Remember that daya, compassion, and Maya attachment, are two different things. Attachment means the feeling of ‘my-ness’ toward one’s relatives…Compassion is the love one feels for all beings of the world. It is an attitude of equality…But one thing should be remembered: Maya keeps us in ignorance (of our divine nature) and entangles us in the world, whereas daya makes our hearts pure and gradually unties our bonds and attachments.
– Sri Ramakrishna
Kabir – The couplet
जीवित सम्झे जीवित बुझे, जीवित ही करो आस ।
जीवित कर्म की फाँसी न काटी, मुए मुक्ति की आस ।।
transliterated:
Jeevit Samjhe Jeevit Bujhe, Jeevit He Karo Aas |
Jeevit Karam Ki Fansi Na Kaati, Mue Mukti Ki Aas ||
Translation:
Understand this while yet alive, realize it while you still have time|
If you break not the bonds of attachment now, how can death liberate you?
My thoughts:
While alive, we tie ourselves to the bindings we impose on ourselves – the bond of family, the bindings of friendship, the demands of duty, the need to be heard, the desire to feel good through the positive reinforcement of our perceived image in the eyes of others, the clutches of material possessions, the size of our bank balance, the glory of our social position, the magic of our own perception of our value.
If chasing all of this, we completely ignore the true joy we feel when we give up all and roam free, able to breathe air without restriction or worry.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said it perfectly – when I remove the “my”, desire transforms into satisfaction. The same act, performed without ego, moves perception from self-pandering to true bliss.