Self Freedom Evaluation

Yesterday, it was India's 62nd Independence Day.

World over, political independence from any foreign power is concerned to be of highest value and definitely it deserves that place. Having said that, I feel that there are phenomenal factors that impede us as human beings from time to time and its worth checking how free actually are we in a more expansive sense of the word

Self Freedom Evaluation

Am I free to live and interact in the company of people that I feel happy about?

Yes for sure

Am I able to live with complete freedom in terms of where i want to go, what i want to do etc- Yes to a good extent though when you are married, you can't take any decision in isolation. Also, the professional structure also limits you in certain ways. For example, i can't just take a break from work and spend a couple of months in the villages of Bengal. Economic freedom is a must for attaining freedom of this nature which I don't have today.

Am I free of all the conditioning of mind which i have developed over several years of societal influence and which also keep on developing in my day to day interactions?

No. Though I consciously make efforts to see how it affects my thought process. I think i should have the capacity of going beyond the normal state of my mind of acquiring a pattern of thinking and try to be as objective as I possibly can be

Is my personal philosophy of living in tune with my actual actions. Am I being honest to my own selves or am I trying to lead by someone else's world view?

I feel that i am free on this front to a large extent.

Am i free to decide the kind of people i want to work with?

Yes. To a large extent

Am i free to work with my belief in what i really like doing-

Yes for sure

Am I free to practice my religious faith the way i feel it appropriate-

Yes for sure

Am I free of societal notions which I don't believe in but which have been practiced from generations together and are supposed to be carried forward without much questioning? -

Yes for sure

Am i free to exercise my value system in my day to day interactions-

I would say yes but then whenever there are aspects which contradict those values, it causes difficulties in getting things done. This has got more to do with the regularly practiced values of the political and bureaucratic set up of which we are an integral part of.

Am I free of all the aspects which I consider negative-

Not completely

When i try to make a general summary, I realize that the degree of freedom that I have today is something that is higher than the freedom I had at any point in time in the near past. Probably thats the very reason I can feel more good about myself than at any time in the past.

But then, i realize that there are certain cobwebs that need to be cleared to make this journey even more joyous.

Adlous Huxley termed our inner self as 'Imprisoned Splendour'- The Atman of the Hindu Philosophy. I personally feel that my whole journey of life should actually be to unleash this splendour through various ways. For those who are able to do it completely, the world recognizes them as seers, saints, Mahatmas, Mandela, Baba Amte....

The rest like me, will keep on striving..

On thinking differently

If someone asks me the oldest example of "Thinking Differently" leading to success, I would say its Lord Buddha. Probably no example can surpass the impact his different thinking actually had on the world map.

Had this person not decided to take a different course in life, an entire religion which has influenced billions of people over several hundred years, would not have taken birth. He left his royal lineage to understand what the mystery of life was all about.

Can we ever gauge the quantum of value He created?

Where human weaknesses provide business opportunities

As per Indian philosophy, there are five doshas or weaknesses which mind can fall prey to-

• Moha (delusion)
• Kama (lust)
• Krodha (anger)
• Matsarya (envy) and
• Lobha (greed)

I realize that there are some business models which actually thrive on these fundamental weaknesses.

Moha - expensive art works sold at exorbitant prices;
Kama- Pornography, prostitution, a certain line of cinema for entertainment industry, certain kind of journalism that is gradually gaining vogue; dance bars etc
Matsarya- Luxury goods where an individual rests on the material to define his/her identity; can be jewellery for some, watches for some others;
Lobha- Individuals who enter into any commercial act with an attitude of gambling;

Thus if we look at it intently we realize that several of our businesses actually exist because human beings are imperfect on several lines. Its the human weakness that creates economic value for the society. Which surely implies that one kind of growth (economic terms) is causing damage in human terms which probably no existing system is really too keen to evaluate or is concerned about.