About Our Fetters

Love. It is such a nice word. And some people say, it is also the most powerful thing around us. But then the problem arises when it happens for someone. And that happening doesn't meet its desired outcome. You know what I mean, don't you? That feeling you get when you see your special someone going out of your circle of influence and into your circle of concern. The circle marked for things that we can do nothing about.
And love turns then into a hopeless thing. It starts to hurt instead of healing us. It begins to become a burden. And the worst part is that the more we try to get over it, the more we are pulled back inside the pit. Some suggest us to let go in such situations but letting go is not easy.
I wonder if the likes of Oshos and Buddhas went through times like these. We all know them as the untouchable entities of enlightenment. But is it possible that they had their share of attachments to deal with? It is said that Prince Siddhartha was preparing to leave the palace. When he received the news of his son's birth, he replied, "Rahu, jato, bandhanam jatam- "A rahu is born, a fetter has arisen." Likewise, the child was named Rahula, which means 'fetter', or 'impediment', recognising that the child could be a tie that bound him to his wife Yasodhara, a binding that may impede a search for enlightenment.
Now whether or not we want to achieve something as enlightenment or not, we know that where there is love, there our heart is set. And years fly by but the memory of that love abides. And I doubt if Gautham ever lost complete attachment or if anyone can ever humanly do that. Indeed, it wouldn't be very human. Although, it could probably mean that you can lay claim to enlightenment.
To the enlightened beings, it is all illusion. The Hindus have a belief in previous births. And they say that all those that we held dear to us in our past lives are people who are not even known to us today. They are total strangers. They may pass us by and we would not notice. Things that once seemed to engulf us with worry today is nowhere in our memory lanes. And the cycle will repeat itself. Those we love today will be complete strangers in the births to come. Unless of course, that thing about 'saat janmo ka saath' is true!
Whatsoever it may be. It is all very complex. Something that even a Buddha may not have found so easy to deal with, if he ever had to deal with something like it.