So the point is, so you understand, that once we realize that there is neither happiness nor sorrow in the world, and that whatever we experience is a result of our own reflections, our own thoughts, our own attachments formed by our own mind, we will become neutral towards the world (as) revealed (by) the Saints. In other words, then we will feel neither love nor hatred for the world.
कबीरा खड़ा बाज़ार में, सबकी मांगे खैर.
ना काहू से दोस्ती, ना काहू से बैर I
Kabīrā khaṛā bāzār mēṁ, sabkī māṅge khair,
nā kāhū se dostī, nā kāhū se bair.- Doha (couplet) by Saint Kabir Das
So the point is, “Whether we love or hate someone in the world, the result is the attachment of the mind.”
And the consequence is the same in both cases. What is the consequence? You see, both love as well as hatred cause the heart to melt. For example, take some wax and melt it until it becomes almost liquid. Now add some color to this melted wax and let it cool. After the wax has cooled, at this point the color will have penetrated into the wax so deeply that it would be impossible to separate the two. They would have become one.
In the same way, our heart melts in love as well as in hatred. The person we love becomes as much a part of us as the person we detest. Why? Because the heart melts in both cases: in love and hatred.
Now just as it melts in love, in worldly love and hatred, it melts just as much in our spiritual relationship with God as well. The only difference is if it melts for the world, we attain the world. If it melts for God, we attain God.
कामं क्रोधं भयं स्नेहमैक्यं सौहृदमेव च ।
नित्यं हरौ विदधतो यान्ति तन्मयतां हि ते ॥Kāmaṁ krodhaṁ bhayaṁ snehamaikyaṁ sauhṛdameva cha.
Nityaṁ harau vidadhato yānti tan-mayatāṁ hi te.- Bhagwatam 10.29.15
So, to conclude, the Saints advise us, the scriptures are telling us, that we must take a firm decision regarding the world. We must take a firm decision that there is no happiness whatsoever in the world. The moment we do this, we will no longer be attached to this world.
This, of course, requires constant practice. We have to divert our mind from the world to God. How is this made possible? You’ve heard many times. Shree Krishna reveals to us, giving the following advice to Arjun,
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते ||Asanśhayaṁ mahābāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam.
Abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa cha gṛihyate.- Gita 6.35
Shree Krishna says, “Yes indeed, granted that the mind is fickle, unsteady, forceful, and unable (and) almost impossible to control, yet it can be controlled by constant practice and non-attachment, renunciation. Steady practice strengthens the renunciation. They both work hand in hand, each strengthening the other.
