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Vairagya

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Detachment or dispassion, the renunciation of worldly desires and attachments, essential for spiritual liberation in Indian traditions.

Detailed Definition
Vairagya in poetry is the quiet letting go—the hand that opens, the heart that stops clinging. Poets use it to depict freedom not as escape, but as release: the leaf that falls without regret. It becomes the poem’s breath: not loss, but lightness—the soul exhaling its weight.
Example
Example in poetry:
Vairagya is detachment—A yogic poem: “Vairagya: not rejecting the world, but loving it without clinging”; A modern lyric: “I let go of my job—Vairagya: not despair, but freedom”; A haiku: “Leaf falls—Vairagya: / no regret, no grasp”; Another: “Vairagya isn’t cold—it’s the warmth of love without ownership”; A devotional verse: “Krishna says: ‘Do your duty, but with Vairagya—like the river, flow without attachment’”; A minimalist line: “Detachment. Non-attachment. Freedom from clinging. / Vairagya: liberation through letting go.”
Additional Notes
Vairagya is not repression but dispassionate clarity; in poetry, it appears as the renunciant’s quiet gaze, the lotus untouched by mud; it enables true love, for one who clings to nothing can love fully—this makes it central to Bhakti and Sufi verse, where detachment deepens devotion, essential for interpreting spiritual poetry as liberated surrender.
Also Known As
Detachment Dispassion Renunciation Non-Attachment
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