Om! GOAL SETTING IN SPIRITUAL SADHANA by Nityananda Atman

Atman at Babaji's Ashram Haidakhan Vishva Mhadam India

  GOAL SETTING IN SPIRITUAL SADHANA
by Nityananda Atman 

FREEDOM, HAPPINESS and COMPLETENESS, are characteristics of our True Nature or Consciousness. We can experience them only when our mind is calm and focused in the center of our existence or consciousness, which is eternal, unchanging and the source of peace and bliss.

Mind introverted focused in its center (consciousness) enable us to be in contact with the eternal source of life (God, Spirit, Consciousness), stops the identification and attachment to the external forms and objects.
This has as result to experience freedom, peace, happiness and fulfillment.

Mind extroverted focused on external objects and forms causes identification and attachment to the external forms and objects, compulsive and mechanical thinking and negative emotions.
This has as result to experience bondage, pain, and suffering, with small breaks of pleasure, and fleeting moments of happiness.

With the aid of spiritual practices (sadhana) the mind becomes introverted and stays firmly focused in its center, the consciousness. When all egoic energies are totally destroyed the abidance of the mind in consciousness becomes effortless and without a break, this state is called Liberation. If we want to be established in our center and live a higher spiritual life it is necessary to organize our daily living properly and follow a well organized daily schedule of spiritual practices.

In order to bear fruits the spiritual practices the practitioner is necessary to have some basic virtues such as perseverance, patience, endurance in hardships and adversity, courage, firm determination, faith ( in himself , in the scriptures and the Masters ). In addition, as I have said the aspirant should do his practices systematically. It is necessary to draw a well- organized program in which will set specific goals and objectives, which will try to achieve by practicing with consistency and zeal.

It is important to be understood that apart from the daily program it is very important the setting of specific goals and objectives. It has been shown that when practice has been associated with the achievement of specific goals is much more effective than the practice which is poorly organized and lacks of goals.

Atman at Sivananda room Rishikesh India

Swami Sivananda since 1935 (when the science of learning had not yet advanced), found through his personal experience that is of great importance the implement of a well- organized daily program, the maintenance of a personal diary and the setting of goals. All the above will enable the aspirant to move decisively to his spiritual journey and achieve self-realization. There are many obstacles and difficulties in the spiritual path therefore it is required a very well organized and honest effort to achieve the final goal which is self-realization. The experience and the guidance of those who already have achieved self-realization make our journey easier and help us to save time and energy and march on with more confidence towards self-realization. 


Read at the end of the essay the instructions of Swami Sivananda about how we can organize our daily sadhana

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PRACTICING WITH GOALS?

It is important for us to know the benefits of setting goals in our daily practice, because this knowledge will motivate us to set goals and try to achieve them with enthusiasm. Later on when we will get our personal results we will know from firsthand the value of setting goals and we continue to practice with goals with more joy and satisfaction.

The advantages of setting goals:

1. Create greater motivation and interest.

2. It helps us to be more methodical and effective.

3. It helps to have results more quick.

4. It helps us to evaluate our effort and progress.

5. Motivate us to increase our effort and stick with our plan.

6. It helps us find our weaknesses.

7. We become more creative finding new ways and methods to accomplish our goals.

8. It helps us to be more focused to what is important.

When we set goals we must always remember to

• "Keep it simple"
• "Be flexible"
• "Be open minded"
• "Enjoy every moment of your practice" "Focus on present"
•  

PLANNING THE PROGRAM

In the beginning we plan a program of daily practice which we must follow with regularity and steadiness. We can make changes if we think it is necessary.

The program must be proportional to our needs and capacities.

We must be attentive and see if we can fulfill this program with regularity.

The first 2-3 weeks we must note if the program flows. We must observe how things go and reflect on them in order to determine if the program is fulfilled and if not, what impede us to fulfill the program.

We must determine if the obstacles are external or internal (our mental or emotional weaknesses). When we determine the nature of the obstacles we must do the appropriate changes in pour program or we must eliminate our mental and emotional weaknesses which impede us to fulfill it regularly.

Every once we must examine and evaluate the program. We must determine if it is appropriate for us and help us achieve the goals we have set. If not we must do some changes. If we do not know what to do or we have doubts we must ask for help. Spiritual teachers, advanced spiritual aspirants and books can help us to do what is necessary. Prayer can help us a lot.

