Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Below are some verses from the Writings of Baha’u’llah followed by some Bible verses that I believe are saying essentially the same thing about being detached from the world.
“It behoveth the people of Bahá to die to the world and all that is therein, to be so detached from all earthly things that the inmates of Paradise may inhale from their garment the sweet smelling savor of sanctity, that all the peoples of the earth may recognize in their faces the brightness of the All-Merciful, and that through them may be spread abroad the signs and tokens of God, the Almighty, the All-Wise. “
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 100
“We beseech God that He may graciously vouchsafe His grace unto all men, and enable them to attain the knowledge of Him and of themselves. By My life! Whoso hath known Him shall soar in the immensity of His love, and shall be detached from the world and all that is therein. Nothing on earth shall deflect him from his course, how much less they who, prompted by their vain imaginations, speak those things which God hath forbidden.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 205
John 12:24-25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Matthew 16:23-25 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
In John 12:24-25, I think Jesus was saying to die to our life in this world in order to attain eternal life, meaning not to be attached to these things.
In Matthew 16: 23-25, I think Jesus was saying to deny selfish desires, the things of the world that men savor that are not of God but rather of men. Instead one should follow Jesus in order to attain eternal life.
So that is detachment as it is laid out in some religious scriptures. I do not think that Jesus meant that we should literally hate this life and not enjoy what there is in this life to enjoy, I think it means that we should not be so attached to our life in this world that we consider them more important than God. If we love this life so much that we live only for the things of this world then we lose eternal life, which is nearness to God, because we only think about things that are associated with this world.
I am not suggesting that we should be so detached from the world that we do not take care of our health physical, mental, and emotional, or that we give up everything that is pleasurable. Baha’u’llah wrote that we should enjoy the ‘good things’ God has allowed us and as long as they don’t intervene between us and God and as long as they are allowed under the law.
I would like to hear what other people have to say about detachment. If religious believers have scriptures that refer to detachment, they can post them and explain what they think those scriptures mean. If anyone else has a concept of detachment that is not religious, I would like to hear that as well.
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I think detachment means more than being detached from worldly things. I think it also means to be detached from sorrowful things that happen to us in this earthly life.
One way not to be sorrowful about the things that happen to us in life is to be detached from what has happened to us in the past, detached from what is happening to us in the present, and detached from what will happen to us in the future.
This is a subject near and dear to me because the only way I have survived the last 20 years is by being as detached as possible from what was happening. I was not always detached but the more I suffered the more I learned that the only way to survive was to be detached. This is related to having faith in God but that is not what this thread is intended to be about.
I am not saying I think we should be completely detached from what is happening in our lives, and I am focusing on the negative things that have the potential to cause suffering. For example, if we dwell on bad things that have happened in the past such as the loss of a loved one that is bound to cause grief and maybe even depression. The past is gone, so it does not have any real existence, it only exists in our minds.
Only the present exists. It is my contention that if one has troubles in the present, by being detached from what is happening one can mitigate suffering. We can also re-frame the problem so it is thought about in a different light as a way to mitigate suffering.
The future has no real existence since it is not here yet. Dwelling on what might happen in the future can cause fear and anxiety and one way to prevent that is by being detached about what might happen in the future. That doesn’t mean we don’t take necessary precautions, like managing our finances and taking care of our health in an effort to prevent diseases, but ultimately, we do not have much control over what happens to us in our lives. Even if we do not believe in God and that God determines our fate, there are many things that are beyond our control. In fact, I contend that most things in life are beyond our control. Many people seem to think they have control of their lives, but those are probably people who had things go the way they planned and wanted. We all know such people but that is certainly not true for all of us.
“It behoveth the people of Bahá to die to the world and all that is therein, to be so detached from all earthly things that the inmates of Paradise may inhale from their garment the sweet smelling savor of sanctity, that all the peoples of the earth may recognize in their faces the brightness of the All-Merciful, and that through them may be spread abroad the signs and tokens of God, the Almighty, the All-Wise. “
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 100
“We beseech God that He may graciously vouchsafe His grace unto all men, and enable them to attain the knowledge of Him and of themselves. By My life! Whoso hath known Him shall soar in the immensity of His love, and shall be detached from the world and all that is therein. Nothing on earth shall deflect him from his course, how much less they who, prompted by their vain imaginations, speak those things which God hath forbidden.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 205
John 12:24-25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Matthew 16:23-25 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
In John 12:24-25, I think Jesus was saying to die to our life in this world in order to attain eternal life, meaning not to be attached to these things.
In Matthew 16: 23-25, I think Jesus was saying to deny selfish desires, the things of the world that men savor that are not of God but rather of men. Instead one should follow Jesus in order to attain eternal life.
So that is detachment as it is laid out in some religious scriptures. I do not think that Jesus meant that we should literally hate this life and not enjoy what there is in this life to enjoy, I think it means that we should not be so attached to our life in this world that we consider them more important than God. If we love this life so much that we live only for the things of this world then we lose eternal life, which is nearness to God, because we only think about things that are associated with this world.
I am not suggesting that we should be so detached from the world that we do not take care of our health physical, mental, and emotional, or that we give up everything that is pleasurable. Baha’u’llah wrote that we should enjoy the ‘good things’ God has allowed us and as long as they don’t intervene between us and God and as long as they are allowed under the law.
I would like to hear what other people have to say about detachment. If religious believers have scriptures that refer to detachment, they can post them and explain what they think those scriptures mean. If anyone else has a concept of detachment that is not religious, I would like to hear that as well.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I think detachment means more than being detached from worldly things. I think it also means to be detached from sorrowful things that happen to us in this earthly life.
One way not to be sorrowful about the things that happen to us in life is to be detached from what has happened to us in the past, detached from what is happening to us in the present, and detached from what will happen to us in the future.
This is a subject near and dear to me because the only way I have survived the last 20 years is by being as detached as possible from what was happening. I was not always detached but the more I suffered the more I learned that the only way to survive was to be detached. This is related to having faith in God but that is not what this thread is intended to be about.
I am not saying I think we should be completely detached from what is happening in our lives, and I am focusing on the negative things that have the potential to cause suffering. For example, if we dwell on bad things that have happened in the past such as the loss of a loved one that is bound to cause grief and maybe even depression. The past is gone, so it does not have any real existence, it only exists in our minds.
Only the present exists. It is my contention that if one has troubles in the present, by being detached from what is happening one can mitigate suffering. We can also re-frame the problem so it is thought about in a different light as a way to mitigate suffering.
The future has no real existence since it is not here yet. Dwelling on what might happen in the future can cause fear and anxiety and one way to prevent that is by being detached about what might happen in the future. That doesn’t mean we don’t take necessary precautions, like managing our finances and taking care of our health in an effort to prevent diseases, but ultimately, we do not have much control over what happens to us in our lives. Even if we do not believe in God and that God determines our fate, there are many things that are beyond our control. In fact, I contend that most things in life are beyond our control. Many people seem to think they have control of their lives, but those are probably people who had things go the way they planned and wanted. We all know such people but that is certainly not true for all of us.