What is Independence?
Independence from what and from whom??
These questions travel in my mind often; the answers are pushed in vain.
Firstly, this thought process triggered me to understand the meaning of Independence. According to the dictionary, Independence is defined as Sovereignty, self-government, liberty, freedom, etc.
But why do these many complications define simple Independence?
By the way, Independence from what?
This resulted in a question: What is freedom?
To grasp the concept of freedom, we must first comprehend its opposite, ‘slavery or bondage,’ which means being limited in our ability to choose from a multitude of options, essentially getting trapped in certain possibilities. This constraint is always tied to our beliefs, boundaries, and conditioned reactions. These boundaries and beliefs are merely the ideas and concepts we have embraced as truths. When these ideas and beliefs become as rigid and unyielding as concrete, they form prison walls around us that prevent us from seeing beyond them.
Yes! That’s it! Today, most of us have bondage developed towards the West at the very roots of our thought process, and we have accepted the truth that the West has extraordinary knowledge and is almost next to God! We have created a concrete wall around our mind and become “kupasta mandukam” (frogs struck in a well) and are not at all ready to know the truth that “we were the best of all!”. And we are all living in that self-created prison!
Is it self-created, or is it planned to keep us in this state so that we create such a prison for ourselves? By the super brains of the British!
India shines as a beacon of knowledge and wisdom, thanks to the immense efforts of our ancestors who ensured self-reliance. The British realised that the rich tradition of education and wisdom in our culture was an obstacle to their aim of making Indians their perpetual subjects.
LORD MACAULAY’S ADDRESS TO THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT – 2nd FEBRUARY, 1835 was as follows:
“I have traveled across the length and breadth of India, and I have not seen one person who is a beggar or a thief! Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber that I do not think we would ever conquer this country unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore I purpose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture. They will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.”
It is undeniable that we let them carry out their plans without a hitch. Individuals have been reduced to mere bundles of nerves, reacting predictably to external stimuli and circumstances. Particularly with the rise of social media and various platforms, information is manipulated so that our perceptions align with specific agendas or individuals’ interests, often straying from the truth. Consequently, public discourse tends to focus on mainstream and social media topics rather than factual realities.
We must dismantle our conditioned responses and embrace the limitless, which defines FREEDOM! True freedom comes from silent observation. By becoming aware of situations, choices, and interpretations, we first experience freedom in choosing. We should connect with our inner self rather than a self-image influenced by external forces.
