Glossary · Philosophy
Vairagya
वैराग्य
What does Vairagya mean?
Vairagya is not indifference or withdrawal from life but inner freedom: acting fully while remaining unattached to outcomes. When Arjuna protests that the mind is as hard to control as the wind, Krishna answers that it can be mastered 'by practice and detachment' (abhyasa and vairagya).
Detachment is the thread running through the whole Gita — from 2.47 (no right to the fruits of action) to the final chapters. It is what turns ordinary action into yoga.