Detaching from attachment

Detaching from attachment

July 2023

July 2023

Shivi Verma affirms what the scriptures have been telling us: vairagya, (detachment) is the boat which will  slowly but surely take us across the ocean of samsara (cycle of birth and rebirth) 

One of the hardest things  to give up on the spiritual  path is attachment. We  may meditate; do selfless service;  be mindful of our thoughts,  speech, and actions; do copious  amounts of healing and inner  work; and yet, the litmus test of  our spiritual growth comes in the  form of giving up our attachment  to possessions, situations, or  people we are so deeply linked  too. 

And attachment is like a spider.  Secretly and unannounced,  it creeps stealthily into the  recesses of our minds and  weaves a permanent web there.  Unconsciously, we get attached  to things we consider our own. Be  it our children, spouses, position,  money, belongings, beliefs, or  body. Should a belonging go  missing, look how it sends us  into a tailspin! We panic and feel  that we have lost a vital part of  ourselves which was essential to  our sense of completeness. The  circumference of possessiveness  just goes on increasing as we  amass more and more worldly  objects. 

I particularly get attached to my  belongings. Even losing an ear stud  can cause me immense anguish,  

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and I become restless until I have  found it. However, the Divine is  kind. It often helps me lose things  permanently only to loosen up my  sense of attachment to them. A wise  seeker, understanding the shackles  created by their attachment to  things, learns to distance themself  emotionally and mentally from  their belongings. Some even shun  material possessions knowing  how they can come in the path of  liberation. 

However, the tentacles of  attachment can act subtly to  entrap you. Those who have  overcome their attachment to  material possessions or filial  relations can still be faced with  attachment to their beliefs, ideas,  or their sense of righteousness.  Holding on to anything, whether  material or intangible, can send  a soul back into the spiral of  bondage to the earthly incarnation.  Associating very deeply with  anything is the propensity of the  ego—that aspect which strongly  works towards maintaining the  individual identity. It thrives on  attachment, possessiveness, and  self-gratification. The more it  receives, the stronger it becomes,  and the more that is taken away  from it, the weaker it gets. 

The wise, like King Janaka, keep  themselves reminded of the  

transience of life and the fragility  of the ego to stay above the pulls  and pushes of life. Be it abstract  beliefs or tangible objects. While  it is relatively easy to detach from  physical things, the next hardest  thing to do is to cut cords with  emotional attachment and beliefs  we hold so dearly to our hearts.  When faced with scenarios, such  as the loss of a loved one or a  cherished relationship, I remind  myself that the world is a stage  and we are all actors trying to  evolve each other. While arguing  with someone, I often try to see the  situation from the other’s point of  view and accept it if I find it to  be convincing. But the best way  is to keep thanking God at each  moment of your life and to keep  remembering that everything  belongs to Him and goes back to  Him and that love is the final,  eventual, and all-pervasive reality  of life, superseding everything. 

When we have lived completely,  yet with a sense of detachment,  we will no longer be pulled back  to earth to finish incomplete  learnings and experiences. 

Editor of Life Positive, Shivi  

Verma is a devotee who found  

all her answers in loving God  

passionately. 

We welcome your comments and suggestions on  this article. Mail us at editor@lifepositive.net