Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

4 October 1970 am in
Question 1
CHAPTER 18
Non-Attachment is not Aversion
QUESTIONER: KRISHNA SAYS THAT BY GIVING UP DESIRING AND ATTACHMENT, WHICH HE
CALLS NISKAMTA AND ANASAKTI RESPECTIVELY, ONE IS RELEASED FROM BONDAGE AND
HE ATTAINS TO THE SUPREME. BUT IT IS SO DIFFICULT FOR ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN
TO BE FREE OF DESIRING AND ATTACHMENT. PLEASE EXPLAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF
DESIRELESSNESS AND NON-ATTACHMENT AND WAYS TO ACHIEVE THEM.
In the first place try to understand the meaning of the word anasakti or non-attachment. It is
unfortunately one of the most misunderstood words. Non-attachment is generally taken to mean
aversion, but it is not aversion. Aversion is a kind of attachment – the opposite of attachment.
Someone is attached to sex and someone else is attached to its opposite – brahmacharya or
celibacy. Someone is attached to wealth; he is running after wealth, and someone else is attached
to renunciation of wealth; he is running away from wealth. One person is obsessed with the idea
of looking handsome; another person is obsessed with the idea of looking ugly. But those who
are averse to sex, money or good looks appear to be non-attached because their attachments are
negative.
Attachment has two faces, positive and negative. You can fancy a thing so much that you madly run
after it, you cling to it – this is positive attachment. And you can be so much repelled by a thing that
you want to escape it, to run away from it; then it is negative attachment. Negative attachment is as
much attachment as positive attachment.
336