Detachment from Material Attachment through Devotee Association!
“A male devotee (Name hidden)” asked like this:
“hare krishna pr.. m question is what is material attachment? how its come why n when.. n how’ll get detach from it.. and what is association of devotee. why we need and what is the importance of devotee association. thank u… hare krishna..”
REPLY:
WHAT IS MATERIAL ATTACHMENT?
Material attachment means having preference for the ‘short lived’ materials and people and considering them as our eternal belongings or relations.
In other words, FORGETTING THAT WE ARE ATHMA and filling our consciousness with temporary material thoughts skipping our eternal associate Krishna. Or, always thinking of them and living for satisfying them.
(The difference between love, mercy and attachment! READ HERE)
What are the temporary things?
(1) People and their bodily relations. We had different parents , wife/ husband, children, etc., in our previous birth. They ended with the death of our body. Now, in this birth, we have different parents, spouse, children, etc. They are relations for our body of this birth only.
We have taken this body now and also have these relations. When we leave this body, will we take our parents or spouse or children with us? Even a multi billionaire has to leave his relations on earth and leave one day. So, they are called bodily relations.
What about the materials like air conditioner, cars, two wheelers, computer, mobile, social media, etc.? We are very much attached with these things. If we do not have them even a single day, we feel or cry for them. When we leave this body, will we take FB, twitter, system, mobile, car, etc. with us? No. We leave them when we leave our body. So, they are materials.
If you become mad if you are unable to chat with your parents or girl friend even for one day, that means, you are very much materially attached with them. If you become agitated when you are unable to log in to FB one day, you are too attached with FB. These are all just for examples.
(Proper way of having association with others to avoid material bonding! READ HERE!)
DETACHMENT FROM MATERIAL ATTACHMENT
Then, what to do to achieve Detachment from Material Attachment? Should you run away from parents, spouse, social media, mobile, etc.? No. Use them or deal with them only for satisfying Krishna. How?
Involve your spouse in Krishna consciousness. Educate him/ her properly. Keep on trying till you die to make your spouse a devotee. Though you do not succeed in your efforts, even your efforts will be taken into account by Krishna. Don’t worry.
(22 Tips to avoid differences if your husband is not interested in devotion! READ HERE)
Use the system or mobile for learning or preaching Krishna consciousness. Use car for selling more books on Lord and preaching. Thus, we can convert material into spiritually oriented.
If you lose our mobile or system or FB account, do not cry. Take it as the will of Krishna for some reasons, say, to engage you in some other productive acts.
What about relations? When my father was counting his last minutes, and doctor said that he will die within 3-4 hours definitely and I can inform my relatives, what I did? I went to the post office and gave telegrams to all my relatives, brothers and sisters as “Father dead. Come soon” so that they can come earlier and reach home without delay for funeral. After returning from telegraph office, I saw my father was still struggling for breathing. I prayed the Lord to give him good status after leaving. He died within 2 hrs silently. At that moment, I did not cry. Because, I satisfied him as a student when he was alive. So, I need not cry after death as I have no guilt.
I thought: “Today, he has left. Tomorrow I too may leave. Who is immune to death?”
So, I took this incidence of the death of my beloved father, as the unavoidable event.
This is called the detached mindset. Sorry for having given my example as I am comfortable with my own experience.
(Why should we love our family members since Krishna advices to give up attachments? READ HERE!)
Here, a question may arise:
When we are detached, how can we get the required things for life? If we have firm faith, Lord will make it happen. If a product or person is destined for us, it will come to us at any cost. All we have to do is, to do our duties effectively without attachment to results. Just as a duty. But, we should not stop working. Work as a duty. That’s all.
This is the Detachment from Material Attachment.
WHY DEVOTEE ASSOCIATION?
Material Association means being in the company of other persons/ products not related to Krishna.
Association impacts and sets the character and life style of a person. Even though a boy took birth as a son of a king, if he lives in the house of a thief since his birth, he will also become a thief.
If we are in the company of devotees, it will be the devotee association and we will be thinking of the Lord related things.
(15 Tips to follow the right way of maintaining the association of devotees! READ HERE)
If we are in the company of Krishna through chanting His names, we become attached to Krishna. So, our consciousness becomes spiritual. We will be acting on the spiritual platform though we live in this material world.
Thus, Detachment from Material Attachment can be achieved through the Devotee Association!
So, we should have the association with devotees through sathsanghas and temples and the association of the Lord by chanting His Holy names. This will make our consciousness as Krishna Consciousness that will take us to the Lord’s kingdom when we leave this body. We will not take birth on this earth again.
Be with Krishna and His great devotees! You will become detached from this material world and you will be working just as an instrument without the ego of being a doer.
Hope you are clear about getting the detachment from material attachment through the Devotee Association!
(I don’t have the association of devotees. Can’t I chant and love Krishna? READ HERE!)