And he detached himself...

Once upon a time a Sadhu lived peacefully in his Ashram in the deep forest. He was free from worldly attachments such as wife, children, friends, money and luxuries. People used to come to him seeking his blessings and listen to his wisdom. He always used to tell people that one should remain detached from worldly pleasures because they hinder spiritual progress. People used to admire and respect him for his total detachment from worldly activities. Some used to feel sad because they couldn't live a life of a renunciant. Years passed by....

One day there was heavy rain all over. All the reservoirs in the forest were full. Soon they started overflowing and flooded the entire forest. The Ashram in which the Sadhu used to live was wiped off by the heavy flow of flood water. His all belongings including his Asana, Kamandalu and Japa Mala were washed away....

He was a renunciant and didn't showed any sign of grief or sorrow. Time passed by and darkness of the night started covering the forest. Suddenly he strongly remembered his Asram. He lost in the fond memories of the days he spent in Asram. He was missing his Asram, his place to do Sadhana. Because of the whole day's hard work he felt thirsty but the water tasted bitter without his favorite Kamandalu. Removing the sad thoughts he sat for his daily Sadhana. His sadness aggravated. He simply couldn't meditate this time. He started feeling uncomfortable without his usual Asana. He couldn't perform Japa without his Mala.

He now understood that he was wearing a false clothing of detachment. He was detached from material objects but he was strongly attached with something else. Without his Ashram, Kamandalu, Asana, Mala he couldn't perform his Sadhana even for a day. Not only worldly attachments but "spiritual" attachments can also hinder progress. He understood that detachment is not so easy and he still needs to practice more. He strongly felt that he doesn't have right to guide people in renunciation when he himself is not perfect. He got up at once and left the forest for achieving the true detachment.

Moral of the story is - Detachment is not as easy as it seems. When you detach from one object you may unknowingly attach yourself with some other object. It is true that during initial stages one must change the "focus" of attachment from worldly objects to spiritual objects. However, a true renunciant is the one who doesn't have any desire for any object.

Bipin Joshi is an independent software consultant and trainer by profession specializing in Microsoft web development technologies. Having embraced the Yoga way of life he is also a yoga mentor, meditation teacher, and spiritual guide to his students. He is a prolific author and writes regularly about software development and yoga on his websites. He is programming, meditating, writing, and teaching for over 27 years. To read more about him go here. More details about his Kriya and Meditation online course are available here.