FREEDOM



Freedom!!





When I was a child, (actually until I was about eight or nine years old), I had this queer habit of staring at the sky while walking. I always looked up in the sky. In fact, very frequently I used to get scolded for this by my mother. I would stumble upon something so often, resultantly breaking the mugs, I was told to put in the kitchen after my parents had their evening tea. Why did I look up, when I think about it now, I realize that I was always wondering at the flocks of  flying birds( how typically they form a V when they are flying together)  and probably secretly nursing the wish to have wings myself, to venture unhindered in the limitless sky. Eventually, much later in life, my sight and skeleton attained the right alignment and I learnt to walk on road, without accidents by looking either straight or low.

Much later to my content, I realized the flight was not unhindered entirely as there are hawks up and cats below. But why did I want to fly? It was possibly because-

1.       I wanted to go beyond limits

2.       I wanted  to explore the unknown

3.       I wanted to not do homework or revisions when told to do so

In short, I wanted nobody to tell me what to do

I remember I used to cry not so infrequently (with genuine tears and pain in heart), sitting inside the temple, thinking these grownups are so unjust. I sincerely prayed to the divine to make me a grown up quickly, so that I could do what I wanted to and didn’t have to follow anyone’s dictums. I am certainly not writing this to give a lecture on parenthood, since I am very naïve on that front myself. However, I wish to point out to this tendency in every human being to be Free.

What a profound word FREEDOM!

Since centuries it has been thought over and analysed in so many ways. Every single human being’s each and every attempt is actually directed to achieve freedom. Whether this means being too ambitious or not being too ambitious: whether it means being brilliant in sports or being not too great in the field. By all our actions we are basically trying to propel ourselves towards this heavenly zone of Freedom.
 On the other hand funnily enough the same person striving for freedom would normally want others to conform to his wishes and fancies. So the human tendency is basically to rise high and have others under him. Now these so called others follow the same pattern and hence a hierarchy is established, somewhat like a pyramid with most aggressive being at the top. Now here, we are not getting into the debate of whether hierarchy is good or bad or is relevant and essential for a social structure to survive optimally. The focus here is that hierarchy exists, period.

However, even though due to circumstantial limitations the one at the lower level is succumbing to hierarchy, in hearts of hearts, he or she is dying to be free. One is typically stuck in that situation because of either lack of courage or lack of support, financial, material or social or one is running away from a worse situation and current subjugation looks better than going back to another hell or lack of self belief and deficiency of self love.

If you are stuck in such a situation chronically, you develop what is known as “Degradation syndrome”. This can have following manifestations:

1.       World looks like a horrible place to live in

2.       You don’t feel love for anybody

3.       You  feel like a victim

4.       You  don’t trust anyone easily

5.       You are mostly unhappy than happy

6.       You are generally restless

7.       You want others to live according to your wishes

8.       You are trying to live according to others wishes- pleasing others and seeking approval

9.       You start to develop physical illnesses starting with aches and pains

Some or most of these symptoms will fall under the category of Depression, as coined by the medical scientists but I call it as ‘Degradation Syndrome’ since one is degrading this LIFE which has been given to be nurtured and cherished. But it’s no one’s fault. It’s like getting trapped in this vicious cycle of what is right and wrong? What is socially acceptable? What is not going to make others unhappy? Mostly the victims of this malady are extremely good human beings with noble intentions. However, they lack self love due to which they start to look outward for happiness which seems like an ever eluding phenomenon to them. They search for happiness in people, places and objects of desire, little realizing that they require none of these to be truly happy. All these methods are paths to pleasure. Pleasure will give you a high and then invariably there will be a low, peaks and trough phenomenon, basics of physics. (This life if anybody observes is largely governed by Physical laws, exchange of energy being one).

However, happiness is like a plateau, stable, silent, pregnant with calmness and contentment. Freedom is also one of the pursuits since it’s akin to true happiness. ‘ I want to be free’ is a statement so commonly encountered in daily life... ‘I want my daughter to be married, I want to be free’. ‘I want to clear my exams and find a secure job, I want to be free’. ‘I want my country to be free from clutches of foreign rule. I want to just move away from this city, I want to be mentally free!’

How frequently we come across these statements yet never ponder on the real meaning of freedom. If you have to experience freedom, it’s here and now and it’s yours. However, to wait for an opportune moment to be free is nothing but a display of ignorance and delusion.

Swami Vivekananda said” Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature internal and external. Do this either by work or worship or psychic control or philosophy- by one, or more or all of these- and BE FREE.”

So we can conclude that the eventual goal for any human being is to be FREE i.e. to achieve freedom from delusion and reach to the light of truth. Till the time this realization dawns, the hierarchical structure will be a way of life.

Please do post your inputs on this matter. Let’s grow together!!

Love always

Charu Pours








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