It is interesting that all humans, no matter what color of skin, age, sexual orientation, we all wish or strive for freedom, happiness and joy.
It must be inherent in each human soul a deep knowing that freedom is possible and that I have the right for freedom.
There is also a deep knowingness in each individual when we experience that we are not free. We feel a sense of justice and we know that something is not right.
It is one of the basic human rights, to be free. Free of suppression, slavery, manipulation, and the list goes on and on endlessly.
We could call that maybe more an outer kind of freedom, which is nevertheless important and essential. And it should be our common sense and strive to offer as much freedom as we can and stand up for each other.
When we look at the yoga philosophy some texts were laid down over 400 years BCE and already mention it. The 4th book of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali talks about Kaivalya, which means freedom, liberation, detachment.
So when Patanjali writes about freedom he addresses the freedom of the mind, freedom from desires, duality, attachments and so on. We humans tend to identify ourselves with the content of our thoughts/mind and to the appearance of our bodies. When we continue doing that it is very hard to reach freedom because you have a body but you're not your body. You have a mind but you're not your mind. You're something much greater which is your essence, which is part of the source and part of all that there is. So the entry point of freedom is to realize who you really are. I am, that I am.
It should be the aim of your life to find who you are and let your light shine into the world.
In that search for the real self, for the essence it is helpful to continuously practice to detach yourself from the identification from your body and your mind. This needs training.
The practice of yoga guides us naturally into the process of letting go and in moments of detachment you will feel the merging of your soul with oneness. Therefore the last sutra of this book is:
4.34 puruṣāṛtha-śūnyānāṁ guṇānāṁ pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṁ sva-rūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śakter iti
Kaivalyam is the state of light that permeates consciousness and it follows the re-merging or re-absorption of the gunas, back into their original source, due to their becoming disinterested on behalf of the individual self.
In kaivalya, the individual self returns to its source, which is pure consciousness, awareness, intelligent light and the aspirant stands in the fullness of his/her incarnation as the Luminous Soul. (Translation by Manorama https://sanskritstudies.org)
Ｍｕｃｈ ｌｏｖｅ <３
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