Freedom

Freedom the very word incites us all, be it a child or an elderly gentleman. The very root of existence of 'All that is' lies in freedom. From the most inconsequential blade of grass to the wittiest of the man, freedom is a goal sought after. Captivation, bondage, enslavement and words of that fashion by their very sound spread a deep feeling of anxiety and fear in our hearts and minds. The ultimate valuable expression of life is freedom. But what exactly is this freedom?

It is said that the same book should be read at seven different points in time and each time one is sure to extract some more of the honey! This implies that we all are ever expanding, ever growing beings manifested in this time-space reality, and that at different ages of maturity we perceive the work from a different angle. Freedom on the usual podium would simply refer to democratic, political, military etc. empowerment, but is it the read freedom? Freedom at its deepest recesses is much beyond the superficial phenomenon that we observe. One may be the master of the entire world, a Chakravartin, but at the same time he may be nothing more than a hollow bamboo from inside! Such an ironical situation! As physical beings due to external influences we are often too attached with the externals and have a little regard for the non-physical, greater part of us.

There are many levels to our being, beyond bones and flesh. First of all our minds. Right from our very childhood we all have imbibed a certain pattern of thought that was abundant around us and with time it catches great momentum. The beliefs, the ethics, do's-don'ts etc. all fall into this category. A child at a very tender age is caught - at an age when he is utterly helpless and can do nothing but a trust! This gullible child is forced into a certain religion, a certain social practice and is re-casted and molded into an 'entity' that fits the 'society'. This is the most ferocious and brutal attack on the freedom of an individual.  Although unconsciously, done but this is the greatest hindrance that a child faces in his quest to become and 'integrated individual'.

Once a sapling is uprooted, it scarcely can grow again! And with this the life of millions and millions of people having the capability to become Buddhas are squandered! Gurdejieff's main teaching goes like this: 'Man as he is, is nothing but a vegetating machine.' There are great implications to this statement. Whether we talk of our subversive thoughts, apprehensive and negative feelings or simply the habits that we have picked up over the flow of time - are all in a way hardwired in out chips. It is almost impossible to change a single habit! People, the 'so-called' saints as Osho refers them, turn ascetics, masochist and torture themselves in order to gain the kingdom of god. But the only logical outcome is the perversion of the life-force the prime energy! It is impossible to flow against nature! The very effort poses a hindrance in the path! As and when we become more aware and alert of the mechanisms of our own mind we realize that it is easy to preach but almost impossible to transform our own selves.

We all in live in a sort of stereo-typical setting. The eastern undercurrent has called this the 'spiritual-slumber' and thus we see that all the great masters known or unknown have emphasized on 'Awakening'. Freedom as we are right now is certainly impossible. Of course one needs to have a good food to eat, clothes to wear, every sort of extravagance that is out there for him to turn inwards. If the externals are wretched it is folly to expect one to fish for freedom - it is not possible by the very nature of things. True freedom can be sought only be working one oneself, polishing oneself. Freedom in this case would mean the cessation of all bondage of thoughts or negative emotions, the attachment to misery, the insatiable desire to become and conquer everyone - the false 'I'! In a deeper sense the mystics have always said that the basis of this universe is duality, and perception of the Non-dual is the freedom, Nirvana, Moksha, Kaivalya or whatever term that may please you - is the goal.

It is quite clear through self-observation how difficult it is to say sayonara to negativity, the unwanted clutter of thoughts and so on. Thus the sublime clarity that arises from such a freedom is what Freedom really is! Now it is a known fact that at the higher realms of our consciousness it is impossible to commit any act that is harmful in its essence. Even the modern scientists researching on Alpha, Delta, Theta levels of mind have verified it. Any act done in 'bondage' has the potential to be in conflict with other beings and their intents, it can turn out to be outrageously cataclysmic. Thus freedom in its usual connotation is not worth a penny, only when it reached to its purest form can it be benign and helpful. 

Joy

It is said that Zarthustra laughed incessantly for a whole week when he was enlightened. And thus was Tao born, from the abundant stream of ecstasy unabated! The very realization of this life in the physical form dawned upon him, the frenzy of which drove him far beyond his lunacies! The very life is a quest, a quest insatiable, a quest for the ultimate joy that Zarthustra landed into – the realization of this cosmic joke, this mesmerizing universe that we all dwell in!

Though the quest may be dormant or barely manifested as in a tyrant it is still the inherent virtue of all of the existence – it cannot be otherwise. The degree of conscious pursuit must inevitable, vary in this multifarious universe but the bottom line still remains joy.

Right form the day the child is born he seeks for joy in all the acts howsoever crazy they may be.  Toys and teddy-bears are one of the most vital rungs on this ladder to the ‘ultimate divulgence’. It is the very first assertion of a child that he is in search. It doesn’t matter what one seeks as longs as he is involved in seeking – for he shall find salvation from stagnation and crippledness. Osho said that nothing is more painful to be stuck where you don’t belong. Neti- Neti is the very essence of the Upnishads – if someone were to describe the Upnishads in just two words it would have been Neti-Neti; neither this, nor that. One who is continuously in search of something must someday exhaust all that is superfluous and then what remains for? The nectar!

A child of two or three would be obsessed with his or her toys, a little later it could be his possessions – cellphone, television, laptops, in the teens he would hang on firmly to his partner, at ripe age, the time when he reaches the summits of his glory his desires are ablaze and he embraces money, fame and respect. Valeant like a soldier and agile like a cat he encompasses all wealth, name and fame and safeguards it with all his vigor. And then in the sunset years when all is gone not a jot of strength in the nerve or sinew he slips into a long repose – drown himself in the search of the ‘Joy’ – after the competition of the feverish search which inevitable leaves him broke in the outer realm of reality and thus aids in the fulfillment of the ultimate, the eternal!

