FREEDOM

Man is born free. He strives to remain free from all encumbrances, bondages, attachments, and all other limited adjuncts that impede the realisation of his inner Self. He wants to shake off any form of impediment, whether physical, mental, emotional, or relational, in the drive to realise his inner Self (Ātman) to the fullest and maximum possible extent. It is neither this nor that form of experience that gratifies the senses emanating from all forms of external appearance. What is experienced is embedded with desires, attachments, aversions, or a pair of opposites. All these emanate from the body-mind-intellect system, which itself is transitory. Freedom is equanimity, forbearance, shaking off bonds, and fruit-based action. It is kaivalya, real, indivisible, and inseparable from the consciousness of the Self. It is to become consciously conscious of the Self. The Self, an inseparable aspect of Cosmic Self is infinity, imperishable, absolute, and not subject to limited adjuncts of time, space, or causation. It is neither the body nor the mind; it is eternally pure consciousness and witness. It is neither the doer nor the reaper of consequences. It is eternally free, unattached, and self-luminous. When Self-realisation is complete, it is one with Cosmic Self.

1.     Outline

Freedom is man’s “birth right," declares the sage philosopher Swami Krishnananda. Liberation is the ultimate aim of life. This is the poignant message of every genius who has descended to the lowest levels of any field. The movement for liberation, emancipation, and escaping all forms of servitude is ongoing. The sage philosopher asserts that nothing in this world is necessary for everyone but freedom to the maximum degree and for the longest duration that it is conceivable: freedom in society, freedom in socio-political-economic interactions, freedom to exercise choice, freedom from disease and illness, freedom from all kinds of ignorance, and freedom from birth and death. We could believe that we are living a life of freedom—the freedom of a wealthy man, the freedom of a powerful person or position holder, or the freedom of a man in good health. Undoubtedly, these are liberties in some sense. However, just as a lovely, rotund fruit that appears healthy and delicious from the outside may have a secret worm eating it from within, so too can an outwardly robust person have a vital illness that slowly and gradually eats away at the core of his system, even though it is not even noticeable from the outside.

How is that even possible? Because the mind is incapable of existing on its own, attachment is its natural tendency. It is corrupt and out of balance because attachment to the objective dimension for the sake of satisfying sensuous pleasure is bondage. It is freedom if the mind that is connected to the subjective domain of the Self is equal and pure. Being non-attached is the highest understanding and lays the groundwork for one's liberation. A saintly character, according to the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, is developed by non-attachment to the outcomes of activities, and this leads to salvation. Sthitiprajna is the term for such a man's steady disposition. Such a person has no hopes or selfish intentions. The phenomenal world's sensual contradictions don't bother him. He does not find anything repulsive about or attached to what transpires. The events in the world don't disturb him. He maintains a steady manner, harbours no desires, and harbours no jealousies. Unaffected by the two opposites—hot and cold, pain and pleasure, happiness and anguish, or attachment and repulsion—he has no needs or wants.

 It is because the Self is eternal, free, and unattached. Mind established in Self is balanced, free from the unsettling waves of opposites of attraction and repulsion while moving through the objective world. The jnani, or the wise, are able to see the one Self in all beings and thereby attain this balance. He is so calm and serene that he doesn't experience any mental disturbances. In this shape, one may attain the profound level of freedom. 

When a man puts away all the desires of his mind. Negatively, the state is one of freedom from selfish desires and positively, it is one of concentration on the Cosmic Self. One with steady disposition is a jivanmukta, or liberated one, in this life. The Ātman (Self) has to evolve  through inward looking, or meditation,  to uncover the veil of ignorance into the realisation of its true nature, Self-effulgence, self-luminous, imperishable and eternal. According to the Bhagavad Gita (5.19), this offers humanity's ultimate hope in the face of suffering. Right now, it is achieved by the seeker whose mind is free and balanced.

2.     Scriptures

The scriptures pronounce that true freedom is liberation from the samsāra chakra (wheel of birth and death). It is a realisation of the Self as consciousness of the Self is one with the Cosmic Self. There are four gatekeepers at the gate to the realm of Moksha, or liberation. They, as per Yoga-Vasistha, Shanti (quiescence of mind), Santosha (contentment), Satsanga (association with sages), and Vichara (Self inquiry) are the four sentinels who guard the gates of Moksha. If you make friends with them, you will easily enter the kingdom of Moksha. Even if you keep company with one of them, he will surely introduce you to his other three companions. The student should have an unshakable conviction that Brahmān (Cosmic Self) is the only Reality, that everything is Brahmān   that Brahmān is the very Self of all beings. Then he should realise this truth through direct cognition or intuition (Aparokshanubhava). This direct knowledge of Brahmān alone is the means of liberation.

