Acharya das 
Many people think of freedom as being free to act as you please, without any inhibitions or anything holding you back or getting in your way.
The dictionary generally gives two main definitions of freedom. One is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. The other is the power or the right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
Limited understanding
The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved can be a form of freedom.
But the idea that the power and the right to be able to speak or act as you want without any hindrance, is a very limited understanding of freedom. It ignores the law of Karma, whereby for everything you do, every act you make, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
While you may be free to choose how you act, you cannot escape the result of these actions. So therefore, are you truly free?
Another understanding of our lack of freedom comes from the recognition that it is possible to become enslaved by my own mind and desires.
When a person is unable to control their mind and desires they are forced to act, sometimes against their will or better judgement, and they must then accept the consequences of these choices and actions in the form of Karmic reaction.
Law of Karma
Shackled to this world by the laws of Karma, some people receive good results from their actions and others receive unfortunate results. In both cases, they are in the same situation – both are bound in different ways.
By falling victim to the desires of the mind and always feeling that we must follow its demands, we become perpetually bound to this world.
This means repeatedly suffering the natural processes of disease, old age and death, then birth again.
If we allow ourselves to become simply controlled and directed by the dictates of our mind and senses, in the hope that we will get some actual lasting happiness, then we remain unfulfilled, empty and a slave to those desires.
Innate Spirituality
Most people are unaware that our desire for happiness (and love) actually arises from our innate spiritual nature, which is the core of our being.
The truth is, we are not the body or the mind; we are temporarily residing within and using, but the spiritual being (Atma) within.
Living in the illusion that this body is “me,” we mistakenly conclude that by trying to satisfy the desires of the mind and senses we will experience real happiness. This is untrue.
By chasing the desires of the body and mind I might get a rush, or some temporary stimulation, but it will not actually fulfil “me,” the spiritual person within.
The Gita Lesson
This condition of being so completely overwhelmed by the mind and the senses that we lose our actual spiritual identity is spelled out very clearly in the Bhagavad Gita:
“Thus, the wise living entity’s pure consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust (or intense desire) which is never satisfied, and which burns like fire.”
(Bhagavad Gita 3:39)
The reality is that material pleasure cannot fulfil you.
Your attempt at fulfilling material desire is like putting gasoline on a fire.
It only makes it burn hotter and stronger. This Kama or lust (intense desire), manifests in so many different ways, and is categorised as ‘the eternal enemy’ of the “self” within the body.
Determining outcome
The way that you can come to a position of real freedom is by altering the direction of your life. You have the freedom to choose how you are going to live. It is within your own power to determine the outcome of your life and whether you achieve the state of complete freedom or not.
“Being situated in such a position one is never shaken even in the midst of the greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.”
(Bhagavad Gita 6.23)
This state of actual freedom and the awakening of spiritual love that arise from mature spiritual realisation are far beyond anything of this world.
In this condition one is truly happy and truly free.
Acharya Das is a respected teacher of Vedic and Yogic Philosophy, Meditation and Kirtan, and a Practitioner of the Transcendental Science of Bhakti Yoga. He has taught Yoga wisdom to appreciative audiences for over 40 years.
Websites: www.Acharyadas.com; www.meditationnewzealand.co.nz; Facebook: Acharyadas108
