Detached Attachment

"Detached Attachment" – A phrase which intrigues me and makes me put my thinking cap often. I do not remember how I heard this phrase. To be honest I have no clarity on the concept or what I am going to write. I am hoping at the end of this post, I have some level of understanding on this. J

What is detached attachment?

You love doing something or being with someone. For e.g. I love writing. I am attached to it. I write for an hour but I am not satisfied with the output. Will the output make me unhappy? I don't think so. I enjoy the process of writing and it makes me happy.

You love someone and you try to help them. You tell them what is right and what is wrong. Yet they make the wrong decision. Will that make me feel bad? No, I did all that I could do. I did my best.

This to me is detached attachment. You are attached to an activity which makes you dive deep into it and give your best. But you are also detached from result, which helps in providing a different outlook and which helps you understand the mistakes and appreciate the best moments.

As Lord Krishna said, "Thou have the right to act, but not to the fruits of action." The Upanishads declare, "Action cleaves not to a man."

One more interpretation of the same phrase can be:

You love something in life. You know irrespective of what happens in the world, it is yours. When you truly own something, there is no fear of losing. You do not mind others opinion on the thing you love. It does not matter.

For e.g., MS Dhoni wanted Saurav Ganguly to captain for a few overs during the India Australia series, which  was the last match for Saurav. When can someone do this? Only if he is confident of his own position and he has no fears about it.

Or consider this: Hritik Roshan was first contacted to play the Hero role in the Hindi film "Bunti aur Babli". And he suggested Abhishek Bachan because he thought Abhishek will be a better fit for the role. Hritik loves acting. But he is also detached from it to appreciate others positives and even judge who will look better on screen for that role.

Detach yourself a little from things you love and you will find new ways to love the same.

Bindhu!!

PS: I wanted to write a post on this for long time. Somehow could not do it. Every time I would write a couple of sentences and then decide not to continue further. So, I am happy that finally I have managed to complete it.