. If you cannot deal with the circumstance you are in, wherever you go you will find that there are similar situations to deal with. So we need to deal with our challenges and understand how things work where we are. We must use every situation as a learning situation and so, we can learn to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually.