Are we Free or Prisoners?

We might think that we are free. 

But if we analyze ourselves closely and objectively, we may find that we might be prisoners after all. 

Prisoners of our desires and attachments.

We all have desires. 

Everyone has some desires.

It's part of human nature. 

And there is nothing wrong with having desires.

But sometimes, we become attached to certain desires.

We continually keep thinking about them over and over again and desperately wanting to get it. 

We become prisoners of those specific desires - and constantly keep thinking of finding ways to fulfill them.

If they are not fulfilled, we become unhappy - sad, angry, and even depressed.

And if we get what we want, we temporarily become happy.

It boosts our ego.

But soon, it loses its charm, and we start looking for something else and become prisoners of another desire.

       We also become attached to what we have - to our possessions.

We may have been fine when we did not have certain things - like diamonds, a big bungalow, or a large estate. 

But if we lose it after having it for some time, it becomes painful. 

We constantly keep thinking about it and keep on suffering. 

We feel like a loser and become a prisoner of those depressing thoughts. 

               We also become prisoners of certain beliefs.

It’s good to have some beliefs - but it’s not good to become their prisoners. 

If we do, then we cannot see beyond the boundaries of those beliefs. 

Our vision becomes very limited. 

It diminishes our ability to analyze and accept other theories and beliefs.

Truth cannot be realized by a closed mind with a limited vision.

Rabindra Nath Tagore, a receiver of the Nobel Prize, once said that we try to build walls of certain beliefs around ourselves for protection. However, sometimes those walls become so high that we become prisoners within them and cannot see anything beyond those walls.

Bhagvad Gita says:  

Attachments are the root cause of all sufferings.

Attachment is a great invisible binding force - 

and freedom from it means happiness and Moksha.

Freedom - not from desires and possessions, but free from being attached to them. 

Free from being a prisoner to certain distinctive concepts and beliefs and being open to other - new ideas - new horizons. 

                                            ‘Rajan Sachdeva’