Bhakti - The Process of Becoming Free from Material Attachments
Attachment is a natural function of the soul. We are always attached to our family, our society, our country, or our possessions. While these attachments provide temporary satisfaction, they are also the cause of our bondage to the cycle of birth and death. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the goal of human life is to become free from these entanglements. However, this freedom is not achieved by artificially repressing our nature. It is achieved through the science of bhakti-yoga—the art of transferring our attachment from the temporary to the eternal.
Principle of Transferring Attachment
Many philosophers teach that one should give up all attachments to find peace. But Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the soul cannot remain void. If we try to be detached without a higher engagement, we will eventually fall back into material life. The secret of success is to replace material attachment with spiritual attachment. When the heart is filled with affection for Kṛṣṇa, the attraction to the material world naturally fades away.
- Bhakti involves becoming free from the attachments of this material world and becoming attached instead to Krsna.
- Unless we are able to transfer our attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no possibility of becoming freed from material attachment.
- Ratih means affection, affinity, attachment for the Lord. Now we have got attachment for the matter. So as we make progress, we gradually become freed from material attachment and come to the platform, complete attachment for God.
Guidance of the Spiritual Master
This transformation of the heart is not an automatic process; it requires training. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Through this disciplined practice, the mind becomes steady, doubts are cleared, and a genuine taste for hearing about the Absolute Truth develops. It is this higher taste that liberates the devotee.
- By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes freed from all material attachments, attains steadiness in self-realization and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna.
- By knowing the science of God, one gradually becomes freed from material attachments, and one's doubtful mind becomes crystal clear by the grace of the Lord.
Learning from Great Souls
The scriptures provide us with histories of great kings and sages who demonstrated perfect detachment. By studying the lives of personalities like Mahārāja Bharata and Ṛṣabhadeva, we can learn how to remain in the world without being of the world. They showed that true detachment is not simply leaving home, but completely disengaging the consciousness from the modes of material nature—ignorance, passion, and false ego.
- By studying the activities of Maharaja Bharata, we can learn the art of becoming completely freed from all material attachment.
- When the living entity becomes enlightened with full spiritual knowledge 2) he becomes free from the five kinds of material attachments, namely ignorance, false egoism, attachment to the material world, envy and absorption in material consciousness.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the freedom we seek is already within us, but it is covered by layers of false identification and material affection. Śrīla Prabhupāda reminds us that we do not need to negate our existence to find peace; we simply need to purify our specific propensity to love. By associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His holy name and His devotees, the knot of material attachment in the heart is cut. This is the specific benediction of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement: it offers a positive, joyful process where renunciation is not a burden, but a natural consequence of falling in love with God. As we advance in this science, the heavy burden of material possessiveness drops away, leaving the soul light, free, and ready to return to its eternal home.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Becoming Free From Material Attachments. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.
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