Program and goal setting

Together with the program we set specific goals (with schedule) which we try to achieve with the means and the practices of our choice.

The goals we set can be relative to the program itself or the capacities and the qualities we want to develop (some examples: to apply without a break the program for one month. To increase the time of concentration or to increase the time of pranayama or the session time of meditation. To develop patience, tranquility, dispassion, truthfulness etc.)

Setting goals according the time:  

• Short-term goals (the goals of the day or week)  
• Medium-term goals (monthly, quarterly) 
• Long-term goals (semester, annual)  
• The final goal is Self realization 

 HOW WE SET THE GOALS:

• Write down your goals (this one is very important!)
• Follow measure and common sense
• Keep the process of setting goals simple.
• Evaluate the current level of the skills you want to develop.
• Set realistic goals regarding the level and time available. Set goals corresponded amount and difficulty to your level. Make goals moderately difficult.
• Increase the amount and difficulty of goals gradually (step by step).
• Set goals for quantity the quality and stability.
• Set specific measurable goals, not abstract. Define exactly what you want to achieve. Use numbers detailing how often, how many, how much.
• Be flexible and make modifications or change the goal if it is needed.
• Decide the means and the method to follow.
• Set a schedule to achieve the goal.
• Review your progress.
• Reevaluate goals weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually.

ATTENTION

Do not set too many short-term goals. Many people get bogged down by working on too many goals at once.
Do not set unrealistic goals out of reach of your level and time.
Also, remember to be flexible. Sometimes goals need to be modified, especially if you are new at goal-setting. Changing goals is not a sign of failure; it merely helps you become more specific about what you need to do now, considering information you didn’t have at the time you originally set your goals.

TYPES OF GOALS

1. Relative to the program 

2. Relative to the development of practices
 
3. Relative the development of capacities and virtues

4. Relative to the elimination of defects  and the  abandonment of harmful habits

EXAMPLES

1. EXAMPLES relative to the program
Sleeping and waking fixed time in order the program to flow.
Doing meditation with the same ritual, in the same place, same time
Doing meditation steadily every day morning and evening without to fail to do the practice more than 2 times a week

2. EXAMPLES relative to the the development of practices (quantity and quality)
To extend the duration of pranayama within 6 months from 10’ to 20’ minutes and the duration of meditation from 30’ to 45’.
To stay completely motionless during meditation
To increase the ability to concentrate without distractions
To increase the control of senses and mind.

3. EXAMPLES relative the development of virtues.

We develop virtues such as: patience, compassion, truthfulness, sincerity, kindness, acceptance, dispassion, discernment, etc.

4. EXAMPLES relative to the elimination harmful habits and egoic tendencies: 

We eliminate defects such as: fear, jealousy, envy, anger, impatience, gluttony, lasciviousness, guilty, etc.
 
We try to eliminate step by step the expression of each egoic tendency of its all particulars expressions . 

We eliminate harmful habits such as: watching a lot tv, smoking, drinking alcohol, sleeping too much, gossiping, talking to much, criticizing, cheating, telling lies, watching films of violence, porn, horror, lousy, etc..

When for some reason we don't remain steady in our practice to achieve the above goals, we are looking for the cause that creates this lack of consistency and I try to find solutions..

When something doesn’t go as we wish, it is not helpful at all to react emotionally (with guilt, sadness etc. )this is also a play of the ego which wants to stop our progress towards happiness and freedom)). If it happens so we do practices in order to eliminate these undesirable emotional reactions. With sobriety we note what is not working with the program and we make the appropriate changes.

Use Your “SMARTS”

Time-management consultant Hyrum W. Smith created this acronym to help people remember some of the most important aspects of effective goal-setting. Keep these things in mind as you create each of your goals:

S = Specific
For example we set as goal to increase the time of japa nama or meditation. We decide to increase the time every month. We will do for example 3 minutes more than the previous one. This is a specific goal and measurable.

M = Measurable – Quantify goals.
Use numbers detailing how often and how much I will do a practice. For example how often I will do pranayama, (every day) how many pranayamas each session or how much time I will do, -15 minutes.

A = Action-Oriented – Goals should imply actions that you need to take.
For example if we want to eliminate a bad habit or a defect (anger) we must decide the practices which we apply with sincerity and enthusiasm in order to achieve the elimination of this defect.

