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After dealing with abhyāsa in the 13th and 14th sutra, the 15th and the 16th one are the sutras concerned, connected with the vairāgyam. And in the 15th sutra, the vairāgya, desirelessness from the coming out of, germinating, generating, popping up from the objects seen and heard, psychologically, mentally or even physically. But in this sutra, in this present sutra number 16, Patanjali places before us highest dimension of vairāgyam. He himself calls it highest.
The 16th sutra is
त॒त्प॒रं पु॒रु॒षख्या॒तेर्गुण॑वैतृ॒ष्ण्यम् ॥ १.१६॥
Tat param puruṣa-khyāterguṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam || 1.16 ||
Tat param, Tat means that. That means that Vairāgyam. Param, highest. That is highest Vairāgya. Tat param - that is the highest Vairāgya in which Puruṣa-khyāti and Vaitṛṣṇyam. That is the highest Vairāgya because of Puruṣa-khyāti you developed Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam, means instead of saying it as Vairāgyam he is using the word Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam, more higher dimension.
So that is the highest Vairāgya which comes or which should come by Puruṣa-khyāti and Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam. Words are very simple. Tat is that. That refers to the Vairāgya. Param is higher. That is the higher Vairāgya. Puruṣa is what we generally refer as highest power. We can for understanding purpose say it is the God, Īśvara, Bhagavān. So that is the highest Vairāgya by Puruṣa-khyāti. Puruṣa is this God, Bhagavān, Īśvara. Khyāti is knowledge. Knowledge of Bhagavān. Knowledge of Īśvara. Knowledge of God. Knowledge of Puruṣa.
Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam. Guṇa is here refers to three Guṇas - Sattva, Rajas, Tamo-guṇa, Vaitṛṣṇyam is desireless, thirstless.
So it means that is the highest Vairāgya in which because of Puruṣa-jñāna, Puruṣa-khyāti, awareness of Puruṣa, there is Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam. Not a single or not a smallest fraction, minutest fraction of the desire for the Guṇas, total absolute Vaitṛṣṇyam, complete cessation.
So there is grades are given for the Vairāgya. The lower and the higher if you have to say. Sutra number 15 which talked of the Vairāgya is a little bit lesser or lower if we have to term or compare. Because there, the Vairāgya is from the objects seen or heard.
But here, it is the highest, Parama, because even from the Guṇas, Vaitṛṣṇyam, even from Guṇa, the three Guṇas, that is how it is the highest. Not only the objects and the senses, the basic foundation, the basic nature, that is the three Guṇas. And from that, Vaitṛṣṇyam. And that is the, if we just analyze and understand our entire world, complete world, all these manifestations which we see in this world, and all these manifestations, all these expressions, are nothing but the combinations and recombinations of these three Guṇas. Everything in this world, they are just permutations and combinations and recombinations of all the three Guṇas, Sattva, Rajas and the Tamo-guṇa. Everything. When we say everything, it includes us, our own mind, our own body, our own thinking, our own intelligence, including this mind, including the Citta. Everything comes under the nature, which is the expression, manifestation of the combinations and recombinations of all these three Guṇas.
And this three Guṇas, the play of the three Guṇas, is the nature. And Puruṣaḥ is beyond these three Guṇas, Trigunātītaḥ, Nistraiguṇyaḥ. And awareness and knowledge of that is the highest.
Means, it is not just giving up. It is not just a simple detachment. It is not just a simple free from the sense objects and sense enjoyments. Patanjali is putting Vairāgya at a very highest level or the highest Vairāgya is that where even three Guṇas have been given up. And the knowledge of that Puruṣaḥ, who is the Trigunātītaḥ, who is in Nistraiguṇyaḥ, who is beyond the Guṇas, of his knowledge, what Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam comes, that is the highest one.
So in the other sense, the Vairāgya is higher where there is knowledge of the Puruṣa, the realisation of the Puruṣa. As if it is the Kaivalya itself or in the Kaivalyam there is no Rāgam or the highest Vairāgyam is the Kaivalya.
If that is the one and as we know that an absolute detachment from all the sense enjoyments is very difficult or almost impossible as long as we live in this nature with this body-mind. But still Maharshi is defining it that Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam has to be there.
Though it is impossible, it has to be there. What does it mean? Is there not a suggestion in that that one should be very careful in handling the Vairāgyam? It is a caution, a strong caution that the practice of Vairāgyam should be not only sincere, it should be severe.
Many times we feel that we have conquered. We feel that this object, that object, that desire, this desire will no more trouble me. I am very confident. Nothing will happen to me. By having this attitude we may get involved in those objects, those desires. But slowly that involvement even after having the confidence, even after we have conquered it, maybe really, but even after that, because of that confidence, a real confidence, a sincere confidence, we may be using those objects. We may be coming closer with those sense enjoyments, with a dareness. But there is still a danger lurking in that. There may be a danger of trapping down. There may be a danger of dropping down. There may be a danger of slipping away.
That's why Patanjali says, the highest, the top, the maximum, that Param is Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam and that comes out of Puruṣa-khyāti.
We have umpteen number of incidents of Ṛṣis, Mahāṛṣis, so many stories which we keep on listening, hearing and reading in our Purāṇas and this is all a suggestion, a caution that we must be careful and achieve that Tat param, highest Vairāgyam by Puruṣa-khyātiḥ. Knowledge of the Puruṣaḥ and then alone this Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam is achieved. So, Vaitṛṣṇyam, desirelessness and Guṇa is the Sattva, Rajas and Tamo-guṇas. Puruṣa-khyāti is the knowledge of the Puruṣaḥ.
How beautifully Maharishi places highest Vairāgyam can also be understood as is possible only by having Puruṣa-khyāti and Guṇa-vaitṛṣṇyam. Absolute, absolute means 100% desireless even from the three Guṇas and that is possible with the knowledge of the Puruṣaḥ and with this Patanjali takes us into the higher dimensions of the mind, of the Citta and in the path of yoga with this Abhyāsa and Vairāgya, the results, the higher dimensions of our process of realisation, the knowledge of yoga and that begins from the 17th sutra of the Samādhi Pāda of the Yoga Darśana continuing the sutras.
We shall see what are those various dimensions in our coming understandings.
Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः||
To Be Continued..
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These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji.
Audio Link - https://youtu.be/RuEfN1CmrE8?si=L2h5ltE0zn8xWeMPRead n Get Articles, Magazines, Books @ http://prakashan.vivekanandakendra.org
मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
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