Just freedom🔗

A significant change that you will experience is a certain sense of freedom.

Why freedom? What has freedom got to do with it?

All our life, we are searching for freedom. Whether we realize it or not, each one of us is searching for freedom.

Even meditation is nothing but a desperate search for freedom.

We have heard that meditation gives freedom, so we turn to meditation in order to be free.

But we misunderstand the word 'freedom'. What we search for in our ordinary lives is either 'freedom for' or 'freedom from'.

Freedom for doing, having and being all that we wish – freedom to live as we imagine right.

Freedom from all the things that we dread and hate – disease, worry, anger, stress, low self esteem, pain.

In all our actions, we are prompted by one of these things – freedom for or freedom from. The greed for something good, or the fear of something bad.

Our whole life is controlled by these two ropes of greed and fear. But when you are being controlled by these two ropes, where is the freedom that you are craving for?

A few weeks back a casual visitor, an artist, was speaking to me. He was telling my why he hated meditation.

He said, I hate all these rules and discipline. I like to be free to lead my life the way I want. See, I get up at 10 o'clock, first thing I have my coffee, then I go for a swim whenever I feel like…

He described his whole day to me.

Then I asked him, What if someone woke you up at 6 o'clock? Or what if your coffee doesn't reach your bedside one morning?

Oh, that would make me really mad! he said, laughing.

And what if it is raining and you miss your swim? I asked.

Yeah, that's a lousy thing. If I can't go for my swim, I feel really lousy the whole day.

Then I asked him, If your freedom is dependent on so many conditions, are you really free?