R = Realistic – Make your goals moderately difficult, but reachable.
It is not appropriate to increase the time of pranayama immediately -for example from 10 minutes a day to 45 minutes. It is highly recommended to increase the amount of practice step by step. We can increase the time of pranayama from 10 minutes to 15 minutes or from 30 repetitions to 40 repetitions.

T = Timely – Create goals that you can reach in a reasonable time.
For example we set as a goal to increase the time of meditation at the end of the year from 40 minutes to 1 hour.   

S = Self-Determined – Set your own goals, ones that are meaningful to you.

~~~   ~~~   ~~~

The three important formulas 
 of Swami Sivananda

Swami Sivananda among so many other instructions that gave to us in order to facilitate our journey towards Self-realization, he suggested three important formulas, considering them of paramount importance for any aspirant who wants to move successfully the path of Self-realization or liberation.

Swami Sivananda says: By keeping a spiritual diary you can then and there rectify your mistakes. You can do more Sadhana and evolve quickly. There is no other best friend and faithful teacher or Guru than your diary. It will teach you the value of time. At the end of every month calculate the total number of hours you spent in Japa, study of religious books, Pranayama, Asanas, sleep, etc. Then you will be able to know how much time You are spending for religious purposes. You have got every chance to increase the period of Japa, meditation, etc., gradually. If you maintain a daily diary properly, without any fault in any of the items, you will not like to waste even a single minute unnecessarily. Then alone will you understand the value of time and how it slips away. to keep a spiritual diary.

The three formulas are:  

1. The twenty important spiritual instructions together with sadhana tattva (or the science of seven cultures for quick evolution of the human being). 
http://www.dlsaus.org/DLSA_Docs/ESSENCE%20OF%20SPRITUALITY_Full.pdf

2. The resolve form
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=565

3. The spiritual diary
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=566

OM! Who is called a Jivanmukta or liberated sage ~ Swami Sivananda

Who is called a Jivanmukta or liberated sage

~ Swami Sivananda

extract from his book "Jivanmukta Gita"

He is called a Jivanmukta or liberated sage who has a balanced mind, an equal vision and who beholds the one Satchidananda Atman in all names and forms.

He is called a Jivanmukta who has transcended the three bodies, the three Gunas, the five sheaths and the three Avasthas.

He is called a Jivanmukta who perceives equally the One Infinite Being seated in the Jiva and Siva and in all beings.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is desireless, angerless, egoless, mineless, selfless, homeless and mindless.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is possessionless, who has transcended time, space and causation and who abides peacefully in the Chidakasa of the heart.

He is called a Jivanmukta who has transcended the waking, dreaming and sleeping states and is established in the Eternal Consciousness of Self-Identity.

He is called a Jivanmukta who knows that the Self, the Guru, and the universe are all the taintless Ether of Consciousness and that nothing actually comes or goes. He is called a Jivanmukta who is simple, gentle, humble, bold, courageous, patient, self-restrained, ever-peaceful, calm, serene, forgiving, just, truthful and non-covetous.

He is called a Jivanmukta who has a broad heart like the sky, deep as the ocean, fragrant like the Jasmine, pure as the Himalayan snow and brilliant like the million suns shining at a time in the firmament.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is free from vanity, crookedness, chicanery, cunningness, diplomacy, hypocrisy, harshness and double-dealing.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is benevolent, kind, compassionate, merciful and loving to all beings.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is free from Raga-Dvesha, likes and dislikes and who is endowed with dispassion, discrimination and cosmic love.

He is called a Jivanmukta who has no enemy, who has no body-consciousness and who ever dwells in the Eternal Brahman.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is free from distinctions, differences, and who is above caste, creed, colour and race.

He is called a Jivanmukta who clears all doubts of aspirants, who is an ocean of divine wisdom, who is noble and magnanimous.

He is called a Jivanmukta who practises the highest Yoga, who has internally renounced everything, but appears inert outside, and who has abandoned everything internal and external.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is not bound by any rule of the society, who is ever moral and who does not break the harmony of the society.

He is called a Jivanmukta who sleeps anywhere he likes and who eats any food from anybody’s hands.

He is called a Jivanmukta who realises that he is pure Absolute Consciousness which connects all as a thread connects all pearls, and that he is the attributeless Brahman.

He is called a Jivanmukta who is above sex idea and sex distinction and who has no thought of tomorrow.

