Independence Day

Happy 72nd Independence Day

As we all celebrate our 72nd Independence Day and shout out ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and “Jai Hinds” let us think whether we are independent? Yes, it does invoke a sense of patriotism within us and somewhere deep down quite a few of us feel proud too.

But let me pose a question to each one of you here. Are you Independent? No, no … don’t be in a hurry to answer. Just sit back, think awhile and answer. Are you truly Independent?

Let me assist you answer that! Independence Day is a joyous occasion; think of 1947, when the nation united to celebrate the end of British reign and we got FREEDOM!!!

Freedom gives joy. The knowledge that we are free gives us that JOY!!! Think back of your first bike/car/job .. and the sense of independence; the joy. So if you are independent you should’ve been joyous, right? Are you? The answer by a majority of you is NO.

Fact is, you all are slaves. Slaves to your own habits. And these habits have become hardwired in your brains. Think of all the times you got angry/irritated. On query, invariably the answer is, he/she did this and I lost control (and got angry), his/her such and such actions irritate me so much … and at times we go to the extent to say .. he/she knows I get irritated with such an act and yet he/she did it on purpose to irritate me.

Now, let us analyze this a bit. His/her actions angered/irritated me. My peace, harmony, happiness; my very own stability was shaken and stirred by someone’s action/talk/ situation and so on. My peace/harmony/joy/happiness is dependent on his/her action. Where is the Independence? We have given the control of our stability to someone else who controls my buttons. The remote has been handed over.

Let me give you another example. So you were in a tight situation, facing your angry father and the easy way out was to lie your way through. You chose that option and were able to make a getaway. The next time the lie came easier and slowly and steadily, your brains get hard-wired. Soon, its your habit. And now the system has been short circuited. You don’t think (OR choose); your brain does it for you. YOUR FREEDOM to choose has been blanked out as the default mode now is to lie. Where is your FREEDOM?

This INDEPENDENCE DAY choose to be totally independent from your own habits. be In-dependent. IN dependent; here you are dependent on your own self; your feelings, emotions and stability. Thus you are INDEPENDENT and not dependent on others feelings/ actions/words/ situations.

Take a PLEDGE.