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Non-Attachment:
The Freedom to Live in Self-Awareness
Presented by Philip McLemore
I am easily attained by the person who always remembers me and is attached to nothing else.
Such a person is a true yogi. Bhagavad Gita 8:14
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…He restoreth my soul. Psalm 23:1,3
1. The Meditation (God Communion) and Non-Attachment formula
2. In Yoga philosophy, the problems of human dissatisfaction, suffering, and dysfunction are primarily
the result of ignorance of one’s true nature as a spiritual being, identification with Ego in an external &
material world, and the binding effects of Karma. The practice of yoga is to restore awareness of one’s
true nature, end identification with Ego and the external & material world, and weaken and dissolve
Karmic patterns and influences.
3. Discussion of Ego and Karma and reasons they are limiting and binding
- What is Ego?
- Attachments to people, things, experiences, situations, and outcomes; I AM vs. I am X,Y,Z
- Are thought process and emotions part of the external world?
- What is the role of attachment and aversion in the creation and maintenance of Ego?
-- impact and consequence of duality
-- impact of compulsive identification with a psychologically (separate and time bound),
culturally, and historically conditioned self
- Why is the thought form of me never enough? Is my ego the subject or an object?
- Readings: Y1015/1018
- What is Karma?
-- cycle of action-memory-desire and the role of attachment and aversion in the creation
and maintenance of Karma
-- issues of conditioned perception, processing, and response
-- issue of regression when under stress or in need
- Reading: Y401
4. Understanding Non-Attachment through the Personal and the Impersonal
- To Be or Not To Be “a person”--the ultimate attachment
- The soul = a domain of awareness where you are simultaneously personal and universal
- Experience of Personal (limited) and Impersonal (unlimited) Awareness
- The joy of the “impersonal” and its impact on the “personal”!!!
5. From the Kriya Yoga Handbooks:
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:2-4
- The great summary (1:2) = Yoga chitta vritti nirodha
- Samadhi is experienced when fluctuations and changes in the meditator’s awareness are
restrained and pacified. The seer then consciously abides in its own nature [essence]. At
other times, one is inclined to identify with the changes and transformations that occur in the
mind and awareness. (Roy Eugene Davis)
- Oneness occurs when identification with the waves of the mind dissolves and consciousness
knows its infinity. Then the seer remains established in its true nature. Elsewhere, there is
identification with the waves of the mind. (Brijendra)
* In other words, our essential state of oneness with God is usually overshadowed by the
activity of the mind with its attachments and conditioning.
Bhagvad Gita 6:35
- Without a doubt…the mind is unsteady and difficult to restrain; but by practice…and by
indifference to worldly objects, it is restrained. (Winthrop Sargeant)
- It is true that the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be conquered…through
regular practice and detachment. (E. Easwaran)
- Undoubtedly the mind is unsteady and difficult to curb; but it can be mastered
by yoga practice and nonattachment. (Roy Eugene Davis)
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:12
- De-identification from the waves of the mind will take place through practice (repeated
practice of Self-knowledge) and detachment (from duality). (Brijendra)
- The troublesome influences of mental impressions should be restrained, weakened, and
removed by meditation practice and dispassionate nonattachment. (Roy Eugene Davis)
6. Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (nonattachment or unattached awareness)
- Like the word “Yoga” which means both the end state of Oneness and the path that leads to it,
Abhyasa (practice) refers to any yoga practices and disciplines that steady concentration and
awareness and lead one into a fruitful meditation practice. It is often translated as
“meditation” since meditation is the culmination of all other spiritual practices.
- Vairagya (nonattachment) literally means “without color”. What is it that “colors” our
consciousness and blurs awareness of our essential, spiritual nature?
- Disciplined living, rational thinking, and emotional maturity as means and result.
7. Meditation and Non-Attachment are not two separate parts of yogic practice. Both are necessary,
mutually supportive, and work as one, leading the yogi to liberation of consciousness.
- Waves of the mind can flow out to the objective world (thoughts and emotions included)
characterized by attachment and aversion or inward toward true Self-knowledge
- Non-Attachment curbs the outward flow of attention and identification and releases
consciousness from obsession with form, while meditation steadies awareness and directs it
inwards towards the Self. We then realize that we are whole and nothing from the outside is
needed.
- Meditation cannot begin without some level of nonattachment to the external world and
meditative awareness cannot be sustained throughout the day if the mind is constantly agitated
by sense attachments.
