The Hindu : Detachment, key to liberation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 24, 2003

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Detachment, key to liberation

CHENNAI JAN.24. A scriptural text outlines all the important facets of spirituality so that man can benefit from perusing it. Some works elaborate only certain aspects of the subject, as their objective is to give in-depth knowledge. Among the important scriptural works, the Bhagavad Gita is considered a complete manual and it has a special status in that Lord Krishna Himself taught it. The Gita has been hailed as the quintessence of the Upanishads and has all the important features of the Upanishads. The teaching of the different topics in the 18 chapters of the Gita is in the form of a dialogue between the Lord and Arjuna. Its 15th chapter is exhaustive in itself.

This chapter can be broadly classified into five sections in which all the salient philosophical concepts are subsumed. The opening verse compares the manifold universe to the Asvattha tree (Pipal) with its roots above and the trunks with leaves below signifying this world of bondage, which is the field for man's actions. One may wonder what the motive of this simile is. It draws attention to the nature of the world in which we live and reminds the spiritual aspirant that he must develop detachment towards the world, which is possible only when his attention shifts to the Lord. This in short is the objective of spiritual life. Unless a person's preoccupation shifts from worldly engagements to the spiritual goal he will continue to be entrapped in the cycle of transmigration.

In her discourse, Swamini Satyavratananda said the Katha Upanishad also adopts the analogy of a fig tree to depict the Reality as the Gita. This mighty Pipal tree is rooted in the unseen (Supreme Reality) and the visible branches represent the manifest creation. The leaves, which nourish and protect the tree, are compared to the Vedas. Human beings have taken birth in the world because of Karma and they enjoy the result of their Karma in the form of joy and sorrow just as birds partake the fruits of the tree.

But, man is not condemned to be entrapped in the cycle of transmigration. The following verse makes it clear that man can cut asunder the firmly rooted tree with the axe of dispassion. He should strive for the supreme state— liberation from rebirth. This is possible by surrendering to the Supreme Being from whom the eternal cosmos has streamed forth. The human predicament is succinctly portrayed in a few verses to stress that it is possible for man to overcome bondage by developing detachment towards the world.

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