Non-Attachment – In Gita Verse 2.38 Do thou – fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat – and by doing so you shall never incur sin.
Krishna awakens Arjuna – and through him, all of us – to the eternal play of existence where we are at once the actors and the observers. This insight is not confined to the battlefield of Kurukshetra but resonates through the corridors of time, serving as a navigational star for the seeker in the journey of life.
In the Gita’s divine dialogue, Krishna’s advice transcends mere strategy or tactics; he bequeaths to us a philosophy of action devoid of attachment. His urging is for us to fully engage in our dharma, our righteous duty, without attachment to success or fear of failure. This profound lesson is sometimes mistaken for callousness or indifference when it is, in fact, a testament to the purest form of involvement.
Attachment binds us to the temporal, holding us captive to Plato’s shadows, fickle and fleeting. Non-attachment is the liberation from this bondage – not an abstention but a full-hearted participation in life unshackled by the desire or aversion to its outcomes – a truth echoed by the teachings of Buddha about the nature of suffering.
Our human proclivity to grasp tightly – to material goods, relationships, ideologies, even constructs of our own selfhood – is an attempt to assert permanence upon the inherently transient, conjuring a false sense of solidity where none exists. The ego, with its hunger for existence and recognition, fears its own disintegration. And yet, paradoxically, it is the disintegration of these constructs that Jiddu Krishnamurti evokes as the dawn of understanding.
Arjuna’s dichotomy is the mirror reflecting our collective human struggle. The illusion – a dense mist – clouds our perception, convincing us that we are merely our roles, our possessions, our accolades. Krishna’s clarion call is a wake-up to our intrinsic, ineffable nature that lies far beyond these transitory attachments.
Crises shatter our crafted personas, leaving behind fertile voids from which new possibilities can spring forth – possibilities erstwhile veiled by the attachments we held dear. The emergent self is one unbounded by the embryonic sac of identity, one that sees with clarity and acts with purity.
Non-attachment invites us to a richer life experience, to feel deeply each moment without the compulsion to own it. This state of ‘beingness’ is unfettered living, in touch with the present, treating both past and future as illusions.
The invitation to practise non-attachment is perpetual, an invitation to see beyond the ego’s mirage, to recognise our readiness for this very moment. Like Arjuna, we are called to loosen our grip, to act with sincere intention, and to merge with the ever-flowing river of life.
In guiding souls along their paths, we must be gentle in our approach. Wisdom is not a decree but a delicate suggestion, a subtle hint to the slumbering divinity within. Some will awaken; others may not. Yet we walk on, without attachment to our role as guides, knowing every being will encounter their awakening in their own sacred time.
Now, let us discern between ‘aversion’ and ‘non-attachment.’ Aversion is resistance, a negative pull away from something undesirable. It is an active rejection, often arising from fear, repulsion, or dislike. Aversion can be as binding as desire, for both emotional states tether you to the object of your feeling, albeit in opposing ways.
Non-attachment, in contrast, is a neutral state. It is not driven by like or dislike but is characterised by equanimity and the profound understanding of impermanence. One who practises non-attachment engages fully with life, without the need to push away or cling, and accepts the ebb and flow of experiences with grace. This neutrality is the heart of spiritual freedom, a liberating force in the journey inward.
As we walk the path of the spiritual warrior, as Arjuna once did, let us embrace non-attachment as the ultimate expression of love – a love that asks for nothing in return and binds itself to nothing that must pass. This is the wisdom of the seeker, the essence of truth itself.
Tags: Non-Attachment
