Freedom
Preface
The entire human race is doomed because it is not free in the real sense. Misery is a way of
life because we are bound by countless shackles. Some are given to us by the society, and
some we have managed to create on our own. How can bliss knock at the doors of someone
who lives in an invisible prison?
Our Celestial friend, Shreee talks about what these shackles are and how to break them.
Freedom is our birth right, but what does freedom at an individual level mean? Read the
eBook to find out.
Please note, this eBook is a compilation of spontaneous live talks delivered by Shreee to his
disciples. These talks are meant for the modern man with examples from the real world.
YouTube links are available for each talk.
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Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Freedom from Bondage .......................................................................................................................... 4
Freedom from Invisible Chains ............................................................................................................... 7
Freedom from Superstitions ................................................................................................................. 17
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Freedom from Bondage
Today is the Indian Independence Day and we have gathered for Jeevan Mahotsav too. I can
wish you a Happy Independence Day but there is still time to wish you for your own
Independence. Do you know that you are not free? Do you realise that the freedom of your
country is not the same as an individual’s freedom? Do you realise the bondage you live in?
Let us discuss and contemplate on whether we are free or not. Ask yourself whether you
think you’re free. You and your inner self will get the answer that you are not; because
there are several chains that have bound us. The journey of freedom is very long; and is full
of challenges. But one thing is for sure – bliss is not possible without freedom from these
bondages. The freer we are from bondage; our sorrows become lesser and lesser. We start
to find glimpses of happiness.
We are tied up in a lot of chains. Although the chains are invisible, the fact is that these
chains have captured us. And the irony is that we think these chains are pieces of jewellery.
It is possible that people tied up in gold chains will hold the gold chains close to their hearts
and will not let anyone free them from the chains. If we introspect we will see that we are in
lot of bondages. This is the reason spirituality uses a word “Moksh” which means “Mukti” –
the ultimate liberation. It is very clear that those who attained to liberation were in
bondages before it. A country’s independence will better the facilities but does not make us
free from these bondages. We have to introspect and acknowledge these bondages which
are inside us, because peace, bliss and happiness can never come in one’s life with these
bondages. Freedom from these bondages is necessary.
People revolt and get freedom from bondage which is visible. Invisible bondage is the real
problem. We celebrate the freedom and independence of our country; but constantly live
with these invisible bondages. An inner revolution is needed for every individual. But it is
interesting how people make bondage out of the very thing that helps them reach liberation
and salvation. If we look deeply, people live in darkness. They can’t stand the light that
comes with the ultimate solution. They convert light into darkness. They create bondages
even from the ultimate solution.
To me, ignorance is the real bondage. We don’t even know that we are in bondage. We
have to contemplate hard to arrive at a simple conclusion that we are not free. A revolution
is needed in our lives. We need to embark upon a journey towards our individual freedom.
Without a revolution, this beautiful world will appear to us as ugly. Nothing in the world will
give us happiness and peace.
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For an inner revolution, it is important to break the wall of ignorance. We live in a world full
of beliefs. Instead of knowing things, we choose to believe in things. Believing is simple
because there’s nothing to do. In order to find answers, you need a lot of effort.
Blindfolded belief causes bondage. On the other hand, one needs to walk the journey
towards awakening if we wish to find freedom, bliss, peace and happiness. Since childhood,
we’re taught to believe. And when we start believing in something, our thoughts become
crippled. Each individual has the capability to be a knower. Most of us still choose to be
believers. When we believe, we do it because everyone else asks us to. Our elders, teachers,
parents, scriptures ask us to simply believe. Don’t you think this is borrowed intelligence?
Don’t you think this intelligence is crippled?
I suggest- don’t just believe. Enquire. Ask questions. Contemplate. Doubt. Don’t just believe.
Seek and find out the answers.
Our very habit that we don’t enquire, contemplate, seek, and doubt binds us in several
chains. We turn everything into a prison for ourselves. We are entangled in the chains of
religion, traditions, custom, and philosophy given by some great personalities. We are in
bondage in the form of culture. The list of chains goes on and on. I am not saying there is
something wrong with religion, tradition, or philosophies of great personalities. There is
something wrong with us. That is why; we create prisons out of religions that can free us.
We make everything bondage for ourselves. Why? - Because we never try to understand
things. We simply go on believing; and in due course of time, we find ourselves in several
bondages.
We have mastered the art of converting Elixir (Amrit) into Poison (Zehar). This is the reason
why I said we are in bondage. Life’s deepest longing is for freedom and life’s biggest
suffering is bondage. Till the time we are not free from these bondages, our life will not
become beautiful and blissful. We need an inner revolution - revolution that is individual,
not social. And for this, it is necessary that we inquire, not believe. Have a logical, rational,
and scientific mind. Things should be reasonable. Don’t just go on doing things which you
know are illogical. Inquire. We don’t question things that are outdated or redundant. And
then we complain that we have been exploited. If you choose the simpler path of belief, you
are in for exploitation. You will be vulnerable to exploitation because you chose the path of
belief, not enquiry.
This Independence Day, I would like to point out that the freedom of our country is not the
same as freedom of individuals. We would like to celebrate the freedom of individual
human beings. Find ways to free yourself from the bondage. Growing up is a journey where
a person gets more and more entangled in chains. No other species is as much a slave as we
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are. Wake up. Be responsible for your life. Don’t just accept things. Don’t just believe in
things. Ask questions. Enquire. Contemplate. Don’t just believe – Seek. Be a Seeker. Don’t
blame others if you choose the path of blindfolded belief.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.
