Love without clinging

asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣunityaṃ ca samacittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu

Non-attachment, no clinging to children, spouse, home and the like, and an even mind whether the wished-for or unwished-for comes.

What it means

Krishna is not asking anyone to leave their family or stop caring. His word is clinging, the anxious grip that says this is mine and must never change. Love stays. The grip loosens. And the heart learns evenness, steady when life brings what we want, and steady when it doesn't.

The story

Dhritarashtra, the blind king, loves his son Duryodhana so tightly that he cannot see his son's wrongs. Wise counsellors warn him again and again. He listens, and still gives way. That grasping love helps lead the whole family to war.

In your life

A father carries boxes into his daughter's college dorm. He wants to stay and fix everything. Instead he hugs her, and walks back to the car. This week, hold someone you love a little more lightly.