Pujya Ramsukhdasji Maharaj

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Being Free of Attachment, Aversion, Rejoicing and Grief

 

In Gita 12:17 Bhagavan (God) says - " He who neither rejoices, nor

hates, neither grieves nor desires, and who has renounced attachment

and aversion in good and evil deeds, he who is thus devoted, is dear

to Me. (Gita 12:17)

 

Let us take the first part - " Yo na hrsyati na dvesti, na socati na

kaanksati. There are four important changes for the worse (demerits)

1) Attachment (Raag)

2) Aversion (hate, dvesh)

3) Rejoicing (harsh) and

4) Grief (shauk)

 

An enlightened devotee is free from these four evils or altered

states. He realizes that the world, being perishable is continuously

separating, whereas Bhagavan (God) never separates from him. There was

never any togetherness with the world, there isn't at present and will

not be in the future. In other words, the world does not have any

independent existence of it's own. After realizing this reality,

(after no relation remains with inertness), this essential nature, the

devotee having a firm conviction, only sees His eternal relationship

with the Divine. Therefore his inner faculty becomes entirely free

from such evils, as attachment and aversion etc. On realizing God,

these changing states are completely wiped out.

 

During the stages of spiritual disciplines, the more one advances in

his spiritual practices, to that extent attachment and aversion are

reduced. That which is lessened, will eventually be wiped out.

Therefore it can be concluded that as the changing and altered

states are reduced during the stages of spiritual discipline, these

evils will not remain in a devotee. Rather they will be totally wiped

out and he will attain perfection (siddha).

 

Elation and dejection both are outcomes of attachment and aversion.

Who ever we are attached to, the meeting of that one, leads to

elation. Similarly whoever we are averse towards, their abscence,

leads to rejoicing. Also, we are dejected and experience grief, in

the abscence (or anticipation of the abscence) of he that we are

attached to. And experience grief and dejection, from the presence

(or likelihood of the presence) of he who we are averse towards. An

enlightened devotee, being free of attachment and aversion, remains

even-minded and equanimous at all times. Therefore he becomes free

from all changing states.

 

Just like, at night, in the dark, a person wishes to light a lamp and

he feels happy having lit it. He is averse to a person who attempts to

extinguish the lamp and even becomes angry with him. In addition he is

also worried as to how to light the lamp again? On there being

darkness all these four points are likely to take place - attachment,

aversion, rejoice, and grief. But at noon, when the sun shines

brightly, he has neither a desire to light the lamp, nor does he

rejoice having lit it, nor does he get angry with a man who

extinguishes it, nor is he worried about how to light the lamp again.

Similarly, when a man has a disinclination for God and inclination for

the world, he desires favorable circumstances to maintain his body

etc., he rejoices having acquired these, hates those or is angry with

those who are obstacles to their acquisition and is worried about how

to acquire them again if these are not attained. But, he who (like the

sun at noon) has attained perfection, becomes free from all changing

states. He attains perfection i.e. there remains no worldly

necessities and desires in him at all.