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Freedom from Invisible Chains
Godly morning friends!
In the previous talk I had mentioned that human being is in bondage. Human being is not
free. I am going to explain the same in detail. Let us look at a few things one by one.
Starting with the most sensitive and burning topic - Religion.
As I had mentioned that human being is a servant and is perpetually in the service mode,
the reason for this behaviour is his ignorance, which leads him into believing in whatever he
is told - instead of trying to know the truth. Hence he ends up serving blindly. Due to this
ignorance we don’t even realize when the elixir of life becomes poisonous.
Speaking of religion, it is an art; it is a science to help human being towards liberation. But it
is one of the biggest bondages for human being too. This is ironical. Religion came into
existence to liberate human beings; however we became a prey to it and imprisoned
ourselves in the name of Religion. Why did this happen? If I ask you whether you are
religious, you would nod in affirmation and tell me you’re a Hindu or a Sikh, etc.
We often hear people boasting about the quintessential practices in their religion and how
sincerely they follow it. If somebody talks badly about their religion, they take an offense.
They will go to any extent to defend it and even put their lives at stake, if need be. People
get aggressive at a single prick on their religious sentiments. But is their aggression
religious? Even before we talk in that direction I want to ask these people if they know what
religion really is!
I see a lot happening in the name of religion. I see gatherings where people strongly voice
their opinions about religious practices and how religion governs their life. Everybody just
nods in agreement. Nobody can dare voice their opinion if it is not in sync with the
philosophy of the crowd. It will wreak havoc. At such gatherings, I have never seen anyone
with an understanding of what religion is.
People are proud of being religious. They’re absolutely stiff about their religion and its
practices. But they have never bothered to understand what religion really is. What is it that
they are so stringent about? Where did their religion originate from? What was its purpose?
What is the destination it leads to? What does it stand for? Where did it come from? Who
formed it and why was it formed? There is no understanding of these fundamentals; and
people don’t even make an attempt to understand. Whatever is practiced in the name of
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religion is believed to be true. People get all aggressive when their beliefs are questioned
because they themselves don’t know the answers. They are at a loss when they’re asked
simple questions about something they ardently believe in.
Religion was supposed to unite – but in reality it is the biggest reason why people fight. It
divides people. There are multiple communities; and each community shuns the other and
disapproves of the others’ existence.
When someone finds the ultimate truth and shares his understanding with the world, it
leads to the birth of a new religion. The enlightened ones uniformly disseminate their
understanding – they don’t discriminate basis colour, caste, or religion. The truth is made
available to everyone who wants it, there is no bias. That is why; when a new religion is
formed, it has followers from all existing religions. It is funny how, over a period of time, the
followers of the new religion unite and stand against other religions as one. This is just an
example I shared because, for now, I will not get into the detail of religion and its origin. It
will take a long time, and there is a recording already available on the same subject.
A clear understanding of religion is an eye opener. Religion is a science; it is a means of
knowing the truth about oneself. One connotation of Religion is Swabhaav (nature). If I talk
about fire, the nature of fire is to burn. Flames have a typical saffron colour and they always
go upward. These are the characteristics of fire. Same is the case with religion. Religion is
your temperament. It is your nature. Religion is the means to achieve your true nature, your
Swabhaav. The ones who are able to achieve the ultimate eventually teach the others on
how to achieve the ultimate.
Now the question is why does one need to find their true self, or their true nature? Because
the farther away we are from our true nature, the more miserable our lives will be. Imagine
what will happen if fire starts cooling things down instead of burning; or the flames go
downward instead of upward? What if fire forgets its true self and becomes afraid of the
heat? This is against the core nature of fire. The same way, human beings forget their true
nature. It’s human tendency.
The moment you are born, you open your eyes to the world outside; and then the outside
world becomes your whole life. You join the mad-race and forget your true nature. We just
discussed the true nature of fire – that it is supposed to burn. If I asked you what the true
nature of a human being is, what would you say? People who have found the ultimate truth
have answered this question before. They’ve said human being is beyond body and form,
beyond mind, beyond emotions. A person’s being is Shuddh Chaitanya; pure consciousness.
The pure consciousness is eternal. The very being of a person is awake, alert, aware, Jaagrit.
It is a formless, nameless consciousness whose very nature is peace and bliss. The way heat
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is the nature of fire, happiness is the very nature of a person’s being. If fire starts believing
that it is cold; you would ask it to wake up and feel its own warmth. Likewise, bliss is our
nature. Divinity is our nature. It is just that we have forgotten about it. We are as different
as individual waves, yet united as the ocean. In the act of governing the body as per the
name and form given to it, the formless consciousness forgets its core purpose of being. This
is the root cause of all misery in life. The moment we acknowledge our purpose of being, we
become happy. If we keep reminding ourselves of our true self, it does the trick and fear
disappears. Misery disappears too. Misery is a state of mind. Your true self is beyond mind.
Realisation of your true self leaves no space for misery. Pain disappears too. Pain is physical.
Your true self is beyond body. Therefore, pain goes away too. To sum up, true religion or
Dharma, is the end of suffering. It is your true self – and also the medium to attain to your
true self.
Some people make efforts to find the path that leads to happiness and bliss. When these
people succeed in finding the ultimate solution, they share the secret with others. Multiple
people reach the same destination through multiple paths. As a result, the paths they share
with others also differ. Every individual has a different personality – that is why their
methodologies are different too. To cite an example, if you have to go to Connaught Place
from here, there are multiple ways of doing so. However, if you had to go exactly where you
already are, what will happen? What if you have to come back to the same spot where
you’re sitting right now? That is exactly what is required. You have to reach within yourself.
