THE ILLUSION OF FREEDOM

Freedom is freedom in some way. Freedom is relative, to some extent. It is to some way, or some extent, as one conceives, identifies, and delineates it from the prism of ego-based self-respect. Such freedom is illusory, unreal, or transitory and subject to space, time, and causality. The limiting adjuncts—self-ego, attachment, bondage, insatiable desire, greed, anger, lust, deprivation, fulfilment, and denial—set a perimeter of limit in the search for and fulfilment of freedoms. Any amount of freedom is considered inadequate in the thirst for freedom to have more. There is a self-limiting circumvention in the quest for freedom to have more and more. In that quest, man faces a piquant situation in the samsāra chakra (wheel of birth and death) cycle of opposites of pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, happiness and anguish, pleasure and pain, pacification and inflammation, satisfaction and thirst, rage and calm, happiness and distress, etc. It catalyses one to move outward to relish the sensation from the objectified dimension, thus getting into the entrapment cycle of pleasure-pain. Freedom can be cherished when it is absolute. Absolute in correlation to the invalidation of ignorance that engulfs a being through non-self-based sensual perceptions. Real is eternal, infinity, non-depleting, and not subject to space, time, or causality. This is done by letting go of ego-based self-respect, insatiable desire, bondage, attachment, jealousy, and all those other adjunct qualities that limit a person to the self-ego. These urge a person to move outward to satisfy the insatiable desires rooted in the world of objects, completely unaware of the root or subject. The outward propulsion makes him forgetful of his original root or inner self. He gets bewildered and is unable to find ways and means to become conscious of his Self, or realise his Self as Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) as pure consciousness.

 1. Outline

Freedom is a state of bliss when one is situated in the Self, roams in the Self and remains conscious of the Self in all three states of awakening, dreaming, deep sleep, and beyond. Freedom is devoid of bondage, greed, jealousy and attachment. It starts with detachment, forbearance, eye consciousness, contemplation of the Self towards Consciousness of the Self, Self-realisation towards Sat-Chit-Anand, and ultimately moksha or liberation.  The birthright of man is Liberation, or moksha. The samsāra chakra (wheel of birth and death) provides the gateways for higher elevation in the life journeying processes. Moksha, also known as liberation, is man's innate right. The portals to higher elevation in the processes of life journeying are provided by the samsāra chakra, also known as the wheel of birth and death. It is succinctly stated by Swami Sivananda that self-awareness and personality do not vanish with death. All it is a portal to another realm of existence. The beginning of a new life occurs upon death. Maya's (illusion) acrobatic performance incorporates the concepts of life and death. Everybody who is born starts to die. The dead come to life. Death is life, and life is death. Birth and death are but portals to enter and depart this world. The decision about self-identification in the elevation procedures, however, rests with the individual in question. One is the Self, which is eternal, infinity and the other is the phenomenal self emanating from the body-mind-intellect system that is evanescent, or transient. How does one identify himself by uncovering the cloud of ignorance that veils around his true Self.

There is a struggle, according to Swami Krishnananda, in and out for liberation, freedom, and shaking off every kind of subjugation-mental, psychic, or physical. The quest for freedom and escaping all forms of bondage is ongoing. In this world, everyone only needs freedom to the greatest extent and for the longest amount of time imaginable. In the end, freedom from ignorance, sensual captivity, bonds, and all kinds of unhealthy moorings; and lastly, liberation from death. A man's inability to recognise his own position is his bondage. Knowledge is freedom; ignorance is servitude. However, man merely wants freedom. He doesn't care about being born or dying. Despite all the obstacles posed by birth and death, we work towards the positive attainment of ultimate freedom, which is boundless and eternal in nature, indicating that we are ultimately destined for this freedom. This is by far not the final phase of human history, even though we may be somewhat—if not entirely—bound here.