He is called a Jivanmukta who ever identifies with the all-pervading universal Brahman, and who is above praise, censure, honour and dishonour, respect and disrespect.

He is called a Jivanmukta who, through the knowledge of the Self realises that the one appears as many like moon reflected in various receptacles of water.

He is called a Jivanmukta who has Trikalajnana, knowledge of the past, present and future and who is free from exhilaration and depression.

He is called a Jivanmukta who sees the one Brahman which is this whole world, shining like the sun in all beings. He is called a Jivanmukta who has realised that there is neither bondage nor liberation, and whose mind ever takes delight in being merged in the practice of meditation.

He is called a Jivanmukta who sees everything filled with one Consciousness which is the Ruler of all and exists all-pervading like ether.

He is called a Jivanmukta who respects all saints, all prophets, all religions, all faiths, all cults, and all creeds.

He is called a Jivanmukta who partakes of the essence of the bliss of Brahman and rejoices alone and for ever, being destitute of habits, natures and pairs of opposites.

He is called a Jivanmukta who, seeing the one Brahman existing in all beings, does not perceive any difference.

He is called a Jivanmukta who, seeing that the Jiva which is identical with Siva exists eternally, is not inimical.

He is called a Jivanmukta who regards the whole world as his body and home, and who has cosmic vision, cosmic love and very broad outlook in life.

OM! WHO IS A JIVANMUKTA ( a man liberated-in-life.) - Adisankaracharya

 

WHO IS A JIVANMUKTA ( a man liberated-in-life.)

In the next verses of his book Vivekachudamani Adisankaracharya defines the nature of a Jivanmukta.

423. If the heart’s knot of ignorance is totally destroyed, what natural cause can there be for inducing such a man to selfish action, for he is averse to sense-pleasures ?

424. When the sense-objects excite no more desire, then is the culmination of dispassion. The extreme perfection of knowledge is the absence of any impulsion of the egoistic idea. And the limit of self-withdrawal is reached when the mind-functions that have been merged, appear no more.

425. Freed from all sense of reality of the external sense-objects on account of his always remaining merged in Brahman; only seeming to enjoy such sense-objects as are offered by others, like one sleepy, or like a child; beholding this world as one seen in dreams, and having cognition of it at chance moments – rare indeed is such a man, the enjoyer of the fruits of endless merit, and he alone is blessed and esteemed on earth.

426. That Sannyasin has got a steady illumination who, having his soul wholly merged in Brahman, enjoys eternal bliss, is changeless and free from activity.

427. That kind of mental function which cognises only the identity of the Self and Brahman, purified of all adjuncts, which is free from duality, and which concerns itself only with Pure Intelligence, is called illumination. He who has this perfectly steady is called a man of steady illumination.

428. He whose illumination is steady, who has constant bliss, and who has almost forgotten the phenomenal universe, is accepted as a man liberated in this very life.

429. He who, even having his mind merged in Brahman, is nevertheless quite alert, but free at the same time from the characteristics of the waking state, and whose realisation is free from desires, is accepted as a man liberated-in-life.

430. He whose cares about the phenomenal state have been appeased, who, though possessed of a body consisting of parts, is yet devoid of parts, and whose mind is free from anxiety, is accepted as a man liberated-in-life.

431. The absence of the ideas of "I" and "mine" even in this existing body which follows as a shadow, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

432. Not dwelling on enjoyments of the past, taking no thought for the future and looking with indifference upon the present, are characteristics of one liberated-in-life.

433. Looking everywhere with an eye of equality in this world, full of elements possessing merits and demerits, and distinct by nature from one another, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

434. When things pleasant or painful present themselves, to remain unruffled in mind in both cases, through the sameness of attitude, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

435. The absence of all ideas of interior or exterior in the case of a Sannyasin, owing to his mind being engrossed in tasting the bliss of Brahman, is a characteristic of one liberated-in-life.

436. He who lives unconcerned, devoid of all ideas of "I" and "mine" with regard to the body, organs, etc., as well as to his duties, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

437. He who has realised his Brahmanhood aided by the Scriptures, and is free from the bondage of transmigration, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

438. He who never has the idea of "I" with regard to the body, organs, etc., nor that of "it" in respect of things other than these, is accepted as one liberated-in-life.

439. He who through his illumination never differentiates the Jiva and Brahman, nor the universe and Brahman, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

