Listen Humanity
Avatar Meher Baba
Book Excerpt: Notes on Freedom (Part 1)
One important condition of spiritual freedom is freedom from all wanting. It
is wanting itself which chains life by attaching it to the conditions in
environment which would fulfill that want. If there is no wanting, there is no
dependence, and therefore no limitation.
The individual never achieves true freedom until he is no longer pushed or
pulled by any inner compulsion. When he has worked through all the desires and
worn them so threadbare that he can be or not be - have, or have not - then he
is free. It is here that the perfect masters are indispensable in helping to
lighten the crushing burden of trying to wear out and discard the wants.
When the individualized soul break through the encasing steel armor of
wanting, it emancipates itself from its illusory bondage to bodies, mind and
ego. This is the spiritual freedom which brings with it the final realization of
the unity of all life and puts an end to all doubts and worries.
Fully conscious, eternal experience of spiritual freedom is the inevitable
and final destination for all life and for each individual being.
The method for abandoning the hold which duality has on consciousness is not
simple. The more comfort and pleasure available to man, the less his chance for
a strong enough push to force him to give up even the temporary happiness of his
achievements. And yet he must eventually do this (internally) to bring the full
focus of consciousness to bear on the experience of the eternally inherent self
or soul, with all its blissful freedom of real existence.
This is why God loves most the so-called destitute and helpless. The greater
the helplessness, the greater can and should be the dependence upon God for His
help, which is ever more ready than are the sincere and earnest wishes for it.
The greater the bindings, the greater the chances for quick, permanent relief,
through fully conscious experiences of man's own original and everlasting
freedom. The unlimited and everlasting spiritual freedom of the self or soul
exists eternally and infinitely in one and all, and is equally available to
every man and woman irrespective of class, creed or nationality.
Spiritual freedom can and does descend all the illusory phenomena of duality,
because divine oneness is always divine Oneness, before the beginningless
beginning and beyond the endless end. Contrarily, the illusion of all material
binding from first to last is always illusion, and even its illusory experience
depends upon the play of the eternal spiritual freedom of the soul.
It is only in spiritual freedom that one can have enduring happiness and
unhampered self-knowledge. It is only in spiritual freedom that one finds the
supreme certainty of truth realization. It is only in spiritual freedom that
there is a final end to sorrow and limitation. It is only in spiritual freedom
that one can live for all, and yet remain detached in the midst of all activity.
Any other lesser type of freedom is like a house built on sand, and any
lesser attainment is fraught with fear of decay. There is no gift greater than
that of spiritual freedom. Those who have understood the supreme importance of
spiritual freedom must only only strive for it themselves, but also share the
God-given duty of helping others win it.
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