29 Jul 2023
[Shri Ganesh asked: Padanamskaram Swamiji, You have told on many occasions that measurement for attachment to God can be indicated in the level of detachment to the world. I'm not able to understand this point. For example, king Janaka was actively involved in the activities of a king and as the family head yet he was the greatest scholar and was given liberation by God. Here we don't see any detachment to worldly activities and yet we see attachment to God. How can we correlate this external contradiction? At Your divine feet, Ganesh V]
Swami replied:- Attachment does not mean physical attachment. It only means mental attachment and interest. You shall be mentally detached from the world so that you are not really interested in the world, which is to be leftout on any day. Whether the soul is in this world or in the above world, the soul is in the purview of God always. The soul is in contact with God anywhere and at any time. The bond with the world is very very short and also unreal since the world is inherently unreal. Your bond is only with an illusory item. God is the absolute reality and the bond with God is also absolutely real. King Janaka was sitting with sage Yajnyavalkya in the forest in a spiritual discussion. A servant came and told that his capital city Mithila was caught in flames. Then, Janaka replied “if Mithila is burnt, nothing belonging to me is burnt” (Mithilāyāṃ pradagdhāyām, na me kiñcana dahyate). That is his mental attachment to the kingdom, which is zero. Even though he is attached physically in the kingdom and was doing administration, he is completely detached from the kingdom and this is tested by God as said above. Everybody says that he is in the family with full detachment and with full attachment to God. But, when the practical test comes, it will be known whether what he said is true or false.
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