Being Unattached While Working
Hello, my dear readers! Hope y’all are holding up well, and enjoying your daily hustles. I am writing this blog right after reading the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Honestly speaking, when my fingers are still trembling while I type in these words, and that’s because the teachings imparted in this lesson are so profound and wise that if you do get a chance to contemplate it deep within, you’d find the answers to a lot of your questions.
As mentioned in the earlier paragraph, there are various lessons mentioned in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita and spiritually awakened people share their view that even if any one of these teachings could be implemented in our daily lives, we could perhaps pave our pathway towards liberation. For today’s blog, I am going to be focusing on the act of unattachment. If you do consider the word it sounds a little selfish at one go, we might be thinking that being detached from anything — like people, things and relationships isn’t actually very good thinking, in fact, it only heralds our shallowness.
However, spirituality emphasises this act of detachment, it says that we must be able to perform our duties, and in no circumstances must we abandon them, however, we must do so with an act of unattachment. In the 63rd verse of the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagwan Krishna says, “krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ
smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati”
The literal translation of this would be “Anger leads to clouding of judgement, which results in bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, the intellect gets destroyed; and when the intellect is destroyed, one is ruined.”
Then in the next verse, he says, “rāga-dveṣha-viyuktais tu viṣhayān indriyaiśh charan
ātma-vaśhyair-vidheyātmā prasādam adhigachchhati.”
This means, “But one who controls the mind, and is free from attachment and aversion, even while using the objects of the senses, attains the Grace of God.” Courtesy: Bhagavad Gita by Swami Mukudananda. As we would be aware that the lesson of the Bhagavad Gita was being imparted to Arjuna in the midst of the Kurukshetra war and in the battlefield, and Shree Krishna emphasises here that work must be done without attachment, by controlling the mind even when you are dealing with the world, and if someone can do so then he attains the grace of God.
I am particularly smitten by these two verses, mostly the latter one. In our daily work imagine that we are engaging in transactions with the world, engaging in our senses, but at the same time, we have to realise and act as if we are not attached at all. And, this should not be a forced thing, it must come about naturally. Sure, these practices are not so easy and they might take time, and we might even fail. Swami Vivekananda said that we must not mind the failures at all, even if we fail a thousand times, we must be able to gather ourselves and get up one more time and try.
One way of remaining unattached while working can be dedicating our works to the universe and thanking the universe for the opportunity. That way we shall not be broken if things do not go our way, and will be able to maintain a mental balance even if things go our way.
In my case, I can say that I have not been able to grasp this concept of being unattached fully when I am working, some traces of attachment still remain, but I make it a habit to dedicate whatever I indulge myself with to the universe, and I have noticed that adds a sense of gratitude and positivity in me.
I think I am going to continue that. In case you know the secret of working in an absolutely unattached manner, just give me a buzz and I would love to learn more. Till then, let’s continue with our pursuits. :)
