By: C.S. Dinesh
SAI Maharaj begged from five houses, mixed all this food, and shared it with pigs, dogs, and other hungry creatures. He was never attached to any one house for begging or a particular food.
The Bhagavad Gita recommends that we renounce attachment – ‘Jit-Sang-Dosh’ – as it is an obstacle to our spiritual progress.
Attachments can be to things and beings. Attachment to material things is always one-sided because they are not attached to us. It is we who become dependent on them. We feel, that without that object, we cannot be comfortable, or without it, we do not have any status in life. It can be so consuming that we are averse to taking a holiday and going out of station as we fear for the safety of the house in our absence. Imagine we are prisoners of our own houses due to our excessive attachment to them.
All our possessions, such as big, fancy houses, and luxury cars, boost our ego and status. We get attached to them also because of the false notion that they will give us happiness.
In the case of attachment to human beings, there is a problem. Suppose one person is attached to the other, but the other does not reciprocate. In that scenario, the one who is attached gets angry and upset. Therefore, undue attachment causes dependence, possessiveness, jealousy, and fear.
A common question generally asked by all parents is, “How to give up attachment to our children?” The answer is simple, “That attachment cannot be given up.” It is because of this attachment that the whole world is going on. It is because of it that a mother is ready to suffer the pains of childbirth, and parents toil to bring up children. You cannot give up worries. But our worry level should not exceed point 3 on a scale of 0-10. If the mother worries 10 out of 10, then it is a problem.
Loving others is never a problem but getting attached and dependent is painful. Therefore, along with attachment, it is important to have a clear understanding and discernment. Children must be allowed to grow. Do not make them dependent on you, nor should you become dependent on them.
Love them but give them space, nurture their talents, empower them with the right values, and allow them to spread their wings and fly.
In his masterpiece, ‘Life of Sai Baba’, Sri Narasimha Swamiji uses the words, ‘clinging attachment’, for attachments with dependence. If we become dependent on something or make someone dependent on us, it becomes a cause of bondage for both.
Therefore, our Sai Satcharita declares that attachment should be given up. Is it possible? It
certainly is difficult, because our mind constantly wants to hold on to something.
Sai Maharaj advised Nana Saheb Chandorkar to regularly recite ‘Narada Bhakti Sutra’ which presents a remedy: Attach yourself to great, pious people who are well-versed in the scriptures and established in the Truth. Hence, engage in ‘Satsang’. He wanted Nana Saheb Chandorkar to continue to be in the company of saints and sages, and continue to serve and learn from them.
Attachments cloud our objectivity and clarity. But when we associate with spiritually eminent people, we develop right thinking. The beauty of Satsang is that it gradually leads to detachment and finally releases us from all other attachments.
Ultimately, turn the mind towards the true source of joy our ‘Antaryamin’ Sai Maharaj, the Divine. A mind full of attachments leads to sorrow and bondage; a mind absorbed in Sai Maharaj leads to peace and fulfillment.
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