MenoSundays; Life Lived Lovingly

We are currently reading a series of articles on the 'shatripuu' - the six devils of living. In case you missed or are newly passing by, here is the story so far:
Part One - structure
Part Two - the effort
Part Three - kaama/desires

Part Four - krodha/anger

Part Five - lobha/greed

Now we move to moha; generally translated into English as 'attachment'. You will have an idea by now that this is a generic word for one which has multiple contexts! Here's the snippet from the shabdkosh (dictionary).

Notice the Buddhistic usage. It equates to the Advaitic concept that anything other than Knowledge of The Self is ignorance. In Advaitic philosophy, it is in this ignorance that we grow attached to all objects, including the subtle ones of the small self - mind and ego - plus the body which transports them. 

How does this happen? By the infatuation created by the sensations and experiences which come through interaction between the subtle and the gross.  We lose our contact with the Total Consciousness and walk about under the delusion that everything around us is 'real'. We wander in wonder and amazement at what Maya - the great weaver of illusion - presents to us, tempting us to become ever more entangled in our moha. This is an error of judgement. It results in confusion; we become perplexed and bewildered.

We are, in effect, hallucinating! 

Attachment to the illusions provided by Maya is one of the essential tenets of Advaita Vedanta and understanding of the human condition. It is also one of the most difficult to fully comprehend. How can we even begin to accept that nothing is real other than the Consciousness which witnesses all 'this'?

Okay, so most of the human race isn't the slightest bit interested in Universal Consciousness - at least not in the context of actually working to connect with it. Most reading here only wish to know how some degree of understanding of the nature of moha can benefit in building detachment and lead to living a more content and 'good' life.

As with so much in the self-improvement field, the answer is quite simple. Carrying through on the advice, though, is another matter. 

What is the answer? It is to exercise the intellect and assess everything for its purpose in life and cut away anything extraneous. If there are elements which cause one to lower personal standards, cut it away. By all means, if others are involved, then offer options to raise them rather than dropping to their level. Be prepared, however, to turn away if the higher standards are not met. 

Learn about yourself and what you allow in life to bind you. 

image from Pixabay

We are all bound up in one way or another. Some folk have a 'talent' for creating endless loops and knots, ensuring ever-tightening binding in the grand illusion. A fortunate few, however, find their way to "be in the world but not of it". Often these few are viewed with varying degrees of distrust or envy. To the deeply bound, those walking with more freedom might appear to be aloof, shallow, or uncommitted. The profound inner world of the 'unbound' is beyond their understanding. The depth and breadth of a life lived unattached to the world of objects is akin to fantasy to the one who is sinking in 'samsaara' - the sea of woes that is called life.

At the individual level, if we sincerely wish to attain even a fraction of the contentment of the truly detached, we must look with clear thinking and open hearts at the patterns of our lives and determine what can be 'untied'. This is where decluttering our homes can play a significant part. It can be astoundingly difficult to let go of 'things'. There is always that survival-thinking of 'what if..?' and keeping something against that eventuality. Or it might be nostalgia; "oh that is the rag which I used to wash my first motor car...I am very fond of it!"

We may have been very successful in life and have a structured, disciplined existence - but are we free? Do we walk without fear of loss, without thoughts of how to maintain what is held, or the acquiring of more? 

We equate attachment to security. The more we have, the better our lives will be. However, even in Western thinking, it is beginning to be understood that there is a falsehood in this assumption. Now there are lots of 'self-help' pages appearing with different approaches to decluttering, divesting oneself of the unnecessary, and living more for the here and now. The thinking is not new. It has filtered through from Eastern philosophies but, ultimately, is also the teaching of Yeshu...

BOTTOM LINE... KEEP IT SIMPLE!