1.15 – Non-Attachment Is Freedom from Craving

dṛṣṭa-anuśravika-viṣaya-vitṛṣṇasya vāśikāra-saṃjñā vairāgyam

Translation

Non-attachment is the mastery of one who has freed themselves from craving for objects, whether perceived or described.

Meaning

You can see something beautiful or hear about something desirable, and remain unmoved. Not because you hate it, but because you no longer assume happiness depends on having it. This is vairagya-not indifference, but freedom.

The mind’s constant grasping is exhausting. Non-attachment is the rest that comes when you stop clinging. It is the most practical gift yoga offers.

Commentary – Chip Hartranft (The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali)

Hartranft interprets non-attachment as radical self-sufficiency: the yogi needs nothing external to be complete. This does not mean rejecting pleasure but refusing to be enslaved by it.

Practice note

Notice something you want. Now imagine having it. Now imagine losing it. What remains? That which remains is your true nature, untouched by gain or loss.

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