One needs to stop wandering and come back to oneself. Sounds like gorakhdhanda
(confusing), right?
For simplification, we need some tricks and techniques that help us experience the state of
bliss within. This state is beyond body and beyond mind. There could be thousands of ways
of doing so. If you succeed in experiencing the a-mani dasha (mindless state) once; then you
can do the same every time with a click. Once you have experienced it, you already know
how to get there. And once you know it, you would want to make others experience it too.
If the enlightened one has a naughty personality, he can use mischievous tricks. For
example, he can startle you by saying Dhappa, or Boo as you enter the door. In the
moments that you’re startled, your mind will freeze. You will get a glimpse of the formless.
You just have to be aware. This technique of making you freeze in the present by startling
you was created because the personality of the enlightened man was mischievous. When
this enlightened one dies, his followers will continue to say Dhappa as a religious practice. It
will lose its purpose and reason. It will just remain like a custom.
I’m trying to say that if we try to go deeper, we will realise what our final destination is –
and also how to get there. We will realise that all the saints and monks who attained to
divinity eventually spread the message. Paramatma means Param Aatma, the ultimate
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spirit. So whoever attained to their own divinity helped the others attained to it as well.
Their compassion made them share the path with the others. Their methods and techniques
came from their personality. The time and era when they get enlightened also played a role.
Like today I emphasize on having the meditation techniques stored in your mobile phones.
We can’t predict the future of technology in the coming 500 years. For all we know, science
may come up with a way to install a microchip in your brain and cell phones will go
obsolete. You’d only find cell phones in museums then. But if you are a follower and it is
your religion to keep the techniques stored in a mobile phone, you will make all ends meet
to keep the phone with you.
This goes on like a vicious circle because we do not work on the deeper level of
understanding. We do not work towards breaking the obvious. We do not work on
understanding the reason of our being, our religion. So I suggest don’t live with beliefs, ask
questions, raise a doubt. Inquire about the hows and whys of a religion. Reason things out.
There is so much exploitation in the name of religion. There are dharma gurus exploiting
your ignorance in the name of religion. In the name of religion, one can be turned into a
suicide bomber who will blow himself up along with other innocent people. Did you ever try
to understand what role religion is playing in this act? Did the suicide bomber even question
the logic of his act before blindly sacrificing his life? We act the same way as the suicide
bomber, when we blindly believe.
We are in bondages; we are caged because we don’t make any attempt of breaking the
shackles and getting free. You have intelligence, use it. Use your mind. Be logical.
Contemplate on things. Don’t just blindly follow a pandit and do havans for your loved ones
who died 25 years ago. Don’t be superstitious. You have two eyes. If you still walk like a
blind man, you’ll be mocked.
I will not speak more on religion as it is a never ending subject and there, already, is another
talk on this topic you can listen to.
Basic understanding is to not believe in everything you are told. Question the authenticity of
things. Know things with deeper understanding. Then only will you realise that religion is a
path that leads to freedom. It a path full of happiness and bliss. It is there to end the misery
and suffering. This realisation will make you rich. It is not necessary to follow the religious
path you are born with. Find your path. Understand the awakening you get from each path.
Find the path that suits your personality. Find the techniques that match your persona.
We follow techniques from all paths here. Each brings different results on different
individuals. Different techniques come from different paths. This is the treasure which
makes you rich.
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Going further on this topic, another common term that people use all the time is: culture.
If there is something defined as cultural, it must be done in a specific way because the
culture says so. You cannot question it, you cannot raise a doubt. You must follow it blindly.
But is it necessary to follow it blindly? What is culture after all? The term culture has been
used so many times that we are convinced that we know what it means. Even the thought.
that we might not know the meaning of culture, is remote.
Every community, every nation, and every individual has a past. Every family has a past.
India has a past. Each religion has sub castes and each caste has its own past. The practices
that our ancestors had been following in terms of art, technology, festivals, architecture,
etc. became our culture. Things they have done in the past, the food they ate, or the way
they dressed up, etc. comprises of our culture today. Culture is the umbrella under which
your way of celebrating universal festivals, or birth, or death is defined. It includes
traditions, customs and religions too. Culture, in short, is human’s past or history. Each
community or nation has its own past; and hence its own culture. Every individual or
community propagates its culture to be supreme and sings songs of its greatness. They
make hollow claims of preserving their culture against the self-declared threats.
I once met a person who had an inclination towards politics. Throughout our conversation,
that man grumbled and complained about people who are a threat to our culture. That man
had no clue of what culture meant and what real threats are. But he continued to moan
because that’s what one must do in order to be a successful politician.
That is why; preachers (Dharm gurus) should first explain what religion is - instead of just
giving commandments related to their religion. They need to start with giving an
understanding of religion and its origin.
With time, comes awareness and greater knowledge. Pure consciousness is the ultimate
truth. I spoke about it earlier. Since this is the ultimate truth, it will never change. However,
the paths towards the ultimate truth may vary. We can all recollect incidents from
scriptures that have been proven wrong. There are religious books that claim all planets
revolve around our planet; which has been proven wrong.
How do you know the authenticity of the shastra that you blindly follow in the name of
religion? They were passed down from generations of followers and could have been
altered in the process. They were written centuries back as per the circumstances then.
