Attachment being the central point of our Pleasure and Pains:-
If we examine our lives closely , we will find that attachment is the greatest cause of sorrow. At the same time it is also the biggest reason of our pleasures. The source of attachment can be our friends , our relatives, our close near and dear ones, and sometimes we may even get attached to a situation we were looking forward to happen. It happens that sometimes we take up something and put all our efforts and energy to succeed in to it. We desire it to happen, which is good, but point of pain starts from the place where we started expecting it to happen at any cost. Indirectly we gets attached to it. We make it the matter of life and death.
In our jobs also sometimes we take up an assignment so seriously that we gets attached to it and we by hook or crook anyways expect it to be completed successfully . This is nothing but getting attached to a situation. Now this does not, at all means we should not put all our efforts in to our office assignments. I am saying we should all take them ‘sincerely’ but nor seriously. Yes Life can be spent and work can be accomplished even without giving serious expressions. Yes it is possible, I try to do it all the time, I mean by not taking seriously we do not mean we should crack jokes all the time, It simply means keeping yourself calm and your mind free from negative emotions when it needs most the clarity of thoughts. The moment we gets attached to something, even if it is a failure, we cannot give it up and ultimately clinging to the same very thing brings misery. We have the tendency to catch hold of something even if is is giving us sorrow and pain, we are so attached to it that we can not tear ourselves away from it.
The bee came to sip the honey, but its feet stuck to the honey pot and it could not get away, Again and again, we are finding ourselves in that state. We came here to sip the honey, and we find our hands and feet sticking to it. We are caught, though came here catch. We came to enjoy; we are being enjoyed. We came to rule; we are being ruled. We came to work, we are being worked upon by other minds.
Swami Vivekanand
Should we dump our ‘Attachments’ completely :-
Does it mean, we should give up attachments permanently, we should not desire anything at all, we should not get attached to anyone or anything anytime. Should we never be attracted by anything?
Now the real question is not what is asked in the above lines, the real question is – Are we able to escape all the miseries of life if we tend to not getting attached to anything. We should remember here one thing – Getting rid of attachment does not mean getting rid of actions, goals and even our dreams. For these are the things that made the basic fabric of our life, and getting rid of all these things to escape the miseries of life will also let us escape all its joy. Men who are not attracted by love can never love, Men who are never attached by a goal, can never act to attain it. As the very basic of Life in Hinduism is Karma (Action). We always need to be in dynamic state. We should be dynamic working towards our goals and dreams and desires, at the same time we should also be prepared for a dynamic situation changing fast with a lot of uncertainty. The bottom line is that we should act to achieve our goals but should be prepared for something unexpected. Life is all about uncertainties.
Any thing that is certain in life is Uncertainty.
What is the solution to deal with ‘Attachment’:-
Its not wrong to follow our dreams and goals in life. Its not wrong to plan and act to achieve our goals, but at the same time the key is to be able to detach ourselves as well, as and when required. Gita says ; Work constantly ; work but be not attached; be not caught. Power of detachment should always be there, however near and dear one is your goal, you always at the end of the day should be able to detach yourself from it. The secret of Life is Power of Detachment.
If only we had the ability detach ourselves at will there would not be any misery at all.
If we are dependent (attached to) on external objects, people or situations for our happiness, we will always be in sorrow. And we if rely on our own self for our happiness, we will always be in peace.
सर्वं परवशं दु:खं सर्वम् आत्मवशं सुखम् |
एतद् विद्यात् समासेन लक्षणं सुखदु:खयो: ||
sarvam paravasham du:kham sarvam atmavasham sukham |
etad vidyat samasena lakshanam sukhadu:khayo: ||
Whatever is not in possession of ourselves (It is with others) is sorrow and whatever is in possession of ourselves is happiness. In short, these are the indications of happiness and sorrow! Happiness is inside the human-being and not outside. Happiness is not tied with the external entity.