- Non-Attachment is strengthened by deepening inner or Self- awareness and cannot be
cultivated without meditation. Knowledge of the real gives dispassion for the unreal.
- “The purpose of right practice (both meditation and nonattachment) is to detach
attention and awareness from what one is not until one’s essence of being is realized.” (Roy
Eugene Davis in Paramahansa Yogananda As I Knew Him pg. 15)
8. Why does Non-Attachment have a negative image? Why are even spiritual seekers afraid of it?
- How can life be fun without attachments?
- Won’t I get bored, lack motivation, or become lazy?
- How can I be a loving, caring, and compassionate person without attachments?
- Question in June-July 2010 Truth Journal pg. 9
- These questions reveal our primary identity with and addiction to the senses, ego, and the
external and material world for our sense of self. Even the prayers of most people tend to
mechanisms for managing attachments and aversions!
- False notions about Non-Attachment or Must I be a naked, wandering, renunciant?
-- Readings: Y-97, 148/151, 283, 387, 1040; R-51,110, 210, 278
-- A true yogi is a practitioner of real renunciation (nonattachment), even if he lives
in the world and to outer appearances looks like any ordinary person of the
world…Have God-contact first through meditation; and then through attachment to
God, the attachment to material objects will drop away…The physical austerities of
renunciation alone without the yoga of God-union are unnecessarily arduous.
(Yogananda)
9. Problem of “spiritual” attachments!!!
- Readings: Y-681, 1001; YSof P 3:51,52
10. The Truth about Non-Attachment
- It eliminates boredom. How?
- It fosters pure motives, clear perception, and discriminative wisdom. How?
- It is the state of freedom from the illusion that the forms of the world can give one perfect
fulfillment.
- It is foundational for caring service and unconditional love
-- Human love is limited by attachment to form, which is always conditional.
Conditions result in suffering when the form is lost. God’s love is Oneness
itself. That is eternal and not subject to loss.
-- True love is an awakening of the authentic Self and the awakened capacity of Self
beyond ego (defined by attachments).
-- Non-Attachment is the ability to work and love without self-concern or interest.
- It is the truest expression of love because it is rooted in the wholeness of Spirit.
-- Human love is often characterized by neediness and dependency, which promote
attachments and their subsequent limitations. This kind of love is rooted in ego since
it is the ego that is needy and deficient. A relationship based on need is simply the
expanded ego of two people. Love rooted in Spirit (nonattachment) is characterized
by wholeness and sufficiency. One then engages the world and relationships with joy
and fullness.
-- Attachments limit awareness and shift attention away from the present moment and
create fear. Fear, the opposite of love, shrinks one’s loving capacity. “There is no
fear in love; but perfect love (nonattached) casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)
- It is not about a battle with self to destroy ego and mind but a way to purify them to be
expressions of the Divine.
- It is not aversion toward the world of form as if it is a different world/reality but settledness in
soul awareness.
- It is a continued awareness that there is no separation of anything from Me. This awareness
promotes holistic and wholesome thinking and activity.
12. Conclusion:
- “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple…He that finds his life
will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it…But seek you first the kingdom
of God… for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you...and all these things shall be added
unto you…” (Jesus)
- “God will satisfy your every desire when you are one with Him.” (Yogananda)
- Reading: Y1102
- Reading from the Chandogya Upanishad
Non-Attachment Quotations
Compiled by
Philip G. McLemore
Non-Attachment Teachings
The Bhagavad Gita
You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the
sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man
established with himself--without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga is
perfect evenness of mind. Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of
spiritual awareness. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for
they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do. When consciousness is unified,
however, all vain anxiety is left behind…The wise unify their consciousness and abandon attachment
to the fruits of action…Thus they attain a state beyond all evil (or sorrow). When your mind has
overcome the confusion of duality, you will attain the state of holy indifference to things you hear and
things you have heard. When you are unmoved by the confusion of ideas and your mind is completely
united in deep samadhi, you will attain the state of perfect yoga. 2:47-53
Brooding on sense objects causes attachment to them. Attachment breeds craving; craving breeds
anger. Anger breeds delusion; delusion breeds loss of memory (of the Self). Loss of right memory
causes decay of the discriminating faculty. From decay of discrimination, annihilation (of spiritual
life) follows. 2:62,63 (God Talks with Arjuna, Yogananda)
But when you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, there comes
the peace in which all sorrows end, and you live in the wisdom of the Self. 2:64,65
Those who are deluded by the operation of the gunas (qualities of nature) become attached to the
results of their action…Performing all actions for my sake, completely absorbed in the Self, and
without expectations, fight!--but stay free from the fever of ego…The senses have been conditioned by
attraction to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant. Do not be ruled by them; they are obstacles in
your path. 3:29,30,34
The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results;
all his selfish desires have been consumed in the fire of knowledge. The wise, ever satisfied, have
abandoned all external supports…Free from expectations and from all sense of possession, with mind
and body firmly controlled by the Self, they do not incur (evil or guilt) by the performance of physical
action. They live in freedom who have gone beyond the dualities of life. Competing with no one, they
are alike in success and failure and content with whatever comes to them. They are free, without
selfish attachments; their minds are fixed in knowledge. They perform all work in the spirit of service,
and their karma is dissolved. 4:19-23
Those established in the Self have renounced selfish attachments to their actions and cut through
doubts with spiritual wisdom. 4:41
- doubt and insecurity are major preconditions for attachments to ego, image, material
objects, power/control, etc.
