Rise and live above attachment, live like a watery pearl on the leaf of a lotus flower. The lotus flower in a pond of water floats above it. Though it remains in water, it does not get moist. It remains clean. It looks pure. The drops of water on its petals and leaves do not spread, but become round and shine as pearls.

One should live like the lotus and our tongue. When you eat an oily dish, say pudding then the hand that puts it into your mouth gets oily but the tongue does not get sticky or oily. You never felt the need to wipe the tongue. You clean your hands; you wipe out the oil from your fingers. So, it is necessary that you should strive to learn to live in this way. That way you can rise above materialistic things. As far as attachment is concerned, a man can be attached to anything, even the tiniest ofthings.

Someone stole the blanket of a Babaji, a wandering hermit. He went to police and lodged a complaint / FIR . In the report he mentioned that his blanket and bedding have been stolen. He has lost his quilt, pyjama, overcoat and all of his clothes. When he was getting this report written in the Police Station, the thief who had stolen the blanket was also present there. He felt furious and spoke up after hearing the list of the stolen items. He threw the blanket in theBabaji’sface, saying “Here is this torn blanket that I stole, but you are stating so many lost items” The Police Inspector asked Babaji,“Why were you mentioning all those items? Your list was so long that it would make a truckload of goods, whereas the issue was only an old and torn blanket.”

Babajireplied, “It is my blanket – it is my pillow also. When I go to sleep I put it under my head but when I spread it over my body it serves as my quilt. Sometime during the day I spread it on the ground and it serves as my bedding and when I feel cold I wear it as an overcoat. My blanket is my entire world. It is very precious for me.” The Inspector said, “Fine. Take it away – your worn-out blanket. Take your entire world and get out of here.” So you saw that a torn blanket became his whole world. Why? Because there was a deep attachment. But if you offer a detached person a palace, he will not hesitate to leave it. For him the huge palace has no meaning, it is not an attraction to him. He is already detached from the worldly objects. This is yoga.

Lord Krishna says that it is Nishkam Karma Yoga, or Yoga of the desire-less action. When a person lives and works like this, that condition is called Sanyas Yoga as well. One should learn the art of giving up though it is very hard to practice. It has been described in a different and unique way in the Vedas, Tyaktenbhunjeethah, i.e., the desire to use with a sense of renunciation. With this feeling of renunciation in all activities you can still live in the world itself and be a Sanyasior a renouncer. You will be a sanyasiin the real sense of the term with the feeling of renunciation and performing all activities of the world.

The term ‘sanyas’ means, renunciation. A Sanyasiis the one who has given up things and the world out of his own volition, with happiness and in a systematic manner. He lives like a lotus flower in a pond. He is in water yet he is not attached to it or affected by it. Some renounce and leave the world and go to forests and say that they are sanyasisand have given up the world. But the forest is also a part of the world; it is not outside the world. If you go and sit in the jungle you will be reminded of the world, of the disputes of the world.

Disputes and disputing persons are there in the jungle also. In fact, disputants are everywhere. You cannot escape them. Therefore, you will have to first correct yourself from inside. Otherwise, as I said earlier and in a different context, a fool will be recognized or discovered wherever he might go or be. It is as if something is written on his forehead.