Daily Devotion -Apr 13, 2026 (English)- Hidden Attachment
Anurāg and Vairāgya -
Only two things are essential for us to know -
- Detachment (vairāgya) from the world, and
- Attachment (anurāg) to God and Guru.
The Vedas, scriptures, and Puranas contain no knowledge other than this.
The first question is: who is meant to practice these two - detachment and attachment? Not even one per cent of people truly know and accept the correct answer to this question.
People believe that detachment from the world means eating only fruits and vegetables, sleeping on the ground, and engaging in similar practices. However, all these are merely external forms of renunciation. Similarly, going to the temple daily, applying a tilak, performing japa with beads, visiting Vrindavan every year, sitting for ritualistic worship for four hours, and so on, are external practices of attachment to God.
However, if you ask such people what percentage of their 'mind' has actually detached from the world and how much of it has become attached to God, they will have no answer. Their attachment remains with worldly relationships, wealth, prestige, and similar things. Their ego becomes so inflated that they are ready to fight over even a single word spoken against them. In such a situation, detachment from the world has not occurred at all. Therefore, mere external renunciation is not true detachment. True detachment from the world must take place in the mind.
The episode of Gaurāng Mahāprabhu and Pundarik Vidyānidhi illustrates this. Pundarīk Vidyānidhi was a great devotee whom Lord Gaurāng Mahāprabhu (a descension of God) Himself went to meet. However, when people went there, they observed his luxurious mansion, golden beds, and numerous maidservants attending to him. Gadādhar Bhatt, who had accompanied Mahāprabhu, became disturbed upon seeing this. He thought, "How can Mahāprabhu embrace such a worldly person and weep while holding his feet?"
This can happen to any of us because we tend to judge based on external appearances. We lack the ability to understand what is happening within the mind. Mahāprabhu understood what was going on in Gadādhar's mind. After returning, He summoned Gadādhar Bhatt, rebuked him, and said -
"Go away from here - leave my Satsang! You harbored ill feelings toward such a great saint. Merely thinking negatively about a saint constitutes nāmaparādh; it need not be spoken aloud. I have taught you many times that detachment from the world and attachment to God must occur in the mind. Why did you judge him based on his external appearance and behavior?
After attaining God, Dhruva, Prahlād, and others ruled the entire earth for millions of years. Pundarīk Vidyānidhi's opulence is insignificant in comparison. Your mind became disturbed merely by seeing such a minor luxury. Go, become a disciple of Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi, receive initiation from him, wash his feet, and drink that water. Only if he forgives you may you return to my satsang."
The Gopis, whose footdust is sought even by Brahma and Shankar, were all householders with families and children. Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Manu, and the great sages, ascetics, and yogis - were all householders. This is true detachment. Building a hut in the forest and living there while mentally contemplating worldly matters is not detachment.
Therefore, even while living in the world, if the mind has no attachment to it, that alone can be called true detachment. If one possesses no worldly opulence, then what is there to renounce? By this logic, lions, leopards, dogs, and donkeys would be the greatest renunciates, as they possess neither houses nor stored food.
A fish is born in the holy Ganga and dies in it - will it attain Golok? Do you think you will attain Golok by bathing in the Ganga? Immerse your mind in the divine personality of Ganga. Mere immersion of the body will not take you to Golok. Worship of God is not accomplished through physical actions alone; it must be performed through the mind.
It is true that an aspiring devotee benefits from possessing less material wealth because greater worldly opulence increases attachment to the world. However, in the perfected state of devotion, this question does not arise. In that state, even a billionaire can be a great saint, just as the Gopis and all the sages were householders. Conversely, even a beggar can be deeply attached to the material world, spending the entire day thinking about whom to deceive or rob next.
Therefore, detachment is accomplished by the mind, and attachment is also established through the mind. An aspiring devotee should always remember this lesson in their devotional practice. Do kirtan, bhajan, japa, and chanting, but first develop love for God and Guru in your heart.
In the world, everyone knows how to love. What to speak of humans - even dogs, cats, and donkeys know how to love. All worldly relationships change with every birth. The same son in this life may become your father in the next birth. The same beings repeatedly form different relationships with one another. Everyone is sent into this world for a predetermined duration according to their own karma, whether one is a soul bound by māyā, a saint, or a descension of God.
Then why did you accept worldly relationships as your own? God alone is our eternal Father. He never changes. He is the kind of Father who remains with us in joy and sorrow, everywhere and at all times. He does not leave our side even for a single moment.
Therefore, when you sit down to do sadhana, first, meditate on God and your Guru and develop love for them in your heart. Only then should you begin your sādhana.
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