Ask yourself if you are a free bird today. When a thought about something troubles you repeatedly, it means you are not free. To be free means to experience freedom from any kind of bondage. The enlightened beings call this state as Jeevan Mukti.
You can experience the state of a Jeevan Mukta—the liberated one—only when you let go of your mind which bases itself on your emotions, happenings, occasions and occurrences.
Unfortunately, for most people in this Kali Yuga, mind rules and dictates their life.
If your mind, which is a storehouse of several bundles of thoughts, completely hampers and envelopes you, that means you are far from being free.
Your thoughts can be on anything under the sun or above the sky. It can be a silly thought or even the most complex one. You must note that if a thought is occupying you, that means you have not yet experienced the freedom.
If you observe, your soul always prompts you to be free from the thought constantly bothering you.
The path of spiritual sadhana aids you in transcending the thoughts of your limited mind and makes you cross over the waves of emotions generated by the ocean of your mind.
Sadhana can either be meditation, contemplation on spiritual truths, going for a yatra or mantra jaap.
Any of these will instantly burn the thoughts in your mind. That is why it is said—Mann Trayati iti mantra.
Likewise, even a yatra helps you transcend your physical and mental limitations and enter the supreme world of divinity where there is infinite bliss, bliss and only bliss—parama ananda.
Whenever your soul moves towards the spirit, paramatman, that very moment you become free because your mind starts gyrating on vibes emanated from your soul. Now, you have started working on your soul or self.
There is always a difference between you and your ‘self’. You may be Mr. A or Ms. B or Mrs. C. As long as you are any of these, you are always bonded to some attribute or a virtue.
This bondage will bestow some pleasures as well as pain on you and keep you firmly bonded to your mind and personality. It is the mind that is
forming your personality and keeping your heart confined to this personality alone.
When both your mind and heart are released, then you only remain the self which is ever liberated and blissful.
Being blissful and liberated doesn’t mean you have to forgo your profession, money, family… When you are a liberated person, it means your mind has been liberated from its mindsets. As a liberated being, you will be driven by the power of your ‘self’ and not by the personality.
When you leave for the office, you leave as a free bird. Similarly, all your activities will be powered by the soul, which is truly independent, with complete freedom, still retaining your awareness.
ashram-india@shrinimishamba.org