THE DANGER OF ATTACHMENT

DANGER OF ATTACHMENT

Attachment to worldly things is dangerous and the main stumbling block for the emancipation of  man! The more we are attached the greater is the fall! But it is very difficult to to be detached. This ‘mamakara’ did not spare even Arjuna when he stood in front of his kith and kin on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Krishna counsels Arjuna about the danger of this attachment and persuades him to fight the Kauravas. The feeling of My and Mine is the root cause of all troubles and difficulties for mankind! Even saints and sages find it difficult to free themselves from this sense of attachment! The story of Bharata is a classical illustration of how attachment  resulted in his rebirth as a deer and subsequent release from that birth!

Bharata was the son of Rishabha and ruled his country righteously. Our country is called  ‘Bharata Varsha’ after him. After a long rule he retired to the ashram of sage Pulaha at Haridwar. Bharata was a great devotee of Lord Narayana and spent his time in meditation on the bank of the holy river Chakra. One day as he sat for meditation, he saw a deer that came to drink water. Suddenly there was a roar of the lion that terrified the deer. In its fright, to escape from the lion, the pregnant deer jumped to cross the river. Unfortunately the child slipped into the river while the mother deer died on the other side of the river. Bharata, who was a witness to this ghastly sight, grew compassionate and took the baby deer to his ashram and began looking after it like his own child. Day by day his attachment increased until he could not live without it! He now spent all his time with it. He was very much afraid of its safety and couldn't do anything until it  returned safe from its wanderings in the ashram.

His attachment was so total and complete that he forgot his daily meditation and even his daily routine. Thoughts of this deer came crowding round him as he sat for meditation! It would gently rub itself against his body and he would offer it some grass. Like a parent enjoying the pranks and play of his child he was delighted at every movement of this deer. He would touch it and spend hours talking to it! In short, he forgot all his devotional fervor and lost himself in the obsession for this tiny deer. He did not think of Lord Narayana whose great devotee he was hither to!

Days and years passed and there was no decrease in his love and affection and obsession for the deer! He grew old and inexorable death neared him. He was much worried about the future of the deer and who would look after the young deer after his demise. Final day of his existence arrived and with thoughts on the deer he shuffled his mortal coil! As a result of his excess  attachment to the deer, Bharata was reborn as a deer! But because of his devotion and compassion, he was blessed with the knowledge of his previous birth! Now Bharata, in the form of the deer, remembered his past and felt sorry for wasting away his precious life in attaching himself to the deer. He didn't wish to waste this birth and kept good company and moved in spiritual ambience. He went to a place called Saligramam where the rishis lived, grazed the grass nearby and drank the pure water of the river. Thus he lived and died and got rid of his animal birth!

We see that attachment is irresistible and we should be very careful  in our life in dealing with it! Excessive attachment to anything, even to our parents, children,  house, property and wealth is detrimental to our spiritual progress. That can lead us astray and ruin us! It is said the person is reborn according to what he thinks at the time of his demise! Bharata always and at the time of his death thought about his deer! Hence he was reborn as a deer! Noble thoughts lead to noble and good birth! But such thoughts do not come suddenly. Man should cultivate good company and develop spirituality even from early childhood. Devotion to God and faith contribute to the  type of life that one gets later!