Renunciation

 

In the subject called Philosophy of Knowing, a knower in order to know is supposed to have a detached desire to know. Another word for detached is renounce. In this article I am commenting on the article of Swami Parthasarathy named Practice Detachment- Touch great spiritual heights. A wonderful poem Even this shall pass away by Theodore Tilton is brought into the picture by him. Detachment and renunciation are beautifully described in the personality of the King of Persia. The king who lived a life of renunciation had carved a maxim on the ring which he put on his finger. It had the following 5 simple words: ‘Even this shall pass away.’ This was not only seen in the words inscribed on the ring but also in his daily life. He was a person who didn’t identify with the best and the worst of experiences in life. He was serene in times of trouble and wasn’t overjoyed in moments of joy. ‘The magnificent stance of objectivity is the trait of detachment, renunciation and so on’.

There are a lot of imbalances in the world; our world keeps on fluctuating from one feeling to another. All this is an inevitable part of life so to say the unchangeable part of our human lives. We human beings are sandwiched between these changing things, however we have been given the power to maintain ‘intellectual equipoise and mental equanimity’ through all the fluctuations that keep taking place in our world. In simple words it means that we have the power of renunciation and a sense of detachment in all the fluctuations and variations that take place in the world. Renunciation and detachment in ‘truth mark the dignity and prestige of the human race.’ However not all see it as it is and hence these are misunderstood by the society at large and considered to be extremely distasteful or contradictory.

Renunciation has to be and can be practiced in all places in everyday life. In reality it actually gives you the energy and the boost to work without any kind of worry or anxiety. However renunciation in our world today has been turned into an ugly portrait of resignation and retirement. One may get an idea that renunciation is something to do with sitting back and relaxing or even being lazy. It may also be perceived as a subtle path to escape from the realities of daily life. However, all these ideas about renunciation are not true.

Very few people realize that detachment and renunciation is an effect and not a cause. Swami Parthasarathy gives a picturistic understanding about this when he writes, ‘Like a person climbing a ladder cannot release his foot from the lower rung until his other foot firmly rests on the higher rung. Hence, your state of detachment only establishes your escalation to a higher level of your personality.’ This is seen in the growth that takes place, when we were little children, we were deeply into the toy world. Everything revolved around playing with things. He says that it is practically impossible that the child in us could have stayed detached or had a spirit of renunciation from the toys. 

What struck me to a great extent was the following. He says that as we grew up, we gained a higher level of knowledge. We began riding a bicycle and then a motorbike. In a sense we grew out of the toy world. The important thing to note is that we didn’t give up the toys; the toys gave us up. This may sound funny but that is what Swami Parthasarathy says in relation to renunciation and detachment. He goes on to say that as we reach higher or climb up the social ladder, the lowers automatically fall off. He strongly asserts that we can’t give up anything in life but we can take up only something higher. ‘E.g. When the flower matures into the fruit, the petals of the flower drop.’

In conclusion he states clearly that ‘Detachment, renunciation is growth into a higher dimension in life marked by knowledge, wisdom. Ironically this elegant human quality is detested by society at large; people mistake it to be denial of pleasures of life and reject the very idea of renunciation.’ Let us be open to the new possibilities and events that may come across to us in our lives.

Practice Detachment- Touch great spiritual heights