Freedom - Contemporary v/s Vedantic

February 2, 2011
My friend Sanjay brought up an interesting point at the study class, he can't recall where he heard it.

In the contemporary idiom (we really need to resist calling it the Western mindset since this is pretty much the view in most societies today):
Being free implies that I can do what I want within legal and ethical boundaries, if I can't I am bound (by my mother, by social convention, by my own inhibitions or through lack of democracy).

The Vedantic vision (or Buddhist and Jain, if you want to get picky) differs in a small but significant way:
If I can control WHAT I want, I am free else I am bound. If one asks "Bound by what?" that becomes a topical problem for which I can look for a topical solution.

In the Bhagavad Geeta, Śri Krishna fills in this picture in Chapter 2, shloka 55.
प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान् |
आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ||२-५५||
prajahaati yadaa kaamaan-sarvaanpaartha manogataan.h .
aatmanyevaatmanaa tushhTaH sthitapraGYastadochyate . 2-55.
When a man completely casts off, O Partha, all the desires of the mind, and is content in the Self by the Self, He is said to be one of steady Wisdom. 2-55

Śri Krishna makes clear that the Man of Wisdom (स्थितप्रज्ञा) does not merely "give up" desires, he is one whose joy is not "dependent" on the presence or absence of any material objects or emotions - in short, one who is truly content in himself - He alone is FREE.

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

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Everyday Geeta

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