Freedom, the most important aspect of human life

Everyone knows that life is precious, but there is one thing more precious than life: freedom. If freedom hadn't been the most important human desire, people wouldn't have fought for independence from tyrants and dictators. Humans are biologically programmed to live in a hierarchical structure, but that doesn't mean they can't be free. Freedom exists in different forms: physical freedom, freedom of thought, relations, or something else. When I think about freedom, the only name that comes to mind is Bhagat Singh. Just think for a moment: this guy who had everything in his life, a good education, a loving family, and a ton of wealth, decides to go on a path of martyrdom, but why? He was as free as anyone could have been in that period, but still, this burning desire didn't let him sleep. There was no benefit or reward to be enjoyed at the end of his path of being a freedom fighter; he had no hope of reward in the next life, too, because he was an atheist, so he decided to get himself hanged, but why? What is there that is more important than life? The answer is Freedom. He fought for the idea of freedom; freedom in itself is complete; it alone can give purpose to your entire life. Take any important historical figure; they all longed and fought for freedom in one sense or another. Abraham Lincoln fought for the freedom of Blacks, Rene Descartes (Mathematician who gave coordinate systems) fought for the freedom of his mind from every thought that was not his own, Netwon for the scientific revelations, and Plato and Socrates for philosophical freedom. The struggle and fight of these people make them great and lead them one step closer to the truth. 

Let's talk a bit about Rene Descartes. he was one of the greatest mathematicians ever born, but he was also a philosopher. He thought he could represent the entire world in a Cartesian format. He started questioning everything he picked up from the world; he doubted everything and wanted to eliminate every idea that was not his own. He believed that everything is false, only the math is real, but why I'm telling you all this? I want to highlight how important freedom is for such great people. He just wanted to get free from the world of lies and wanted to be one with reality. Let me tell you about one more excerpt from the life of Socrates. he was executed by the court for corrupting the youngsters. When asked to defend himself, he said if you truly want to punish me, give me a home, a pension such that I keep dying every day with so much philosophical weight on my shoulders. Just think for a moment what Socrates is saying here: death is an easy way out for him; he just wanted to have philosophical freedom. If you need to learn how important Socrates and Plato are to the modern world, let me put it this way: you die today, and in the next 50 years, there will be no trace of you, and no one will even remember your name. But Socrates and Plato have been here with us for the last 2,500 years; they must have said something very important to remember for so long because they were not even royalty who got their statues and palaces built up so that future generations could remember them. It is said that if the Western world stands on two legs, then one leg is Christianity, and the other is Plato (student of Socrates). They taught the entire Western world what it means to be free in thought.

But in today's day and age, things have changed; we don't have any tyrants or dictators, so are we free now? The answer is no again; most of us are stuck with thoughts and actions that are deemed acceptable by society. You need to become free to become great. In today's world, we all want freedom of choice. Back in my bachelor's, I got a chance to be free from people's judgment and societal norms as I lived almost an ascetic life for a few months. I grew my hair like a sadhu and stopped eating solid food for days at a stretch, and that was the happiest time of my life; I was free in my thoughts, actions, and relations. At that point in time, I didn't think of my parents, friends, or career; I was filled with ecstasy all the time. I was so joyful that I didn't care even about my death; all the negativity was lost. I had lost the concept of I for a few months; barely any thoughts used to come to my mind. I had no jealousy, hate, fear, or negativity; it was just pure bliss, and nothing can ever surpass that feeling; there are moments now when I feel ecstatic, but never for an extended period.

I've been lucky that I made all my life choices; no one forced me to do anything. In order to be free, you have to disappoint quite a lot of people. Don't behave super nicely with people, including your family. Otherwise, they'll have too many expectations from you. The more people expect from you, the less free you will be. I have a few friends who are extremely nice to everyone around them, but on a deeper look, I see their struggle; they want to be free from all the expectations but can't because of the image they have created of themselves in front of everyone. No one wants to break the image which they have projected for years. When I try to explain what freedom means, many people don't understand what I mean by it. I have sat on roads for entire nights, driven cycle rickshaws, cleaned streets, cut grass, picked up garbage (without any payment), failed exams purposely, slept on floors (for months without any bedding), survived on liquids (on purpose), just to be free from my daily routine so that I can force my brain to look at things in a new light. I'm extremely lucky to be free from the pressure of society (to an extent); I do whatever gives me happiness. I write, compose, and play guitar for hours without worrying about any exam or something else. I came to a different continent a year ago and still live like I used to live in my bachelor's; I still have no sense of fashion; I roam around half of Europe in my shitty shorts. I am doing everything in my life that I ever wanted to do, and this freedom of choice is the most important asset of my life. This attitude of being free didn't come in a day or two; it takes patience and years of practice. I have spent countless hours understanding myself and how my mind works. Nowadays, I'm learning about psychology and how society evolves so that I can better regulate my emotions and be free from the bondage of societal life. In no way my life is perfect. I have my own set of problems, but probably the only difference between you and me is that I chose to face those exact problems, not the other way around.

I want to add more thought to the idea of freedom; freedom is not running away from your responsibilities and leaving everything and everyone behind. Freedom can only be understood in context with restrictions and structures. Freedom is not rejecting every structure but trying different structures and identifying the best ones for yourself. Freedom without a plan and responsibility leads to chaos. It might be okay to be reckless for a while, but in the longer run, it becomes problematic. But here's another crazy idea: if somehow you can develop a seeker's spirit, always insatiable, you can keep looking for freedom for all your life. If you are like da Vinci, extremely gifted and strong-headed to battle up anything, then you can enter the chaos and build something great out of it. The pathway to genius goes through chaos, chasing freedom, madness, and hell. So, ask yourself, how committed are you to seeking freedom and walking the path of constant learning? Are you ready to go through hell to build that transformation, or are you just lost and want to escape the boredom? True freedom demands sacrifice, and when you achieve it, you will realize that you will become even more ordered. I believe Buddha was free. Do you think he was doing random shit every day? Probably not. I'm positive that he lived a well-disciplined life. We should seek freedom not to get away from structure and schedule but to find the one to which we can stick for our entire lives and not get lost in the chaos of freedom. I hope everyone gets the courage to tread the path and find what's best for them.