What is the guarantee that the word by word application of these books will work in today’s
day and era too? Also, what is the guarantee that these texts were not altered as per the
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convenience of the followers? Just because it’s written and recorded, it does not become
the absolute truth. But dare anybody question the beliefs! Raising a doubt perplexes people
because you are not supposed to do that. Their lack of understanding makes them irritated.
If you are lucky you might get an answer from these believers but even if you do, it would be
so illogical that nothing will come out of it. Everyone likes people who don’t ask too many
questions. In fact even parents like kids who don’t question their beliefs.
People will give answers that defy all logic. There is a joke you might have heard based on
how illogical people can get. Two Haryanvis were going somewhere on their bicycles. The
chain of one bicycle kept getting off. One man asked the other, “Your cycle is giving a lot of
trouble today, what’s up with it?” The other man replied, “Why, I’ve heard your daughter
had run away with someone last year?!!”
This is how defensive people get when you ask them valid questions – and that is what their
answers sound like.
People today are scared of being questioned. The kid who does not ask questions is usually
an absolute favourite in the family. Parents won’t hesitate in leaving their assets to such
kids. The kid who asks questions is usually seen as the troublemaker. They don’t have the
answers to his questions. How will they? They’re trying to follow and live the message that
was delivered thousands of years ago. How will the answers fit the world today? But nobody
thinks in this direction. That’s why these questions leave people irritated and clueless.
Whoever tries to spread the truth, which ultimately leads to creation of a religion, does it
with the sole purpose of removing misery from human life. Be it religions, scriptures or
traditions - they are for the human being, and not vice versa. They were created for the
human being.
Same goes for culture or tradition as we may call it. Habits from yesterday have become
traditions today. Habit of a particular community or country at large in the yester years,
stands as its tradition today. Same goes for customs. All these terms complicate things.
The fact is simple. Our goal is to lead a happy and blissful life and realise our true self. That’s
about it. Know yourself, know God. It is not complicated at all.
To begin with, people need to stop propagating the greatness of their culture because the
fact is that our past comprises of both good things and bad. If you are sincere, then browse
through the history, and understand your cultural practices - you will be ashamed at the
results. Beauty of things will be a rare find. You will only uncover the ugliness of your sacred
culture. Our past had way more faults as compared to our present. It is the same with
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individuals. We are all a mix of good and bad qualities. Why can’t we accept the fact that no
culture is completely good or totally bad? Every culture is a mix of good and bad things. Why
can’t we just incorporate the good things from all cultures and neglect the bad practices?
Something which was beautiful yesterday might be outdated today. Ignore the outdated
part. Take the learning out of it and leave it behind. Awareness is needed. Blind faith in
one’s culture needs to be dropped. There is no point following practices for generations just
because they are termed as culture. It is a meaningless activity.
Individualistic cultures need to be dropped. Oneness needs to prevail. Let there be a
universal culture for human race, at large. Let there be one common past for humanity,
regardless of segregated cultures or religions. Learn from all cultures alike. Extract and
adopt the beautiful elements and add them to your life. Let go of the ugliness.
The East is obsessive about their great culture. They claim to be the spiritual gurus of the
whole world. This is true to an extent. True spirituality originated in the East. But there is no
denying the hypocrisy that prevails in the East in the name of spirituality and religion.
Don’t you think the West has spiritually evolved from the understanding they borrowed
from the East? Western countries are becoming more and more interested in meditation, as
compared to the East. The West is running programmes looking for enlightenment, etc. A lot
of bestselling spiritual books that explain the essence of spirituality have been written by
western authors. Clearly, the west has borrowed this understanding from the East; and has
accepted it as part of its own culture now. The same is the same with us.
Our culture has become tech-savvy today. Did we have computers back then? Did we have
online shopping in those years? No. This shows that we have advanced with times. Our
culture has upgraded as per the growing times. We had the knowledge of spirituality and we
integrated science with it which came from the west. Our life is incomplete without science
today which has come from west. There is a need to accept the fact that there is one
common culture for the entire human race. We must take the good out of it and let go of
the bad. Be it tradition or customs, we can follow common practices. The acceptance of
cultural harmony will bring a breath of freedom and happiness.
There is a common practice in North India called Karva Chauth where wives fast for a full
day to express their love for their husbands. This is how the love towards husbands is tested
and measured. This fasting supposedly blesses the husband with a long life. How does this
even remotely make sense? This practice has been aptly summed up by someone renowned
as “How does a cow’s fasting ensure a long life for the bull?”
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There is no logical or scientific reason behind this widely celebrated festival. You cannot
possibly find one. There could be emotional reasons but practical reasons are hard to find.
Maybe you’d say there is an emotional angle and it’s a way of expressing love. The amusing
fact is that this festival has got so much attention that TV soaps are promoting it
aggressively. Mindless people make such shows for mindless people to watch. That is how
the word spreads. People start following these practices for the sake of amusement. Not
just wives, husbands have also started fasting: just to express their love. Rules for this fast
are becoming more and more stringent. Even if you don’t believe in it, you are not allowed
to say it out loud because it will hurt the sentiments of relatives and family members. So
some women go out and eat – and pretend to be fasting in front of others, just to maintain
the norm that has been followed for generations.
People need a reminder to use their brains logically and to think wisely. There is nothing
wrong with expressing love. But it can be done in a logical way. Someone started fasting
years ago as a way of expression. But it doesn’t make sense any more. You can find and
create your own way of expressing love, something that is more doable. There is no need to
suffer in order to express love, right?
There is a joke commonly shared on this occasion.
