(Below is a continuation of the post What It Means To Have Faith)
There are three ways that one can have wealth. One way is the way of inheritance, like how we acquire the wealth of our parents and ancestors, or by winning some lottery. Then we need to take care and strive to preserve and protect the wealth that we have received. Then the third aspect is to grow and multiply the wealth that we have received. For example, if there is some wealth that we do not have, we should not be dejected and say, “Oh, I have not received this wealth, what can I possibly do? I am no good”. No, that is not right. If you have not got something, then make efforts to obtain it. Do hard work to get what you want. Wealth is that which you obtain through hard work and sincere efforts.
Anything that comes to you naturally by way of inheritance or through the merits of your past actions is also wealth. But whatever you gain through hard work and self-effort is also wealth.
The fourth pillar of knowledge is Mumukshatva. It is the desire to be free.
This is present in everyone to some extent, for sure. Everybody wishes to be free at some time. Suppose you are doing some work the whole day and whole night, after sometime you feel, “Oh, I want a break”.
Just imagine what it would be like if you had no holidays at all. What would happen if there were no holidays on Saturdays and Sundays? Then everyday would be the same. What would happen? You would start feeling strangled. In the same way, in life, with any activity, company, or external thing, there could be a sense of bondage, a sense of getting strangled. Then there is an innate desire which says, “I want to be free”.
What do we want to be free from? We want to be free from everything that is negative, we want to be free from desire, we want to be free from anger and so on.
Mumukshatva is the dawning of interest into the deeper aspects of life, a deep desire to be free.
What is that which we do not want to be free from? It is our peace.
No one can say, “I am peaceful, I want to be free from peace”. It is impossible to have a desire to be free from peace and from love. You do not have a desire which says, “Oh, I want to be free from love”. Love is our very existence, it is our very nature. No one wants to be free from love. No one wishes to be free from joy. Does that ever happen? No, because love, peace, joy, generosity are not something one wishes to be free from. No one can say, “I want to be free from my generosity”. Nobody can say, “I want to be free from my beautiful nature; my grand qualities”.
Does anyone ever want to be free from their good qualities? No, it is not so. If you are only acting to be good, then it may be possible that you want to be free. But what is naturally coming out of you as good qualities, you do not wish to be free from that.
No one wants freedom from their true nature, from what comes naturally to them. What is it that we desire freedom from? We seek freedom from artificial things. If we remain stuck in the artificial world the whole day, then we will get so tired. An intelligent and wise person becomes uncomfortable even if he spends a few minutes in a world of artificial display and artificial things. It simply does not happen. So we seek freedom from this artificial world, artificial smiles, superficial behavior and formalities.
Someone may say to you, “Welcome home! It is so nice to see you”, but their face does not reveal this emotion at all. Instead deep down they may be thinking, “O God, when will he leave?” All this artificial behavior is foolishness. One feels suffocated staying in the midst of an artificial world, full of artificial behaviors and displays.
What will you get by such artificial display and whom will you impress by it? What is it that you want, and what will you do by acquiring so many (material) things?
This is what Vairagya is all about. It means to have this feeling that “I have acquired so much, now what more do I need? I have enough”.
What will you get by acquiring so much wealth? What will you get by running after more and more fame and popularity? Once you have enjoyed all the comforts and joy, then what next? At some time or the other, you will feel, “Alright, I have enough. Now I want to be free”.
Holding on tightly to the keys of the house and wanting to control everything is a sign of lack of Mumukshatva, and knowledge cannot dawn in such a state
Taking a deeper interest into life is important. You must take an interest to think, “What is this life, and what happens after life? How many times have I come here and taken a dip in the world?” Mumukshatva is the dawning of interest into the deeper aspects of life, a deep desire to be free. It does not mean that you have gained liberation. No, it means dawning of that desire to be free.
Many people say that you can get liberation by leaving everything and running away. I tell you, running away is not Mumukshatva. Where will you run? Will you run away into the forest, or to the mountains? Do you think you will gain freedom that way? No, you will face a different set of problems there also.
Recognizing that there are problems in life and having that deep desire to be free is what brings us halfway through the journey of life. Then our mind does not get stuck in small trivial matters.
I tell you, once the daughter-in-law arrives in the house, every mother-in-law or father-in-law should decide to walk towards Mukti (freedom). Do not hold on tightly to the keys of the house then. Do not interfere much in the matters of the house, like by asking, “What is being cooked for dinner today?"
See, you have had your fill and enjoyed cooking what you liked for all these years. Now let the daughter-in-law also enjoy and feel comfortable. Holding on tightly to the keys of the house and wanting to control everything is a sign of lack of Mumukshatva, and knowledge cannot dawn in such a state.
Today, there is this Generation Gap because of lack of Mumukshatva. In the family today, the father is 75 years old but he still wants to control and make every decision. The son is already nearing 50 years of age and still cannot take any decisions. His brain is frustrated and locked up because of this. What is the use? An 85-year old man cannot perceive things as sharply anymore, yet he wants to rule everything. He cannot understand that three generations are working in his own company. I tell you, there is so much suffering happening in the Corporate World, and in business families – because of a lack of wisdom.
