Dispassion & Brexit
Britain is out of the European Union. Brexit panic has gripped the UK. Possible recession looms. The Prime Minster has resigned and no one seems to know what's going on ! Oh dear. There are a lot of unhappy people.
Does anyone want to be unhappy? No, of course not. But situations out of our control (like Brexit) affect our mental peace. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be happy and peaceful regardless of time, place, mental state, external situations? Yes, indeed. We all want lasting happiness free from all conditions (called ‘Moksha’); it is natural. Ok, so how do I get this Moksha? Via knowledge of the truth (tattvabodha). Ok, how do I gain ‘knowledge of truth’? By preparing your mind to receive this knowledge from a qualified teacher. What is this ‘preparation of mind’ (adhikaritvam)? You (the student) require 4 qualities: Discrimination, Dispassion, 6 fold wealth, desire for freedom.
Discrimination (Viveka), we have already seen ( http://advaita-academy.org/blogs/4-human-goals-purusharta-vichara/ ), is simply the crystal clear understanding (discrimination/wisdom/knowledge) that what I seek is Moksha and nothing else. Hmmm…but how do I gain this clear discrimination? By objectively analysing your life experiences and thinking…“what am I doing?”, “why am I doing this?” “what am I really seeking?”. The Upanishads (Vedanta teaching) call this analysis ‘Pariksha Lokaan’ (Mund. Up. 1.2.12). But why don’t I think like this now? Because you need to give yourself time to think. We are so busy rushing, rushing, rushing…that we don’t even give ourselves 5 minutes in the day to think about what we are rushing for. Hence a calm and relaxed mind is required to think. To analyse. How do I get a calm mind? Sri Krishna advises you to do your duty in life, follow Dharma, contribute to society, and cheerfully accept the situations that arise in your life whether good or bad. This is ‘Karma Yoga’ described in Gita Chapt 3.
OK, so now I know what Viveka is and how I get it. Once I gain interest in something as amazing as Moksha, naturally my interest in things other than that falls away. This natural ‘falling away’ of interest in something, because I see something better, is called ‘dispassion’ (Vairagya). E.g. Just like if you had a choice between a £1 coin and £1Million cheque. Would you be interested in the £1 coin ? No. Why….do you ‘hate’ the £1 coin ? No, no hatred or resentment. Just simply not interested. It has no value compared to the £1Million. So because I have the clear understanding (Viveka) that the £1Million is worth much much much more than £1. Then it is absolutely natural that I am not interested in the £1. It has very little value to me. I have ‘dispassion’ towards the £1. I’m just not interested. This is not out of dullness, hate, prejudice, fear. No. Its born of Viveka (clearly understanding the difference in value) regarding the 2 choices. Similarly, if you clearly see that only Moksha will give you absolute happiness, whereas worldly pleasures offer temporary happiness – then you naturally loose interest (Vairagya) in pursuing worldly pleasures (Artha, Kama). Because you want the £1M prize…in this case Moksha. And why not! If you lack Vairagya, all it means is that you lack Viveka. Simple. Hence, Viveka (Discriminative Wisdom) comes first, then Vairagya (Dispassion) comes naturally.
You require both Viveka and Vairagya if you wish to gain Moksha – so says the Vedanta Shastra.
Om
Aditya
(adig_85@yahoo.com)
