FREEDOM, LIBERTY AND HAPPINESS
Recently, on the 4 th of July, people in America celebrated their
Independence Day. We all know how when they wanted to be free of British
Colonial Rule, the freedom fighters of America declared in words most memorable:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal,
that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Much later, in British India , protesting against the Colonial Rule of
that same British Empire , Bala Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as Lokamanya
Tilak roared, “Freedom is my birthright.” Tilak was promptly arrested for
sedition and put in prison, not in India but in Mandalay in Burma . There he
wrote a classic book on the Gita entitled, GitaRahasya, meaning the secrets of
the Gita. It has been recorded that this book was offered to Shirdi Baba who
accorded His approval to the text. Tilak did not use the English word freedom
but the corresponding Sanskrit word Swarajya, which literally means self-rule.
Years passed and since there was no sight of any political freedom, in
August 1942, Gandhi gave his famous call in Bombay , asking the British to quit
India . This swelled into the nationwide Quit India movement, which the British
did not like one bit because they were deep into World War II at that time. So
all the freedom fighters were thrown into jail and many years had to pass
before India became independent on 15 th August 1947.
The close occurrence of the American Independence Day and the Indian
Independence day, and the stirring words of the American Declaration of
Independence on the one hand and the clarion call given by Tilak for Swarajya
on the other, prompted us to reflect on certain words connected with these
historic events. The words we would like to focus on are: Life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness from the American declaration, and the word Swarayja used
by Tilak in the Indian context.
Let us start with Swarajya, which, as we pointed out earlier, literally
means self-rule. For politicians, self-rule means political independence,
self-governance etc. This interpretation is certainly correct. However, as
Swami once pointed out to students, one must examine the issue deeper. He
asked: “What exactly do you mean by the words self and self-rule?” For all of
us, and certainly in the political context, self simply refers to the lower
self represented by the Mind-body complex; by extension, self-rule
automatically means self-governance. For Swami, however, Self always stands for
the Indweller, the Atma which forms the core of a human being. Thus, for Swami,
Self-rule means life dictated by the Atma. It is the Atma that must hold sway
and decide what actions one performs and how, rather than the Mind-body complex
or the ego.
Some might argue: “Let us not mix up things by taking the words written
by the American Founding Fathers and by Tilak out of context. They all were
concerned with political freedom, whereas Swami is talking about Spirituality.”
We understand that. Yet, there is a deep connection, which is what we wish to
explore today.
Let us begin by asking what exactly Self-Rule would mean in the context
of an individual. It would mean many things, starting with the fact that
actions of the individual must be devoid of selfishness, must be saturated with
love, must be totally free from hatred, etc. Anything else? Certainly. It would
mean, most importantly, freedom from the six enemies lurking inside, namely,
Kama, Krodha … etc., - we are sure you know the list. In addition, says Swami,
Self-Rule implies freedom from ego as also attachment. In short, for an
individual, Swarajaya really means freedom from the senses, which otherwise
tend to enslave the individual. Thus, freedom from the clutches of the senses
and inner enemies is true freedom, as Swami has clearly explained to His boys.
Few appreciate these nuances but one person who understood all this fully
was Gandhi. Thus it is that he remains the only politician one knows of in
recent times, who was absolutely meticulous about sticking to Dharma in
everything he did, including in his freedom struggle. The question might be
asked: “Gandhi was a unique individual; but that does not mean everyone can be
that way. Why should the average politician or revolutionary follow the
Gandhian model?” This is an important question and merits a careful examination.
A person who is internally free, that is to say is liberated from the
pulls of the senses, is totally detached. The only thing he is attached to, if
at all, is to Dharma and his Conscience. If such a person leads, then the
actions of the unit, the movement, the organisation, the government or whatever
it is that he leads would be Dharmic and moral. Thus, in life, if Inner
Swarajya is achieved, not only can external Swarajya be won, but, more
important, after freedom is achieved, there would be real development.
