Dispassion is a topic that Krishna and yogi-saints return to frequently. In the Bhagavad Gita we read (Chapter 6 Verse 35-6):
O mighty-armed Prince, undoubtedly the mind is fickle and unruly; but by yoga practice and by dispassion, O Arjuna, the mind may nevertheless be controlled.
This is My word: Yoga is difficult of attainment by the ungoverned man; but he who is self-controlled will, by striving through proper methods, be able to achieve it.
As aspirants it is important for us to understand this most potent word, dispassion (vairagya). We work toward Self-realization when we practice controlling our thoughts through Kriya Meditation. Circulating the life-force through the spine and brain we discover a balance of mind in which we experience inner stillness. From this stillness we are actively aware, but the world of the senses seems one step removed. This naturally creates a state of dispassion.
We can compare this true inner state of dispassionate-stillness with the yogi-aspirant who is practicing to be dispassionate. In this case you are striving to rise above physical sensations, emotional states and insistent thoughts. You are not actively experiencing stillness, rather your practice is to not allow the things of the world disturb you in order to attain stillness.
When the mind thinks about projecting itself into a state of dispassion, it can think, “Oh, what a dull place to be,” or, “I could never be indifferent to the world.” Either you think you could not or would not want dispassion. However, this state of consciousness spoken of by Krishna and the saints is not only possible, but is to be much desired.
Let us look at it this way—imagine your consciousness stretching itself out to be a great ocean. You are the depths of that ocean, and the waves rolling on the surface, the currents running deep like massive rivers throughout your oceanic self, various thermal layers are realms unto themselves, big and small fish and mammals are moving within you; you are the totality of all that the ocean is.
Now, the big and small waves on the surface are thoughts and sensations that exist for shorter or longer periods of time, the river currents are deeper wisdom-thoughts of God coursing throughout your being, and thermal layers are various levels of consciousness in you. All these aspects play and sport about in the totality of yourself as the ocean, all coming and going.
You are aware of all these comings and goings; however, you are also aware of the deep nature of the ocean, your identity as the ocean itself in which all these activities are taking place. It is not that these various aspects of your self are unreal, but none of them change The Deep in you—your Soul, Self, or Spirit. Imagine you are aware of all the different parts at play, but whatever they do or do not do, they do not alter The Deep in you; the changeless and ever-existent part of you.
In your spiritual practice you can, and it is beneficial to, work on being dispassionate towards the things of the world. You can keep the image of being identified with the vast Deep of the ocean as a helpful mental practice. At the same time, you are aware of the alternating waves of experiences that pass over your surface, but never distressing or disturbing The Deep in you. Then, through your continued sadhana you experience a momentous shift in awareness; you are no longer imagining The Deep, you become identified with it. You actively see the things of the world playing on the surface of your consciousness, each part having its time of existence, but not altering The Deep in you.
Gradually you are permanently established in The Deep. Now worldly-experience is seen as passing phenomenon, but you never exclusively identify with it. You realize that The Deep is your true Self, and that you are ever That. You are no longer practicing dispassion, you have become dispassion itself. All that is in the ocean exists in you: the thought-wave sense experiences, the deep diving whales of revelation, the thermal layers of consciousness and broad river-currents of intuitive wisdom from God roll over your surface and move through you. Each is created, preserved for a time, then disappear back into you once again. All the while, you are ever at one with The Deep. You know that you are the great I Am That I Am in the beginningless, endless ocean of Self.