Husband hears noise of pots and pans in the kitchen at 4 AM on Karvachauth. The husband
screams at the wife asking what she’s up to at such ungodly hour. The wife screams back,
tera hi syapa muka rahi hoon… (Shut up, all this commotion is for your long life only).
So much for the expression of love! Most people do it blindly just because their tradition
demands. The feeling of love, which was actually the reason behind fasting, does not
matter.
If you are a logical and free person, you can find hundreds of new ways of expressing love.
Find an interesting one. Be innovative. Find any way to celebrate the expression of love in a
sane manner. An act of sacrifice cannot be termed as love. Beating yourself with a hunter is
in no way an expression of love. That is punishment. That is torture. Where is the beauty in
it? Similarly starving for a day for the sake of someone you love sounds torturous. Where is
the sense in it? Some people may say they like the paraphernalia of the festival. The whole
elaborate dressing up and make up associated with the day makes them feel good. But do
you think that is a good enough reason still? Does it justify the starvation, the sacrifice? This
is restriction instead of expression.
You are free! Free to love; free to express. Free to find a way to express it. Why do you have
to follow commandments associated with celebrating festivals? Celebrate Diwali the way
you want to. In fact, pick any day and celebrate it. Celebrate your life the way you want to.
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Follow a cultural practice only if there is beauty and rational reasoning in it. If it doesn’t
sound logical, don’t do it. It is as simple as that. Do what makes sense to you. If it doesn’t,
then you are free to choose otherwise. This choice will free you in the real sense.
All cultures and tradition of all communities or countries are yours. They belong to you.
Study them. Adopt the ones you find beautiful. If you don’t like any, go ahead and create a
new culture of your own. That is how the existing cultures came into existence anyway. We
don’t know the exact reason for their existence. Some could have risen because of political
reasons. Others could have been social or circumstantial. If there was scarcity of water in
those times, then building wells on your birthday or donating water could have become a
tradition. Had this been an actual tradition, it would wreak havoc because there is no place
to dig wells. This tradition would have made sense in those days, but not anymore. Follow
this approach with every custom and practice. Upgrade yourself with changing times.
One needs to keep a track on the redundancy of practices. One needs to know when they
are outdated. This is clearly a challenge because without questioning the obvious how will
one find the logic in it? One needs to look into things with a higher level of awareness and
enquire the cause of their existence. Blind affirmation to redundant practices is not going to
take us anywhere. We need to drop blind agreements. Only then can we call ourselves free.
Without exercising this freedom, you will remain caged forever. And remember, a prisoner
will make every effort for others to remain prisoned as well – because an encaged life is all
he knows. That is what he will pass on to the others too. To accept that you’ve been living
an encaged life is difficult. That is why people keep looking for ways to defend their customs
and practices. It takes a lot of courage to accept that you’ve been living in slavery. To avoid
the acceptance, people find out logic and reasoning to defend their customs. It should
ideally be the other way round.
This is what causes slavery that the human being is subjected to. Human is enslaved by
religion, culture, customs, and tradition. Many centuries ago, some wise men shared their
understanding in order to make human life better. Their understanding was fit for their
times. But today the situation is different. How can the same understanding be implied
today and how can we expect it to bring the same results? Everything has changed. The
understanding should be altered as per the situations today.
When you subscribe to a -vaad or an –ism, you become a believer of that philosophy. Once
you become a believer you are scared of questioning it. You will blindly follow what is
written or what is said.
Be a knower; not a believer. Seek. Contemplate. Be a seeker. Find out the truth instead of
just following things blindly. Awaken. Only then can you call yourself free. So when you
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realise that you are caged and bound by invisible chains, you become aware of the invisible
prison that has trapped you. Mere awareness will make you break the chains one after the
other. You will gradually break all the invisible chains and become free. Free yourself from
the shackles. The first step is to become aware of the chains that hold you down. Some of
these chains have been given to us by the society; and some our own mind has created. You
will clearly be able to see the chains of expectation, anger, etc. and how they have added
misery to your life. You will become solution-centric. You will seek to resolve problems. You
will realise that people keep highlighting your faults; and they don’t let you love and live
what you have. This awareness will free you of the invisible chains of attachment and
possessiveness. “When I possess, I am possessed.” You will become aware of the suffocation
that comes with possessiveness. You will start freeing yourself of everything that has been
causing misery in life. You will work towards freedom from jealousy; freedom from duality.
Slowly, you will also start to free yourself from the body and mind. You will start spending
time with your true self. The whole process of attaining freedom will become a journey. You
need to embark upon this journey – the journey from social freedom to spiritual freedom.
Samajik mukti se aatmik mukti tak ki yatra. But this journey will initiate only when you will
stop believing and start contemplating. You will taste freedom only when you become
logical and scientific in your approach. Only then will you get a glimpse of the treasure you
have been searching for.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.
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Freedom from Superstitions
Godly Morning!
It is a fact that since the very childhood, a human being gets entangled in a lot of bondages.
Bondages that are neither necessary for his life; nor are good for him. People try to defend
these bondages, and don’t want to get rid of them. There are some chains that are enforced
on us by others. We try our best to break these shackles that are forced upon us from
external factors. But there are also some chains that we impose on ourselves – and instead
of breaking these chains, we try to defend them and retain them. These invisible chains are
like heavy rocks tied to our souls. Unfortunately, we mistake these rocks for precious gems;
and we adorn the chains like gold chains. We neither make an effort towards breaking these
chains, nor let others break them. We are all expected to walk on the path that has been set
and has been walked on for centuries. When a bird takes a flight, the entire sky belongs to
it. The bird is not bound to fly on a fixed line in the sky. The bird knows its destination; the
bird knows what it needs. It works towards reaching its destination and fulfilling its needs.
