The most spoken of terms when it comes to spiritualism in today's material driven world are - "Attachment" & "Detachment". Each of us tries to pull up his own version to explain their meaning. Most of the times, "attachment" is directly linked to "materialistic possessions" and "detachment" is directly linked to "giving up of these possessions". I have even heard people talking of "attachment" and "detachment" in reference to relations and according to some, "detachment" from relations (lesser the relations or friends) suggests higher spiritual growth. Some of the explanations have been really stunning for me to hear and perceive.
In the spiritual world, neither "attachment" nor "detachment" signify any physical action. What do I mean ? - I mean none of the two terms are trying to convey the idea of physically "giving up" or "possessing" an object - whether material or people. It rather signifies the "association" or "dissociation" of the "self-ego" with the object. In simple terms,
ATTACHMENT = EGO + OBJECT
&
DETACHMENT = OBJECT
When there is presence of an ego or a desire to possess the object we term it as attachment. On the other hand, detachment means "giving up" our ego (or desire to possess the object) and does not refer to "giving up" of the object itself. The object still exists but when our self-ego is absent the object is realized in its true pristine sense and its evaluation is not based on external parameters. Thus it always is and will be a source of love and happiness. So to speak, a human being can be completely detached from the material world even after possessing every single object in this material world - after having a huge number of friends and relatives. This explains very well why a true spiritual leader can have a large set of followers or fellowmen, can understand and empathize with each and every individual and still remain detached from them. The journey from "attachment" to "detachment" is about transcending the self-ego. To explain it mathematically, consider a number line which has negative co-ordinates, zero and positive co-ordinates.
If the axis describes the ego (self-desire) then, the positive co-ordinates signify our level of attachment because of our liking for the object (e.g. power, money, etc), the negative co-ordinates signify our level of attachment because of our dislike for the object (e.g. hatred for a friend, jealousy, etc) and "0" is what signifies DETACHMENT. This "0" is also referred to as "Shunya Awastha" (State of Zero-ness) where an individual transcends its self-ego.
Thus, giving up of relations or material possessions cannot be termed as "detachment" but a "failure" on an individual level to maintain relations or these possessions. Rather, the perfect example of detachment is the Lotus flower, which even after being in the mud absorbs only nutrients and essential minerals from it to grow itself and be a symbol of purity and beauty. In fact, deeper the mud, the more beautiful the lotus blooms. It symbolizes that an external environment is least responsible for harming our pristine inner beauty if one understands the source of the nutrients for our inner growth.
