Abhyasam - you probably know or practice, though you may not recognize the term. In fact, Abhyasam MEANS to practice, or a habit, or discipline. It is, ideally, the consistent or constant practice of whatever your preferred sadhana, practice, technique, method or whatever is. It is the "positive" wing, so to speak. It is the "Do this" of your efforts, so much so that rather than a practice, it becomes a "habit". After all, much of what you do is habit anyway, including the beliefs you hold about nearly anything. They're just habits. So the idea of abhyasam is to create positive habits of continual awareness, or self inquiry, or chanting one's mantra, expressing love, or ..... You get the picture. You've already had a lifetime of creating various habits or practices that don't help you, so it's creating ones that do. Make them the major part of your life.
Now Vairagyam is the other, very crucial wing of the bird, for vairagyam is detachment or dispassion. It's the "Don't do this" or "Let go of this" wing of the duo. Ragyam means passion, and vai is 'dis' - thus dis-passion. Abhyasam is the ascension, while vairagyam is the lifting the anchor. Am I mixing metaphors here? You push your boat and are ready to row across the bay, but the rope is still tied to the dock. Untying it is vairagyam. It's also the letting go of the old practices or habits that hold you back, or tend to sneak into consciousness when you're not properly practicing abhyasam. When you ARE practicing abhyasam and then see old patterns arise, you calmly let them go, give up the attachment to them, and that's vairagyam.
Heading up the mountain with a backpack FULL of rocks is abhyasam without vairagyam. You may make progress, but ultimately, you won't get as far as you like. Dumping the rocks, but not taking a step, is vairagyam without abhyasam. You'll feel light and at ease, but you won't get anywhere! And, eventually, out of boredom, you'll probably just pick the rocks up again.
So, let's look at a brief look at a few of the sutras from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras:
yogaścittavṛṛttinirodhaḥ
Yoga (divine union) is the stopping of the mind modifications in consciousness.
tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe 'vasthānam
Then, the establishment of the Seer (Self) in their original position.
vṛtti sārūpyamitaratra
Otherwise, there is conformity TO the vrittis. (One fully identifies with their beliefs)
abhyāsavairāgyābhyām tannirodhaḥ
That stopping (nirodha) is done through Abhyasam and Vairagyam.
Similarly, in Bhagavad Gita, Krsna explains to Arjuna, the process of yoga. Arjuna then declares that the mind is "restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, and that to subdue it is more difficult than controlling the wind. Krsna tells Arjuna that:
asaṁśayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ calam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate
"O mighty-armed son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by constant practice (abhyasa) and by detachment.(vairagya)"
Okay, so that's all very great and fine, but WHERE does the happiness part come in, you may ask. Well, let me ask you - what makes you unhappy? Your misery comes in large part due to having beliefs about how things SHOULD be: People should be like this; the world should be like that; those people are horrible and shouldn't be like this; these things don't fit with MY views and beliefs on how EVERYTHING should be!!! Everything about the world basically falls under these ideas - things about yourself, your family, your neighbors, the nation, the world, the universe - anytime there's something that doesn't fit YOUR beleifs of how it should be, you're unhappy. I've especially seen it the last few years in politics. One half of the nation tends to hate the other half - both absolutely certain that their own views are correct and the other side is either stupid, faschist, mentally ill, or just plain evil! Now, is that anyway to be happy, where friends, family, and neighbors are now persona non grata? What happened to 'Love thy neighbor,' and 'Love thy brother as thy self?'
You might try to remember that all of this is basically a dream, and the real truth is your Self, that absolute consciousness that is above and prior to all this nonsense. Just let it all go. Imagine having an all out war about the plot of a movie! It's all a movie, a dream, an illusion. Let it go. This is where vairagyam (dispassion) can be a powerful tool. Let go of all hard-held beliefs and concepts. Inquire into who/what YOU are. Stop and Be Presence. THAT will end your unhappiness. That will bring you peace!
deep love
Aja
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