"Atmanam vidhi"
Upanishad teaching
Many people feel that they are not free. So we should understand what this freedom is all about. What is that they want to be free from?. Is it freedom from people, freedom from situations which are unfavorable, or is it something really undefinable ?. Unless you truly understand this , there is no point in seeking it. Some people say " I feel so crunched and inhibited. I want to go somewhere and be free". Some people say " I do not want this life. I want freedom from everything".
What makes them think that this would solve the issue or maybe they dont want to know whether it is the right solution or whether there is a solution at all.
Our life may be summarized by seeking things which we do not understand and solving them by even more sillier workarounds.
In any interaction in this world there are two things one subject and another there is an object. Subject is one , objects are many. What we want freedom is freedom from objects. So what are objects?. Are they things like chairs, tables, money etc. No, not only that. Anything other than the subject is an object. Anything knowable is an object. So you can see that objects includes feelings, emotions, thoughts your mind itself , your body, other people, and so on. Anything other than the real self is nothing but an object.
So let us analyze a simple situation here. Somebody says "She hurt me so much ". Now consider what has happened here. A hurt is a feeling or a sequence of thoughts in your mind that was caused by some behavior. That according to our definition is an object. A feeling is knowable to you the real subject. It is only an object. How can that affect you the real subject who is not that. So you can see what has happened. You have identified yourself with the feeling. The freedom is lost when you think you are nothing but the feeling in your mind. Or in other words you have been absorbed into an object ( feeling of hurt) . So that is why there is a problem. In the real sense , subject is apart from all objects. So what we are really seeking is freedom from all objects including thoughts, emotions, body sensations everything . But the subject is actually apart from all objects, nothing needs to be done for correcting it.
Another person says " I have lost so much money now. I feel like ending my life". Now obviously you can see that what he is seeking are the thoughts in his mind about the consequences of loosing money. We do accept this situation is a little hard. But is that the cause of sequence of actions emanating from these thoughts?. Dont you think you are not these simple set of thoughts ?. How can you be any of these. So whenever we get absorbed into objects like thoughts emotions feelings and identify ourselves with it , we have these issues . So the freedom is from them. Dont attach your identity with the punitive little objects.
The little trick is this. Determine "Who am I" in each situation and say to yourself , i will not sacrifice myself to the objects in that situation. This kind of intellectual alertness is called discrimination or vivekam. Always understand that you are already free from all objects. Only thing is due to your ignorance you fall prey to the illusion of lack of freedom.
What is the real cause of feeling of lack of freedom?. It is simple. It is attachment. We feel it is in the objects that our happiness lies. Money, good feeling when we do something for our children , for some cause in life and so on . All these things are objects only.In the context of the above discussion it is clear that freedom comes from detaching ourselves from objects. So unless we are willing to sacrifice from objects we are going to feel tied. Please note that this doesnt mean, from now on i am not going to do anything in life since it involves objects and i am detached. No. What needs to be detached is not the physical attachment, it is the mental identification with the object that needs to be detached. While i am interacting, i should be doing but not attached to it . I should stand apart from the object. This is what detachment really means.
So the upshot of all these is just this. Detachment should be given highest priority in life. Second is to discriminate in any situation, who the real subject is from the objects . Once you know this using your discrimination there is nothing called lack of freedom. The real subject is always free and happy and it is not dependent on any object for its existence.
Know thyself and be free is the greatest saying in upanishads
Upanishad teaching
Many people feel that they are not free. So we should understand what this freedom is all about. What is that they want to be free from?. Is it freedom from people, freedom from situations which are unfavorable, or is it something really undefinable ?. Unless you truly understand this , there is no point in seeking it. Some people say " I feel so crunched and inhibited. I want to go somewhere and be free". Some people say " I do not want this life. I want freedom from everything".
What makes them think that this would solve the issue or maybe they dont want to know whether it is the right solution or whether there is a solution at all.
Our life may be summarized by seeking things which we do not understand and solving them by even more sillier workarounds.
In any interaction in this world there are two things one subject and another there is an object. Subject is one , objects are many. What we want freedom is freedom from objects. So what are objects?. Are they things like chairs, tables, money etc. No, not only that. Anything other than the subject is an object. Anything knowable is an object. So you can see that objects includes feelings, emotions, thoughts your mind itself , your body, other people, and so on. Anything other than the real self is nothing but an object.
So let us analyze a simple situation here. Somebody says "She hurt me so much ". Now consider what has happened here. A hurt is a feeling or a sequence of thoughts in your mind that was caused by some behavior. That according to our definition is an object. A feeling is knowable to you the real subject. It is only an object. How can that affect you the real subject who is not that. So you can see what has happened. You have identified yourself with the feeling. The freedom is lost when you think you are nothing but the feeling in your mind. Or in other words you have been absorbed into an object ( feeling of hurt) . So that is why there is a problem. In the real sense , subject is apart from all objects. So what we are really seeking is freedom from all objects including thoughts, emotions, body sensations everything . But the subject is actually apart from all objects, nothing needs to be done for correcting it.
Another person says " I have lost so much money now. I feel like ending my life". Now obviously you can see that what he is seeking are the thoughts in his mind about the consequences of loosing money. We do accept this situation is a little hard. But is that the cause of sequence of actions emanating from these thoughts?. Dont you think you are not these simple set of thoughts ?. How can you be any of these. So whenever we get absorbed into objects like thoughts emotions feelings and identify ourselves with it , we have these issues . So the freedom is from them. Dont attach your identity with the punitive little objects.
The little trick is this. Determine "Who am I" in each situation and say to yourself , i will not sacrifice myself to the objects in that situation. This kind of intellectual alertness is called discrimination or vivekam. Always understand that you are already free from all objects. Only thing is due to your ignorance you fall prey to the illusion of lack of freedom.
What is the real cause of feeling of lack of freedom?. It is simple. It is attachment. We feel it is in the objects that our happiness lies. Money, good feeling when we do something for our children , for some cause in life and so on . All these things are objects only.In the context of the above discussion it is clear that freedom comes from detaching ourselves from objects. So unless we are willing to sacrifice from objects we are going to feel tied. Please note that this doesnt mean, from now on i am not going to do anything in life since it involves objects and i am detached. No. What needs to be detached is not the physical attachment, it is the mental identification with the object that needs to be detached. While i am interacting, i should be doing but not attached to it . I should stand apart from the object. This is what detachment really means.
So the upshot of all these is just this. Detachment should be given highest priority in life. Second is to discriminate in any situation, who the real subject is from the objects . Once you know this using your discrimination there is nothing called lack of freedom. The real subject is always free and happy and it is not dependent on any object for its existence.
Know thyself and be free is the greatest saying in upanishads
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