It starts with renunciation of sensual gratification, abnegation of the senses, equanimity, detachment, forbearance, and meditation to realise the Self. As Sage Ashtavakra proclaims in the Ashtavakra Gita (Chapter XV), one experiences pure receptivity, freedom from want, and peace—as if nothing at all—once they realise that everything is an illusion. In the ocean of existence, there is only one thing that exists, has been, and always will. You are neither free nor enslaved. Lead a contented and joyful life. Do not let ideas of for and against impair your pure consciousness. Stay content and peaceful within yourself, the very source of happiness. He says that liberation is distaste for the objects of the senses. Bondage is love of the senses. This is knowledge. Now do as you please. Recognising oneself in all beings and all beings in oneself, be happy, free from the sense of responsibility, and free from preoccupation with'me'. Your nature is consciousness. You are yourself the Lord, whose property is knowledge and is beyond natural causation. and the world is not separate from you. So who is to accept or reject it, and how and why? Whatever you see, it is you alone that manifests in it. How could bracelets, armlets, and anklets be different from gold? Giving up such distinctions as 'This is what I am', and 'I am not that', recognise that 'Everything is myself', and be without distinction and happy. It is through your ignorance that all this exists. In reality, you alone exist. Apart from you, there is no one within or beyond Samsāra (birth and death). Ashtavakra Gita (15.4-6),  recognises oneself in all beings, and all beings in oneself, be happy, free from the sense of responsibility, and free from preoccupation with'me'. He further says that you are not the body, nor is the body yours, nor are you the doer of actions or the reaper of their consequences. You are eternally pure consciousness, the witness, in need of nothing. Desire and anger are objects of the mind, but the mind is not yours, nor ever has been. You are choiceless; awareness itself is unchanging, so live happily.

The Srimad Bhagavatam (11.19.41-44) lays out what freedom is from the perspective of the consciousness of the Self. It says that one who is enriched with good qualities is actually said to be rich, and one who is unsatisfied in life is actually poor. A wretched person is one who cannot control his senses, whereas one who is not attached to sensual gratification is a real controller. He remains content and free from desire, tolerant of all dualities, good-natured, self-controlled, peaceful, and endowed with transcendental knowledge and realisation. With fixed attention, meditate constantly upon Me, and always endeavour to increase your realisation of My transcendental qualities. In this way, you will cross beyond the destinations of the three modes of nature (sattva, or goodness; rajas, or passion; and tamas, or ignorance) and finally come back to Me.

In a similar vein, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita prophetically declares that a liberated one is one who remains with Self takes solace, and identifies everything with Self. He observes all that occurs without being bothered and lacks any egoistic desires. He can remove his mind and senses from anything, and he has no connection or desire for the object of his senses. Even whether they see, hear, touch, smell, move, sleep, breathe, speak, expel, grip, or open or close their eyes, those who practice karma yoga consistently believe, "I am not the doer." They observe that just their physical senses are moving among their objects in the light of divine knowledge. According to the Bhagavad Gita, a person's prajna (consciousness) is deemed solid when he is able to fully withdraw or limit his senses from sense objects, much like a tortoise withdraws its limbs inside its shell. It means that the self-effulgent Supreme Being within the sense objects is perceived when the person learns to detach their senses from them. This is the illumination of the torch of knowledge. Since the mind can never be completely trusted, the wise always exercise caution while making decisions. It is constantly prepared to trick and mislead. As a result, discipline, attentiveness, and sadhana are required. By contemplating sense items, one should grow attached to them. Attachment to sense items is the source of desire for them, and unmet desire is the source of rage. Reason is destroyed when one becomes attached to something. Anger arises from desire, which is sparked by attachment. When something bad occurs, anger takes over the thoughts. Because reason and memory are closely related, when memory is destroyed, reason also perishes. "There, O Arjuna, one's prajna becomes steady when the senses are fully withdrawn from the sense objects," declares Sri Krishna. All sorrows are destroyed upon the attainment of tranquilly, and the intellect of such a person soon becomes completely steady. It has been metaphorically said that

yā niśhā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti sanyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśhā paśhyato muneḥ

For the disciplined soul, the Bhagavad Gita  says, what is night for all other beings is actually the time of awakening, and for the sage who sees, the time of waking is actually the time of darkness. It indicates that steady-natured individuals know the reality that others do not. The sage seeks to comprehend reality when all beings are drawn to the glitter of sense objects.

 3.     Remarks

True freedom is moksha, or liberation. It is a process of elevation from ignorance to knowledge, attachments to detachments, from self-egotism to equanimity and forbearance, seeing the Self in every being to every being in Self. The liberated man has no cravings and is happy everywhere. Everywhere he goes, he exudes confidence and sincerity. The great-souled man who is freed from the need to strive for or against anything possesses the ability to see, hear, feel, smell, taste, speak, and move. He really is at liberty. Freedom has left the individual empty of all desires. He does not take accountability, expresses no gratitude, expresses no joy, shows no disappointment, and does not give or take. When a great spirit is as cool and collected facing death as he is facing a lady who piques his interest, he is truly freed.

The liberated man is without desires and radiant everywhere. He comes across as self-assured and sincere everywhere he goes. The great-soul man who is released from striving to achieve or avoid anything is truly free; he can see, hear, feel, smell, taste, speak, and move around. The man who has gained freedom is devoid of all desires. He takes no responsibility, offers no gratitude, rejoices in nothing, expresses no disappointment, and neither gives nor takes. When a great spirit is as cool and collected about dying as he is about the woman who piques his interest, he is truly freed. Success and failure, pleasure and pain, man and woman—all are indistinguishable to the enlightened man who sees everything as equal. For the man whose days of racing around are done, there is neither hostility nor compassion, pride nor humility, nor wonder nor perplexity. The liberated one is neither opposed to nor dependent on his senses. He constantly enjoys himself, objectively observing both success and failure.

-Asutosh Satpathy