17. Vivikta Desa Sevitvam

The seventeenth value of jñānam is vivikta desa sevitvam, which translates to the love for a quiet or secluded place.

The phrase breaks down as follows: desa means ‘place’, vivikta means ‘separate’ or ‘solitary’, and sevitvam means ‘inhabiting’ or ‘resorting to’.

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of this value based on the teachings:

Love for Being with Oneself The true essence of this value is not merely the physical act of finding a secluded spot; rather, the valuable thing is cultivating the kind of mind that is actually happy in such a place. A mind that appreciates quietude and solitude is a mind that has developed a genuine love for being with itself.

The Human Tendency to Escape This attitude stands in stark contrast to the general tendencies of modern society. Often, people are bent on escaping from themselves because they are fundamentally dissatisfied with who they are. To avoid facing themselves, people keep their minds constantly occupied, ensuring there is no time or quiet space left to be alone with their own thoughts.

This universal urge to escape manifests in many ways, though the specific avenues differ across cultures. People use travel (“wanderlust”), amusement parks, movies, television, parties, or even seemingly benign activities like humming a tune or reading a magazine to avoid looking at an unwelcome thought or facing a sense of inadequacy. An activity crosses the line into becoming an “escape” when a person feels lost, sad, or incomplete without it.

The Contemplative Mind A person who enjoys being with themselves in quietude is not a sad, lonely, or anti-social person. Instead, they are a simple, quiet, and contemplative individual. To be truly contemplative means possessing the ability to face oneself happily, without the constant need for an occupation to engage the mind’s attention.

Preparation for Self-Knowledge For a seeker of Self-knowledge, it is absolutely vital to have a value for being with oneself. Lord Kṛṣṇa highlights this in the Bhagavad Gītā (6.10), advising the yogi to establish themselves in solitude. By deliberately taking oneself to a quiet place, one learns to take stock of oneself, ultimately learning to love and accept oneself exactly as one is. When a person has successfully come to terms with themselves in this way, the clear discovery of Self-knowledge becomes possible.