26 May 2009
Shankara said “That which is temporary is always unreal”. Reality is permanent. These worldly bonds neither existed before this birth nor will exist in the future births. Hence, these bonds are temporary and therefore, unreal. Two actors are acting as husband and wife or father and son etc., in a drama. Before and after the drama, the bond does not exist and hence, the bond exists temporarily during the time of the drama. Even during the drama, sharp analysis reveals that the bond is unreal in that time also. At any moment, the actors can realize the unreality of the bond during the time of drama. The feeling of reality is only superimposed on the unreal bond so that the action will be natural and the audience will appreciate. A wife was not wife before marriage and the bond disappears if she is divorced and marries somebody else. It is a temporary bond, which can be realized within the span of a life time. Therefore, if this sharp logical analysis is done frequently, it will make one to realize that the bonds are unreal. Jesus has told that unless one hates these bonds, he cannot be His real disciple. Hatred cannot arise unless the unreality of the bond is realized. Any human being does lots of sins only due to the influence of these unreal bonds. Therefore, this is an important aspect for both Pravritti and Nivritti.
The family bonds are generated due to the necessity of clearance of un-cleared debts in the previous births, where wife and children enjoy your earnings to a major extent. Hence, it is said that they are linked to you since you did not clear their loans in the previous birth (Runaanubandha rupena…). This basic concept brings the realization that these family bonds are really the bonds of business to clear the loans and the bonds are masked by family love. The best way is to convert the family members into devotees of God so that they will co-operate in your spiritual effort like a co-devotee. Jesus brought the concept of hatred only to the case of the family members, who oppose your spiritual progress. Jesus loved His mother since she co-operated Him in His spiritual mission. He denied her on several occasions giving importance to devotees, only to give a message about the non-devotional bonds of family members, which constitute the general lot of humanity