Those who have attained perfect renunciation are free from any sense of duality; they are unaffected by
likes and dislikes…and are free from the bondage of self-will…Those who surrender to Brahman all
selfish attachments are like the leaf of a lotus floating clean and dry in water. (Evil) cannot touch
them… 5:10
Those who consciousness is unified abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain supreme
peace. But those whose desires are fragmented, who are selfishly attached to the results of their work,
are bound in everything they do. Those who renounce attachment in all their deeds live content
in…the body, as it master. 5:12,13
Those who aspire to the state of yoga should seek the Self in inner solitude through meditation. With
body and mind controlled they should constantly practice one-pointedness, free from expectations and
attachment to material possessions.
It is true that the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it can be conquered…through regular
practice (of yoga, meditation) and detachment. 6:10, 35
I am easily attained by the person who always remembers me and is attached to nothing else. Such a
person is a true yogi. 8:14
Those who are attached to personal reward will reap the consequences of their actions: some pleasant,
some unpleasant, some mixed. But those who renounce every desire for personal reward go beyond
the reach of karma. 18:12
Upanishads
Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree, intimate friends, the ego and the Self
dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life, while the latter
looks on in detachment.
As long as we think we are the ego, we feel attached and fall into sorrow. But realize that you are the
Self, the Lord of life, and you will be freed from sorrow. When you realize that you are the Self,
supreme source of light, supreme source of love, you transcend the duality of life and enter into the
unitive state. (Mundaka)
Under the hypnotic spell of pleasure and pain, we live for ourselves and are bound. Though master of
ourselves, we roam about from birth to birth, driven by our own deeds. (Shvetashvatara)
It is true the body is perishable, but within it dwells the imperishable Self. This body is subject to
pleasure and pain; no one who identifies with the body can escape from pleasure and pain. But those
who know they are not the body pass beyond pleasure and pain to live in abiding joy.
…those who rise above body-consciousness ascend to the transcendent light in their real form, the
Self. In that state, free from attachment, they move at will, laughing, playing, and rejoicing.
They know the Self is not this body…Those who know this Self and realize this Self obtain all worlds
and all desires. (Chandogya)
Narada enquired of the Lord of Love: “What is the state of the illumined man?” The Lord replied;
“Hard to reach is the state of the illumined man. Only a few attain it…He has renounced all selfish
attachments…And lives his life for the welfare of all…He faces heat and cold, pleasure and pain,
honor and dishonor with equal calm. He is not affected by calumny, pride, jealousy, status, joy, or
sorrow, greed, anger, or infatuation, excitement, egoism, or other goads; for he knows he is neither
body nor mind. Free from the sway of doubt and false knowledge, he lives united with the Lord of
Love, who is ever serene, immutable, indivisible, the source of all joy and wisdom. The Lord is his
true home…for he has entered the unitive state. Having renounced every selfish desire, he has found
his rest in the Lord of Love…The world of change and changeless Reality are one to him, for he sees
all in God.
The aspirant who is seeking the Lord must free himself from selfish attachments to people, money, and
possessions. When his mind sheds every selfish desire, he becomes free from the duality of pleasure
and pain and rules his senses. No more capable of ill will; no more is he subject to elation, for his
senses come to rest in the Self. Entering into the unitive state, he attains the goal of evolution.
