Attachment v/s Detachment

Hare Krishna!

 

Dandvat to all Vaishnavs! All glories to Guru and Gaurang!

 

What is the difference between Attachment and Detachment?

How can we live detached in our social and family life while performing our duties?

Why people think that detachment means leaving the home and going to forest?

 

 

Regards

Deepa

 

 

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    Hare Krisna Deepa Mata. Dandavat Pranam. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada

    What is the difference between Attachment and Detachment?

    Attachment is of two types 1. Material Attachment 2. Spiritual Attachment. Attachment to matter or material things is called wordly attachment and attachment for spiritual things is called wordly Detachment. Vedanta sutra says Characteristic of a living entity is  “anandamaya abhyasat" that means by nature a living entity seeks Pleasure And he seeks pleasure through his senses, Now senses needs sense objects to get pleasure. So when we contemplate on sense objects then we get attached to that particular object. And this is called attachment. As Krishna Saying in Bg

    BG 2.62 : While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

    Like in real life when a teenage boy see some advertisement of a nice imported bike,he contemplate on that bike and he get attached to it, because his senses want to enjoy it.Here the sense is mind , and the sense object is bike, then lust devolops to get that bike so he demand that from his father, but when his father not co-operate with his demand he get angry. And when he get angry then the below verse happens:

    BG 2.63: From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.

    So by attachment for material stuff we again falls in continous birth and death cycle.

    DETACHMENT (i.e spiritual attachment)

    BUT when the same attachment for material stuff we transfered to achieve something spiritual, then it called Detachment from material world. As by nature a soul is pleasure seeking he must have some attachment to sustain himself , but that pleasure should be seek from spiritual objects. Beacuse in real position our senses are spiritual , in material existence it is covered by material desires, so we seek happiness from matter and we get attached,but when the same senses seek happiness from spiritual objects it gets Detached from wordly affection and get attached to Spiritual Objects. And the spiritual object is Krishna. So progressing in Krishna Consciousness is called Detachment.

    How can we live detached in our social and family life while performing our duties?

    BG 9.27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform — do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.

    When we mold all our day to day social, family activity in such a way that we can serve Krishna through our activities, then we can also live a detached material life but attached spiritual life simultaneously.

    Like in family life we cook for ourselves, so If we cook the same thing and first offer it to Krishna, then we take the prasadam then both purpose is served, both attachment and detachment. Similarly if we install the deity of Krishna in our home, and Clean the house daily as Krishna is there then again both purpose is served, house get cleaned as Grihastas has to do daily and same time Krishna is also served. Similarly what we earn if we give some portion as charity to the temple, then again both purpose served. Our duty for earning livelihood and same time serving Krishna.Similarly if couples wants child , use sex only for begetting children and train him to be Krishna conscious, te both purpose served.

    In this way we can live the family life maintaning all the duty and at the same time detach from family life.This is called "Yukta-Vairagya". Attached-Detachment . Attach spiritually detach materially. This is original detachment.

    Why people think that detachment means leaving the home and going to forest?

    Beacuse don't know or follow or understand what is real renounciation. Let see what Krishna says about renounciation in Bhagavd Gita

    First he says what the learned and wise says about renounciation:

    BG 18.2: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The giving up of activities that are based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life [sannyāsa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call renunciation [tyāga].

    Then he says what is his judgement regarding this:

    BG 18.4: O best of the Bhāratas, now hear My judgment about renunciation. O tiger among men, renunciation is declared in the scriptures to be of three kinds.

    BG 18.5: Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls.

    BG 18.6: All these activities should be performed without attachment or any expectation of result. They should be performed as a matter of duty, O son of Pṛthā. That is My final opinion.

     

    So from the above verses and final opinion of Krishna regarding renounciation we can understand that real renounciation is not to give up all the activities and go to forest but rather to offer the result of the activities to Krishna as Krishna saying in BG

    BG 3.9: Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.

    So the results of activities should be offered to Krishna and that is real renounciation and not that to just taking the saffron without having any idea of real renounciation. So a man living a household of life is also a renounce person provided his senses is totally dedicated to serve Krishna, but not the one who took the saffron and live outside house but still his mind contemplate on sense objects.

    The problem with Indians are that they Know nothing Properly and not practise properly in their life , only give big big gyan.

    Hope it will help

    Your aspiring servant

    Hari Bol

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