But it is not bound to follow a fixed path in the sky. The bird simply takes a flight and the sky
belongs to it.
Look at human beings though. We have been devoid of the vast skies. We have been given
fixed paths and we are expected to spend our entire lives crawling on the path assigned to
us. We are very well aware that these paths that have been assigned to us are not making
us happier or blissful. We are very well aware that these fixed paths do not bring any
flowering in our lives, these paths do not make our lives fragrant, these paths do not add
beautiful melodies to our lives, these paths do not lead us to liberation and peace. How will
they? How can we hope to be liberated if we hold bondages close to our heart and value
them as ornaments?
Human being has the maximum amount of facilities and luxuries, as compared to any other
species. Despite that, we are miserable and frustrated. There was a time when some
diseases were limited to kings and monarchs. These were called Raj Rog (royal diseases).
These diseases have become common now. Depression is one such example. Someone is
said to be in depression when they find their lives to be empty and meaningless despite the
abundance of all material things. People in depression don’t find their life worth living.
Suicide looks like the only way out. That is because people are not able to break the shackles
that bind them. And they will not be able to break the shackles till the time they realise that
they are bound and caged in the first place. Mukti or liberation isn’t possible as long as the
person is caged. And happiness isn’t possible without freedom from these chains. So,
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frustration is inevitable. That is why people keep trying different ways of finding happiness.
They keep setting goals after goals to find happiness. But the happiness they find is
temporary. Every accomplishment or every new experience will bring excitement, but the
very nature of excitement is temporary. It doesn’t last. Different people find different ways
to keep themselves excited – some people find excitement in gadgets, some in
relationships, etc. Every new experience brings hope; hope for a beautiful, relaxed life. As
soon as we succeed in accomplishing a goal, we automatically jump to the next. Hope
usually wins over experience. Bliss and happiness are not possible without breaking out of
the shackles that bind us. Look at the current situation. With the amount of luxury and
comfort available to man, life should be as beautiful as a dream.
I read somewhere that when Buddha or Mahavir meditated, a lot of mosquitos and insects
kept bothering them. So you’ll find it written in scriptures that one must choose such a place
for meditation where there are lesser insects. Look at the situation now. When you sit down
to meditate, what bothers you? It’s your own thoughts that bother you. You don’t have to
worry about the weather being too hot or too cold. You don’t have to worry about insects.
We live in times when the environment is extremely favourable and supportive of
meditation. But still, we’re not happy.
The fact is: we will not be blissful and peaceful under these bondages. These bondages will
remain till the time we make an effort to break them. We will not be able to break out of
these till the time we don’t realise that the chains that bind us are actually not ornaments.
We are so blind that we convert everything into bondage. That’s because we don’t think
scientifically. The irony is that if a Messiah shares ways to break the shackles, only a handful
of people attain to liberation from breaking these shackles. But a vast majority of people
create shackles out of the path given by the Messiah. We know the art of converting elixir
into poison; because we don’t contemplate, we don’t doubt, we don’t ask questions. We
simply believe what we are told. That is why, what was elixir once has converted into
poison. Look at religions, traditions, cultures, customs, scriptures, great personalities. They
were meant to free us – and ironically we have created multiple chains in their name.
I want you all to wake up. Stop believing, start thinking. Enquire. Ask questions. Be scientific,
logical, and rational. Don’t just practice something only because it has been practiced for
ages.
I would like to talk about superstition. You cannot count the number of superstitions that
exist all over the world. If we start discussing, at least 50 superstitions will come up only for
people living in Delhi NCR. Shall we start the discussion? There is one thing that might go
wrong with the discussion. Some people know about some superstitions, and the others
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know about some others. If we start discussing, everyone will know about all the
superstitions and they might start new practices. 
That is because our mind works that way.
It is considered to be a bad omen if a black cat crosses one’s path. A black cat will only cross
your path when it is going somewhere. Be logical and explain how does that make your life
unlucky? Do you think cats are dumb enough to even bother? Have you seen a cat dumb
enough to think that it’ll have a terrible day because it happened to cross a person’s path?
Superstitious practices might have had some relevance in the distant past. People used to
cross jungles on bullock carts back in those days. A pair of glowing eyes at a distance could
mean the presence of a big cat (like a tiger, leopard, etc.). Maybe in those days it made
sense for people to make a halt and not proceed with their journey. What sense does it
make for you to think that a cat crossing your path brings bad luck?
People say you should not clean your house in the night. I ask, why not? It is possible that
people back in those days didn’t sweep their houses in the night for the fear that they might
sweep something useful or valuable. This is back in the days when people lived in the little
light from the lamps and nights were actually dark. You still follow the age-old practice.
There are so many practices like these that have no relevance or logic. One should not cut
their nails in the night. One should not wash clothes on Thursdays. One should not eat eggs
on Tuesdays. It is a sin to eat eggs on Tuesdays but it is fine to do so on Wednesdays. One
should not get their hair cut on Tuesdays/Thursdays. There are countless things. Breaking of
a glass is bad omen. If you’re going out of the house and someone sneezes, it is considered
unlucky. If they sneeze twice, it is okay. We think someone is missing us when we sneeze.
How are all these things logical? You’re laughing at these things right now but you continue
to follow them.
