Practicing detachment: Renouncing something you love
Leaving something behind in Varanasi- Beliefs help practice detachment
http://www.newindianexpress.
We must consciously leave something behind (as a bait?) as in any case we have to leave everything behind one day.
M G Warrier
CV Subbaraman's comments:
Leaving some things in Varanasi is totally mundane in approach and a meaningless ritual for most of the "pilgrims" seeking Moksha. Udit Chaitanya in the course of his discourses on Bhagavatham said an upa Katha: A person and his wife were praying daily for Moksham. One day the Lord appeared before the husband and asked him: "I have come to give you moksham, come" . The husband was nonplussed: "My wife has started this prayer long before I started and respecting her length of service in this field, please offer this first to her!" This is the level of detachment we all have. ( I daily listen to the discourse of Udit Chaitanya in Malayalam on Flowers TV between 6 and 6.20 AM except Sundays).
Leaving something in Varanasi is a test and at the same time renouncing what is dear to us as a start-up of developing "non attachment" to anything considered "precious" in life. Should we have detached attachment or attached detachment? We should have total detachment and the only "attachment" should be to God - merger with Oneness, the Ultimate Truth. When one merges with the Oneness, there is no attachment, there is no detachment, for, for attachment and detachment there should be minimum two objects. When there is only one blissful Oneness, there is no attachment and no detachment.
And on the lighter side, if some one does not want to renounce coffee the best defence would be: we are asked to renounce a fruit, a raw vegetable and a leaf. Coffee is a seed product and does not fall in these categories!
Subbaraman
CV Subbaraman's comments:
Leaving some things in Varanasi is totally mundane in approach and a meaningless ritual for most of the "pilgrims" seeking Moksha. Udit Chaitanya in the course of his discourses on Bhagavatham said an upa Katha: A person and his wife were praying daily for Moksham. One day the Lord appeared before the husband and asked him: "I have come to give you moksham, come" . The husband was nonplussed: "My wife has started this prayer long before I started and respecting her length of service in this field, please offer this first to her!" This is the level of detachment we all have. ( I daily listen to the discourse of Udit Chaitanya in Malayalam on Flowers TV between 6 and 6.20 AM except Sundays).
Leaving something in Varanasi is a test and at the same time renouncing what is dear to us as a start-up of developing "non attachment" to anything considered "precious" in life. Should we have detached attachment or attached detachment? We should have total detachment and the only "attachment" should be to God - merger with Oneness, the Ultimate Truth. When one merges with the Oneness, there is no attachment, there is no detachment, for, for attachment and detachment there should be minimum two objects. When there is only one blissful Oneness, there is no attachment and no detachment.
And on the lighter side, if some one does not want to renounce coffee the best defence would be: we are asked to renounce a fruit, a raw vegetable and a leaf. Coffee is a seed product and does not fall in these categories!
Subbaraman
See Vathsala Madam's comments that follows this:
Vathsala Madam
Many thanks for sharing these thoughts.
Philosophy should not be an excuse for avoiding responsibilities. It is a tool for understanding the purpose of life better. Though totally out of context, during the War Krishna used to complete all his morning rituals and prayer, before proceeding for his duty in the field. Bhagavad-gita was incidental.
Nice Day
M G Warrier
Vathsala Jayaraman adds:
Quite an interesting read.Normally people do not leave what they most desire, but things that they don't like or do rarely use. I asked my husband to leave coffee, his favourite drink .But he sternly refused.I do not know whether this practice will be a rehearsal to leave everything-and in fact it needs no rehearsal at all.On reading the news item I am reminded of a poem'Two jewels' written by an anonymous author-read sixty years back.More than Shakespeare, Tennyson and Wordsworth this small poem ( the gist alone I remember) lingers in my heart for ever.Two Jewels-----------------There was a great philosopher. He was living with his wife and two children in the outskirts of England. Very often he used to go on tours months together for giving lectures on philosophy,return home, spend a day or two with the family, and once again proceed on his mission.He never cared for his family.On one such occasion he returned home after 15 months, and started giving a detailed account of his lectures and the accolades he received from the intellectuals and about the series of talks on philosophy he intended to give in future.After three hrs of patient listening the wife started."Behold ,My Dear,some 10 years back an old man came to our house, handed over a precious jewel to me asking me to keep it safe.After 2 years the same old man gave another piece of ornament to me and requested me to have them in my custody and return to him whenever he came and asked for. I also agreed.I used to polish the jewels ,and felt very happy to see them shine.Every now and then I looked at them with pride.Five months back,suddenly the jewels started losing their lustre.I tried my best to polish them,but in vain.I went to a professional polishing house and tried to bring back the brilliance.But the trial didn't help much.Meanwhile the old man came home one day and asked me to return the jewels, in whatever condition they were.I tried my level best to retain the jewels. But the old man was very stubborn and took back the jewels."The jewels were his properties and they had to be returned to the owner..The wife was calmly narrating the events. It took some time for the great philosopher to realise that both of his dear children lost their lives in a severe fever on the same day some months back.Let us decide who the real philosopher was.Vathsala Jayaraman__._,_._
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My response to Vathsala Madam'scomments:
Many thanks for sharing these thoughts.
Philosophy should not be an excuse for avoiding responsibilities. It is a tool for understanding the purpose of life better. Though totally out of context, during the War Krishna used to complete all his morning rituals and prayer, before proceeding for his duty in the field. Bhagavad-gita was incidental.
M G Warrier
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