All the
cities, towns, villages, and wherever possible, today is a big day for Indians,
its our independence day. The much awaited day every year. It marks the end of
a century old suffering, humiliation, exploitation, by a foreign invader. This
is a day of renovation, a day of reestablishment of our pride and honor. The
day when the prejudice ended and justice started. The day which has invoked a
true sense of individuality, and a real sense of existence, among all of us.
The three colored flag flying gracefully, elegantly, with poise marks an emblem
of our independence.
Or our apparent independence.
No, I am not mistyping words. Actually our independence is apparent. Although
we have got independence from our external enemies, but the real enemy lies
within us. And they are lust, greed, anger, envy, pride, and illusion.. until
or unless, we are free from these enemies, in a true sense we are never
independent.
The problems will prevail, or it
may proliferate, which we can see growing. In this context, an anecdote is worth mentioning, long ago
Alexander, the great , when he was on his world wide desecrating campaign, he
came across a sadhu in india. He wanted to meet the sadhu, so he called the
sadhu to come out of his cottage. But the sadhu denied. So, Alexander became so
angry, and he angrily enquired about this weird behavior of the sadhu. And the
sadhus reply was even more bewildering, he told ‘you are slave of my slave’.
Now, Alexander who was the emperor of the whole world, couldn’t bear it, he was
about to kill the sadhu, but wanted to know, why he said like that, the sadhu
replied,’I have made anger my slave, and you are slave to your anger’.
Alexander could understand now, the great message that he got.
The story may seem very fascinating , but that
is the condition of all of us. We are slaves to our own senses and mind. In
other words we are dependent, and miserably so. So, to relish real independence
, we got to be free of the six dangerous enimies, within. Otherwise we can
celebrate the day year after year, but only to see, corruption, injustice,
prejudice, exploitation, abuse, slavery, escalating in a geometric progression,
God forbids it does nt happen.. But unless we are serious about extruding these
enemies, these problems will inevitably crop on our society. So, Krishna,
pointing it out in
BHAGAVAD GITA
7.14,
‘THIS DIVINE ENERGY OF MINE, CONSISTING OF THE
THREE MODES OF MATERIAL NATURE,
IS DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME. BUT THOSE WHO HAVE
SURRENDERED UNTO ME CAN EASILY CROSS
BEYOND IT.”
So, he is giving the solution also. We, the people, are
always under the modes of material nature, and the product of material nature
are the the six enemies, which we are always subordinate to. But Krishna here
is assuring that, it is very easy to overcome, by simply surrendering to him.
In other words by declaring our complete dependence on the supreme absolute,
and thereby freeing ourselves from the illusory forces of mind and senses. We
can become really independent in a true sense. And the method that is
prescribed here in, by chanting the names of God,
With chanting the mantra we can declare our dependence on
God.. and therby become supremely independent. And the mantra in which krsna has invested all his energy,
is all purifying, immediately, it cleanses our heart from the enemies..
Lets
cultivate the message of bhagavad gita, lets chant krsnas name, lets become
free from the bound state, that we are in, life after life,.. this is the
essence of celebrating independence day.. thank you…
