Annapurna – Ever-flowing Nectar
Annapurna
– Ever-flowing Nectar
Love
and Attachment are those twin sisters who are very difficult, yet much needed,
to be separated…
It’s very basic common sense
understanding that if you cannot be attached to something/someone you cannot
claim to truly love the person, but as Einstein said, Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
The interdependency statement usually comes from those who have not
experimented separating them. Well, those who have, ALWAYS advocate separation
in the interest of ‘Flourishing’ Love…
This is it about the perceived
controversy that exists, often understood by few… Let’s dive into understanding
the distinction. The simplest way this can be put is;
Love = Giving
Attachment = Asking
(expecting) or Taking
So, if I’m to rephrase the
beginning statement by replacing these words, it looks like this…
Giving and Taking are those
twin sisters who are very difficult, yet much needed, to be separated…
The idea of Unconditional Giving sounds very
idealistic, and a space good to be in. However, the very fact that term
’idealistic’ is attached to it, means it is ‘beyond’ common man’s reach. Well,
is it really so???...
To understand why is it
difficult to Give without Asking, let us understand their interconnectedness
and vulnerability of human determination.
The distinction begins by expecting the world to be ‘Fair’. The inner
desire for equality and justice. It is repeatedly observed in human
behaviour, that desire for balance is one of the basic expectations, and not
just balance, quick balance. Each
person, individually, has various Needs
to be taken care of; as Maslow indicates these Needs;
The ‘Method’ of achieving these Needs defines a lot about how you
behave, both consciously and subconsciously.
Love with Attachment
We living in a society full of
people around, especially with ‘so many’ people and a culture that drives high
people inter-dependability, the most
known way of achieving Needs is from others. Need for belongliness, need
for emotional security, need for defining yourself, need for acceptance, etc.
top the chart.
As
long as we are deprived of
fulfilling any of these basic needs for ourselves, we will keep expecting these
Needs to be fulfilled by those around us. We Give all we can, Love each person around us, but usually unknowingly we keep Expecting a lot of
things. We Expect attention, respect, care, concern, comfort, surprises (things
we like, but unsaid), belongliness, ownership, etc… Well, there’s nothing wrong
in expecting in-turn, but at times when you do not get enough in return,
subconsciously you ‘Pull Out’.
Usually unknowingly, one reduces their Giving. Most of times very subtly like,
disrespecting, getting loud, getting sarcastic, showing indirectly how
unsatisfied they are, etc… Reiterating, most of this happens unknowingly and
subconsciously. Deep with-in, nobody wants to be
offensive on purpose, but the inner desire for ‘Justice’ for ‘Fairness’ makes
one feel they have Given a lot more than they ‘Got back in-turn’.
Attachment (expectation of Getting
something in-turn, subconsciously)
REDUCES what we Give, Love….
Love withOUT Attachment
Well,
if Attachment is such a Virus, such a poison, makes us feel so ‘Self-Centred’,
we should definitely get rid of it… Isn’t it?
Here’s
another Human inmate nature at work… Taking care of Self-First… Our cultural
upbringing usually makes Self-First philosophy as cruel and Selfish, making us
reject the very thought of it. However, it is a basic nature of Human beings. I
remember a friend of mine once told me, if I were to get a boil on my body, and
a devastating earthquake hit some part of the world, I would be more concerned
with the boil than the earthquake! And it did make sense. It sounds very
shallow and selfish, but that would most probably be my first reaction… Suppression and avoidance only leads to
persistence. Rather than calling this inmate nature ‘Wrong’, I might as well
‘Accept’ it and move ON to better things and ways I can contribute.
Loving without Attachment
almost sounds like quitting smoking. We
try hard not to Expect and only Give, but we usually end up trying Hard. If it’s so important, shouldn’t it be coming along easily, naturally? Why should such an obvious thing be so much
of struggle?
The distinction is we need a REPLACEMENT for Balance… We are Dependent on Attachment for fulfilling
our Needs, once we have Self-Sufficient
ways of fulfilling our Needs, the Balance can be restored. We can Give without Expecting, because we are satisfied with our
Needs, we are no longer Deprived…
Here’s an analogy, it is a
very good thing to feed the hungry, share your food with those starving, but you should ONLY share the left-overs.
Share ONLY when your stomach is full… Sharing
your food without filling your own stomach is not sustainable, and often leads
to half-heartedly sharing… It is not about being Selfish, it is about ‘Generosity with Wisdom’ (in Buddhism
referred to as Om Mani padme Hum).
How much is Too-Much to fill your stomach, is for you to focus your discovery and attention ON…
Explaining a little further, people
share whole-heartedly and with best of intent when they have ‘Excessive’… One
can focus with priority on finding Methods
to fulfil their Needs all by themselves, all Emotional, Physiological,
Intellectual, and Spiritual Needs, all by themselves without being dependent on
anybody else. This helps them with lot of spare resources of Time, Energy,
Money, and Space of Mind. All of these resources can be utilised for Giving to
EVERYONE around them. Attachment makes
you give only to those you subconsciously Expect something in return,
however, when you fulfil almost all your Needs all by yourself, you are ‘Mentally Free’ to Love and Give to
EVERYONE around you with same affection and intensity… You Love EVERYONE without Attachment (without Expecting), because
your stomach is Full….
As stated above, one important
aspect is to determine ‘How much is Too
much?’ How much do you Need for each of the Needs. Lesser is the Need,
easier it is to Self-Fulfil, and more are ‘spare’ resources to give to the
world – Love…
Leaving the topic at this
thought here might make you feel short-changed, but here’s when your
Self-Reflection begins…
Self-Reflection on:
·
How much is Too much? Understanding YOURSELF and
your Needs – Self-Awareness
·
Finding Methods
to fulfil your Needs without dependency – Self-Sufficiency
·
Using ‘spare’ resources thoughtfully to help others, ensuring efficient utilisation of
resources – Generosity with Wisdom
·
Eventually, continue giving ENDLESSLY to
EVERYONE irrespective of getting anything in-turn; Love without Attachment – Annapurna – Ever-flowing Nectar!!!…
Wishing you a Peaceful Life!
Deep Mody
A Change Leader
Helping Humans do what they do
the best – Be Human
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