When a cat crosses your path, it does scare you, right? You might say you don’t believe in
these things but you’ll delay your journey if someone sneezes right before you step out.
What’s the harm after all? Fear is what makes us believe in and follow these superstitions.
Why do superstitions exist? I don’t think we are so blind that we do not see how illogical
these things are. But we just don’t have the courage to let go of these beliefs. Fear is the
reason why we are unable to stop following these practices. We are afraid that something
wrong might happen. Does that mean that all the wrong that has happened in the world so
far is because someone did not follow these practices?
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If one eyelid bats, it brings good luck. If the other bats, it brings bad luck. Do you think all
the accidents that have taken place in the world so far have been caused because a black
cat crossed the drivers’ path? If one hand itches, it indicates that you’re likely to find money.
If the other itches, it means you’re going to lose money. You don’t wash your hands and
they itch – what has money got to do with the itching? If itching on the hands is related to
money, what does itching on other body parts indicate?
Fear is the main reason we go on following these practices. And fear exists because we want
our life to go as per our wishes. But the fact is - anything can happen. In fact, so many things
happen against our desires.
Think about it. It is not like superstitions are common for everyone in the world. They keep
changing with the change in place. Different communities, different countries, different
people have different superstitious beliefs. Internet has connected us and made the world a
global village. So a lot of superstitions have become common for all. For example, the
number thirteen. You will not find the 13th floor, even in Indian buildings. Nanak found
liberation through number 13 (tera). Tera is the Hindi word for thirteen. And it also means
‘Yours’. He was once counting sacks of wheat. As he reached Tera (13), it made him
remember God. And here, we don’t have the thirteenth floor in the buildings we construct.
Because we have become a global village, we have started to share each other’s
superstitions too. This means we have a longer list of superstitions to follow now. The
number of chains is increasing. We are creating more and more prisons for ourselves.
People want their lives to go as per their desires. That is why they try their best to avoid
undesirable incidents. We want our house, our spouse, our kids, our possessions, our
parents to stay safe and secure. We want everything to happen as per our desires. But the
very nature of life is to be unpredictable. Life doesn’t have to follow our desires. We have
absolutely no control over life situations. Have you heard of incidents where people go to a
special temple at a special time to pray for their long lives? And due to stampede, a lot of
people lose their lives right then and there. Such incidents at holy places are really common.
Life is such. What has to happen; will happen. If you think something is unfavourable, you
can make efforts towards avoiding it. You can make the efforts; but the result depends on
multiple factors.
You think curd and sugar will help you gain good marks? I challenge you openly. Don’t study
at all the entire semester. Eat lots of curd and sugar on the day of your exam. Will you stand
first in class?
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Look at the cunningness and the cowardice of the mind. People do not have the courage to
let go of these illogical beliefs and practices. And they try to find logical reasons to justify
their beliefs. Even if you find the justification for a few of these practices – like curd and
sugar calm you down and give you energy, etc. – tell me honestly, what is the degree of
calmness that curd and sugar bring right before an exam? Even a glass of water will calm
you down, right? If you are frustrated within, you will fight with the bus conductor on the
way, no matter what amount of curd and sugar you’ve consumed.
So people try to find logic and justification for their practices. I only have one question for
these people. Did you start following these practices after you found out the logic behind
them? Or you’ve been practicing them forever, and have found the logic later so that you
can protect these beliefs?
We want everything to happen as per our desires. And we are also painfully aware that we
cannot control life situations. That is why we create things outside that we can rely on. Like
we rely on someone to sneeze twice before we step out for a journey – so that the journey
is fruitful. This is because we have no acceptance towards what life brings. We constantly
live in non-acceptance. And the Existence, or God, or life unfolds situations as per its plans.
Anything may happen in anyone’s life. No matter how many nimbu mirchi (Lemon and
Green chilies are believed to ward off evil eye) you hang in and around your house; what
has to happen will happen. Have you noticed that most trucks that topple on highways have
nimbu mirchi hanging? How does it help? But people want a magic wand that eliminates all
incidents they don’t desire. The worst part is that people don’t just follow existing
superstitions. They continue to create their very own superstitions every now and then. For
example, if a cricket player scores a century wearing a specific mala, he will wear the same
mala to all future cricket matches. People who gamble create a lot of lucky and unlucky
charms. Different people create different superstitions. Look at your mind. It creates
superstitions too. Is there any logic behind these superstitions? No. There is a deep-rooted
fear.
How can we take a flight when we have tied so many rocks around our wings? There are
times when some superstitions make people confident. Like the curd-sugar combo might
make a student confident before an exam. But if you look deeply, more than confidence,
these things induce fear. These things make us more and more fearful; and fear makes us
rely on these things.
You just need something to put the blame on when things don’t work as per your plans. You
will also never be able to accept that anything can happen in life. Right now, wearing
birthstones makes you think your business will flourish. It definitely will – the person who
sells birthstone will have a great business because of you.
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Wake up. Have the courage. If you find yourself practicing things that make no sense, have
the courage to stop. You might feel uncomfortable at first. Courage doesn’t mean the
absence of fear. Courage means doing the right thing despite the presence of fear.
I remember an incident. I was about 12-13 years old. I was walking down the lane, and I saw
a kite falling at some distance. I ran towards it – because kites that are found are more
valuable than the kites that are bought. I saw an old man was walking right ahead of me and
incidentally a cat had just crossed his path. This old man stopped and let me go first – so
that the back luck is cast on me instead. Look at the fantasy people live in. He was much
older and would not have lasted much longer – even if he had gone ahead.