(Paramahamsa)
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The troublesome influences of mental impressions should be restrained, weakened, and removed by
meditation practice and dispassionate nonattachment. Meditation becomes stable by devoted,
persistent practice. Dispassionate nonattachment enables one to consciously control urges, cravings,
and instinctual drives. Higher [and more easily practiced] detachment results from Self-realization that
makes one impervious to the influences of cosmic forces. 1:12,14-16
Some restrictions which can cause suffering and interfere with endeavors to be Self- and God-realized
are egoism, illusions, attachments, aversions, and confusion about birth and death…Preoccupation
with pleasurable sensations produces affection for them that causes attachments. Aversion is dislike
of, and a desire to avoid, that which caused or may cause discomfort or pain. 2:3,7,8
Self-realization is perfected by devotional surrender to God. 2:45
- surrendering the core attachment of our mistaken sense of self-identity (ego) is the
immediate way to awaken to God-realization
They (internal practices of concentration, meditation, and samadhi) become external when samadhi
without the support of an object of perception prevails…When there are no attachments to
superconscious states or to perceptions of omnipotence or omniscience, and all traces of subliminal
restrictions have been dissolved, pure Self-realization prevails. Upon awakening to Self-knowledge
there must be no sense of pride of attainment or attachments to prior conditions, as this can result in a
return to former states of consciousness. 3:8,51-52
Of the modifications of awareness, those produced by samadhi are devoid of karmic
influences…When the distinctions between sattwic (harmonious, uplifting) influences and one’s pure
consciousness is constantly discerned and one has no self-interest regarding (or attachment to)
higher states of realization, pure samadhi can be experienced. With the emergence of Self-knowing,
all karmic conditions (including attachments) cease to be influential. 4:6,29-30
Paramahansa Yogananda
To one who is involved in the drama of relative life, attached to success and fearful of failure; attached
to good health and fearful of illness; attached to material existence and fearful of death, the endlessly
varied human experiences appear to be the only reality. To one who is established in nonattachment,
everything is perceived as God.
The destruction of ego consciousness does not mean that we should live aimless lives, but that we
should not limit ourselves by being identified with ego’s attachments. We are not to throw away our
possessions, or not take care of the things we have, or cease trying to possess what we really need; but
in the course of performing our duties, we should eliminate the bondage of attachment. (97)
If all my desires…are killed by spiritual discipline, how can I be happy? Even with the kingdom of
God in my possession, can I possibly enjoy it if I am bereft of all desire?...Because of the precedence
of the experience of material pleasures, the ego is unwilling and unable to conceive of any higher state
of happiness. Even heaven is often pictured as containing beautiful things that please the senses of
vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch--a place of glorified earthly enjoyments…If I destroy all
desires…then no…interest will be left in me with which to enjoy the newly acquired soul-governed
kingdom!?...This is one of the strongest arguments advanced by the wily sense habits in order to keep
…the devotee in their clutches. The scriptures and masters do instruct the devotee not to destroy the
actual senses, but to slay their bad habits…When all sensory attachments--unwholesome lure of
physical beauty, love of flattery and of words of temptation, bondage of greed, attraction of sex--are
dislodged from the matrixes of the senses, it is then that the senses relinquish their material prejudices,
inclinations, instincts, and obsessions; they become ready to be attached only to divine bliss. (148,151)
To reach this state of Self-realization, each man must practice meditation to transfer his consciousness
from the limited body to the unlimited sphere of joy felt in meditation. By continuous unity with Spirit
in samadhi, and by nonattachment to the body…he looks forward eagerly to return to his home of
everlasting blessedness in Spirit. (220)
This is also a warning to all “half-baked” spiritual aspirants who, in the name of being unattached to
the fruits of actions, become mentally and physically slothful and idle. Spiritual growth is impossible
in the stagnant soil of indolence. (283)
The wise man…acts in happy detachment…Jesus advised his followers to take no heed for their
bodies, not to trouble about what they should wear. He knew that they must feed and clothe
themselves, even as he himself did, but he wanted them to understand that the way to supreme
happiness lies in doing necessary material duties without attachment. (387)
Since attachment and repulsion to objects of the senses are the result of man’s self-created karmic
inclinations, and are the cause of his bondage, these dual obstructions in the path of liberation must be
