Date: June 25, 2026
Venue: Online
As part of the week-long celebrations of 2026 International Yoga Day, organised by AuroYajna, Dr. Beloo Mehra was invited on June 25, 2026 to discuss the topic “All Attachments are Contrary to Yoga” in the light of Integral Yoga.
Dr. Mehra explored a few of Sri Aurobindo’s teachings on attachments, explaining that while attachments are natural in human life, they must be given up for those seeking spiritual growth through yoga. The session covered how to address attachments in three main areas: human relationships, work, and money, with specific guidance on managing physical attraction, vital attachments, and maintaining inner development while serving others.
Dr. Mehra briefly explained how attachments result from and are an expression of thousand shades of our egoism and prevent spiritual progress. Drawing from several writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, she shared practical guidance on how we may work on our attachments through the practice of inner renunciation, equanimity, and offering all actions to the divine.
Dr. Mehra also discussed the concept of Karma Yoga from the Bhagavad Gita, explaining how work should be performed with non-attachment and without clinging to the fruits of action. She emphasized the importance of practicing equanimity in both work and human relationships, drawing insights from Sri Aurobindo’s writings. She also highlighted the importance of moving beyond intellectual understanding to lived experience in working with these spiritual principles.
Dr. Mehra addressed attachment to money, suggesting an attitude of trusteeship rather than possession, and highlighted the role of collective influence in shaping financial attitudes.
The workshop included interactive elements where participants were invited to share insights about their own attachments to work using a provided checklist. Interesting questions about attachments came up regarding work culture in corporate workplaces, attachments to one’s spiritual practice itself, and how to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy attachments.
Regarding the question of attachments towards one’s spiritual practice, the discussion highlighted that awareness and discipline are key to progress. Dr. Mehra discussed how attachments can be contrary to yoga when rooted in egoism, using examples from Sri Aurobindo’s writings and Mother’s teachings about reassigning people to tasks that benefit their soul progress.
Dr. Mehra also discussed Sri Aurobindo’s teachings on attachment and egoism from his volume “Synthesis of Yoga,” explaining how integral yoga requires neither attachment to world life nor escape from it. The discussion covered three key knots that bind us to lower nature: attachment to life, self-will in thought and action, and egoism in its various disguises.
During the interaction part of the session questions were also taken up about whether attachments to yoga, spiritual practices, or service work could be problematic. Dr. Mehra suggested that the core issue lies in egoism which leads to attachments that are contrary to spiritual growth.
Another question about attachment to the guru was also briefly discussed. Dr. Mehra responded by drawing insight from Bhagavad Gita about samatvam and the necessity of making choices even in a state of equanimity. She summarised Sri Aurobindo’s response to a sadhika when she had asked him a question about the right attitude to take when someone abuses one’s guru.
One of the participants suggested reading Mother’s play “Ascent to Truth” as it beautifully addresses these same themes, and the group agreed to explore this topic further through Mother’s dramatic writings. Mr. Shekhar, Director of AuroYajna said in the closing of the session that certain topics cannot be addressed through intellectual means alone, emphasizing the importance of lived experience.