What is dropping or detachment? Is it about running away from something? Would detachment from the material world mean escaping from it? Probably, we need to look a little deeper. Every thought has two layers: one that we are consciously aware of, and another that remains unconscious. For example, our attachment to family may be driven by our childhood conditioning that over-glorifies the concept of responsibility. While on the surface, we may think we love our family. Similarly, suppose we want to run away from our family. In that case, it might be due to ambitions related to our careers, unwillingness to take on responsibilities, or a desire to enjoy life freely. While on the surface, we might believe that we have become spiritual and are dropping the family due to Vairagya.
We need to scrutinize the underlying movement. We are often not conscious of the movements within the unconscious. The problem with analysis is that since it is our own mind that is doing the analysis, it is often biased. The unconscious mind wants to maintain the self-image of being intelligent, sorted, and aware, and that's why it resists self-doubt. It wants to be sure of what it has done so far. Even if that is like being on Mount Stupid. Acting stupid seems to be a better option than accepting stupidity. The more somebody disagrees with the socially accepted conventions and the more he wants to prove the correctness of the stand he has taken.
That's why the greatest of the philosophers of the world have their own eccentricities. The problem is that we, as a humanity, know too little our ourselves and life. Life is limited. We have to make decisions every day. We are not sure, and yet we have to make decisions. Especially, when somebody tries to take a path that is quite different from the path taken by society in general, he is being constantly watched by others. People just want a little fumble, and the entire world is ready to find fault with the character. Rama will be judged for that one action of sending Sita to the forest, and Sri Aurobindo will be judged for his decision to leave active participation in the freedom struggle. It is difficult to say how and when all these judgments are impacting our unconscious minds.
Absolute clarity may be due to a strong self-image of being right. Absolute confusion may be due to laziness and a lack of courage to take decisive action. I think that one will stop reacting when one is well at peace with oneself. That peace with oneself comes with awareness. When we become aware of reality, we see the futility of fixations. In that case, there will be no restlessness to move towards a new situation. However, we often mistake boredom to be Vairagya. In boredom, we are no longer interested in what we have, and we are not sure of what we want. Vairagya is a situation where we have realized the temporariness of all the forms and relationships. When we have vairagya, we slowly develop the awareness of reality. Vairagya brings disinterest and passion at the same time. Krishna is disinterested in the battle of Kurukshetra and yet passionate.
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