The Greatest Freedom

We celebrate 15th August as Independence Day in India. On this day, it is pertinent to ask ourselves: Is the nation’s independence the same as my independence? What is my concept of freedom? Am I truly free from the whims of my mind and its tendencies?

People assume freedom to be able to follow whatever the mind wishes to pursue. But if we contemplate deeply, we find that gratifying the mind’s wants doesn’t give us lasting joy and peace. On the contrary, we find ourselves trapped in the prison of our tendencies and emotions.

The greatest freedom lies in choosing our response in any situation consciously. Any situation involves two parts—the incident and our response to it. The mind’s past conditioning forces us to react impulsively. But there is a gap between the incident and our response. This gap is our space of freedom, where we can choose our response. The more we become alert in this space, the more our responses will arise from freedom. Life will then become straightforward without the complications resulting from compulsive behavior.

The practice of meditation awakens us to this gap. We begin to feel in that blankness that exists in this gap. Whenever we go through incidences in our daily life, we can remind ourselves, “Let me first feel in the blank and then respond.” If we can feel in the blank instead of rushing to the next thing, life will appear wondrous. We will experience newfound freedom that comes from awareness. With freedom, we can shoulder higher responsibilities and thus express our innate potential.

On this Independence Day, let us resolve to seek true freedom within ourselves. Let us discover that space within us where we can choose our responses. Let us welcome the trials of life with awareness and playfulness. In this, we will discover the greatest freedom!

THE ABOVE ARTICLE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK: THE GREATEST FREEDOM, AUTHORED BY SIRSHREE

TO UNDERSTAND AND PRACTICE TRUE MEDITATION, READ THE BOOK: YOU ARE MEDITATION, AUTHORED BY SIRSHREE.

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