The Bhagavad Gita says samsara is not easily understood. While it is true that we understand it superficially, we do not understand all that it implies, said Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse. To have that degree of understanding we must have knowledge of the Vedas. The Vedas tell you about how to attain liberation, and so long as you do not know how to attain moksha, you will be stuck in samsara.
A tree must be fixed in some place, and Lord Krishna uses the word ‘sampratishtA’ when He talks of the samsaric tree. Because of our ajnana, we mistake the body for the atma, and this is responsible for samsara. The root of a tree is fixed in the earth. Karma is the root of samsara, and it is fixed in ajnana. This tree has very strong roots. These roots are not easily destroyed. We perform actions, which have consequences. If we try to atone for something wrong that we have done, even in that very process we do more wrong. Nor is it possible for us to atone for every wrong deed. And it is not just wrong deeds that keep us tied to samsara. Punya also keeps us tied to samsara, for punyas take us to svarga, from where we are reborn and again go through the same cycle of action, consequences, birth and death.
Assuming we are detached, for how long do we remain so? Our detachment must come from our knowledge of that nature of samsara. Only then it is dridhena — firm and unchanging. Otherwise, we are detached when we face some trouble, and at such times we show vairagya. But the moment the trouble is tided over, then we go back to being attached to everything. Such wavering is of no use. But this detachment is difficult to attain, because our attachment to sense objects is purANI — timeless. The only way to develop detachment is to surrender at the feet of Lord Narayana.
