Attachment, Renunciation & The Big Picture

Last week’s talk on attachment and renunciation was focused on a very specific type of misuse of these noble spiritual ideals, where someone seeks to take advantage of another person. After posting this talk I received a number of inquiries related to the broader understanding of these two principles, attachment and renunciation, and their meaning and application in a broader spiritual context. So that’s is what we are covering this week.

Transcript

Om Jammu Bhagavate Vasudevaya So last week I was responding to a question I got on online and it was about or from someone that was asking about or asking questions related to how people misuse the idea or concept of both renunciation and an attachment in a way to fundamentally abuse someone in different ways or manipulate is probably a more accurate word.

And the examples that we dealt with showed that there was no the people that were using the terms.

They weren't using them connected to what is real spiritual life.

But then there so the whole the whole talk was kind of focused on answering those questions.

But then I've got a whole bunch of questions now about asking so what what is actual?

What's wrong with attachment?

And what is actual renunciation?

What does it mean?

And what purpose does it serve?

So it's kind of like the big picture.

So I'll just try to give you an in very short amount of time,

An overview or the big picture of what was all about.

There are a number of spiritual paths that speak about attachment and what's wrong with it.

And we mentioned last week and quoting from Bhagavad Gita how attachment leads to suffering fundamentally.

And as a result of that,

You will see that there are many teachers and there are different paths that promote the idea then of becoming free from attachments,

Because attachments always lead to unhappiness or suffering.

Of course,

That's very much tied to the understanding that's taught in these yogic texts that and you know surrounding what is spoken about as the reality of reincarnation or transmigration.

We all know that everybody from their very birth you get born into different types of families and different countries.

You're born with parents of different natures,

Different economic circumstances,

Your opportunities for education,

Your physical appearance,

Your health.

A lot of these things just came with the package as it were.

And of course,

The understanding was that this was not happening by accident.

It's really tied into the laws of karma.

As you sow,

So you shall reap.

So when you take birth,

You're reaping a body,

You're reaping circumstances surrounding that body,

Etc.

And what happens is that in your experience of life,

As you become increasingly attached to different types of things that you are in contact with,

It then leads to or it perpetuates reincarnation,

Meaning that if you're attached to so many material things,

Or even a few material things,

Experiences,

Whatever,

Your own body that you're currently wearing or utilizing.

Then,

According to the nature of one's desires,

At the time of death,

They are awarded another type of body.

And so there's an idea,

Particularly in Buddhism,

That if I can put an end to all forms of attachment,

I will be also putting an end to desire and I will be putting an end to the cycle of repeated birth and death.

So that's the kind of the the overview.

And of course,

From that perspective,

Whether you you embrace that or just the idea that in this life,

Everything that I become attached to,

At some point I will become separated from.

That's like inevitable,

It's unavoidable.

And the more attached I am to something when I am separated from it,

The more pain I will feel as a consequence.

And so there was this idea that I need to become free from attachments.

I need to negate those attachments.

And the way to do it is by renouncing things.

Excuse me.

I need to renounce or give up so many things to become free from attachment.

But that is an almost impossible task.

At the very least,

It's an incredibly difficult task.

And one would question really,

Is it is it worth it?

Is it worth really,

You know,

Doing that?

For one that has experienced great pain and suffering,

They would say,

Yeah,

Anything to become free from that.

But from a truly spiritual perspective,

That somewhat leaves you in a limbo,

What you're not going to desire anything,

You're not going to have any form of attachments,

You're going to renounce everything.

And that's kind of like,

Well,

You know,

What,

What are you actually left with?

In the actual higher teachings of yoga,

They make this really clear distinction.

The problem is not attachment.

The problem is what it is that you are attached to.

When you become attached to material things,

Meaning things of this world,

Whether that's relationships,

Whether it's objects,

Whether it's experiences,

Then yes,

Certainly,

You will suffer some unhappiness or painfulness when you are separated from those things that you're attached to.

In the higher yoga teachings,

What they did though is instead of using so called renunciation as the go to,

They they looked at things in a different way.

But before I get that,

I get to that I'll just talk about the renunciation aspect.

Renunciation actually requires that I consider things as mine.

And then I am going to renounce what is mine,

I'm going to give up,

I'm going to step away from those things that I was feeling that I I owned.

In the higher spiritual teachings of yoga,

They say this is not founded on an actual clear understanding.

It's actually a misunderstanding.

They say that in reality,

You cannot claim ownership of anything.

For instance,

When when you showed up in this particular lifetime in this body,

You came into the world with nothing.

And when you leave this body,

You leave with nothing,

You can't bring anything with you.

And the idea of then in between those events,

Laying claim to so many things is it's not it's not real.

It's it's it's an idea.

It's a conception that people have that they can own things.

But in reality,

You you cannot you cannot lay claim to anything.

So I'll read one verse from the one of the Upanishads,

The Isha Upanishad.

And this is the very first verse there is an invocation the Isha Upanishad is actually only it's quite short.

It's only about 18 I think it is verses.

There is an invocation but the first text it it says in Sanskrit Isha vasham vidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyam jagat tyena tyaktena bhunjita magri dha kasyah avid dhanam The translation is that everything animate and inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the supreme.

One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself or oneself,

Which are set aside as one's quota,

And one should not accept other things knowing well to whom they belong.

I mean,

That's just an amazing idea,

An amazing spiritual idea,

That if I understood that everything was owned and controlled by someone other than me,

Then the way in which I would treat this world,

The way in which I would look upon the idea of possessions,

It would radically shift from the idea of ownership to the idea of stewardship,

That there are going to be a certain amount of stuff and things within my sphere of influence and limited and also limited by time under limited control.

