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Finding the Inner Balance of Non-Attachment While Living in the World · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  In his epic poem Savitri, a legend and a symbol, Sriorobindo
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  writes quote He who would save himself lives bare and calm.
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  He who would save the race must share its pain.
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  End Quote Renunciation of the world.
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  Avoidance of interacting with the objects, actions, events and
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  needs of the external life is frequently A chosen route for
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  those who seek personal salvation.
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  For those who wish to participate in the development
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  of the divine manifestation, the idea of total immersion in the
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  external life is not a solution either.
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  Neither the materialist denial nor the refusal of the ascetic,
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  as Triorbindo terms these concepts in the life divine,
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  provide the answer for the seeker looking to uplift and
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  transform rather than avoid or become immersed in the things of
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  the world. Virtually from the moment we are
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  born, our family, friends, schools and society at large
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  inculcate in us the sense that we need to have a career, earn
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  money and acquire goods. On top of this general
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  background, there is a very powerful media and marketing
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  presence that drums these ideas into people day and night.
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  It is no wonder that most people define themselves by what job
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  they do, what money they earn, their financial well-being and
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  status and the things they acquire.
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  The issue for the spiritual seeker then is how to interact
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  with the fullness of life in the world while at the same time not
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  being devoured by the lures of acquiring and owning things and
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  all that comes along with that focus.
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  The traditional solution of avoidance, renunciation may be a
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  solution for some, but it does not answer the question as to
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  the significance and meaning of our lives.
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  In his book, Siddhartha Hermann Hesse takes up the theme of
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  relationship to worldly success versus the life of a renunciate.
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  The story partially reflects the tale of the Buddha, who was born
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  as a Prince, surrounded by luxury and the fulfilment of
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  anything he could desire, but who eventually began to reflect
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  on the issue of suffering, disease, old age and death.
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  In his tale, Hesa shows Siddhartha similarly abandoning
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  the teachings of his family and his society and his worldly life
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  to become a renunciate. He is dissatisfied with that
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  path and decides to explore life in the world to all its depths,
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  including acquisition of wealth and development of a family.
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  This too is unsatisfying to him. He eventually meets a ferryman
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  who does his job while living a life of peace and inner
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  contentment. While Hesse winds up with the
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  solution of a simple life uncomplicated by career and
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  concerns for wealth while carrying out a useful function
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  in the world, such a solution does not fully address the
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  question of the transformation and uplifting of life itself.
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  In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna that
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  the true liberation is not through external renunciation,
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  but through the inner attitude one holds in the midst of all
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  activities. The challenge for most seekers,
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  of course, is actually achieving this perspective and balance in
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  the way one deals with the world.
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  This takes a measure of inner growth, reflection, separation
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  of 1's identification with the ego personality and recognizing
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  the deeper meaning of life and the growth of the soul
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  personality, the psychic being. For most people this is a long
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  patient effort of practice as each life circumstance
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  challenges the individual and provides an opportunity for
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  achieving this standpoint. The mother notes quote.
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  There should be no attachment to any object or any mode of life.
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  You must be absolutely free if you want to have the true yogic
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  attitude. You must be able to accept
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  everything that comes from the Divine and let it go easily and
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  without regret. The attitude of the ascetic who
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  says I want nothing and the attitude of the man of the world
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  who says I want this thing are the same.
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  The One may be as much attached to his renunciation as the other
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  to his possession. It is much more difficult not to
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  be attached to the things you possess than to possess nothing.
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  This is something that has been known for centuries.
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  It requires a much greater quality not to be attached to
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  the things one possesses than to be without any possessions, or
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  to reduce one's possessions to a strict minimum.
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  It is much more difficult. It is a much higher degree of
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  moral worth. Simply this attitude.
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  When a thing comes to you to take it, use it when for one
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  reason or another it goes away, to let it go and not regret it,
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  not to refuse it. When it comes to know how to
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  adapt yourself and not to regret it when it goes.
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  End Quote Reference Sri Orobindo and the Mother Looking from
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  Within, Chapter 5, Attitudes on the Path, page 160.