Tattva-viveka
How to move beyond attachments?
Atmananda Dasa - January 22, 2009 5:08 am
My experience is that my deepest attachments, those things seem to have a power over me, have dragged me away from my sadhana and even from sadhu sanga. Like the ropes that tie up the boat, each time I row the boat towards the other shore of eternal bliss in Krishna Consciousness, at some point the rope pulls tight again and the boat can go no further. It can be really discouraging sometimes.
What, specifically, is the cure for this condition? How to get beyond this? :Black Eye: 
Prahlad Das - January 22, 2009 5:45 am
My experience is that my deepest attachments, those things seem to have a power over me, have dragged me away from my sadhana and even from sadhu sanga. Like the ropes that tie up the boat, each time I row the boat towards the other shore of eternal bliss in Krishna Consciousness, at some point the rope pulls tight again and the boat can go no further. It can be really discouraging sometimes.What, specifically, is the cure for this condition? How to get beyond this? :Black Eye:
Surrender. Here is something which might serve to be encouraging.
tat te 'nukampāḿ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaḿ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk
My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.
Consider that these obstacles on our paths are residuals from our own misdoings. Complete surrender (from an objective platform) is the only variable which works for our progress to our fulfillment.
A member of my family gave a devotional music cd to me which had a very nice bhajan. I will post the lyrics for you all and look forward to your feedback.
madhava, bahuta minati kari taya
dei tulasi tila, deha samarpinu,
daya jani na chadabi moya (1)
O Madhava, with this offering of a tulasi leaf and sesame seeds, I beseech You and
pledge my body in Your service. I know Your compassion is such that You will not
reject me.
ganaite dosha, gunalesha na paobi,
jaba tuhu karabi vicara
tuhu jagannatha, jagate kahaosi,
jaga-bahira nahi mui chara (2)
While considering this appeal, You will only be able to count my faults. You will not
find even a trace of good qualities in me. You are known throughout the creation as
Jagannatha. Therefore do I, a worthless soul living within this universe, not have the
right to accept You as my master?
kiye manusha pashu-pakhi je janamiye,
athava kita-patange
karama vipake, gatagati punah punah,
mati rahu tuwa parasange (3)
Birth after birth, as a result of my karma, I repeatedly come and go, sometimes as a
human, sometimes as an animal and sometimes as a bird, worm or insect. But in
whatever birth I take, may my mind always remain fixed on Your narrations.
bhanaye vidyapati, atishaya katara,
taraite iha bhava-sindhu
tuwa pada-pallava, kari avalambana,
tila eka deha dina-bandhu (4)
With great remorse, the poet Vidyapati humbly prays, “O Madhava, O friend of the
fallen, please give this insignificant person shelter at the tender leaf of Your lotus feet.
In this way I may cross over this ocean of material existence.”
Please forgive me if I have transgressed my adhikara.
Prema-bhakti - January 22, 2009 2:08 pm
Sadhu sanga. We can't do much on our own in such a conditioned state. Sadhus have Krsna in their heart and they can give him to us.
Sadhu sanga is always the answer to what ills. It is stated in sastra and I have personal experience of how they break attachments. :Black Eye:
Prahlad Das - January 23, 2009 6:13 am
Sadhu sanga. We can't do much on our own in such a conditioned state. Sadhus have Krsna in their heart and they can give him to us.
Sadhu sanga is always the answer to what ills. It is stated in sastra and I have personal experience of how they break attachments. :Black Eye:
I second you on this. The Vaishnava is the apparent manifestation of the Mercy of Krsna. Now if only they had an "elated" emoticon
Atmananda Dasa - January 23, 2009 6:02 pm
Thanks for you replys.
Citta Hari Dasa - January 24, 2009 9:25 pm
I'll jump on the bandwagon here and repeat again: sadhu sanga. Our faith that Krsna is who he is, and that the lila is something worth entering into came to us from a sadhu. The practices that will eventually take us there were given to us by a sadhu. Without the sadhus we have nothing, even if we chant lakhs of rounds or read the Bhagavatam repeatedly. Mercy flows into the world through the sadhus, and since mercy is the only way we will overcome our anarthas, then we really have no recourse but to beg, borrow, or steal our way to sadhu sanga.