‘Freedom is good and bad. It depends.’ This is how youngsters interviewed by Swati Mukherji for krrisha.com more or less inferred on the issues related to freedom, spirituality, finances and women. It is all right to have such views. But, without a deep resolution we cannot really have a straight definition.
So let’s get deeper
I have already covered some aspects of freedom and independence in my August 15 blog wherein I brought out a contrast between freedom and independence. Freedom is from something bad, unpleasant and independence is freedom with a purpose. This makes independence the right freedom, as it helps you stand on your own feet mentally, physically and spiritually. So I would go for a freedom which not only frees me from unpleasant and inauspicious but also helps me depend on myself. The one who depends on oneself is evolved, capable and powerful. He/she manifests power and energy, which motivates others to seek their freedom. A true spiritual guru is the one who is free every way and manifests that energy all around. So seek freedom from what stints the growth of your personality.
Freedom and women
The biggest challenges in life are faced by a woman. She faces physical, mental and financial challenges during various stages of her development. She first needs physical freedom. This involves her choice to become physically strong and get ready for the world ahead. But, it is easier said than done in our society where so many taboos and superstitions wall up her physical growth. Either she becomes physically corrupt or too weak to handle her own body. So woman needs physical independence where she can discipline herself into a physically strong individual, which raises her above being an object of lust and sex.This is the first freedom for women. Wife of Lord Ram was free every wise. She chose her own physical, mental and spiritual companion through swayamvaram. But, in the modern context, a girl has to seek another independence—that is financial one. Because, if she is physically free and has to depend for finances on her parents and brothers, she will not be truly independent and this will somewhere hamper full manifestation of her personality.If a woman is physically independent, she has to be mentally and spiritually independent too. Mental and spiritual freedom are another levels to reach. Mental independence is where she can think and feel freely and seek out her own good ways by assimilating the best from the suggestions coming from--parents, friends and society. Mental freedom is achieved when a woman knows what she wants to be. When the goal is clear in her mind, she will achieve mental freedom. The choices of goals begin from physical, mental and spiritual. The highest one, of course, is God. As the saying goes the highest involves the lower goals too. Without keeping the highest goal in mind, the pursuit of physical and mental goals will not be achieved because they only are stations on the path supreme of spiritual independence—Union with God or evolving to the highest dimension.Of course, everybody has to prioritise his life this way. Keep moving towards the highest goals through mental and physical goals. The Indian concept of dharma, arth, kaam and moksha can be better understood through this process. Dharma relates to the adoption of the highest idea and manifesting it through mental and physical goals (arth and kaam) and spiritual goal moksha—it means absolute independence from whatever restricts you. At the highest level of Intelligent Energy manifestation even your karmic body (neurological complex) becomes a hindrance and you evolve to Intelligent Energy network then. Well, that is for the specialists. You can have your spiritual freedom in God of your choice.
What Krishna says
In the ninth discourse, He clearly mentions it. However, you can find mention of the same through out the discourse. He says: Idam tu tey guhytamam pravakshymyanusooyavey. Gyan vigyan sahitam yatgyatva mokshyaseashubhat. In a nutshell, it means “I now introduce you to the knowledge with the science of its execution knowing which you will gain freedom (independence) from all obstacles, negativities and inauspicious things.” Now what this ashubh means? It means anything that restricts your freedom on the way to evolution. What can it be? It can be physical, mental and spiritual. What kind of technique or process is He talking about? It is the one with the science of execution and is the profoundest—guhyatamam. That means this technique of independence is the profoundest of all the techniques and is not a child’s play—crying I want to be free, I want to get away and running away and getting into all sorts of troubles. Why? Because, it sets you free from all the negativities and empowers you as a channel of Intelligent Energy. Once you are free within, you are free without.
Vivek Sharma
Editor-In-Chief
krrisha.com
Freedom, for me, is the permission to live my life according to my wishes. I am ready to fall and stand up again till I accomplish my goals. Yes, financial freedom is a hurdle for self-realization since for self-realization you need to create some limitations in your mind and around you, which is only possible when you have limited resources, whether it's money or anything else.
