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Degrees of Freedom
First of all he must be free from the chains that bind him. Then he must be able to somehow get out of the locked cell. Finally, he must be able to find his way out of the jail doors unnoticed. The plan needs to be worked out systematically. It won't do to have the blueprint ready of getting out of the cell and the jail, but not knowing how to free his hands and feet from the chains! His ultimate freedom may lie in getting out of the prison campus, but first he must be able to achieve freedom from the things that bind him before he reaches the prison gate. In other words, his quest for the ultimate freedom may be quite unproductive if it is not preceded by a series of 'lower' freedoms.
The goal of spiritual life is to be free — free from the bondage of ignorance, free from the clutches of life and death, free from the trap of relative existence. This spiritual freedom is called moksha or mukti in our scriptures. This is the goal every true seeker of spirituality has before him. Freedom Absolute is what he seeks.
Not all, however, are eager for this ultimate freedom. The reason for this is, mukti as an ideal has become either irrelevant or meaningless to most people. Only one who has begun to feel the bondage, the terrible bondage of his very existence as a limited, finite being, only he may understand what the ideal of mukti really means — just as only a prisoner can truly understand and appreciate the glory of being free.
All the hue and cry about freedom we see the world over is not regarding freedom as moksha, but only about a very inferior type of freedom, which may perhaps be compared to the agitation by prisoners for better food, better living conditions etc. All the while they remain prisoners, but clamour for a certain freedom as regards the choice of food and lodging. There is of course nothing wrong with seeking these things, but it is good to remember that even while seeking a so-called freedom one may yet remain in bondage from the ultimate standpoint.
What is more, certain types of 'freedom' may even increase the spiritual bondage of the person. Take for instance the 'freedom' people enjoy in a permissive society. This kind of unrestrained freedom of the senses creates greater bondage and binds the soul more firmly to the world which ultimately destroys it. Freedom of the senses leads to death, freedom from the senses leads to Life Eternal — this is the message that has been echoed and re-echoed by every great teacher of mankind.
To be continued
- sri ramakrishnaFreedom From Mind And Bondage
- thoughtLiving in Freedom and Enquiry-Part IV
- thoughtThe Existence And Non Existence Of Ignorance!-Part II
- paramahamsa nithyanandaLook At Life With Deep Love
- anecdotesBuddha And The Knotted Handkerchief
- paramahamsa nithyanandaGod Gives You The Freedom To Be In Bondage!
- sri ramakrishnaEmotional Attachment-When Shed....
- sri ramakrishnaPleasures Of Life-Their Fleeting Nature
- swami vivekanandaAn Excerpt From Swami Tapasyananda's 'A Prayer To Swamiji'
- swami vivekanandaSwami Vivekananda's Birth Anniversary: An Excerpt From The Book 'A Prayer To Swamiji'
- ramana maharshiRamana Maharshi's Biography-Departure To Arunachala
- sri ramakrishnaFreedom From Body