Have you ever wondered what true freedom is? I’ve often been told, oh, you’re an entrepreneur; you are a free person, your own boss. And I often find myself chuckling in the head that we still misconstrue mere professional license as freedom. We misinterpret the ability to do what we want when we want as freedom – but that is merely superficial. There’s more to true freedom than that, and in this episode, we will explore 3 keys to that elusive true freedom where we are not left wanting for anything more than that.
Hello and welcome to a new episode of the Own Your Everyday series. I’m your host and self-awareness coach Shwetha Sivaraman. In this episode, we will explore what freedom is, the 3 keys to true freedom and how we can apply it in our day-to-day lives. The episode brings in concepts of freedom from 2 books I’ve read and cherished – New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and Freedom from the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti.
The quest for freedom has been inherent in every human since the inception of time. It
Let’s start with understanding the term freedom.
We often equate to the availability of choice and the liberty to act independently – making freedom the absence of constraint or compulsion.
Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose mission was to make man free, says, “freedom is a state of mind which is so intense, active, alive and vigorous and it throws away every form of slavery, dependency, conformity and acceptance.”
Does freedom lie out there in the world or within ourselves?
If you are listening to my words, chances are you are living in a free country with enough freedom and liberty to choose what you’re listening to. So out there is not as much of a problem, but what about within us? Are we free inwards?
We are slaves to our bodies. Can we give up one meal in a day? Can we think straight when we have a minor toothache or need to urinate real bad? My guess is that’s a firm no. We give in to the varying demands our body makes without question.
We are slaves to our minds. We go up and down the rollercoaster of endless thoughts and emotions, regardless of whether it leaves us feeling pleasant at the end of it. Our minds are compulsive and voluntarily set to self-destruct mode, where we continually oscillate from one thought to another, one feeling to another. We constantly oscillate between the past and the future, regretting one and trying to control the other. Our minds are entirely consumed by the compulsive chatter we engage in, often without our awareness or knowledge.
We are slaves to all our desires. If we desire to be famous or successful, our desires become our masters and not us. Our thoughts, feelings, and actions are determined by these desires, which we place over and above who we are and what we have right now.
3 Keys to Freedom
“Nonresistance, non-judgment, and nonattachment are the three aspects of true freedom and enlightened living”, ~ Eckhart Tolle writes in the New Earth.
1. Nonresistance – being one with what happens, that’s how Eckhart Tolle defines this term nonresistance.* As long as we want life to turn out a certain way, we are a slave to external circumstances. Nonresistance does not mean passivity or giving up. On the contrary, radical acceptance of ‘what is’ takes immense strength and equanimity. It is being fully involved and one with the flow of life that allows one to accept whatever comes without labelling it good or bad.
Almost all spiritual disciplines accept one version of this nonresistance. The strength to practice this comes from the belief that all we encounter in life is temporary and impermanent.
In Vedänta, the world is frequently compared to the ocean. The surface of the sea is constituted of an infinite variety of waves, which are perennially rising and falling. Although the surface is always agitated and restless, deep within the ocean remains as one mass of water, serene and unaffected by the surface disturbances. Similarly, the world, when superficially viewed, has a variety of objects and beings which are ever changing and constantly going through cycles of birth and death. However, behind these changing factors, there is a changeless substratum: the all-pervading Reality supporting them all.
Human beings today live mainly on the surface, being engaged in the changing phenomena of objects and beings. One’s identification with the changing aspect of the world renders one a limited being who is at times joyous and at other times sorrowful. However, suppose one identifies with the homogeneous Truth that pervades the world. In that case, one rises above the fluctuations of joy and sorrow and enjoys permanent serene happiness.
Suppose we can recognise that the changing phenomena of objects in life are but temporary and shall pass one day. In that case, we can adopt the principle of nonresistance to everything that comes our way. Good or bad, we can remain anchored to that changeless reality and flow with life as one with the current.
2. Non-judgment – The second key to true freedom is not judging situations/people/things as good or bad. The minute we qualify things with judgment, we are enslaved by our beliefs and thoughts about it. When we judge, we impose our value systems and bring in our past conditioning and are nothing but the past or the memory action in the present.
Jiddu Krishnamurti says, “To be free of all authority, of your own and that of another, is to die to everything of yesterday, so that your mind is always fresh, always young, innocent, full of vigour and passion. It is only in that state that one learns and observes. And for this, a great deal of awareness is required, actual awareness of what is going on inside yourself.”
Consciously being aware of our thoughts and emotions and deliberately refraining from judgments is the key to being truly free, completely present, and totally receptive to what is unfolding in every moment.
3. Nonattachment. True freedom is being in control of our desires and cravings. Freedom remains elusive as long as we crave or attach ourselves to positive/pleasant/desirable experiences and have an aversion to unpleasant or unfavourable experiences.
Quoting Jiddu Krishnamurti from the book Freedom from the known, he says, “if you can look at all things without allowing pleasure to creep in – at a face, a bird, the colour of a sari, the beauty of a sheet of water shimmering in the sun, or anything that gives delight – if you can look at it without wanting the experience to be repeated, then there will be no pain, no fear, and therefore tremendous joy. It is the struggle to repeat and perpetuate pleasure which turns it into pain.”
All of mankind’s actions are fueled by the attachment to pleasure and the desire to avoid pain, and in the search for it, we lose our freedom. This doesn’t mean we stop enjoying sensory pleasures but simply give up the longing for them. When we stop craving for things we are attached to or are not continuously obsessed with avoiding unpleasant things, we can be free in the truest sense.
How can we practice these keys in our lives?
1. Accepting the good with the bad – When we can receive the not-so-good things in our life the same way we receive good things, we stop resisting the flow of life. Instead, we surrender to it and move with it. Every time you find yourself overly elated or sad in life, remember that all will pass and stay grounded through it all.
2. Every time you judge something as good or bad, try to understand who’s voice is and what conditioning makes you feel so. As adults, we carry conditioning from parents, elders, teachers, society, and misconstrued interpretations. The more we evaluate and question the sources of our beliefs, the sooner we can rid ourselves of them and be free.
3. Detach, Detach, and Detach with as many things as you can. The more you identify with something or someone, the more your joy and peace are linked to the presence of it in your life. To be free, we must let go of these attachments.
So here’s your own your everyday tip for this week – Seek freedom within and experience the many fruits of complete freedom by practising the 3 keys of nonresistance, non-judgment, and non-acceptance. If you are curious to delve deeper, the 2 books I mentioned at the start of the episode are a great place to begin.
Until we meet again, this is Shwetha signing off. Hoping you have a fabulous week ahead.