Freedom of Choice
There is a pre-existing universal order (ṛta), we are born into this world carrying the three great debts (ṛṇa), and we are expected to adhere to a path of sustainability (dharma). So, it is natural to ask: Where does individual freedom feature in the scheme of things?
Sanātana-dharma offers the greatest possibility for individual freedom with the caveat: My desire to be free should not trample upon your desire to be free.[1] The path to realizing one’s goal should not trespass another’s. One’s joy should not come at the cost of another’s. This is precisely the type of compromise that dharma facilitates. It strikes a healthy balance between the ghastly excesses of anarchy (extreme freedom) and authoritarianism (extreme control). Sustainability is not possible if there is imbalance—and the role of dharma is to maintain the dynamic equilibrium.
Just as there is a universal dharma that applies to everyone (sāmānya-dharma) and a particular set of rules, responsibilities, and privileges applicable to certain groups and in specific situations or places (viśeṣa-dharma), there is also a concept of individual dharma (sva-dharma).
Sva-dharma refers to the nature of an individual—his temperament, his interests, his natural abilities, and work that is attuned to them. To excel in one’s own dharma, even if it is less glamorous, is better than trying to imitate another.[2] When people stick to what they are disposed towards and intrinsically good at, they not only attain personal success but also become valuable to society.
When an individual chooses a profession that is aligned to his innate abilities and interests, there is greater chance of commitment and hard work, which eventually leads to excellence and fulfilment.[3]
No pursuit is perfect and every profession has its share of benefits and travails. Why feel inferior or superior about our chosen profession?[4] When we love our work, all the hurdles seem insignificant but when we work against our nature, even trivial things seem like unsurmountable obstacles.
In Hinduism, individual freedom is not merely tolerated—it is actively encouraged and celebrated.[5]
Basic Human Traits
While discussing about individual freedom, it is useful to understand the inherent tendencies of humans (termed ‘guṇa’) as identified by our philosophers: Radiant Goodness (sattva), Relentless Activity (rajas), and Deluded Lethargy (tamas).[6] These guṇas may be seen as three grades of attitude but in practice, humans have these three traits in some proportion.
Of course, we need all three traits to some extent – tamas helps us rest and fall asleep, rajas makes us work to maintain our body, and sattva offers us the mental balance to face life with all its ups and downs; sattva also imparts joy and refines our wisdom.
The general idea is to first try and overcome tamas; then work to manage rajas using sattva, following which we toil to master our senses and completely establish ourselves in sattva.[7] When we adhere to sattva, we take up work that is aligned to our innate nature and find contentment in life.
Sattva aids our advancement, rajas is a state of stagnation, and tamas is a downward spiral.[8] When we establish ourselves in sattva, what we are doing in essence is traversing in the right direction on the path that leads to the final ideal of going beyond these three traits and realizing one’s true Self.[9]
Stages of Human Life
Human life has been broadly divided into four stages (catur-āśrama) by our tradition – studenthood, life of a householder, a life of retirement, and the life of an ascetic who has completely renounced worldly pleasures.[10]
In the first stage, one learns all the time, as much as he can. Student life was to be focussed on study and acquiring life-skills. He had to lead a simple life that was pure and was to prevent his mind from wandering around trivial things. He was to cultivate the qualities of an open mind, attentive listening, grasping what has been heard, retaining knowledge in his active memory, ability to extrapolate with the available knowledge, putting forth cogent and logical arguments, ability to formalize thoughts through experiential wisdom, and finally a deep knowledge of the essential.[11]
As a householder, he had to earn money, raise a family, build a house, and help people who are in the other three stages of life. The means to practise this has been given in the path of the five great yajñas – offering to seers, deities, ancestors, humans, and all animate and inanimate beings.
Retirement from active social life and moving away from materialistic pursuits was the next stage. A person in this stage was expected to employ his wisdom and experience to mentor younger people from the two earlier life-stages when they sought for guidance. In the past, the retired individual departed to the forests and spent his time in contemplation. The guidelines for this stage are given under four basic practices – 1. Constantly reflecting upon what separates vastu-tantra from kartṛ-tantra, discerning the eternal from the ephemeral; 2. Gradually giving up the desire for physical pleasures and expectation of heavenly joys; 3. Cultivating the six-fold wealth of: a. control of the sense organs, b. control of the body, c. withdrawal of the mind from the external world, d. forbearance in the face of ups and downs in life, e. sincerity and devotion towards the words of the learned, and f. intense focus; and 4. Developing a sustained interest in mokṣa, which is the experience of Bliss devoid of any trace of sorrow.[12]
In the final stage, the individual fully detached himself from worldly life and became a renunciate.[13]
[1] In fact, Kṛṣṇa goes a step further when he tells Arjuna, “The ignorant ones work for personal benefit but the wise should work for the welfare of the world.” (Bhagavad-gītā 3.25)
[2] See Bhagavad-gītā 3.35 and 18.47
[3] Bhagavad-gītā 18.45
[4] Bhagavad-gītā 18.48
[5] We should, however, never forget that sva-tantratā (liberty, freedom) is only a means to attain sva-dharma (self-fulfilment). Without sva-tantratā, it is impossible to attain sva-dharma but when sva-tantratā becomes an end in itself, instead of being a tool for self-fulfilment, it results in anarchy and chaos. See D V Gundappa’s essay ‘Gokhale for Today: Liberalism Re-stated’ (1958).
[6] See Bhagavad-gītā 7.12; also see chapters 14, 17, and 18
[7] Bhagavad-gītā 2.45
[8] Bhagavad-gītā 14.18
[9] The Sanskrit term for one who has transcended the three basic traits is ‘guṇātīta.’ (Bhagavad-gītā 2.45)
[10] The four āśramas are known as brahmacarya (studenthood), gārhasthya (life of a family man), vānaprastha (retirement), and saṃnyāsa (life of a renunciate).
[11] These eight traits are collectively known as dhī-guṇas (‘qualities of intellect’) – śuśrūṣā, śravaṇa, grahaṇa, dhāraṇa, ūha, apoha, artha-vijñāna, and tattva-jñāna. (See Vallabha-deva’s commentary on Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṃśa 3.30)
[12] This four-fold practice is known as sādhana-catuṣṭaya and was prescribed by Śaṅkara – 1. nityānitya-vastu-viveka (discerning between eternal and temporal objects), 2. ihāmutrārtha-phala-bhoga-virāga (renouncing the desire for enjoyment in this world and beyond), 3. śamādi-ṣaṭka-sampatti (the sixfold wealth of – a. śama, b. dama, c. uparati, d. titikṣā, e. śraddhā, and f. samādhāna), and 4. mumukṣutva (an intense desire to be liberated).
[13] A saṃnyāsī will have, ideally, assimilated the knowledge from his study and internalized it through contemplation; so he spends his time in meditation and fills his thoughts with the Brahman.
Vidyāraṇya, the 14th century ce polymath, in his Jīvanmukti-viveka (1.2) describes two kinds of Saṃnyāsa – i. Vidvat-saṃnyāsa (ascetic by attitude, without any external symbols; living a life of quiet detachment; the substantial renunciation of a knower) and ii. Vividiṣā-saṃnyāsa (ascetic by initiation, with external symbols such as kāṣāya-vastra, daṇḍa, kamaṇḍalu, etc.; a life engaged in the quest after detachment; the formal renunciation of a seeker). The former is deemed superior to the latter. While the ideal is to attain jīvanmukti (liberation in life), the saṃnyāsī who falls short may attain videha-mukti (liberation after death).
To be continued.
