On August 15, 1947, India gained freedom from the British Raj as a result of sacrifices made by great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Nehru, Maulana Azad, and thousands of others who suffered grievously at the hands of Britishers. Our forefathers had a beautiful vision of a united India which was free from poverty, communal hatred, slavery to foreign habits and goods, and had also the full liberty to build its own future, which was styled by Mahatma Gandhi as the ‘Ram Rajya’. But today, when we look at the present state of our beloved country, we are unable to match it with the vision which our freedom fighters, or the father of our nation, had envisaged.
Most of us would agree on this point that what we have today is not Ram Rajya. In fact, it seems that Ram Rajya is nothing but a mere mirage, for a well-known verse about Ram Rajya says that it is a place or a period where everyone, right from the king down to the most ordinary subject, is righteous and that purity which is the essence of true religion, is visible everywhere. But one finds that in the present India, not purity but poverty, and not virtues but violence and vandalism are visible everywhere. Under such a scenario, if we want to have real freedom, we will have to liberate ourselves from the chains of 5 vices viz: lust, anger, greed, ego, attachment. As long as we have not secured a release from these five well-known enemies, we cannot call ourselves truly independent.
We should not forget that Gandhi ji’s dream of establishing a true Ram Rajya in India will remain a far cry unless we give top priority to spiritual empowerment of our countrymen. For, only those who are spiritually enlightened can ensure the lasting growth and well-being of a nation. Once the human soul realises its own identity, and the nature of its role in the drama of this world, it easily gets rid of many illusions and negativities that come by identifying oneself with one's body. With this realisation, when the soul begins to commune with the Supreme, it gets filled with HIS powers and virtues. Remember ! True freedom means balance between the soul that we are and the body that we have acquired to play our role. Till we realise for what role we came to this earth & execute the same, people continue to feel the suffocation like a prison. With self-introspection , self realisation and application of divine laws of karma, we can build for ourselves a beautiful world rather than a cage,thereby encouraging others to live in sovereignty.
The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal and the UK, and has written more than 8,000 columns. He can be contacted at nikunjji@gmail.com / www.brahmakumaris.com