But should one be justified when he says that the ‘haughty, sizzly’ stages or life have gone in vain? Absolutely not! Our society is very adept when it comes to condemning! Just as the Rhetoric we have a whole thesis on cynicism at our disposal! Right from the so-called saints to an average man like you or me people go on labelling and categorizing as ‘bare-faced hedonists’. This is the worst sin that can be there. One may run after money but what is he seeking? Money brings to him a luxurious lifestyle, he wants to make his milieu cozier – that’s absolutely human! Osho says that “religion is the ultimate luxury” and “I am the Guru of the rich.” Now this doesn’t mean that he would not treat a beggar with humility, it simply implies that “a man cannot look beyond where he stands” Even Ramkrishna says that a hungry man must be supplied with bread and not the Bhagwad Geeta! What can you expect from a half-starved, wretched, urchin? It is a fact supported by the neurologists that the nerves need a certain balance of nutrients to function at its optimum level. Now a healthy body bears a healthy mind and with a healthy mind one cannot be irreligious. Even though he earnestly attempts to be! It is a psychosomatic relationship so finely interwoven! A great mystery indeed! We see the veracity of this in the advent of Hath yoga. Money is simply the means of attaining to a state of harmony with our own selves from where the ‘quantum leap’ is just by the hem! Through money man seeks satisfaction, joy, euphoria. The same is with fame- man is a social creature and he finds joy with comrades!

A lover and his lass would be oblivious of the world around! The ecstasy of melting and merging into one another is so fruitful, it seems as if it is an end unto itself, now no more is required. But what does a man or a woman seek? It is the harmony, the oneness – a branch severed from a tree hurts equally to both! And is it not the cosmic oneness that a meditator looks for? Becoming integrated is what brings the joy – then there are no pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that keeps us puzzling for a lifetime! But to be able to stand under the open sky one must first be habituated to an open window - and that’s what a love affair is all about! It is the same joy that people seek!  

Thus we see that each individual, through whatever his way may be, seeks joy! It is the most atrocious and vicious crime to bifurcate joy into Mundane and Divine. Can you say that the top-most rung of a staircase is more reverent by virtue of it being nearer to the terrace than the lower most?  Perhaps we know the answer! Joy ‘simple is’ and it is through the experience of joy that one attains to maturity. Yes there are degree of joy, shades of joy but they are all unique and without tasting it (as per the cravings of the individual) one won’t move further not even an inch! For centuries Christianity in the west and Hinduism in the East has held the globe in shackles of voluptuous slavery. Another type of joy is ‘sensuality’. People down the ages have condemned sexual urge and repressed it, literally throttled it! The masochists, the ‘saints’ have failed to realize the inherent potential it bears. The urge that is the most fundamental of all - something that our entire life revolves around is made a taboo of! This is so insane! People remove the first rung and then they worship the topmost! Sensuality in itself brings so many benedictions and in fact Tantra thousands of years before had make it one of the gates to super consciousness! But men as such live in a ‘Baa – Baa’ mentality, not ready to think for his or her own self and misses the cup of elixir that had eternally been waiting for him! The entire social structure sucks on the lolly-pop of impossible ideals and goes on condemning all that is Natural joy of life. Perhaps there is a latent reason in it too! If a rose flower tries to turn into a sunflower – it would be doomed from the very inception! Change is painful, very painful, it needs infinite determination, burning desire patients, persistence and of all ‘guts’ to transform ourselves from inside out. Nature is in a constant state of flux – the river is flowing, the breeze is blowing, the sparrows are chirping, the sun rises and sets… Hence the ‘ascetics’ have arranged for their stagnation - a beautiful conspiracy indeed!

The assumption of Sat-Yuga or the golden era is not accidental. The lust for joy, the craving for more is intrinsic to our minds. Hence the golden world – though it may never have been or never may be as it most likely seems – is the best reflection of our yearning for joy. Have you ever heard of Krishna weeping or grumbling or sticking to some stupid vows rooted in the ‘past’ that practically are lethal in the present moment?  He was a man who used to indulge in music, dance and stood to no philosophy, no investments in the past or the future for he ‘responded’ to the ‘plea of the present moment’ and was the epitome of love! His mellifluous tones raptured the sky and earth alike! And only such a man who denies nothing at all can produce the Bhagwad Geeta! Swami Vivekananda at the world religion conference was once asked a question: “Why do you make so many jokes?” to which he replied I am a serious man (…… a pause) after my stomach starts to ache!

We all at some time or the other have dreamt of a halcyon. Who like the murky, gloomy night? The entire existence is beating in tune with the universal heartbeat of joy and ecstasy. Laughing is an invaluable asset bestowed on to man – that which no other living being possess. You would probably catch fever and grovel in the bed if ever you saw a buffalo laughing out loud, swaying its horns in sprouts of joy unspeakable! Laughter is the strongest connection with our source.  It is only that man seems to be miserable and the misery is out of his “own choice”! The law of universe is joy, unlimited joy if only one comes to realize it or at least strives to grasp the dimensionless! Seriousness is an ulcer of the soul – the latest edition of Socrates’s maxim! For what reason in the world must one be afflicted with seriousness? Isn’t this a beautiful play wherein we all play our parts? Isn’t this a “cosmic joke”?