This is a non-trivial statement. Consider say, Africa . For a hundred
years and more, Africa was heavily colonised and mercilessly exploited. And
then around the sixties and seventies, most countries in Africa became
politically free. But were they really free? No. Why? Because they did not
have, among other things, economic freedom. But Africa was rich in oil, mineral
wealth, gold, uranium, cobalt and whatnot. Why then did it not become rich?
What was the glitch? Very simple – lack of integrity in the new leaders. Today,
thanks to the bad seeds sown then, Western countries all the time accuse Africa
of corruption. The accusations conveniently overlook the shady practices
employed by multi-national corporations for getting their ends, which greatly
promoted corruption but we shall not get into that. Our basic point is simply
that unless individuals are honest, Society as a whole would not be, no way. It
is in that context that Inner Swarajya and political freedom really ought to be
seen.
Next, we move on to the famous words: Life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. Yes, in life everyone wants to be happy; who wants to be miserable?
However, there is the question of what exactly one means by the word happiness.
We believe that the Founding Fathers of America understood the word happiness
in the usual sense, that is to say in terms of material prosperity, wealth
etc., all of which are supposed to lead to happiness. Fair enough. But is that
what real happiness is all about? How long does any kind of worldly happiness
last? How long does any kind of worldly pleasure last? As Swami has told us
repeatedly, we may seek worldly happiness but that sort of happiness is always
transient. What is more, worldly pleasure is frequently followed by pain.
You see, when freedom means license to do anything one pleases – any many
do interpret that word in that fashion – then the kind of happiness such a
person seeks also tends to be hollow and useless. In other words, a wrong
interpretation of the word freedom can lead to an equally wrong understanding
of what happiness is all about. The net result would be that the person instead
of being happy would actually be miserable.
Does that mean that the words of the American Founding Fathers are
without meaning? Not at all; on the contrary, unwittingly perhaps, the American
Founding Fathers have given us a great Spiritual Truth. If we substitute
freedom with the word Swarajya in its highest sense, then that would
automatically enable one to understand what is meant by the pursuit of
happiness. Swami says that true happiness is union with God. And who is it that
can be easily and truly united with God? A person who is ruled by the True
Self. In short, for a person who enjoys Self-Rule, happiness or union with God
is automatic. He does not have to strive for it. For that person, Swarajya
automatically leads to Ananda.
We hope we do not seem very contrived in our arguments or appear to have
indulged in wordplay. Possibly our elucidation of the subtleties might be
inadequate but the fact remains that the word freedom should not be interpreted
merely in worldly terms with political, economic, financial, scientific and
technological implications. The individual can be truly free and happy only
when he or she is able to give full expression to the latent Divinity. And when
Divinity within finds full self-expression then that person automatically
experiences Ananda. If everyone in Society is able to happy in this manner,
then that is where one would find Rama Rajya or Utopia.
In short, God grants us the gift of life so that we conquer the senses
and become free from them. When we are free from the clutches of the senses, we
can then experience true Bliss or Ananda. Those are the spiritual overtones we
would like to call attention to this Sunday. And when everyone is spiritually
free, then there is automatically true happiness in that Society. Today, at a
time when the world is torn apart with violence, hatred, deep
misunderstandings, etc., do freedom and happiness have any meaning? They will
not, if we understand these terms in a restrictive and worldly sense. However,
if freedom means the rule of the Atma for every individual, then automatically
anger, jealousy, hatred and violence would get replaced with love,
understanding, forbearance, compassion and sacrifice. If Society is full of
people with this kind of sublime Atmic feelings, does it not follow that true
happiness would also prevail?
So, even as people in America and India celebrate their respective
Independence days, as others elsewhere too would be elsewhere on days marking
their own independence, all of us need to pause to reflect on what exactly
freedom and happiness mean. Do you agree with us or do you feel we are
indulging in artificial arguments with little or no content? In either case,
whether it is bouquets or brickbats, we welcome them all! So do write to us,
won’t you? At least we would know where we have gone wrong!
All the best.
Jai Sai Ram.