440. He who feels just the same when his body is either worshipped by the good or tormented by the wicked, is known as a man liberated-in-life.

441. The Sannyasin in whom the sense-objects directed by others are engulfed like flowing rivers in the sea and produce no change, owing to his identity with the Existence Absolute, is indeed liberated.

442. For one who has realised the Truth of Brahman, there is no more attachment to the sense-objects as before: If there is, that man has not realised his identity with Brahman, but is one whose senses are outgoing in their tendency.

443. If it be urged that he is still attached to the sense-objects through the momentum of his old desires, the reply is – no, for desires get weakened through the realisation of one’s identity with Brahman.

444. The propensities of even a confirmed libertine are checked in the presence of his mother; just so, when Brahman, the Bliss Absolute, has been realised, the man of realisation has no longer any worldly tendency.”

Self-enquiry, Self-knowledge and Freedom - Nisaradatta

Freedom from the ego-self is the fruit of self-enquiry

Turn away from your desires and fears and from the thoughts they create and you are at once in your natural state.

Q: Is not self-knowledge the reward?

Nisargadatta M: The reward of self-knowledge is freedom from the personal self. You cannot know the knower, for you are the knower.

Q: Myself, full of desires and you, full of desires; what difference would there be?

Nisargadatta M: You identify yourself with your desires and become their slave. To me desires are things among other things, mere clouds in the mental sky, and I do not feel compelled to act on them

The mind cannot know what is beyond the mind, but the mind is known by what is beyond it. The jnani knows neither birth nor death; existence and non-existence are the same to him.

Immortality is freedom from the feeling: 'I am'. Yet it is not extinction. On the contrary, it is a state infinitely more real, aware and happy than you can possibly think of. Only self-consciousness is no more.

The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom

Q: The person goes and only the witness remains.

Nisargadatta M: Who remains to say: 'I am the witness'. When there is no 'I am', where is the witness? In the timeless state there is no self to take refuge in.
The man who cherishes the feeling 'I am' is self-conscious. The jnani holds on to nothing and cannot be said to be conscious. And yet he is not unconscious. He is the very heart of awareness. We call him digambara clothed in space, the Naked One, beyond all appearance. There is no name and shape under which he may be said to exist, yet he is the only one that truly is.

Q: What about the witness? Is it real or unreal?

Nisargadatta M: It is both. The last remnant of illusion, the first touch of the real. To say: I am only the witness is both false and true: false because of the 'I am', true because of the witness. It is better to say: 'there is witnessing'. The moment you say: 'I am', the entire universe comes into being along with its creator.

The trinity: mind, self and spirit (vyakti, vyakta, avyakta), when looked into, becomes unity. These are only modes of experiencing: of attachment, of detachment, of transcendence.

Om! Desire - the Power of Lust by Atman NItyananda /Aum

Desire - the Power of Lust
by Atman NItyananda /Aum

Desire is the energy that propels us forward, motivates us to pursue the things we want, and gives us a sense of purpose. However, desire has various aspects according the three gunas can be of sattvic, rajasic and tamsic nature. Lust, is mostly of rajasi and rajasotamsic nature and one of the most powerful aspects of desire difficult to manage and get free and it is th one that mostly causes craving, passion, greed, delusion attachment, identification, pain, and suffering.

Lust, especially sex and food-drink lust, is a strong force that overwhelms our senses and clouds mind and intellect ant ht capcity ofrestrain, reason and discenment. It is a passonate longing for immediate gratification that blinds us to the consequences of our actions and makes us lose touch with our essence and our connection to the divine consciousness. We become so consumed by our desires and especially lust that we forget the spiritual values that guide us towards a meaningful life and the true purpose of our existence that is Self-realization and transforming ourselves into beings of peace, love and light.

Lust is also what causes the feelings of dissatisfaction, discomfort, uneasiness and sense of lack that manifest themselves almost constantly in us. We are never satisfied with what we have, always wanting different, more and more intense pleasures and satisfaction of the senses, and craving for that which is created in our imagination bent to the power of lust.
This insatiable desire for external pleasures as well as for money, possessions and fame is what fuels the identification with the body and objects and the cycle of suffering and the illusion of happiness. We think that once we get what we want, we will be happy, but soon realize that the happiness (if any) is fleeting and temporary. We are then left with a feeling of lack and a sense that something is missing, that we want something more to feel okay and aslo boredom and disatisfaction.

