Introduction
In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that one cannot achieve perfection in knowledge via mere physical renunciation (3.4).
In Vedanta, only when renunciation is combined with knowledge and devotion, one can achieve liberation.
Nonetheless, renunciation plays an indispensable role in one's journey towards liberation.
A formal way to quickly & absolutely renounce is to adopt "sanyasa deeksha" as prescribed in scriptures. However this is not possible for the majority of us and is also not ideal for sustaining a functional society.
Hence a “gradational approach” to renunciation is suggested.
In "Yoga shastra", one such gradational approach involves four stages: “Yatamana” (detaching from craving of senses), “Vyatireka” (staying away from desires), “Ekendriya” (mind fixed on only one subject of liberation) and “Vasikara” (absolute detachment).
Vedic Tribe is happy to bring you this introductory series on these four stages of renunciation. In our next writeup, we will discuss the first stage of renunciation "Yatamana".
Our intention is to create enough curiosity in you to study Vedic literature and implement them in your day to day life.
All the best.
Madhwesh K
Vedic Tribe
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1. Yatamana (detaching from craving of senses)
The very first impediment to spiritual progress is craving of senses. A lot of beginners in spiritual practice are troubled by the urge for instant gratification.
Instant gratification is the immediate desire to feel satisfaction (ie., to instantly satisfy the craving senses). It creates attachment and attachment creates more craving. This loop of attachment & craving directly affects our ability to maintain physical, mental & spiritual health.
For the beginners, it is not possible to remove the subject of craving. For example, it is not possible for us to give away our mobile phones; it is not possible to avoid passing by cigarette shops.
Instead it is possible to detach from the sensory cues which triggers craving. For example, by turning off notifications we can detach from the sensory cues which trigger our craving to check mobile phones. By avoiding meeting friends who smoke, we can detach from the sensory cues which trigger our craving to smoke.
In yoga-shastras this is called "Yatamana". It is suggested to a "mrudu-sadhaka" (beginner), wherein a deliberate detachment from the craving senses is practiced. Overtime staying away from objects of instant gratification becomes a habit and this lays the foundation for next level of renunciation.
You may adopt a daily meditation practice where you observe your sensory cravings for instant gratifications. As your capacity to observe increases, so does your capacity to detach from them at the right moment.
In our next writeup, we will discuss the second stage of renunciation "Vyatireka".
Madhwesh K
Vedic Tribe
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2. Vyatireka
In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that even in the case of a person who practices self-regulation, the craving senses can easily overpower the mind and destroy the self-regulation (2.60).
In the first stage, we learned to detach from sensory cravings but our mental cravings still persist; i.e., our mind still generates sensory desires. This makes it easy for the craving senses to overpower the mind and destroy the first stage of renunciation.
For example, though we have temporarily detached our senses from mobile phones by turning off notifications, our mind is constantly generating desire to check our phones. Though we have stayed away from friends who smoke, our mind is constantly generating desire to smoke. This volatile mind allows the craving senses to nullify the first stage “yatamana”
So, one should quickly move to the second stage "Vyatireka"; i.e, is to train the mind to stop generating sensory desires.
Our mind generates sensory desires because it is not self sufficient. The purpose of “Vyatireka” is to achieve a self-sufficient mind, because such a mind does not require sensory consumption to be active. A self-sufficient mind is the one totally engaged in knowledge & devotion. Hence if we train our mind to be engrossed in knowledge & devotion, it no longer generates desire for sensory consumption. This allows the mind to withstand the constant bombardment of sensory cues.
In yoga-shastras “vyatireka” is suggested to a "madhya-sadhaka" (intermediate practitioner), wherein study of scriptures, listening to spiritual discourses, engaging in satsang, performing daily worship..etc are adopted. Overtime, the mind becomes self-sufficient and this lays the foundation for the next level of renunciation.
You may adopt a daily routine of studying scriptures (starting with Bhagavad Gita) and performing daily worship for a fixed amount of time. As your mind is engrossed in knowledge & devotion, the impact of external sensory cues diminish.
In our next writeup, we will discuss the third stage of renunciation "Ekendriya".
Madhwesh K
Vedic Tribe
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3. Ekendriya
In the second stage, we learned to train our mind to be self-sufficient with knowledge & devotion. However, since we are constantly interacting with the world, our mind inevitably sways between worldly affairs & spiritual affairs.
In the third stage, we train our mind to stop swaying and focus on one subject of liberation; i.e., the almighty. Height of such focus is “tapas”; i.e., retiring from worldly affairs & performing penance in seclusion.
Since “tapas” is not possible for everyone, Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita suggests an easy method. He says “Those who dedicate their actions to the almighty, abandoning all attachment, remain untouched by sin, just as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.”(5.10)
Completely dedicating all our actions (physical, vocal & mental) to the almighty stops our mind from swaying towards worldly affairs. Though the interaction with the world continues, the mind is focused on the subject of liberation i.e., the almighty.
In yoga-shastras this stage (“ekendriya”) is suggested to a "Adhimatra aadhaka" (intense practitioner), wherein total focus of mind on the subject of liberation is practiced. Overtime, this lays the foundation for the next level of renunciation i.e., total dissolution of mind.
One should remember that from "yatamana" (first stage) to "Vyatireka" (second stage) the jump is short. But it requires a gaint leap to reach "Ekendriya" (third stage).
You may adopt a daily meditation practice of observing both immanent & transcendent aspects of the almighty and submit all your actions to the almighty. This habit will manifest into "Ekendriya" in due course.
In our next writeup, we will discuss the fourth stage of renunciation "Vashikara".
Madhwesh K
Vedic Tribe
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4. Vashikara
In the third stage ("Ekendriya"), the mind stopped swaying towards worldly affairs and became focused on the subject of liberation. But interaction with the world continues and many "satvika" interests are retained in the world.
In the fourth stage "vashikara", the mind completely loses interest in the world because it has directly observed the immanence of the almighty.
In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says "all the cravings of senses & interests of the mind will be lost once the almighty is observed directly". (2.59)
At this stage the physical body and world are only relevant for consuming past karmic impressions ("prarabda karma"). Since the mind is totally dissolved and the soul dwells in almighty, it is called "jeevanmukta" (the liberated one among commons). In yoga-shastras such a soul is called "teerva samvegini adhimatrataman".
This stage is incomprehensible to beginners. The scriptures, traditions and folklore records such jeevanmuktas who were among the commons so that beginners can model their spiritual practices in line with theirs.
You may adopt a daily meditation practice of observing such individuals in your tradition and model your spiritual practice in line with him /her. This habit will manifest into mental essence and help you progress over many lifetimes.
Vedic Tribe is happy to have brought you this introductory series on these four stages of renunciation.
Our intention is to create enough curiosity in you to study Vedic literature and implement them in your day to day life.
All the best.
Madhwesh K
Vedic Tribe
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