removed. Man should be governed by wisdom, and not by prejudiced moods and habits ruled by the
dictators of attraction and repulsion…The soul, as a perfect image of Spirit, is ever contented. The
pseudosoul or ego of the body-identified individual is never satisfied. Enslaved by the attachments and
aversions of the senses, the diversified mentality of the ego fails to perceive the eclipsed unconditioned
bliss of the soul. (401)
Man’s “possessions” consist not only of the material objects he gathers about himself, but also the sum
total of all the illusions of Nature with which he is identified as an ego--his body, mind, feelings,
senses, habits, desires. Unless by Self-realization he becomes established in soul consciousness and
thereby renounces attachments to these inner as well as outer possessions, he will be enslaved by the
karmic effects arising from the activities they engender. (473)
But superior to action inspired by good desires is nonattached, desireless, self-controlled action. The
former brings only temporary merit; the latter brings liberation. (681)
…nonattachment is emphasized throughout the Gita as the very foundation of spiritual progress; for it
provides the altar of inner tranquility before which the devotee can wholeheartedly worship God,
whether in wisdom, action, or yoga meditation. (850)
The Lord sustains the human soul but gives it full liberty and free choice either to identify itself
temporarily with the body and its egoistic experiences or to identify itself with His transcendental
Spirit and thus to perform actions without attachment. (899)
…the devotee…readily comprehends the law of karma and how attachment to any attainment--even
virtuous ones--can bind the soul… (1001)
Renunciation--the relinquishment of actions, desires, and attachments that impede soul
progress--is the compendious principle characterizing the Gita message…the consummate renunciant
(is) one who has abandoned in his consciousness the ego and its delusive longings and attachments,
and has instead become anchored in the soul consciousness of oneness with God…The person who is
identified with the ego and its desires for and attachments to the fruits of actions is confined in the
perception of material activity going on within and around him. (1015,1018)
Sattvic (pure) nonattachment and absence of egoity does not make the yogi apathetic. His inner state
of God-union rather gives him an imperturbability of fortitude and resolution, and a zeal that is
constantly enlivened by his perception of the Hidden Joy in all things. Dispassionate toward the
happenings in God’s dream (the material world), he is yet wholly compassionate toward those beings
still struggling with its relativities. (1040)
By practicing nonattachment and by withdrawal of the consciousness from sense perceptions in yoga
mediation, every devotee should learn to unite his soul with Spirit…by constant practice of yoga to
retain that introspective state of Self-realization in his human nature, (the yogi) will attain the cosmic
prosperity of God--all His infinite treasures. (1102)
Roy Eugene Davis
True patience is other than complacent agreement to unpleasant circumstances; it is being soulcentered, mentally peaceful, and emotionally calm regardless of outer circumstances. Because thought
processes and feelings are also external to the soul, we can be patient even when mentally conflicted or
emotionally challenged, until conflict is resolved and emotional stability is restored…
When we are spiritually awake we can be undisturbed by any outer condition. Such equanimity is not
the result of disinterest, but of superior understanding which makes us receptive to spontaneous soul
unfoldments, illumines our consciousness, and provides direct experience (realization) of immortality.
No longer addicted to circumstances of minor significance, soul awareness can expand and reclaim
omnipresence. (51)
As rays of God’s light we are expressed, not created. When initially involved with primordial nature,
mind, and matter, the soul’s awareness is diminished, causing temporary, partial unconsciousness and
tenacious identification with objective phenomena. This results in the primary clouding of awareness
and the delusion of independent existence…The deluded soul then becomes attached to further selfgenerated delusions, experiences perceptual errors, identifies with sensations and thought processes,
and becomes somewhat forgetful of its true nature. The soul’s awareness then becomes fragmented,
mixed, or conflicted. (53)
It is not the necessary or wisdom-guided outer actions that must be abandoned; it is mental and
emotional attachment to them that must be renounced by the practitioner of yoga. This is entirely an
inward process. One then lives at ease, knowing that actions belong to the realm of nature; not to the
soul which is stable in Self-knowledge…
One who hopes to accomplish spiritual growth while clinging to conditioned, self-conscious attitudes
and behaviors aspires in vain, for these are the very circumstances that restrict soul awareness. (110)
Nonattachment is easy when we have right understanding and are established in awareness of soul.
