Reverse Abandonment in Relations

The traditional approach to abandonment in human relationships, has to do with dependents abandoning their guardians. For example, when children become adults and move away from the influence of parents. Instead of staying with their parents and complying with the rules of conduct established, some children leave their parents and throw away the lifestyle which the parents formatted.

But there is a reverse abandonment, where guardians abandon their dependents. That would be like if parents moved out from a place where their family was domiciled, where the parents leave the young adult children in the home. The parents move from the home, giving up the security and lifestyle which the very same parents constructed and maintained.

This extends further where the parents resist being influenced by their young adult or adult children such that the parents lose interest and tend to avoid the conveniences and security, which staying in the social structure, would afford them.

There is a danger, however. Just as when young adult children leave aside their parents, the children lose financial and residential security, so when parents walk away from their young adult or adult children, they, the parents, lose benefits and must live with inconvenience.

Children who leave aside the luxurious and formatted lifestyle of their parents must deal with the flow of resentment energy which replaces the original feelings of happiness they used to experience when they complied with the parents. Similarly, parents who renounce or abandon the conveniences of fitting into the social format of the family, are also resented by their young adult or adult children who feel a loss and uncertainty when their parent leave them aside.

In the Vedic culture, it was recommended that after children reach maturity, parents, especially males ones, should go to an unknown place where they cannot be traced or related by their children. There, the parents should turn the focus on the future to be achieved after death of the elderly body. This was known as vanaprastha or residence in a forest(vana).

One Vidura advised his half-brother Dhritarashtra to go to an isolated forest to internalize the mind in preparation for passing from the body. Vidura was particular to tell Dhritarashtra to go where no one recognized him.

However, one must deal with the resentment energy which will find one if one does this in the elderly years.