Of the ideas that have inspired mankind throughout the ages, freedom is perhaps the most powerful. And perhaps the most debated and the most fought over.
The question is — Is Absolute Freedom possible?
There are two types of freedom — Internal freedom and External freedom.
Internal freedom is freedom from selfish evil desires of envy, anger, and lust. Why no one says Empty mind is God’s workshop?
Human mind spontaneously gravitates towards evil. As if evil intoxicates man, gripping his mind. Every man is thus a slave. Slave of his own evil desires. And each and every one must set himself free. Freedom is the aim of human life.
External freedom rather demands freedom from the external forces. Forces of tyranny of monarchs. Oppression of the state. Exploitation of the capitalist. Opinion of the majority. Or all of them combined.
Freedom from any one or all kinds of political, economic and social oppression is the aim of external freedom.
Absolute freedom is therefore both internal and external freedom. But is it possible?
No form of external freedom is possible without internal freedom.
External freedom without internal freedom is a dream.
History has repeatedly proved that all kinds of social or political movement, whether communism, liberalism, anarchism, or democracy, have utterly failed to give external freedom.
Oppression and exploitation still exist. But perhaps, in a modern way.
Slavery still exists, by not an individual master but by big corporates. Still some people are more equal than others. Still ministers and politicians oppress public by imposing unnecessary taxes and making policies that fill their pockets. Starvation still oppresses the third world countries. Still the terror of rapes and the fear of terrorism suppresses social freedom.
Slavery still exists in terms of wage labor which Abraham Lincoln described as an unfortunate necessity only for the “penniless beginner in the world.”
The solution to external freedom therefore must lie somewhere else. And that the ancients found, not outside but within.
The solution, then, is to gain internal freedom, since Internal freedom frees man from the evil desire to oppress and exploit.
This internal freedom can be gained by practicing spirituality.
Spirituality is the only way to conquer and erase evil selfish desires. Spirituality purifies the spirit and makes a sage out of human. If internal freedom is to be gained by some way, that is spirituality.
Every human must therefore pursue spirituality and be a sage at whatever station of life one is.
And once the selfish evil desire to control and exploit others for personal benefit is conquered and erased, and every man gains internal freedom, this uproots the entire problem.
Tyranny and oppression will disappear. And all will be free.
Automatically free. Absolutely free!
But there is a problem…
Internal freedom is difficult to attain. So, until then?
Only few can understand what internal freedom is, let alone achieve it.
Even those who strive for it, rarely attain it. So, what to do? How to prevent oppression and exploitation?
It is a practical problem.
One thing must be clear, whatever political, social and economic system one follows, it must aim to gain internal freedom.
But which system is the best? That is the question.
For thousands of years, ancient Indians and Chinese successfully followed the system of Monarchy, but with a difference.
The king or the monarch was a sage king.
That is, the king was enlightened and had gained internal freedom. That was number one qualification to be a king.
The king’s duty was to protect peoples’ interest. To see that everyone strives for his or her internal freedom. He achieved this by educating people and himself setting an example.
This system was said to be inspired by Gods and was successful for thousands of years. So why can’t it work today, when all other system for gaining freedom have utterly failed?
All other systems guaranteeing absolute freedom are useless.
First, whether it be communism, capitalism, democracy, liberalism, or anarchism, all must fail, since they do not aim towards internal freedom. Even Monarchy must fail if it loses its aim.
Second, all other systems more or less rely on giving power to the masses, either in combined manner or on individual basis. But this in itself is a blunder.
As already pointed, only a few can gain internal freedom. One out of thousands. And that person (and not the son or the blood line), who has gained internal freedom, must be the authority and be given all power. He is the Monarch. That is the concept of Monarchy.
Since the king is a sage king, free of all evil desires to oppress and exploit, internally free, his qualities will seep down into his subjects, just as water trickles from high to low.
By his nature, the king will prevent all oppression and exploitation. He will naturally inspire and educate others to aim for internal freedom. He will plan policies, and create in his kingdom a conducive environment, to enhance the gradual attainment of internal freedom.
All this is possible only with Monarchy.
So, Is Absolute Freedom possible?
The system of Monarchy that aims at Internal Freedom by practicing and incorporating the principles of spirituality is therefore the only and the best way to attain Absolute Freedom for everyone.