THE THREE DEADLY SINS OF KARMA #3

 DESIROUS ATTACHMENT

You cannot control results, only your actions. 

You cannot decide outcomes, only your choices.

 So, it is best that you practice 
non-attachment to any concern related to outcome.

Impermanence is at the heart of nurturing Non-Attachment. 

Desirous Attachment is antithetical to the principle of impermanence. We cannot take “it” with us. At the end of the day we will be evaluated on how we dealt with our experiences. Only karma, love, truth and the soul live on. Everything is a test - its not what happens to us but how we handled it that counts. 

“More possessions - more worry. More generosity - more peace. There is nothing wrong with possessions, only to being possessed by them.” Hillel

When we cross over we take nothing with us. Material attachments can also hamper the soul’s journey during transition after death causing the spirit to either become earth bound (lost between the worlds) or to inherit a lower vibration in the Astral.

Everything we acquire should be scrutinized against the polarities of need and want. We release more spiritual energy if we get rid of clutter. Every now and then we need to look through our belongings and make sure they belong to us and we do not belong to them. If you have not thought of or used anything in the last few years, give it away, sell or dump it. You will surprised how much lighter and freer you feel. 

Keep to the source of living waters.
Do not think to store in cisterns; they will break and crumble and the water will be lost.
Cup your hands and drink deeply and often and you will have health and joy.

There is nothing wrong with desire, it is the attachment to desire that is the issue. 

It is the want that is our enemy and not the need.

Steve Jobs once instructed his employees that their task at Apple was not to give people what they needed but to tell them what they wanted. Many bottom liners follow this mantra. 

 It can be challenging not to be overwhelmed and trapped by the allure of materialism and all those new, shiny, compelling commodities that inundate us. They are designed to wear out more quickly than previously and be replaceable rather than fixable - the latter often being more costly. Planned obsolescence has been taken to a much higher level of sophistication. The excuse is the ever ongoing, so called improvement of technology. Is this just a trap to give us less control and make us lazy or technology for the sake of technology itself rather than practicality? 

Or we may be compelled to buy the latest version and dispose of the older one because the new is contrived to be sexier but not necessarily any better and sometimes worse. We have to be aware of the fact that we are being manipulated to continually borrow and spend more money than we should.

"Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without" Unknown

“Where there is too much, something is missing. - Chassidic Saying. 
Yes, the disguise of plenty. The Grail is not there.” 
Gene Kelly

Kabbalah also talks of The Bread of Shame… If we have too much while others have little we may feel shame especially if it was easy to attain and we have not earned or worked hard for it. Those that are fortunate can make use of this “bread of shame,” by becoming philanthropic and giving it away, preferably by doing so anonymously.

 

We should be attached to our spiritual transformation and all that is involved in our Becoming but not to the deadly sins of ego that get in our way. 

Consumerism is designed to build the market at the expense of the planet's sustainability. 

“By attributing worth to tangible objects man becomes attracted to them; attraction brings desire for them; desire leads to competition and dispute. These create anger and the result is delusion. Delusion completely overcomes man’s sense of right and wrong.” Srimad Bhagavatam

The more "stuff' we accumulate the more time, money and energy we spend maintaining it rather that doing something meaningful for our spiritual growth. Stuff and especially clutter get in the way of our spiritual work. 

There is always enough as long as one is free from the compulsion for more. Narrow mind is about having – Spacious mind is about being.

K.I.S.S.

Keep it Simple, Stupid

“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill, keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt, chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench, care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back, the only way to serenity.”  Tao Te Ching

Re  "... care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner...”  Tao Te Ching

We should not concern ourselves about those who have much more than we do. 

“Should the other climber steal your sack and your purse and wax fat on the one and heavy on the other, you should pity him. The climbing will be harder for his flesh and the burden will make his way longer. And should you in your leanness see his flesh puffing upward, help him in a step, it will add to your swiftness.” Unknown

Many of us feel we need to keep up with the Jones'. Ego can make us inherently more competitive in order to impress or prevent feeling like a loser. This is often because of a delicate ego and a feeling of inferiority. 

"…you are accepted by the sun, you are accepted by the moon, you are accepted by the trees, you are accepted by the ocean, you are accepted by the earth. What more do you want?
You are accepted by this whole universe. Rejoice in it!” Osho

Universal Self- Acceptance - U.S.A. of ourselves (and others.)

Both can be difficult.

“Everybody feels inferior in some way or other. And the reason is that we don’t accept that everybody is unique. There is no question of inferiority or superiority. Everybody is just one of his/her kind - comparison does not arise. 
The moment you accept yourself as you are, without any comparison, all inferiority, all superiority, disappears. In that total acceptance or yourself you will be free from these complexes - inferiority, superiority. Otherwise you will suffer your whole life....


Just be yourself, that is enough… Osho

God want you, to be truly you. You were created for that.

For many, the attachments are are to sensory pleasures. We are here to enjoy but enjoy responsibly. Being in a sensory body is a gift which we lose when we cross over the veil between worlds. Sensory deprivation  is antithetical to our spiritual trajectory. We are here to savor the senses and will be held accountable to the extent we did not. Rev. Nachman taught; "Joy is not incidental to one's spiritual path, it is vital."

The way to God is through the senses. From the senses will I behold the Creator.

Excesses and addictions to; alcohol, drugs, raves, gambling, certain genres of discordant music and food, especially sugar etc. may also compromise health and sabotage spiritual transformation. We do not want to spend most our energy bailing out water from a leaky boat that we have to navigate down the river of life. We need to maintain our bodies to the best of our bodies's abilities.

 

“… Abundance is not an achievement of the acquisitive but rather a legacy of the perceptive – a realization of plenty – not an acquiring of more – a delight not a desire.” Hillel

Our focus should be on the basic necessities and our wants should be in line with spiritual transformation.

“Give up owning things and being somebody. Quit existing.” Rumi

 

Rumi tells us not only about being wary of grooming our persona by "being somebody," but not also not to be enraptured by owning more stuff. “Being somebody” also speaks to grooming the persona with objects that display ones pride, prestige, opulence as well as a desire for recognition or fame.