---
type: Concept
title: "Vairāgya"
description: "Non-attachment as an inner quality — indifference to worldly possessions and fame — not renunciation of the world."
tags:
  - prerequisites
  - Vedanta
  - Jnana-yoga
  - non-translatable
darshana:
  - Advaita Vedānta
  - Pātañjala Yoga
not:
  - term: "Renunciation"
    why: "Implies leaving things behind (job, possessions, ashram); Vairāgya is an inner non-attachment that a householder can fully possess."
    instead: "Keep Vairāgya untranslated; gloss as inner non-attachment."
  - term: "Detachment"
    why: "In Western psychology often means numbness or avoidance; Vairāgya is freedom, full engagement without clinging."
  - term: "Dispassion"
    why: "Suggests coldness or absence of feeling; Vairāgya feels fully while remaining unbound."
  - term: "Asceticism"
    why: "A regime of external austerity; Vairāgya is an inner quality, not a lifestyle of self-denial."
related:
  - /concepts/viveka.md
  - /concepts/moksha.md
  - /concepts/yoga.md
  - /concepts/dharma.md
timestamp: "2026-06-18"
okf_version: "0.2"
---

# Vairāgya

**Not:** Renunciation, Detachment, Dispassion, Asceticism

## What It Actually Means

Vairāgya is the absence of desire (*rāga*) toward worldly possessions, fame, and sensory pleasures — a required qualification alongside [Viveka](/concepts/viveka.md) for *Jñāna-yoga sādhana*. It is not the rejection of the world or withdrawal from life.

The critical distinction: "renunciation" implies leaving things behind — quitting your job, moving to an ashram, giving away possessions. Vairāgya is an *inner quality* of non-attachment that can be fully present in a householder. A person with Vairāgya may hold great wealth and responsibilities — they simply are not bound by them. Their sense of self does not depend on what they own, achieve, or are recognized for.

## Why "Detachment" Fails

"Detachment" in Western psychology often implies emotional numbness, dissociation, or avoidance. Vairāgya is not numbness — it is freedom. A person with Vairāgya feels fully, acts fully, and engages fully — without the desperate clinging that turns engagement into bondage.

## Audience Metaphor

Vairāgya is like being a really good actor — fully immersed in the role, feeling every emotion, giving the performance of a lifetime — while never once forgetting that you are not the character. The audience (your ego) is crying; the actor (your awareness) is free.

## Citations

1. [Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali](/references/yoga-sutras.md) 1.15–16
2. [Vivekacūḍāmaṇi](/references/vivekachudamani.md), Tattvabodha
3. [Bhagavad Gītā](/references/bhagavad-gita.md) 6.35 — "Through practice and Vairāgya, the mind is restrained"
