Is fear or hatred of the world what people call vairagya?

A private conversation with Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj in Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj, Vrindavan. Sadhaks put questions about their life and sadhana, and Maharaj Ji resolves them.

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Mitul Ji from Gujarat: We often hear that true vairagya frees the mind from all kinds of bondage. But is it possible that a person sometimes develops a causeless fear that pushes him toward vairagya, yet that vairagya comes not from love or understanding but only from a negative reaction to the world? If so, how can this fear-born vairagya be transformed into love-born vairagya, so that it is not merely the result of our fear but a natural expression of love for Bhagavan?

Navadha bhakti will help in this. Whose question is this? Navadha bhakti will help in this: hearing and reciting the supremely sacred deeds of Bhagavan, singing the kirtan of Bhagavan's name, chanting Bhagavan's name (naam jap), and bringing happiness to everyone with the feeling that they are Bhagavan. Look, we have to understand what it is that we must take vairagya from. We have to give up only wrong conduct, which is sin. We have to drink water, we have to eat food, we have to wear clothes, we have to live in society, we have to remain engaged in society's dealings. We have to live. Suppose you say, "Baba ji, I have been a renunciate since childhood." Before coming into society, didn't Bhagavan tell you from here: whatever you have received, give it to society, and then come back. So the form of society is Bhagavan's form. All of this is Bhagavat-svarup. If we hold negative feelings toward these, we will not attain Bhagavan. If one proceeds with the feeling, "I am a servant; the Lord of all moving and unmoving beings, my worshipped deity, is present in all forms," then vairagya itself will reveal pure love for Bhagavan.

Now, in vairagya, hatred toward a person brings hatred, animosity and unrest. That is not true vairagya. No, no. True vairagya is this: just as when we sit near our mother, lust does not trouble us, so we should have a pure feeling toward all the mothers and sisters of the entire world. There should be no feeling of hatred. Hatred is not vairagya. Vairagya means that even while living near them, we are not filled with dirty lust. And this can happen only when we do bhajan of Bhagavan, eat pure food and keep good company. If we keep bad company, eat dirty food and have dirty thoughts, then dirty behaviour follows.

janani saman par nari dhan parae vishte vish bhari
They regard other men's wives as their mothers, and other people's wealth as heavier than poison.

So be very careful. Just as people who drink liquor have their intellect corrupted, and then they defile even pure relationships, dirty food, dirty drinks and dirty company corrupt our intellect. Good sattvic food and pure love, and keeping the company of sadhus, purify our intellect. A pure intellect makes right decisions; an impure intellect makes wrong ones. So vairagya does not mean hating. We had understood renunciation to mean hating everyone and loving only one's own body, hating other bodies. That feeling, no, no, absolutely not. Vairagya is to be taken from this. If this is accomplished, one has renounced everything.

The house of filth is our own body. So how will attachment to one's own body be given up? Do naam jap. Worship Bhagavan, and deha-abhiman will be destroyed. Happiness will remain in every situation. Our body, for example, is like a cloth for us. I am not it. So attachment to the body will be erased only when you do bhajan wholeheartedly, eat pure food and keep pure company. Otherwise, in an impure state of mind, attachment to the body is nourished. Look how strong people's attachment to their bodies is: to nourish their own bodies, they are eating other bodies. Chicken, goat, cow, buffalo, nothing is spared; all are being eaten. For what? For the body, for attachment to the body. If attachment to the body is destroyed, that is true vairagya. Renouncing others is easy, but renouncing your own body is true vairagya. Then the mind effortlessly becomes absorbed in its own love and affection. Yes, do plenty of bhajan and naam jap. Worship Bhagavan. There should be only pure food.

jaisa jae ann vaisa bane man aur jaisa piyo pani waisi bane vani
As the food you eat, so becomes the mind; and as the water you drink, so becomes your speech.

Look, when people drink liquor, does their speech change or not? It changes. So keep your food and drink right.

Ekta Diwan Ji, Radhe Radhe, Maharaj Ji: How should a person keep his disposition in praise and in blame?

Disrespect and respect are the same. One who keeps an equal mind in honour and dishonour, in praise and in blame, attains great progress. One who swells up with praise and becomes sad at blame is an ordinary person. One who shows the same joy in blame as in honour and praise sees the joy of Bhagavan. When there is praise, it is Bhagavan's will; when there is blame, it is Bhagavan's will.

When blame comes, we should first check whether the fault being pointed out is in us. So we should first examine ourselves. If the answer from within is no, then we should remain happy. That is his nature; he is blaming under the prompting of Bhagavan. Now, if someone praises us, we should see that we have [sound of clearing throat] no virtue. And if there is any virtue, it was given by Bhagavan, so this praise is for Bhagavan, not for me. Accepting praise nourishes pride.

So do not accept praise, and when criticism comes, pride is destroyed. Therefore, understand criticism as God inspiring it, so that God has criticism directed at you to destroy your pride. With a calm mind, the saints have said:

nindak niyre rakhie angan kuti chhavae bina sabun bina pani nirmal kare sobhae

Keep the critic close, even have a hut built for them in your courtyard. Without soap and without water, they cleanse you beautifully.

If someone is criticizing us, they are destroying our sins. They are destroying our sorrows. So, first, keep an equal mind. Second, accept praise as God's and accept criticism as a way to destroy your own pride. If you do this, you gain great benefit, and by God's grace, you become a good spiritual person.

This text is taken from the video's auto-generated subtitles, so it may contain word errors. For authentic words, please listen to the video.

Original video: Bhajan Marg (YouTube)