True knowledge, according to Swami Krishnananda, is the capacity to distinguish between the real and the unreal. The Self is not an external object but rather the Ātman, or inner self or spirit, that exists within every creature. Perceiving the Ātman, or Self, is the perceiver's goal. The Self, or Ātman, is eternal, unseen, everlasting, and constant. It is only perceptible to a real perceiver and exists beyond the reach of our conventional senses. Our connections to space and time, rather than our ties to our families or the larger human society, are what ultimately cause the physical annihilation of our personalities. Time and space are not insurmountable. Despite the fact that our eyes appear to be perceiving space, we are not able to see it. It is deeply ingrained in the very fabric of who we are. We also have space inside ourselves. Since the concept of space is necessary to even entertain the idea of a localised existence, space cannot be claimed to be inside anything or outside of anything.

2. Scriptures

The ancient scriptures assert that the cardinal basics of freedom are free from all bondages, attachments, egos, selfishness, desire, anger, greed, and all other pathological adjuncts.The Upanishads declare that Ātman, or the Self, is the original and eternal nature of being. The conception of “I” emanates from that nature only; any other is evanescent. The word Upanishad is a conjunction of upa, which means “to annihilate,” and shada, which means “bondage” or “delusion.” Thus, understanding the Upanishads aids in releasing our bonds and attachments. We are not free as a result of this. We suffer; we feel agony and anguish because we are not free. We are unable to re-establish ourselves in our core nature because we have forgotten it. "The day we follow the Upanishads' teachings, which are meant for the entire universe, there will be complete freedom from all bondage and slavery," says Swami Rama.

The Self is Ātman, and Ātman is Self. The infinite is referred to as Akshara, or imperishable, in contrast to the Kshara, or perishable, elements of matter. This doctrinal method is established explicitly in the texts of Sanātana Dharma, which is also known as righteousness or eternal order. The Brihadaranyak Upanishad asserts that this Ātman is the light itself, pure intellect that unveils everything by its own wisdom. The Upanishad explains that the Ātman is liberated from ignorance, desire, and labour because it is autonomous and unattached to anything. It is different as a subject from the gross, subtle, and causal bodies as objects. The explanation proceeds to explain the unknown by relying on the recognised forms of perception, emotion, and thought that originate from the body-mind-intellect complex, starting with the notion that the finite is finite and concluding with the infinite being infinite.

In this line of affirmation, the Mahāvākyas (Great Sayings) of the Upanishads state emphatically that "Consciousness is Brahmān." "I am Brahmān," "This Self (Ātman) is Brahmān," and "Thou art That."

The Srimad Bhagavad Gita also affirms in this line that when one discards all selfish desires and cravings of the senses that torment the mind and becomes satisfied in the realisation of the Self, such a person is said to be transcendentally situated in a state of Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss).

3. Remarks

Freedom is the state of being able to experience freedom by consciously realising your true Self, or identity. It is when one becomes free from all forms of fetters, bonds, and attachments.  A world of illusion with no eternal organic basis was produced by the intrinsic predisposition for individuation based on the sense of "I," which is pushed and nourished by insatiable want, attachments, passion, greed, rage, and envy. A key idea associated with the "I" notion in the Sanātana Dharma is "Ātman," a term that is difficult to translate into English but frequently refers to the "Self," the "soul," or the "inner spirit." The eternal, unending, unchanging nature of a creation or being is known as Ātman. It is not limited by the sense systems of the body, mind, and intellect. Realising this fundamental nature is the ultimate aim of spiritual elevation, as it is the essence of every existence. Finding one's inner self, or inner spirit, is the ultimate goal of all activities and endeavours, as Swami Vivekananda correctly states. The outward cosmos, which is merely a hazy projection of the true one, is vastly smaller than the inside one, the real. This world is the shadow of reality, and it is neither true nor false. The sage philosopher claims that it is imagination—the gilded shadow of truth.

After we enter creation, it takes on life for us. Things are lifeless by and large themselves; we are the ones who give them life as a whole, and then, like stupids, we turn around and either run away from or fear them.

-Asutosh Satpathy