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This
ardent pride in our culture and loyalty to our Mother Land
and Mother tradition are hallmarks of the Indian people.
Many historians have noted that India is the only
country where the people were colonized so forcibly for so
many thousands of years, yet where the people lost neither
the depth nor richness of their ancient culture; nor did the
people�s loyalty to their original culture wane or
dissipate.
As
we celebrate this glorious holiday, as we rejoice in our
hard-earned freedom, let us look beyond our external freedom
to rule independently. Let us look at whether, internally,
the people of India are truly free. Swarajya means
�self-rule;� it means that we, the Indian people, have
control over our own land, our own government and our own
rules. So, we achieved outer swarajya; we achieved
freedom from the British. But, have we achieved inner swarajya?
Do we, each of us, have control over ourselves? Are we truly
free internally?
The
chains used to be imposed by the British. They were overt
and obvious. Many of us are still bound by chains, yet these
chains are more subtle and insidious. They are the chains of
our attachments to worldly possessions; they are the chains
of our craving to be more and more Western, thereby leading
us to forsake the richness of our culture; they are the
chains of corruption � both external and internal; they
are the chains of desires for sensual fulfillment.
The
chains of our attachments to worldly possessions and sensual
pleasures keep us prisoners even more than the British
imperial rule. When
our focus in life is on attaining more and more wealth, more
and more material objects, more and more prestige and fame,
and more and more comforts then we must live within a set of
rules even more limited than those imposed by the
colonizers. We must forsake our family for our job. We must
spend less time engaged in spiritual pursuits in order to
�get ahead� at work. We must travel extensively, thereby
weakening the bonds of family. But, most importantly, when
we are focused on material success or sensual pleasures, we
are not even free in our own minds. Check yourself. Sit
quietly. What comes to you first? Is it God? Is it a passage
from the scriptures? Is it a desire to go to temple? Or is
it a thought about work, a project or some material object
you�ve been craving to attain? When we are committed
primarily to material prosperity, our predominant thoughts
tend to be those pertaining to our careers, our investments,
our colleagues, our projects and our desires. These concerns
trap us and prevent us from finding true freedom in life.
Yes,
it is wonderful to be successful. It is wonderful to be
prosperous. It is wonderful to be comfortable and to enjoy
life. Even in our scriptures, Bhagwan Shri Krishna was a
king who lived in a city of gold. However, it is the
pre-occupation with the accumulation of more and more that
binds us. It is the obsession with �success at all
costs� that becomes our captor.
In order to be truly free, we must loosen the chains
of this attachment. We must perform our duties for God and
take whatever comes as prasad. However, we should never
become slaves to our desires for possessions, because these
desires can never be satiated, and they simply lead to our
misery and bondage.
Another
chain that, sadly, is enslaving many Indians today is the
desire to be Western. The Western media � television,
movies, commercials, magazines � have convinced the Indian
people, especially our youth, that the keys to happiness lie
in being as Western as possible. Thus, they chase after
Western fashions, Western entertainment and Western
lifestyles. Although the West has a great deal to offer in
terms of academic and professional excellence, the
materialistic culture does NOT hold the keys to true peace,
meaning and joy in life. These keys lie in the ancient, yet
timeless, culture of India which emphasizes simplicity,
piety and focus on spirituality. They lie in the wisdom of
our scriptures. They lie in our rich tradition. Thus, our
youth (and now, unfortunately their parents as well) are
trapped in a vicious cycle in which with each effort to
become more and more Western they must forsake another piece
of their Indian culture. Although they are searching for
deep and lasting happiness, they will find only superficial,
temporary pleasure.
The
key to breaking this chain lies in love and acceptance of
Bharat Mata and Her culture. It lies in learning as much as
we can � academically, professionally, technically,
scientifically � from the West without abandoning our
loyalty to our own value system and our own sanskaras. When
our children can look at themselves and their friends and
say, �I am proud to be Indian,� then and only then will
they truly be free.
Sadly,
we are also bound by chains of corruption within our own
hearts. Are we honest people? Are we righteous? Do we uphold
the principles of dharma? We fought a long, arduous battle
to win our right to freedom from the British.
Let us truly bask in this freedom, realizing the real
richness of our values, ethics and sanskaras. The principles
set forth in our scriptures are just as applicable to people
living in modern Mumbai or Delhi as they were to people
living thousands of years ago in the Himalayas. Let us not
be bound by the chains of jealousy, anger and greed. These
chains bind not only our hands but also our hearts. Instead,
let us live lives of generosity, seva, love, purity and
divinity.
Our
country won independence more than 50 years ago. When will
we win independence over ourselves? When will we be the ones
to determine the path of our lives, rather than let that
path be dictated by our desires, our attachments, our lust
and our greed? God has given each one of us the veto power.
We must exercise it. We
are not light bulbs that can be switched on and off at the
will of others. Yet, too frequently, we act like that. Too
frequently, we let the rest of the world determine our state
of mind, our choices and our values. Let us take our lives
back into our own hands, and turn the reins over only to
God. When our lives become surrendered to His service, to
service for Bharat Mata and to service for dharma, then we
will be a truly free nation and people.
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