Miscellaneous - Religion   

Overcome attachment

CHENNAI: A man of wisdom (jnani) has been described in the Bhagavad Gita as one who remains unperturbed by the vicissitudes of life. He remains tranquil without elation when blessed with favourable circumstances in life because there is no craving in his mind - longing for the sensory pleasures of life. Similarly, he does not plunge into depths of depression when sorrows beset him.

The reason for the equanimity of mind is freedom from attachment. The cause for attachment is ignorance of one's true nature. Hence, the man of wisdom does not have desire, fear and anger, which are the consequence of attachment. Ignorance of one's spiritual nature thus imposes limitations by way of spurring one onto fulfil the lacunae. It is this feeling of his imagined limitations that impels man to action which, in turn, gives rise to karma resulting in bondage.

In her discourse, Swamini Satyavratananda said only when there was total detachment could there be fearlessness in the true sense and total freedom. Sankara states that unfulfilled desires only get converted into hatred. In the case of a Jnani, he is poised in the Self (Athman) and he is truly detached - not even attached to God as he is in union with the Self always.

How can one remain poised in the Self? The Gita describes the technique thus: "When like a tortoise which withdraws its limbs from all directions, the person withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, his mind becomes stable."

What is the benefit of perusing the characteristics of a man of wisdom for the layman? To emulate him definitely because engrossed as he is in the day-to-day life which exposes him to the turbulence of the material world, even the ardent spiritual seeker is likely to lose his moorings. This is essential because one must not forget that the objective of human birth is liberation from bondage. By cultivating the company of saints, the spiritual aspirant can imbibe his good qualities and consciously overcome his limitations. While in the case of the jnani, detachment is spontaneous, the aspirant has to constantly try to overcome his attachment to the world through the practice of listening to the expositions of the scriptures, learning the teachings diligently and reflecting on the truth by meditation.

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