Have the courage. Drop these chains. They’re not protecting you; there only tying you
down. These chains stop you from making the effort in the right direction. These chains
have shaken up your self-confidence. These chains have crippled your ability to fight and
survive in the world. You live under constant fear and every single unfavourable incident
makes you feel that you did something wrong. These chains make you hollow and spineless
– exactly the way termites make furniture hollow and useless. How can a fearful person be
happy? He will always be afraid to lose any happiness he may find. Where is the time to
enjoy the happiness when the person is constantly busy fearing its loss? These superstitions
have not given anything to you. If an accident has to happen, it will happen regardless of
whether you’ve followed these practices or not. If someone’s time has come, he will die. It
doesn’t matter whether they’ve followed these practices or not.
You desperately want to avoid unfavourable incidents – even if it happens at the cost of
completely illogical practices. Wisdom is totally paralyzed in your case; because you
continue to turn a blind eye towards the fact that life is unpredictable and anything may
happen. No matter what you do, anything can happen.
There is an old parable. A man had a dream that Death is coming to get him at 5 PM the
following day. The man mounted his fastest horse and started running. He was confident
that he will beat Death. He knew Death will never be able to catch hold of him. He reached
really far from home and stopped to take a breath exactly at 5 PM. As soon as he calmed
down, he saw Death in front of him. Death said, “I wasn’t sure you will be able to make it
here on time because the place is far from where you live and the time was short. But you
were destined to die here and exactly at this time. Glad you made it!”
So, accept the fact that anything may happen. The Existence has given you the ability to
make an effort. Don’t cripple it hoping for a miracle.
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A lot of so-called saints have never even been to school. And people ask for their blessings
to help them clear exams. Such irony!
It is a simple fact that anything that happens in the world can happen to us as well. It is
indeed scary to accept. But fear is not the solution.
I remember another parable. A Fakir in a village noticed a black shadow outside his cottage.
Now this is just a story. Don’t take it literally and start believing that Death comes as a black
shadow and also talks to people. The biggest challenge in talking to superstitious people is
that they take everything literally and start believing. You never know they might start
seeing black shadows from this day on. Mind creates hallucinations. So I insist that take this
just as a story – not literally.
So the Fakir saw a black shadow and asked who it was.
The shadow responded: I am Death.
Fakir: where are you going?
Death: I have a lot of work to do in the village nearby.
Fakir: What does that mean?
Death: A plague is expected to break out in the village and about a thousand people will die.
When the plague broke out, one lakh people died. The Fakir was shocked. He didn’t
understand why Death lied to him about the number of people who will die. He kept waiting
for another encounter with the black shadow. And one day the encounter happened, and he
asked why Death lied about the number of lives it was going to take.
Death replied, “I hadn’t lied. I had only come to take a thousand lives. The rest died out of
fear.”
Behtar hota ke aag bujhane mein marte tum,
Ye kya, ke jaan bachaane mein mar gaye?!!
(It is more glorious to die trying to douse the fire. There is no glory in dying while trying to
save your life.)
This is what ordinary life is like.
First things first, identify and accept the fact that anything may happen. Insecurity is the
biggest fact of life. It is difficult to live with insecurity but it is still the biggest fact of life.
Death will come when it has to. Sickness will come when it has to. You can make efforts to
avoid it – you can eat well and exercise and maintain hygiene, etc. These are all valid efforts
that you can make. But there is no guarantee, right?!!
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I have heard that a fat woman jumped from the 7th floor of a building in order to commit
suicide. On the ground floor was a man teaching Yoga Aasanas to people to increase
longevity. The woman fell on top of this Yoga teacher who died immediately – and nothing
happened to the woman. While he was an expert at Yoga, he still died. The woman is still
alive.
So anything can happen. You can only make efforts to keep yourself safe and healthy. You
can find a better place to teach Yoga. Being careful is under your control. But always
remember, there is no guarantee that life will go as per your plans. Don’t let your efforts be
influenced by fear. Don’t be superstitious. If you do some research, you will find spiritual
practices around the world funny. But you will also feel ashamed because you’ve also been
doing things that make no sense at all. A woman can’t go to the kitchen if she’s on her
periods, so on and so forth. When the science hadn’t evolved so much, a lot of things were
created for multiple reasons. People didn’t have an evolved intelligence and logic. That’s
why fixed rules were given to them. But it is not necessary that those rules apply in today’s
day and age too. See for yourself. If you find some of these practices useful, keep following
them. But if they’re not useful, let go of them. The criterion should be, ask yourself if you’re
retaining something out of fear or is there actually a scientific reason for you to retain it.
Courage is the only solution. Have the courage to let superstitions go. And accept the fact
that life is insecure. It is, has always been, and will always be insecure. Anything may
happen. That is why, it is important to live life beautifully, right here and now. Don’t ruin
your present fearing for what tomorrow may bring. You fear sickness. But at least live your
life till the time you’re not sick. You fear death. It might come tomorrow. At least live
happily today. Accept that anything may happen. That is when you will find the confidence
to start living. Life will take a sudden jump and you will see the difference. You will sleep
better, you will feel more relaxed. You will actually be able to taste life and say, Life is
beautiful. Have the courage and accept that life is insecure and anything can happen. Accept
it. I think getting rid of superstitions will make a little difference. And that little difference
will make a huge difference. At least my people should be able to drop these chains and
take a flight into the vastness of the skies.
Click here to watch this recorded talk on YouTube.
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