Lust foundation is mostly the rajas quality (guna) subcordinated by the tamas guna. Rajas is the quality of passion, craving, and attachment while tamas is the quality of ignorance, lethargy, and delusion.
Tamas makes us identify with lust and passion and become addcitve to them. Tamas is also what makes lust perverted and find pleasure in perverted ways of making sex (porography and majohism among many others) and eating foods and drinks. Tamas causes other perversions too, for example, makes us find satisfantion in creating pain to others.

When rajas and tamas qualities are dominant in a person, desire degradates in the form of lust and other negative emotions such as greed, attachemnt and addiction. The mind becomes restless and agitated, always seeking fulfillment in sense pleasures and sensory experiences.

However, the ancient wisdom of yoga and other spiritual tranditions offer a path for transcendence and freedom of these lower qualities of human nature. By cultivating the sattva quality or the quality of harmony, peace, purity, and clarity, we can rise above our lower nature and connect with our higher self (Atman, Consciousness) and the divine Consicousness.

Spiritual life and daily systematic practice enable us to detach ourselves from lust and other egoic tendencies and conditioning, purify the mind and heart, gradually to diminish them and finally dissolve them completely and attain liberation.

There are many ways and methods of practice, among them living Self-aware and mindfyully moment to moment, medtitation, self-enquiry, mantra repetition, chanting mantras, prayer and devotionare of the most important. In addition to practice, living a sattvic life style is also an essential factor to overcome lust.

By living Self-aware and mindfyully moment to momente, we can observe our thoughts and desires without getting caught up in them. We learn to detach and cease identifying with lust, cravings and impulses for pleasures but also of any other nature, and observe them mindfully make them subside and diminish their energy through prayer and mantra. This way we can gradually deepen in the inner silence and and to find joy and plenitude witin ourselves and the simple things in life.

Through daily practice of meditation and Self-enquiry at home or wherever we are we train our attention and mind to focus on the present moment, develop a deeper and firmer cosncious contact with inner silence and cultivate inner peace and calmness. The more we dettach from the mind (thoughts and emotions) and slowing down the mind and becoming still, the more we can transcend lust, passion and all mental emotional expressionss and connect with the deeper essence of being.
We learn to live from a place of authenticity and wisdom rather than from a place of greed and delusion. We can find joy in the simple pleasures of life, such as spending time with loved ones, enjoying nature, and engaging in creative pursuits, but most of all enjoying just being. Enjoying the peace and bliss of our essence in ourselves regradless of external events and circumsatances.

Spirituality teaches us that the ultimate goal of life is not to fulfill our desires but to realize our true nature and transform ourseves into beings of peace, love and light. It is to awaken to the truth that we are not separate from the divine Consciousness, but merely expressions of it and in essence one with the divine. By realizing that we are infinite eternal Consciousness, we disidentify from the ego and all its expressions and body and connect with the infinite peace, wisdom and love that is within us and pervedaes the whole cosmos.

In conclusion, lust is a powerful force that lead us astray from our true purpose in life and causes greed, delusion, attachment,addiction, pain, and suffering.

However, through sattvic life and systamtic, sincere and diligent practice moment by moment and at home, we can purify our psyche, cultivate the sattva quality and through meditation and Slef-enquiry rise above our lower nature and connect consciouslty with our divine essence. By connecting with our essence and the divine Consciousness, we can transcend and eliminate lust and all other desires and find lasting peace and fulfillment.

The only way to overcome and get free from lust is through spiritual practices, living a sattvic, conscious and mindful life and to cultivate inner peace, contentment, and joy by connecting deeply and firmly with inner silent presence which is our divine nature and one with the divine consciousness.

🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony

Om! What is attachment? by Atman Nityananda / blog

 

What is attachment? 

“Know thou Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst (for sensual enjoyment) and attachment; it binds fast, O Arjuna, the embodied one by attachment to action” 

~ Bhagavad Gita Ch.XIV V.7

“Attachment is due to infatuation. It is the offspring of the quality of Rajas. Detachment is born of Sattva. Attachment is born of ignorance, selfishness and passion and brings with it death; detachment is wisdom and brings with it freedom.” 

~ Swami Sivananda

Attachment’s aspects

Attachment implies an emotional bond with the object of attachment and also dependence on it.

