Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: India got independence 75 years ago, no doubt, with the sacrifice of many people. Many generations had been dreaming of a free India.
But we can never claim that we have become independent, that we have become free unless we break out of the shackles of our own mind. When one is tormented by mental and emotional issues how can you call that person free and independent? Freedom indicates fearlessness. Freedom means being happy, being confident. Are you confident? Are you free? Are you happy? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself. Unless you free yourself from narrow idealogy, narrow mindedness, narrow thinking and see things from a broader perspective, you cannot claim to be independent or free.
As Rabindranath Tagore ji said, “Real independence is where the mind is free from fear and the head is held high.” Independence is having a vision in life where your mind is free to think without any pressure, fear, anxiety, intoxication, drugs or habits that shackle you. If you are shackled with drugs, how can that be freedom for you? Freedom from drugs and all the destructive habits alone can ensure that society is able to celebrate the true spirit of independence.
On this 75th Independence Day, take a vow to see that the country is free from drugs. Say no to drugs and intoxicants. Free the country from the anguish and mental health issues the world is facing today. Bring dynamism in life. Unless you let go of laziness, become dynamic and work smart and hard, you can’t say, “I am free”.
This independence Day make this your goal: to be fearless and to move on with single-minded focus.
OSHO: 15th August commemorates India’s Independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after nearly 100 years of domination. The day is celebrated with myriad activities emphasizing Nationalism such as flag hoisting ceremonies, cultural events with patriotic fervor and kite flying!
Several of Osho’s discourses are dedicated to India, where He discusses threadbare the perennial problems confronting India and gives ideas on how to solve those problems to achieve Independence in the truest sense. Osho does not place the responsibility of India’s awakening only on the politicians and bureaucracy.
Osho explains the essence of Freedom and how work has to start at level of an individual to achieve Freedom in the realest sense. Osho says there is no point in repeatedly changing the powerful into the powerless and the powerless into the powerful… it’s an unending game. I don’t preach revolution. I am utterly against revolution. My word for the future is rebellion. What is the difference? Rebellion is individual action; it has nothing to do with the crowd. Rebellion has nothing to do with politics, power, violence. Rebellion has something to do with changing your consciousness, your silence, your being. It is a spiritual metamorphosis.
His discourses attempt to stimulate constructive thinking in all levels of the polity because it is only when we all strive together as a nation; will we regain the lost glory of the great civilization that is India.
Osho has spoken on India in His discourses. Osho says India has always been a metaphor, a philosophical concept, a spiritual unity. This allowed different languages to evolve, different cultures to evolve, different individualities to evolve, and the country was not monotonous; it was a beautiful garden of different flowers, different colors, different perfumes. And we allowed it, because the variety is its richness. There was an inner current that joined people, but it was not political; it was spiritual. It was unfortunate that India was enslaved by invaders viz. the Mughals and the British who tried to destroy the very spirit of India. But India has remained always a spiritual feeling, a spiritual colorfulness; not the monotonous boring one language, one culture, one religion nation. India is not a nation in that sense, it is an entire continent.
SADHGURU: Sadhguru sends his Independence Day Message. “We have always been a land of seekers – seekers of truth and liberation. When you are a seeker, you are not aligned to any particular thing; you are aligned to the life process within you, and that never goes wrong.” Enjoy!
In the last few centuries, India as a nation and Indians as a people have lived far below their potential for a variety of reasons. Though it has been 68 years since independence, nourishment, health and education are yet to be addressed for nearly half the population. But in the last year, there is a new sense of hope and expectation in India, and also in the world beyond. There is an opportunity to power ourselves into wellbeing because we have the synergy of youth.
As a nation, we neither have enough land, water, mountain, nor forest – nor even a piece of sky – for 1.25 billion people. The only thing we have is people. If we leave this population uneducated, unfocused, unskilled and uninspired, we have a disaster in the waiting. But if we can transform this generation into a focused, capable, skilled and inspired population, we have a miracle in the waiting.
India has the opportunity to become a powerful nation. When I say powerful, it is not about a powerful army. It is just that we have the power, knowledge and capability to guide the world towards wellbeing. The rest of the world will naturally look towards India because always, right through ancient times, wisdom meant the world looked east, towards India. We should not lose this position. Becoming a powerful nation and empowering our people is a must; the possibility is right here. We are sitting on the threshold of universal wellbeing.
Through this message, I request this of every Indian citizen – whether you are in the country or you are living elsewhere. Realizing this great possibility will not happen just because of the leadership; it is important that every Indian citizen stands up to make this happen. “How do I do it?” This will be the question. Regardless of what you do in your life – whether you are a peasant or a politician, a policeman or a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer – whatever job you do, do it well. This is the only way to build the nation. Nation building does not happen with great speeches or with slogans. Nation building happens because every one of us does whatever we are doing at a different level of functioning – whatever we do happens out of dedication and commitment to creating a new nation.
B.K SHIVANI: Being able to watch a favourite TV show without being forced to change the channel, is freedom for someone. For someone else, owning a bike and not having to depend on public transport is independence. Going out shopping and having own money to spend is freedom for another individual. Remaining healthy even in their 80s is the idea of independence for yet another. The connotation of Freedom factor is varied and interesting. And having just celebrated Independence Day, it is an ideal time to introspect if we as individuals experience independence in its true essence.
Most of us have come a long way in achieving freedom—we have our own country, our own home, our own car, our own money and our own position. It feels wonderful. Yet, one vital dimension keeps stealing our independence, off and on. We constantly rely on something or someone for who we are, what we do, and how we feel. We commonly say: “Doctor has asked me to avoid sweets, but I cannot resist,” “I have an exam tomorrow but this video game is too addictive to stop mid-way,” “I am upset because of them,” or “I raised my hand on my child unintendedly.” These illustrate that our thoughts, feelings, words, behaviour and even sense organs have slipped out of control. Whether we admit or not, we are not Emotionally Independent.
Emotional dependencies and addictions have subjected us to frequent suffering, victimisation, and a sense of suffocation. Think about this—we no longer choose whether to get angry or not. We no longer choose whether to feel hurt or not. We no longer choose whether to feel insecure or not. These emotions have gone into an automated mode because we have been using them far too often. The more we go into an automatic mode, our freedom to choose a response gets finished.
Ask yourself, “When do I get hurt, irritated, angry, or happy?” Your answer could be: “It DEPENDS ON the other person… it DEPENDS ON how they behaved… it DEPENDS ON how many people were around… it DEPENDS ON my situation… it DEPENDS ON what I possess…” If we want to list our dependencies, it is easy to guess a person, place, phone, internet, social media, television, coffee, tea, alcohol, smoking, food, shopping and so on. Deeper checking reveals subtle dependencies such as wanting people and situations to be our way, wanting approval, wanting love and respect, wanting our opinion to be counted… it can be a long list.
In case of our country, we were slaves to somebody else before August 15, 1947. We wanted independence from an external force. But the freedom we want now is from our own ways of thinking, self-defeating beliefs, habits, expectations, attachments, addictions and dependencies. So, our freedom struggle needs to be fought by ourselves, with ourselves. When we transcend physical and subtle dependencies, we experience freedom. When the thoughts we create, emotions we feel, words we speak, response to every scene are completely our choice, we experience freedom.