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Tyaga and vairagya

A spiritual discourse on renunciation and spiritual practice, using the banyan tree as a metaphor.

"Among the trees, I am the banyan tree."

"Enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice, through tyāga."

The speaker explores the path of renunciation (tyāga) and dispassion (vairāgya), linking them to the enduring banyan tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. He emphasizes that inner renunciation of ego and negative traits is paramount, distinguishing it from mere outer sacrifice. The talk references traditional practices like detached silence and a 21-hour kriyānuṣṭhāna program as a modern, comfortable path still requiring austerity and dispassion for enlightenment.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

Only the banyan tree is a tree that can survive for thousands of years. Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad Gītā, comparing the banyan tree to a human, "Among the trees, I am the banyan tree." That is the very tree under which Lord Buddha, the prince Siddhārtha, attained enlightenment. He spent most of his life as a very simple monk, living a life of tyāgī jīvan—a renounced life—and vairāgya. Tyāga and vairāgya: as long as you have vairāgya (dispassion), that long you will have tyāga (renunciation). And when you have tyāga, you still have vairāgya. If you cannot renounce, then you have no vairāgya. Therefore, Gurujī always said, in almost every satsaṅg, "Enter the kingdom of the Lord through the gate of sacrifice," through tyāga. There are many kinds of tyāga. Outer tyāga is nothing if the inner tyāga is missing. If inwardly you are suffering, then you have not renounced anything. So the renunciation of the inner ego, jealousy, cruelty, mada (pride), lobha (greed), moha (delusion)—all this inner renunciation is very important. Buddha practiced what we call udāśīna mauna (detached silence). We had this in our kriyānuṣṭhāna, but we have reduced it. Our kriyānuṣṭhāna is a program of 21 hours; the other three hours are for a little eating, washing, and sleeping. That is a program for enlightenment, but a comfortable one—not a stressful one. Yet you still need tyāga and tapas (austerity) for it, and vairāgya. So tyāgya, tyāgī, tapasvī, vairāgī, jñānīs, and bhakti—this leads us to liberation or enlightenment. When this is lost, it is like a bird that has lost its wings. Now the bird would like to fly but cannot fly; only its muscles move, because that inner feeling is lost. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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