That is why attachment is the cause of fear of changing or losing something to which we are attached, as well as anger against the cause of not getting or losing the object of attachment, as well as disappointment, depression, grief, despair of not getting or losing the object of attachment.

My mind is attached to sense objects, means that my mind is attracted by the sense objects and is occupied mostly by thoughts about sense objects (including persons). Our egoic self (which has as its seat in the manas* and senses) schemes and plans what will get or what will experience if gets this or that object. Thinks about the qualities of objects, their frame, colour, taste etc. It thinks and plans how to obtain the objects that considers beneficial for its comfort, fame, pleasure and happiness.

”When a man thinks of the objects, attachment to them arises; from attachment desire is born; from desire anger arises. From anger comes delusion; from delusion the loss of memory; from loss of memory the destruction of discrimination; from the destruction of discrimination he perishes.”

~ Bhagavad Gita Ch.II V.62.63  

“That pleasure which arises from the contact of the sense-organs with the objects, which is at first like nectar and in the end like poison—that is declared to be Rajasic.”
~ Bhagavad Gita Ch.XVIII V.38  

By thinking about the sense objects identification and attachment are born along with fascination, from fascination, desire is born and from desire like-dislike, attraction-aversion, anger, fear and depression and all other egoic tendencies are born.

Because of desire and anger mainly, but also by all other egoic tendencies (fear, jealousy, greed, pride, vanity, arrogance, lasciviousness etc.) as well, our intelligence is obscured and clouded and thus we fail to discriminate between the Self and the non-self, the true and the false, the right and wrong.

”That by which one incorrectly understands Dharma and Adharma, and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done—that intellect, O Arjuna, is Rajasic”

Commentary of Swami Sivananda: That which is ordained in the scriptures is Dharma. That which hurls you into the abyss of ignorance is Adharma. The Rajasic intellect is not able to distinguish between righteous and unrighteous actions.

~ Bhagavad Gita Ch.XVIII V.31

My mind is attached to an object or a person means that my happiness, security, worthiness and well-being is depended on this object or person. It means that I cannot live without this object without suffering. Even to think that I could lose this object or this person that I am attached, makes me suffer.

“Passionate, desiring to obtain the rewards of actions, cruel, greedy, impure, moved by joy and sorrow, such an agent is said to be Rajasic.”

~ Bhagavad Gita Ch.XVIII V.26

In brief attachment or being attached consists of:

• Clinging and identifying with something (psychological or external)
• Hold on to something and our attention, thoughts, emotions and behaviour are occupied by this
• Emotional bond and dependency on something
• Desire to have it, maintain it, not to lose it, to experience it again and again
• Being afraid of not having it, losing it, or will abandon us,
• Believing or imagining that we cannot live without it (strong attachment)
• Attachment is also related to My-ness (this or that is mine); we attach to the objects we are identified with and are part of our identity (body, spouse, house, country, nationality, etc.).
• Attachment related to pleasures results in addiction (sex, food, drinks, smoking, drugs, etc.)

The fundamental attachments are with our body and mind (opinions, beliefs, concepts, ideas, emotions, etc.). Most people on earth are attached to their bodies and their minds and suffer due to these attachments.

Attachments are related to pleasure, comfort, happiness, security, prestige, fame, self-esteem and self-image.

We become attached to things that give us pleasure, and comfort, make us feel happy, and make us feel secure, worthy, accepted, and special. We develop aversion about things or persons that make us experience pain, make us feel insecure, uncomfortable, unworthy, inferior, rejected etc.

Attachment is related to the desire's mechanism and ego. The attachment is as strong as our desire and our ego are. 

To be free from attachments we must be free from desire and ego. As long as desire exists in us, will exist ego and attachments as well.

The root cause of attachments and desires is the ignorance of our true nature. We can free ourselves from ego, desires and attachments by meditating constantly in our essence within. Profound constant meditation is possible only for a pure sattvic mind.

 “He who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with firmness and enthusiasm and unaffected by success or failure, is called Sattvic.” 

~ Bhagavad Gita Ch.XVIII V.26

Freedom from attachment

We need a pure sattvic mind, the right knowledge about the nature of our true Self, to contemplate and reflect on what we have learned about the Self and then meditate constantly until our mind merges in the Self. When this will happen, our ego, desires and attachments which already have been made weak by prolonged spiritual sadhana and austerities will be dissolved totally and forever. Free from ego, attachments and desires we will be free from all suffering and will enjoy, the peace, freedom and bliss of our eternal Self.