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Vairagya or Non-attachment also depends upon Jnana as well as Bhakthi. Deprive Vairagya of that basis and you will find it crumbling fast. Why, this is the prime cause for the want of spiritual progress at present. All these three have to be emphasised in Sadhana; they are not to be separated and striven for individually.

Bhakthi includes Jnana; if Vairagya (Detachment) is isolated from Bhakthi and Jnana, Jnana is isolated from Bhakthi and Vairagya and Bhakthi is isolated from Vairagya and Jnana; each is ineffective. The best that each isolated path is capable of is to give some training in purity. Never therefore develop conceit and declare that you are Bhakthas or Jnanis or Vairagis (Recluses). Sadhakas must dip in the Triveni of Bhakthi-Jnana-Vairagya. There is no other way to salvation.

Before anything, be pure and holy. Of aspirants and Sadhakas, there are plenty; but of those who are pure in heart, the number is few. For example, observe this one fact: there are many who religiously read the Gita over and over again; there are many who expatiate on its meaning for hours and hours, but persons who practise the essence of the Gita are rare. They are now like gramophone records, reproducing someone else's song, incapable of singing themselves, ignorant of the joy of song. They are not Sandhakas at all. Their Sadhana does not deserve that name.

Life must be seen as the manifestation of the three Gunas, as a play of temperaments pulling the strings of dolls. This awareness must saturate every thought, word and deed. That is the Jnana you need. All else is Ajnana.

The Jnani will have no trace of hatred in him, he will love all beings; he will not be contaminated by the ego, he will act as he speaks. The Ajnani will identify himself with the gross body, senses and mind, things which are but tools and instruments. The eternal pure Atma is behind the mind, and so this mistake of the Ajnani plunges him into trouble, loss and misery.

All the names and forms that fill this universe and constitute its nature are but creations of the Mind. Therefore, the mind has to be controlled and its wayward fancies calmed in order to perceive the Truth. The ever-moving waves of the lake have to be stilled so that you can see the bottom clearly. So too, the waves of ignorance that ruffle the mind have to be stilled. Next