When you don't have these things then it will be easier to create limitations. Well yes, a woman can live a dignified life without moving out from home. It's subjective to each household and primarily governed by the nature of the husband and family members.
I can't give the actual answer to this question, not all the women are living a dignified life but I can say one thing, in my family my mother is living a dignified life, she is worthy of our respect because without her we are nothing that's all I can say.
Inference: Freedom is the sanction to do as I wish. Financial freedom is a hurdle to self-realization.
Prakhar Jain
Freedom is the basic right of an individual. There are many rights regarding freedom enshrined in our constitution like freedom of speech, expression etc. In simple words, it is to express yourself and provide opportunities to an individual for their development.
Financial freedom is very important and it can never be a hurdle in self-realization. We can't fulfil our basic needs without money and earning becomes vital for survival. After leading a decent life only can we think of satisfying our higher order needs like self-realization.
Yes, women can live a dignified life without working as a homemaker who takes care of everything which is important for her family. It is the woman who should decide whether she wants to earn money or not. Her role is inevitable in a family and even when she is not earning, she has full rights to live a dignified life.
Inference: Freedom is important since it is our basic right. Women should be given choice to work or not.
Abhishek Jindal
Freedom is equivalent to zero expectations. Yes financial freedom is a mandatory and unavoidable since desire and self-realization don’t go together. You need to choose one. It totally depends upon an individual’s aspiration and expectations from life-- if she is happy being at home then it’s absolutely fine because it’s her individual choice. If going out and working is what she loves and feels satisfied from, and then too it’s her individual choice.
Inference: Freedom means no expectations and financial freedom is necessary. Women are individuals first and it’s their choice to work or not.
Vijay Raj Tiwari
When it comes to freedom, there is a common thought "doing whatever one wants." If I can do whatever I want to, I am free and if I cannot, I am not". This is what freedom means to a large number of people but for me, it is only partly true. Meaning of freedom differs from person to person. For me, the true meaning of freedom is to bear the responsibility for one’s own actions. In India many people consider freedom as --to roam around freely and do whatever they want but at the same time they do not accept their responsibility towards society. Due to this reason a new issue of mob lynching has risen in India.
In my opinion, yes a woman can surely live a dignified life in her home because dignity has no relationship with money. Financial freedom can be attained by hard work in any organisation. But, if we engage ourselves in official work we don't get time for self-development.
Inference: Freedom is to take responsibility. Dignity has no relation with money therefore women can live with dignity without earning
Piyush Banerjee
Freedom is the free deliverance of thoughts in our own way. Yes, financial freedom is a hurdle for self-realization because when we work hard to earn and to attain a status in the society, we unknowingly at times tend to forget our core values and block our path of self-realization. No, women cannot live a dignified life without financial independence because the life's pace is very fast in present scenario. A woman should understand the perception of social environment, what actually happens outside the four walls of her home. When we step out, we get the ability to develop our existential intelligence and we no more remain confined.
Inference: Freedom is free deliverance of thoughts. Financial freedom is hurdle to self-realization but it is necessary for women to live a dignified life.
Sakshi Sinha
Freedom is an authority given by the constitution of any country to its citizens to act and perform for the betterment of the society as well as for individuals. It also provides the basic rights of food, shelter, education and equality. It is more than a right to enjoy life without any restrictions but in a disciplined manner.
In my opinion, financial freedom is never a hurdle for self- realization. In fact, it motivates the feeling of self- realization. It is a process of spirituality and if a person follows spirituality, he never finds anything as a hurdle or he finds solution of every hurdle through spirituality.
It's quite irresolute to justify the above statement but yes beyond the basic needs a person if wants to fulfil his or her desire then, money can only do this. Money brings status. Now, talking about women, it entirely depends on her economic background. Some families do not feel the need for woman of their house to work outside whereas others may encourage a woman to work.
Inference: Freedom is the basic right of an individual sanctioned by our constitution. If a person is spiritual he finds nothing as hurdle.
