Can we achieve the kind of detachment we learn about in the Bhagavad GitaIJ AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI tries to answer
lord Krishna has spoken about the virtues of detachment and harm done by attachment in many verses of the Bhagavad Gita. Can we achieve such detachment. The following story will provide some answers.
Manoj had a deep desire to earn a lot of money because he had seen very bad days. His parents were daily wage earners. They, in spite of their limited means, got him educated. Manoj excelled in studies but could not go beyond class XII due to financial constraints.
He did not lose heart and became a hawker selling vegetables. He worked hard and tried to supply fresh and quality vegetables at reasonable prices. It did not take long before housewives began to use him for their daily needs of this essential item.
After a few years of hawking vegetables, he thought of selling spices. As he had an established clientele, he felt he would succeed, and he did. Housewives began to buy from him because they could see that what he supplied was genuine.
The turnover increased because of higher prices of spices, therefore, Manoj began to earn more than his daily needs. In some years, he had saved enough to open a small shop to supplied spices to his clients from. Business grew and he began to package his spices and branded them. This caught on and he began to rake in a good amount of money.
Now the time had come to get married, which he had been postponing in spite of his parents’ insistence. He was blessed with a daughter a year after his marriage. There were no further children due to medical complications. He considered his daughter to be a unique gift from God, and began to pay a lot of attention to her upbringing.
Time passed and she grew up into a very confident and mature girl. Manoj was extremely proud of her. He had made sure that she got the best education. Now the time had come for her marriage. Manoj discussed with his wife to choose a bright boy employed in a multinational firm.
His daughter gave birth to a boy, and then disaster struck; she was widowed. His business too faced tough competition. He lost a lot of money and had to cut down on lots of his overheads, but this required his full attention. He could not afford to shut down the business because his clients owed him a lot of money. The only way he could recover it was to keep the business going. And he had not set aside much money for his family.
All this pressure began to affect his health. He consulted doctors but, most importantly, he consulted a spiritualist. This man, a very wise person, advised Manoj to practice realistic detachment. Yes, his daughter was assisting him at work, but she needed his presence to keep the business going till her son grew up, otherwise also.
After the consultation, this is what he decided. He was going to use only those sense objects, which were required for maintenance of his body and he needed to be healthy. He also began to practise limited detachment from his body, which meant that now he did not allow old age pangs to disturb him much; he began to accept them with good grace. Earlier, he used to take pride in his excellent health. The last two attachments, ie with the family and business was to continue till his grandson grew up and was in a position to help in running the business.
This was the best Manoj could do in his present circumstances. What lord Krishna has enunciated in the Bhagavad Gita, ie full detachment, he left it to the next life, because this is what he was allowed by his circumstances.
Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com