The art of letting go

Rooted in the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, this reflection explores the art of letting go as the true gateway to inner freedom. It reveals meditation not as an effort, but as a profound state of effortless being—where desires dissolve and the self is experienced in its purest form

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says, “You cannot get into yoga (union with the Self) unless you drop the desires in you”. So, the question is how to drop the desires. Meditation is the art of letting go your desires. Life teaches you the art of letting go in every event. What is that you are looking for?

I will give you an example. Have you seen dogs biting bones? You know why they bite bones? Biting and biting that hard bone makes wound inside their mouth. Its own blood comes out and the dog feels that the bone is very tasty! After a while its whole mouth is soared. Poor dog has spent the whole time chewing the bone getting nothing out of it! Any joy you experience in life is from the depth of yourself when you let go all that you hold on to and settle down being centered in that space. That is called meditation. Actually, meditation is not an act; it is the art of doing nothing! The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you can ever have because in meditation you transcend all desires. This brings such coolness to the brain and it is like servicing or overhauling the whole body-mind complex.

We look at everything but we do not look at our own faculties. Life has many faculties - body, breath, etc. Are you aware of your body? You become aware of your body only when it aches. Just as a child throws tantrums when it is not given attention, your body throws tantrums when you don’t attend to it. If you attend to your body constantly, it won’t throw tantrums. And attending to the body is not just about food and exercise; it is taking your attention to each part of your body and loving it consciously. Your body is the closest thing to you; it is the first layer of existence. The second faculty is breath. What makes the skin different from leather? It is the breath. Even shoes have some value. But your body, when it is not breathing, has no value. Our first act, when we came to the world, was to breathe in and the last act will be to breathe out. But we ignore this primordial function of our life.

The third faculty that we possess is our mind. This is the faculty through which we perceive and yet this is the faculty that we know the least about.

The next faculty is intellect. Even as you are reading now, your intellect is saying something. It is passing some sort of judgment, it is accepting or rejecting what is written, questioning my words. All this comes with intellect. The fifth faculty, which is our memory, functions in a very funny manner; if you receive ten compliments from someone and one criticism, it is that one criticism that will cling to your memory. Basically, memory feeds on interest. It retains only those situations and subjects in which it feels interest; if you enjoy astronomy, your memory will also treasure it.

Then there is ego. When you are happy, something in you expands. That something is ego. Ego brings happiness; it brings creativity, shyness, grief. If you are shy and timid, it is because of your ego; joy and pride are also due to ego; behind every fear, there is ego. We know very little about the function of ego. Knowledge of your ego can strengthen you; it will eliminate your vulnerability.

The next faculty is something that does not have tangible boundaries. Sometimes when you are relaxed or you are in love, you feel a sense of wonder, that there is something more mysterious in life than we are aware.

That something is the self, the consciousness, the atma. You may hardly notice it, but those few seconds give you so much peace and t. Preserving those moments will enrich your life. Meditation is letting go of anger from the past, the events of the past and all the planning for the future. Planning can hold you back from diving deep into yourself. Meditation is accepting this moment and living every moment totally with depth. The more you have learnt to let go, happier, the freer you are.

(Writer is a is a globally renowned spiritual leader, humanitarian, and peacebuilder. He is also the founder of The Art of Living foundation, according to the Art of Living)