Mahatma Gandhi was asked once what he considered to be the essential teaching of Hinduism. He replied in words from a Hindu sacred book, the Isha Upanishad: "All this that we see in this great universe is permeated by God. Renounce it and enjoy it."
Now, don't run away. I think there's something quite intelligible to all of us here and I hope to make that clear! Let me paraphrase the verse Gandhi quoted. All that we see around us in this great universe is filled with and penetrated by God. Let go of it; don't hold on to it possessively and then, enjoy it, appreciate it.
More: the universe, all that is, belongs to and comes from God; God lives in it, in every part of it. It is not ours but it is definitely given to us to use and even to enjoy. We enjoy it best by not seeking to take any part of it and make it our own private possession but by seeing it for its value, beauty, usefulness and approaching it accordingly. By letting go of it, by 'renouncing' it we try to let it be what it is as it comes from the hand of God. That means that all that is has a meaning and value apart from what I think it could be for me and I should try to see this. Letting go and enjoying is a bit like what parents must do with their grown children: be willing to let them be what they are or will become and then be able to appreciate the uniqueness that follows.
--Don Talfous, OSB
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