And these things have been described as somewhat set aside as my quota,

And I may utilize them but I should not claim ownership of them.

And if people could really adopt that view,

Which is founded upon the spiritual understanding that I am an eternal spiritual being,

You are an eternal spiritual being.

You are having a temporary and passing experience within this particular body that you have.

And what it does is it causes an individual to begin to consider then,

Okay,

What is the purpose of my existence?

What should I be doing in this life,

In this world?

What is the big picture?

Where will I really truly find my happiness?

And so the idea of renunciation,

That I can give up something,

Requires the idea first,

And it's a false idea that I can own something.

Whereas if there is this recognition that I cannot,

You and I,

All of us,

We cannot actually own and declare things to be ours,

Not in the truest and realest sense,

Then where is the question of renunciation?

If I don't own it,

How can I renounce it?

In order for me to renounce it,

I must falsely claim that I own it.

And in this teaching,

This higher teaching,

Higher understanding,

Renunciation actually had to do with not making false claims of ownership,

Running after and seeking to acquire and possess things as mine.

Then that's a false idea.

And so it very much then follows then,

Okay,

If this all belongs to somebody else and I am simply a temporary caretaker passing through,

Then I have some obligation to sort of like take care of things,

Not exploit and not damage things.

If a person adopts that sort of understanding and perspective,

Wow,

That's a whole different type of living,

A living that can produce actually peacefulness and contentment.

And jumping now back to the first part of that,

Those two things attachment,

I had mentioned that the problem with attachment is not being attached,

It's actually what you are attached to.

If I am not attached to temporary material things,

If I understand that I'm an eternal spiritual being,

And if I understand that there is some greater personality or spiritual being or spiritual existence greater than myself,

Then it is this ishvaram,

This as Patanjali speaks about,

This personality he describes as purusha,

That it is a purusha vishesha,

There is one amongst all living beings,

There is one being that is exceptional and extraordinary and different than all the others.

And it is stated in that Upanishadic verse that I read that it is this same ishvara that is the actual owner of all things animate and inanimate.

Attachment,

If I am cultivating attachment to that which is spiritual,

Then the nature of my attachment is eternal.

When I become attached to that which is temporary,

Then that attachment will be temporary,

It will be forcibly broken for me.

When I'm attached to that which is material,

I become entangled and entwined in material existence.

And I'm constantly being,

This is idea that's been reinforced that I am this body that I am wearing around.

Whereas on the other hand,

If I'm cultivating and developing an attachment to spiritual reality,

To the spiritual being,

To the Supreme Being,

Attachment to the transcendental sound to that which is actually spiritual,

Then my engaging in spiritual activities and leading a spiritual life is something that will spontaneously develop and manifest,

Because that's where my attachment is.

In other words,

It is going to serve me well to be attached to that which is spiritual.

What that does is pull me out of material consciousness.

When I become attached to that which is material,

I get pulled away from the spiritual reality and absorbed in that which is temporary and that which is passing,

That which is filled with unhappiness and suffering.

So you had,

Particularly with the paths of karma yoga,

Buddhi yoga,

Bhakti yoga,

The path of devotion,

Where the transcendentalist or the aspirant transcendentalist actually made a conscious decision and effort to develop an attachment to that which is divine,

The supreme,

The supreme soul,

To rekindle this lost connection in the Brahma Samhita.

It describes that the living being actually has an eternal bond of kinship with the supreme soul.

Only we have become disconnected.

That has been kind of like covered up.

And so in these paths that are more devotional in nature,

One can more easily begin to engage in a process that naturally arouses our deep and eternal spiritual instincts.

To love and to serve and to do good towards others,

Which ultimately does good towards ourself.

In that process,

Spiritual attachment is not at all seen as a bad thing.

It is a fantastic and wonderful thing.

And it makes it so a person can live a life of very deep devotion,

Of very great surrender,

Of an existence of not just peacefulness,

But sublime happiness.

So when we think of things where we remove a higher spiritual reality,

When we remove the idea of a supreme soul from the picture,

And it's just down to me and you and,

You know,

And then you're faced with the idea of not wanting to suffer.

I don't want to suffer anymore.

So therefore I struggle to break all attachments by renouncing everything.

And when you consider that that's not actually not a,

It is not the best understanding.

That rather,

I should see that attachment should be redirected instead of towards material things towards that which is spiritual.

That renunciation means I renounce my false claim to this world and things of this world.

I acknowledge and accept that there is a higher spiritual existence in reality that is fundamentally the owner and control,

Controller of everything animate and inanimate.

And I seek to reconnect in a spirit,

A mood of profound affection and love.

So this is really what the higher understanding of the concepts of attachment and renunciation are really about.

So that's sort of like the big picture.

And everything,

Of course,

Flows from that.

And so if we look at last week's talk in relation to what we just mentioned here,

You know,

The idea of being able to attempt to manipulate somebody by telling them,

Oh,

They're just too attached or in order to be able to,

You know,

And I'll use an example that's quite often if somebody goes off flirting with somebody.

Somebody's in a committed relationship and one of them goes off flirting or engaging in some illicit connection.

And I use the term,

You know,

From a spiritual point of view with somebody else and then their committed partner or spouse complains and they say you shouldn't be too attached.

Then that's just like ridiculous.

That's actually very sad that somebody tries to use an amazing spiritual principle just for their own selfish ends.

So thank you very much.

That's about the extent of what we'll cover tonight and I hope that that has helped in developing a better understanding on these spiritual subject or these principles.

And so I invite you to join with me.

We'll be chanting the sacred sounds.

This Om Hari Om.

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Thank you.

Reviews

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