Guiding Light: Seek True Inner Freedom

Every one of us wishes for freedom. Freedom, which is infinite and limitless!

It is unfortunate, that we look only for outer freedom, whereas true freedom lies within.

“If you desire to attain grace and freedom of heart, let the free offering of yourself into the hands of God precede your every action. This is why so few are inwardly free and enlightened — they know not how to renounce themselves entirely.” Isn’t that a beautiful thought — to attain inward freedom through utter renunciation? How many of us are capable of giving up something to attain true freedom?

May I ask you, what is your idea of true freedom? Is it to live and act and do as you please? Is it to fulfill all your aspirations and desires? Is it to indulge your every whim and fancy? Or is it something that transcends all this?

The desire to be free, to feel free to pursue one’s goals and desires is an innate human aspiration.

Deep within each one of us is an innate desire for freedom. For some of us it is merely felt as a material desire to be free from financial restrictions, to be able to possess whatever we crave for. This may be a new car, a better job or even an expensive holiday abroad. For others, the desire is more mature, more elevated: we wish to achieve true peace, joy or love. Whether it is freedom from want or freedom from worldly cares, the desire to be free is simply part of human nature.

We must realise once and for all: no one else is to blame for our present condition. We have built it with our own thoughts and desires generated in the near or distant past. Therefore, I tell my friends again and again: “Change your thoughts, and you can change your karma. Change your karma and you will change the conditions in which you live.”

You are the architect of your own destiny. You are the builder of your own fate. Every thought, emotion, wish, action, creates karma: we have been creating karma for millions, perhaps billions of years.

To believe in ourselves, to believe that we are the architects of our own destiny is true inner freedom!

Dada J P Vaswani is a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader

Published on: Tuesday, April 02, 2024, 06:00 AM IST