Only A Fool Would Get Attached To Worldly Life

We are looking at the Vairagya Prakarana of Yoga Vasishta.
Lord Rama is telling Sage Vishwamitra why he is disillusioned with the world.
Our lives are like how fresh leaves appear on a tree and after some time, they die and fall down.
But in between whatever we do in between, all the hard work, they are also not worthy of anything.
We work throughout the day to make ourselves happy or others happy.
To make the parents happy and proud.
To meet the demands of the wife, husband, children.
To meet their needs.
They are just needs of the body and mind.
Needs of ego.
You work hard to make others feel good about you, great about you.
But what happens to all these at the time of death.
Are the results of your hard work going to be eternal?
No.
You work hard to satisfy the hunger of someone.
But how long does the result of your hard work last?
A few hours.
Till the time he is hungry again.
You work hard and send your child to the topmost school or college spending all your savings, lacs, or even crores, sometimes borrowing, sometimes selling your house.
But how long its effect is going to last?
Maybe maximum his or her lifetime.
Not anymore.
None of these results are permanent, neither for you nor for the beneficiary.
We know only to do these kinds of things.
We don't spend time with intelligent people.
We don't do intelligent things or stay away from things using intelligence and discretion.
Once you are in this trap of work-work-work, your intelligence is gone, your discretion is gone.
Even when you have made a lot of material gains, you have money and properties all around, you have destroyed all your competitors, all your rivals.
You are at peace, you don't have to work anymore, you are ready to enjoy all that you have created around you, then death comes.
It's all gone.
This is the nature of materialistic life.
Only a fool would get attached to worldly life.
Only a fool would fall into this trap.
Says Lord Rama.
People suddenly walk into this stage called the world.
They are all very busy.
Everybody is busy.
Eager to do things.
Doing things.
Nobody has the time to sit down and contemplate.
They don't have the patience to sit down and contemplate.
They are moving here and there.
They are running here and there.
Suddenly they walk out of the stage with the same eagerness.
It is so sudden.
They leave behind work half-finished.
They come in in a hurry.
Do something in a hurry.
And when it is half done, they go out in a hurry.
It's like waves in the sea.
They come towards you.
It would look like they have a purpose.
They will do something.
No, they just crash and disappear.
We don't know where all these people are coming from.
We don't know where all these people are headed to.
We can only see the stage.
The world is like a poisonous creeper with beautiful flowers.
The bees get fascinated by their beauty.
They approach.
But the honey is poisonous.
The poisonous honey kills the bees.
This is what happens with us also.
The world around fascinates us with all its beauty, fun, enjoyments, great positions to achieve, great places to go to.
But then you are trapped.
It's just hard work and struggle to get where you want to.
Not only that, it is just hard work and struggle to stay there.
The world is like people who stay together for a few hours or a few days at a place of pilgrimage, like Kumbh mela.
They are strangers to each other.
But then they create for themselves the illusion called mother, father, son, daughter, neighbor, friend, boss, subordinate.
Then the mela is suddenly over.
They go elsewhere.
Can this illusion be trusted?
Asks Lord Rama.
Nothing is reliable in this world.
Nothing is trustworthy in this world.
People think that the world around us is real.
No.
It is not.
The world is thankless.
Look at a tree.
It doesn't demand anything from you.
It is nourished by the rains, sunlight, air, nutrients from the soil.
All that it does throughout life is to give fruits and the comfort of its shade.
But we have no problem cutting it down, to fell it whenever we want.
This is only what we can expect from the world.
Those who help others, they also die.
Those who do not help others, they also die.
Those who harm others, they also die
Those who do not harm others, they also die.
Those who neither help nor harm others, they also die.
Only death is certain in this world.
Your own people around you, your own friends and relatives, your favorite objects, which you either possess or yearn to process are getting you caught in this trap, making you stay in this trap.
Not your enemies, not what you dislike.
Look at the irony.
Apparently your well-wishers.
But they are the ones responsible for your bondage.
Nobody can be trusted, nothing can be trusted.
Says Lord Rama.