Saurabh Sinha
Freedom is the liberty to do what we want to, without being scared of the consequences. It's a fundamental right of every being on Earth. Financial freedom can be attained by engaging oneself in the materialistic world in some way or the other. But, if you earn only for your basic needs and give some time for self-development then, one can strike a good balance between financial freedom and self-realization. A woman can always live a dignified life without stepping out to earn money. She is the backbone of a family. A woman who successfully supports a spiritual family, raises kids with good values, is already a dignified woman.
Inference: Freedom means liberty without the fear of consequences. A good balance can be maintained between self-development and financial independence.
Subir Mukherji
Freedom, for me, is the way of creating new ideas and living life on my own conditions. Moreover, mental freedom is more important for me. It relieves me of any barriers from getting success. No, for me financial freedom is not a hurdle for self-realization. I think it makes us aware of new paths towards our goals and achievements. This is as same as an individual comes to the realization of his own existence. I would like to answer this question both the ways, i.e. for and against. If a woman wants she can have a dignified life at home, by doing respected jobs for money, like giving tuition, by opening fashion center, etc. As well as they can have a dignified life by stepping outside for money. They are no less than man in any field.
Inference: Freedom is living life on my own conditions. Mental freedom is more important than financial. It is women’s decision to work or not.
Lubna Naaz
Freedom is a mental state. The definition varies from person to person and also depends upon individual's own perspective towards life and wellbeing. For someone freedom can be a sense to walk freely on the road for someone it might be to be able to express ones viewpoint. I believe financial freedom is vital for self-realization. However, it is very challenging to pursue self-realization, when you are struggling with money or if you don't have your finances in order. Because lack of money triggers our unmet basic needs. Financial freedom is not a hurdle rather a precursor to self-realization. Getting our finance in order is a responsible use of our time and energy regardless of our positioning in life.
Women even today in India make up an elephantine number as homemakers and housewives. And I believe they can lead a dignified life by staying at home as well.
What needs focus is education and also awareness about their rights. Most women face issues not because they don’t earn money but because they are not educated and lack the knowledge about the rights that the society has to offer them.
So I believe to work or to not work is a woman’s choice but to live with dignity is her right which she must be aware of.
Inference: Freedom is a state of mind. Financial freedom is precursor to self-realization. To work or not is a choice while to live with dignity is a women’s right.
Geetanjali Singh
Freedom for me is a grant to convey my ideas into actions, it is to have the power to fulfil and work according to my ideology without the fear of judgement. Freedom is to love without boundaries, to reach a state of mind, where petty issues like caste, colour or gender would not be a measure of a person's intellect.
Yes. In my opinion financial freedom is a hurdle for self-realization because unless and until a person undergoes deprivation of resources or struggles to grow through the difficult chapters of life all by himself, he cannot grow as a person. Nobody can share or go through one's share of difficulties in life.
No, as far as today's world is concerned a woman cannot live a dignified life without working and earning all by herself. Dependency on male counterpart or parents develops a sense of disappointment, in any self-respecting woman. Unless and until, she is undergoing some unavoidable circumstances, a woman's financial dependency has to be restricted to her own self; it helps in her own empowerment and pride.
Inference: Freedom is manifesting my ideas into actions. Financial freedom acts as a hurdle but it is a necessity for women today since it empowers them.
Sneha Srivastava
Compiled by Swati Mukherji
Freedom is a blessing. It brings happiness and a sense of contentment. It expresses in ones thinking, expression, attitude and is essential to live with dignity. There should be a balance between financial freedom and self-realization since if I try to earn beyond a level just to maintain a status quo and to fulfill my materialistic needs, then such an attainment of financial freedom will take a lot of effort and time from me. This will make the path of self realization difficult. Whereas, if I have a minimalist approach in life, then, self realization is attainable.
For a woman in today's world, financial freedom is necessary to lead a dignified life. It has become important for a woman to establish her name as an individual in the society. It gives us a sense of independence. How much a woman earns is not important but, how she pushes herself to strike a balance between her personal and professional life and develop a small world outside her home instills true freedom.