It is not that non-attachment is the nature of a few. Wherever consciousness is it is always beyond attachment and aversion. Our highest intelligence transcends both clinging and aversion. It is a different matter that in its behavior, consciousness attaches itself to something or rejects something else. But that is behavioral side. If I am left exclusively with my consciousness, will I be attached or detached in that moment? I will be neither. Attachment and aversion invariably happen in relation with others- person or thing. If I say Mr. X is attached or averse, you will immediately ask, “To whom?” or “To what?” or “from what?” It is because aversion or attachment is possible only in relation to someone or something. Both clinging and rejection reflect our relationships, and they belong to our behavioral side.
It is very important to understand the behavioral side of self-nature. And since it is a question of behavior, we can be attached to a person today and can reject him tomorrow. And the irony is that we can be both attached and averse to someone or something at the same time. It is quite possible we can be simultaneously attached to one aspect of his personality and averse to another. Behavior is not possible without the other. It is impossible when we are alone. Self-nature means that which is all alone. Aloneness is the intrinsic quality of self-nature. Both attachment and aversion are utterly irrelevant to aloneness, because they are reflections of relationship. Once we are out of all relativeness, we are all alone- unattached and untouched.
I am discussing it at length so that we rightly understand the meaning and significance of non-attachment, its context and its associated words. And once we understand them rightly, this understanding itself will take to a level; we will not have much difficulty in coming to non-attachment. So a person of attachment is a slave, and a person of aversion is a slave of the opposite kind. Take away the vault of one who clings to wealth and he will die. Put a vault of valuables in the room of who is averse to wealth and he will not be able to sleep. It is the ‘other’, both attachment and aversion turns us into slavery, bondages, in both cases we are dependent on others.
Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, Mitran foundation- the stress management people
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