So long as lurks in your mind the false conception of
happiness inhering in the objects of worldly enjoyments, the consequently so
long as you cherish a felling of mine and attachment towards the living beings
and inanimate objects of this world, neither true devotion nor spiritual
enlightenment can be had nor can be success be attained in the discipline of
Yoga. The practice of disinterested action is out of the question without
aversion to the pleasure of sense.
Attachment resides in the mind and it is by the mind
alone that it can be renounced. Therefore, attachment to the pleasure of sense
can neither be shaken off by putting on the label of a vairagi (One who has
turned his mind away from his pleasure of sense) or Vairagya (One who is
entirely free from passion) nor by external renunciation. To assume such a
title, but to have no real inclination for aversion to the pleasures of sense
is nothing short of hypocrisy. So long as there is an attraction in your mind
for the pleasures of sense, so long as you imagine happiness to inhere in them
and so long as there is a craving for such pleasures, “ Vairagya” or dispassion
is out of the question.
So long as you falsely conceive happiness to lie in the
objects of enjoyments and so long as a craving for them lurks in your mind, you
will be seized with a longing to possess them the moment you come face to face
with them or even recall them, even though you may have externally renounced
them. Such a longing would impel even him who has outwardly renounced them to
indulge in luxuries and thereby bring about his downfall.
There is no joy in the delights of senses; on the other
hand, they are full of sorrow and sorrow alone. Food and drink, clothing and
apparel, house and dwelling in this world are meant only for maintaining one’s
existence; while this human life is intended for striving towards
God-realization after developing aversion for the pleasure of sense. These
things are to be accepted only for maintaining one’s life; life is not to be
lived for them. Hence the voluptuous man who eats for the gratification of his
palate and clothes himself for the sake of smartness is totally devoid and
dispassion and must remained tied to the world.
Even as the objects of enjoyment are measure only for the
sustenance of the body, this body too is intended only to serve as a fit abode
for the soul. It is not our own self. The soul which cognizes the states of
childhood, youth and old age through which the body has to pass, ever remains
the same. You say “ I was a child in former days, when I used to play such a
way. In many youthful days my body was full of great of vigour and now in my
old age I have become a decrepit. “ this proves that you, who make such
observations, are the soul distinct from the body. Realizing this give up
attachment and the feeling of mineness with regard to the body; and, undergoing
the pleasurable and painful experience that come to you, with an equipoised
mind, so long as the body continues to exist use it as an instrument helpful in
your march along the path of God-Realization.
When love for God appears in you or you get established
in the self, you will automatically give up the pleasures of sense like a
poison or a dream. But try to give up the attachment for them even beforehand
by repeatedly finding fault with them and visualizing them as attended with
sorrow and regarding them as the supreme factor conductive to bondage.
True renunciation lies in giving up attachment of the
mind for luxuries; and that alone is real dispassion. But indulge in luxuries
as sparingly as possible; accept them and ceasing to look upon them as
delightful. Possession and accumulation of objects of enjoyment also
fosters attachment for them. Do not cast
your gaze on men attached to or surrounded by the pleasure of sense, nut on
exalted souls who have turned their mind away from luxuries. Commune with the
lives and teachings of those exalted souls who have lost all charm for the
objects of enjoyment so that, losing all faith in and charm for the pleasures
for sense, but on exalted souls who have lost all charm for the objects of
enjoyment so that, losing all faith in and charm for the pleasures of sense,
which are no better than sweet poison, your mind may develop real aversion for
them.
A person given to the gratification of his senses will
ever remain entangled in the same of fear and despondency—fear of the loss of
enjoyments already available and great dejection and grief over their loss or
on his failure to obtain them. But he who has no attachment for the objects of
enjoyment will ever remain free from fear and grief and steeped in supreme bliss.
No circumstances can make a man of dispassion unhappy.
- Happiness pleasure of sense