That we keep praying thus every morning -
if there is any Truth in that,
it is that every day we are preparing ourselves - little by little - for renunciation.
Preparation is extremely necessary because,
there is a Law of Renunciation in this world -
its injunctions are inescapable.
That Law never makes us rest anywhere;
it keeps saying: renounce, and move on.
I'm not seeing anything anywhere, where I can reach and say -
this is it, I'm done, everything is finished, everything is fulfilled; and I'll never move from here.
If it is the case that the Law of this World is not just holding on to something, but
letting go and moving on,
then if we do not harmonize our desires with that Law,
there will only be discord between the two.
If we only keep saying 'we'll stay', 'we'll keep', and the world says 'you better let go', 'keep moving',
then it engenders terrible misery.
Our desires then need to back down -
something which we don't want to renounce gets taken away from us.
Therefore, we need to keep our desires in tune with this Law of the World.
Once we are able to merge our desires with the Law of the World, effectively we become free.
That - indeed - is the Law of Freedom.
If I do not join the World voluntarily,
then the World will force me - will make me its follower;
then I will have no joy, I will not have honor;
then the World will wring my ear, and I will be forced to accept it -
just like a slave.
Therefore, may the World never be able to say this to us - 'I'll take away from you';
may I, instead, be able to say - 'I shall renounce'.
But, if we do not prepare our desires - every day - towards this renunciation, then -
when death shall come, when losses will arrive,
with their bigger and bigger demands,
and stand in front of us,
then we'd wish to cheat them in any way possible,
and yet no cheating will do there at all -
that, indeed, will turn out to be a very miserable day for us.
That we receive penury and indigence by this renunciation -
may we never think like this.
Our renunciation is only to Receive more Fully.
We shall not receive something which we shall not have left.
When an infant is protected in the womb, (s)he does not receive her/his mother;
only when (s)he is born, (s)he is free -
by renouncing the bondage of the umbilical cord -
does (s)he receive her/his mother more fully.
We will need to be Free just like that - while staying within the protective womb of this World;
then only we will Truly receive the World,
because,
we will receive the World - Freely.
We cannot even see the World right now,
just like the unborn fetus bound within the womb;
only (s)he who has been Free knows and receives the World.
This is why I'm saying,
the person who is enmeshed in this World -
it is not that that person is really Worldly;
the person who has come out of the World, is really Worldly;
because,
then (s)he is not of the World;
the World is hers/his.
Only that person can Truly proclaim:
'My World'.
A horse pulls a carriage, being attached to it with reins -
but can the horse say, 'the carriage is mine'?
Effectively, is there much difference between the carriage wheel and the horse?
Only the jehu who drives the carriage - being free from it -
has control over the carriage.
If I want to be the lord, I'll need to be free.
This is why the Gita1 proclaimed only that Yoga2 as Karma Yoga3, where we work without attachment.
Only when I work without attachment,
my complete control over that work ensues;
otherwise,
being lumped together with work,
we become a part of the work itself,
we do not become workers.
Therefore, if we want to gain the World,
we will need to get out of it;
and if we want to practise work,
we will need to work avoiding attachment.
What that means is that -
in this World - Giving and Receiving - these two opposite Laws are there;
we will need to harmonize the two;
if only one of them dominates, it will wreak havoc.
If Receiving reigns supreme, we get attached;
and if Giving reigns supreme, we get deprived.
If the work is without freedom, we become slaves;
and if freedom is without work, we go extinct.
Effectively, renunciation is not emptiness;
it is the fulfillment of rights.
An under-age minor cannot donate or sell, until (s)he has full rights on her/his property;
until then (s)he only has a small right to enjoy,
not the big right to renounce.
The state where we can only accumulate, but are unable to give freely -
in that state we have no freedom regarding that accumulated wealth.
This is why Jesus Christ had proclaimed: it is very difficult for someone who is rich to receive Freedom.4
The reason is,
as much wealth as (s)he is unable to renounce,
that much wealth keeps binding her/him.
Whoever has made that binding bigger and bigger,
has fallen in dangers graver and graver.
That all these bindings are coming loose every day,
that every day renunciation is becoming easy for us,
may we obtain this fruit from our prayer.
The deep attraction of sundry attachments
has altogether made our nature stodgy like stone.
May the Fountain of Nectar keep pouring at the time of prayer -
may it keep entering through the very pores of our atoms and molecules -
may it keep disaggregating and dissolving the stone day by day;
and then gradually,
by eroding and removing the stone,
may it create a big void in the midst of our lives -
only to fill that void.
See,
take a look Inside for once -
'the constrictions of our heart are getting straightened every day
by being hit with His Name,
everything is getting propitious,
everything is getting calm;
the work is getting easy;
relationships with Everyone are getting truthful and undiplomatic;
and the Glory of God is being fulfilled in this human life of mine.'
27 Agrahāyaṇa 1315
(December 12, 1908)
Bengali original: http://www.tagoreweb.in/Render/ShowContent.aspx?ct=Essays&bi=72EE92F5-BE50-4057-6E6E-0F7410664DA3&ti=72EE92F5-BE50-42A7-3E6E-0F7410664DA3&ch=c