Advantage of having healthy detachment towards the body

 

The advantage of having a healthy detachment towards the body, which is gained through ātma-anātma viveka (Self vs. non-Self discernment), is the elimination of suffering.

The key benefits include:

• Eliminating Suffering: Detachment allows one to distinguish between pain (a physical sensation) and suffering (the emotional response to pain, such as resistance, resentment, frustration, or depression). A person with detachment can experience pain without the associated suffering.

• Achieving Objectivity and Pragmatism: It provides a very objective and pragmatic view of the body. If the body is ill or broken, the detached individual deals with it practically, saying, "just fix it," treating it like a broken table or chair.

• Preventing Emotional Degradation: Detachment helps prevent deep depression and emotional breakdown when faced with serious diagnoses, such as cancer. The speaker notes that medical studies have shown deep depression can make future treatment less effective; therefore, objectivity aids in a better medical outcome.

Fostering Better Care: Detachment does not mean indifference or neglect (e.g., "who cares? It's just a body"). Instead, by viewing the body as a precious gift from Ishwara (God) for which one is the caretaker, it motivates one to take care of it even more carefully than one would one's own possession, such as a borrowed car.

Summarized from Swami Tadamanandaji's talk on Viveka in the Introduction to Vedanta series