We can then have, and even enjoy, relationships and can relate to all aspects of life freely and
appropriately. (210)
The basis of relinquishing actions is to know the difference between essential, life-enhancing actions
and those which are nonessential and life-diminishing, and to perform only actions to fulfill
worthwhile purposes…Essential life-enhancing actions do not include those which are only for the
gratification of the senses, which arise from restlessness and addictive cravings, or are impelled by
subconscious conditionings or habit…Right living will enable spiritual qualities and soul abilities to be
unfolded and actualized. Right living provides opportunities to verify our knowledge: to demonstrate
whether or not our spiritual growth is authentic…Living purposefully and doing what is right or
appropriate for the moment is the important matter; the effects of our actions will then manifest
spontaneously. We need not be anxious about the outcome of what we do, nor should we be mentally
or emotionally attached to the results. In this way nonbinding actions are performed and life is
enjoyable and free. Devoid of psychological conflicts that attachments produce, awareness remains
clear and spiritual growth proceeds easily. (258)
With the unfoldment of Self-knowledge we are released from attachments of all kinds, become
established in soul awareness and mastery of mind and senses, and actualize desirelessness.
Enlightened desirelessness does not result in lack of interest in living or inability to accomplish
meaningful purposes; it results in freedom to function spontaneously and successfully as directed by
innate knowledge. (278)
Jesus in the New Testament
Jesus was without question a teacher of the Self-Realization formula of God Communion and NonAttachment. Here are some of his teachings on Non-Attachment.
-If anyone wants to…take away your tunic, let him have our cloak also. (Matt 5:40,42)
-Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break
in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…for where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also. (Matt 6:19-21)
- [F]or one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Jesus then tells the story
of a rich man who amasses great wealth and possessions so he can have many “years of ease” and so
he can “eat, drink, and be merry.” but when the man achieves what he desired, God takes his life and
asks him who now will have his material abundance. Jesus concludes, So is he who lays up treasure
for himself and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:15-21)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to possessions, treasures, and riches; anything that can be
destroyed or stolen.
- Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what
you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?...Therefore, do not worry,
saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? (Matt 6:25,31) See
Yogananda’s comments above (387) on these verses.
- If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out…If your right hand causes your to sin, cut it off.
(Matt 5:20-30)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to our bodies themselves nor to the evils or excesses to which
the body is inclined.
- I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn he other to him
also…And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. (Matt5:30,41)
- Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them…When you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting (Matt 6:1, 17-18)
- But all their works they do to be seen by men…They love the best seats at feasts…[and] in the
synagogues…But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Matt 23:5-6,11)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to image, pride, reputation, position, and power.
- Do not worry about tomorrow. (Matt 6:34)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to the future. This includes desired outcomes of our behavior,
or any projected fantasies or fears that divert attention from living in soul awareness.
- No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to the past. This includes unhealthy attachments to past pain
and disappointments as well as obsessions with past pleasure or success.
- If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then
come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:23-24)
- If you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matt 6:14-15)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to anger, resentments, and offenses against us or others.
- Judge not, that you be not judged…Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not
consider the plank in your own eye?...First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matt 7:1-5)
Jesus is telling us not to be attached to judgments, comparisons, or condemnations, nor to get
hung up on our own opinions.
- He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. (Matt 10:37)
Jesus is telling us not even to be attached to our own family members! This is no way means any
lack of love. Attachment implies ego issues that disrupt pure and unconditional love.
- Not clinging to family members is easy when we are no longer in a dependent or
controlling mode of behavior; when we can have affectionate, supportive relationships
while allowing others freedom to grow, express, and fulfill their own destiny. (Roy
Eugene Davis, The Eternal Way, pg 210)
- He that finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt 10:39)
- Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)
Jesus is telling us that all ego attachments, whether they are material, psychological, or
emotional, must be surrendered to awaken fully into Self and God-Realization.
Quotations
Non-Attachment Quotations are from the following sources unless otherwise noted:
- Bhagavad Gita quotes are from The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran
- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali quotes are from The Science of Self Realization by Roy Eugene Davis
- Upanishad quotes are from The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
- Paramahansa Yogananda quotes are from God Talks to Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita
- Roy Eugene Davis quotes are from The Eternal Way: The Inner Meaning of The Bhagavad Gita
- Bible quotes are from the King James Version or New King James