The state of Vairagya varies according to the state of progress of the sadhaka. The dependency of the Devotee on God, which usually starts with some problem or the other purely for gaining some relief, develops into Vairagya of the initial type. If the problem gets solved usually the devotion abates, however if the desires entertained are many, it is greed that makes one stick to God. This is neither wisdom nor renunciation in any sense of the term. This is the state in which most of the devotees languish. Their faith in God is actually one of Artharthi or Kamarthi.

They however move on to the stage of Dharmarthi, that is, one seeking righteous order in life. For this they try to share whatever is given by God to them to some extent and this goes by the name of charity and the result is Punya which ensures more success in life now or in a later life. These are the devotees of the next stage.

The need for spiritual improvement in life, a life that is dedicated to the Divine, however is something they neither aspire for nor interested in. This stage comes only when one is confronted with misery, which is baffling. The state of renunciation which every person feels when his spouse undergoes the pains of delivery (which of course is possible in the modern world in such fortunate persons who do not lead the animal life and seek to continue human civilized life) or at times of death due to accident or result of unwanted violence which of course is possible, in the modern world of multi media invasion into the human consciousness and conscience, drilling into the senses violence and pornography and making human beings insensitive and apathetic to suffering, only in the individuals who have some how preserved sanity and still maintain the values of life and the value of life itself.

If only we reflect on the state of mind of Lord Buddha when he saw suffering and how he reacted to it, and compare ourselves now as to how we are reacting to such situation with absolute neglect, bordering on total apathy towards human suffering, the insensitivity we have developed becomes obvious. While it is suffering that prompted Lord Buddha to have a look into the nature of life and the ways of living happily, I dare say it is the insensitivity that we have developed that should be the matter of reflection for the modern man to look into the nature of life and the ways by which we can make it happy. In the glorification of materialistic notions of happiness, we have lost our way to happiness and are strolling in the deep dark abyss of human insensitivity and total and callous disregard of the value of human life. This is the worst of the sins of the human beings, which is more than the initial sin if any.

It is not prudent to say that God has punished us to unhappiness- whatever may be the virtues of the religions, which perpetuate such notions. It is perhaps oriented towards understanding that whatever happiness we get here is not permanent and that we should seek the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is this only and it is our main duty to make it happy in all respects. Surely modern civilization, which is based on materialism, is not the solution; it is obvious for any with some sense of discretion. The path of Vairagya alone is the means for such happiness. The great Jester plays the Game. By attachment we suffer, by detachment we enjoy! The Isa Upanishad says "TENA TYAKTENA BUNJITHAH "... therefore renounce and enjoy! We have not learnt the lesson in spite of so many religions and faiths. This leads to the awareness that one is an insignificant being in the context of the Creation and in the kingdom of God. Once this awareness of being the smallest of the small dawns, the capacity to distinguish between things that are immortal and the transient develops. This leads to Viveka which really means the capacity for analysis. This has to be renounced to move on to the higher state of consciousness. We shall see that unless we renounce what we have we do not move on to other higher states. Renunciation is the logic of spirituality.

The real Vairagya starts only when this state is stabilized in the sadhaka. He sees the Divine every where and gets attached to it and is unmindful of other things for which he gives neither a positive nor a negative value. They are as they are. Reality will be what it is. So also the relationships that are familial, social or religious. It is we who grant them certain values - values of Good and Bad. For social purposes it is necessary in order to maintain certain decency in living standards that we all adopt certain values mutually agreed to. This is a matter of convenience or agreement. Such an agreement should conform to the order that exists in Life and the World of Gods creation. The movement of the Planets, the cycles of seasons, the growth pattern and the interdependency which is the essential law of life and Gods creation cannot be compromised. Such is the situation obtaining today in the name of independence and liberty of individuals. Independence is a MODERN MYTH and deserves to be rid of totally and interdependence THE VIRTUE shall be enabled to govern us, for sanity sake. That is actually the state of the Self - to be totally oriented to the Divine. This leads to the capacity to appreciate and enjoy everything heard or seen. This also leads to the capacity to enter into other beings and feel for them. This is the basis of empathy.

The awareness of the existence of the Divine everywhere and the awareness of the interdependency in life which is understood initially leads to the awareness of the nature of our Self. Though it seems to be independent and is capable of making decisions on its own, unless it conforms to the order of Nature leads invariably to miseries and afflictions. Attachment to any thing in Life is something that Divinity does not permit without some punishment or the other. Attachment's to any thing other than Divine is not the law of God and therefore it ensures misery and unnecessary troubles in life. This is the state when the individual develops the capacity to expand and the feeling of greatness enters into ones' consciousness. But this awareness of the Self is also to be renounced in preference to the devotion to the Divine. The awareness of Self then fades out and the awareness of the Divine only ensues.

Even here devotion generally leads to the chosen concept of God entertained by the individual and he starts enjoying this state of devotion also in varied ways. The individual develops the capacity for soaring high leaving attachment to the physical plane. In this state he develops the state of dignity of being and venerableness, generally attributed to Mahatmas. But, the individual becomes restless when that particular form of the Divine he has chosen, is questioned or otherwise sought to be withdrawn from him. This attachment to the Divinity (in form and name) also has to be renounced and then we march on to the next stage.

Without renouncing the particular notions of God no one can move further in the path of spirituality. This has been in most cases the ultimate state of devotion. But one in the path of spirituality knows that there is a higher stage where the Divine is not a form or name and is beyond every thing one can conceive. When devotion is renounced thus, dependency total and unfragmented to the Divine develops when the individual is not aware of even the fact one is devoted to God. This is exactly the state of one who has surrendered to the Divine. When this state of awareness of the surrender to God is also renounced the awareness of the Vast Void develops. These states are expressed in grosser ways first and later on as renunciation matures more and more they change finer and finer until the state of total Nothingness of Self is totally realized. Even then if one can renounce, the individual changes into total instrument in the hands of the Divine. Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj exhorts all of us to reach unto that condition so that all human beings can participate in the Divine function of expression through this world meant for our happiness. Let us all pray for the same.