what do we mean by freedom?
- We read about freedom, rejoice in the notion of freedom, advocate for freedom, but Freedom means different things to different people
- Political freedom is having the opportunity to vote for particular ideas, people, or parties which best represent our views.
- Freedom does not comes from a government alone.
- Verbal freedom is the notion of freedom of speech, where one has the liberty to voice their personal opinion or perspective.
- Political and verbal freedom are significantly good, but they are not true freedom.
- 'Real freedom is freedom from the opinions of others. Above all, freedom from your opinions about yourself. ' [Brennan Manning]
- Freedom is Equal opportunity irrespective of birth, physical appearances, financial standing and paper qualifications.
True freedom occurs when there
- is no bondage to external things
- is safety (to live with out fear)
- is Freedom to earn for our Livelihood
- is Freedom to acquire Knowledge and to have our own views
Freedom coin
One side of freedom coin contains freedom. Other side represents responsibility, self discipline and control. Both come together in pairs.
Freedom from and freedom to can also be considered as two sides of the freedom coin.
Freedom Triangle
Currently, We have freedom as long as we operate with in rules and regulations of national, industrial and communities. This is even applicable to animals and other life forms. We have to operate with in the triangle understanding limitations posed by Political Economic Geography.
Real freedom is a term coined by the political philosopher and economist Philippe Van Parijs. It expands upon notions of negative freedom by incorporating not simply institutional or other constraints on a person's choices, but also the requirements of physical reality, resources and personal capacity. To have real freedom, according to Van Parjis, an individual must:
not be prevented from acting on their will; and
possess the resources or capacities actually to carry out their will.
Freedom to be unique
Each and every one of us is born with unique traits and characteristics. It is impossible to find another person who is exactly like you. Every one can contribute to well being of all, with their unique skills, knowledge, attitude and so on.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to be different in a group."The nail that sticks out gets hit with a hammer". If you are different and made your fellows look bad, then you would be beaten down. Tht is reality.
Freedom is not
- Rebel against good in order to do our own thing
- Free to choose whatever we desire, harming others or affecting other’s freedom
- Free to Obtaining many bad habits
- To live in jail, which is very comfortable and eat for free.
How to achieve true freedom
- Feel responsible for your body. Get control of your health.
- Find or create work you love.
- Choose experience over material things.
- Don't settle any time, as everything is changing.
- Do not Worship power.
- Be free of anger, pride, and ego. The person who is wise and has no ego will find that everything is very free.
Sayings on Freedom and Happiness
- Better to starve free than to be a fat slave.
- Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
- When truly free, you will be in a good condition and will always be happy.
- Being always happy and making others happy. If one gets freedom and no happiness, why seek freedom?
- We must have a good attitude to try always to be an optimist, not to be a pessimist. This is what we all can do so that we will always be happy.
- Three American principles--of the people, by the people, and for the people--have we really achieved these three ideals? "
- No man is free who is not the master of himself.
Beneficial bondages
- Parents love their children and wish them to be free and have everything good. University and educational regulations
- Work place discipline and demands
- Society is very complex with dos and donts, to maintain harmony
- State or Government laws. While the state exists there is no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no state.
Caution on Freedom
- when we do have freedom, we often lose it because of misuse.
- Longevity is a freedom which you may have if you want it. But many do not utilize it.
- Any one can help those who help themselves.
- As the purpose of freedom is to create it for others, it is one thing you can't have unless you give it to others.
- Before you enjoy freedom you have to first control yourself. You should not make yourself a nuisance to others. It is well described by James Russell in his work "Stanzas on Freedom":
Real Freedom is not to owe anyone anything
Live with in your means, resources and limits. Then You don not owe anyone:
- any money or any favor;
- an explanation for your life priorities;
- an apology when you have not done any wrong;
- permission for doing anything you like with out affecting others;
- your agreement on their religious or political views or personal beliefs;
- a yes to everything they say;
- an explanation for your physical appearance;
- an explanation for your career or personal life choices or food preferences or living situation or relationship choices.
Administrator:NARA is a Consultant by profession and an Engineer by qualification. Nara holds an Engineering Masters degree and have worked 25 years for leading organizations.
Now working part time on country/technology research projects and Maintaining community Web sites.
Spending more time to pursue his interests on studying: ancient scriptures; maths & astronomy; physics; philosophy; history & culture and so on.
