Are we free?

 

We are not free. As an individual we have no existence. No choice, no way, no space, no value. If we have something it is collective in nature, “the collective wellbeing and happiness”. We are social beings you know? We are inter-woven in relationships, in families, in biradaris, in cults, in groups etc. we have our cultures and traditions, dos and don’ts, we are dependent throughout our lives on these forces. Our decisions hold no value, no place, no significance, our decisions are taken collectively by others and then we are consulted for consensus with no other choice but to accept. Decisions are taken not by keeping the individual happiness and freedom in mind but by elders of families who rarely consult the person whose fate is being decided.

 We are brought up and nurtured since our childhood to be obedient always, accept what elder says, don’t go against them and accept everything you are asked to. Parents give birth to us, nurture us, brought us up, care for us, invest on our education and certainly they want us to live a happy life ahead, they claim they love us so they take decisions of our lives, if you accept their decisions you are revered as obedient and good, you get a lot of blessings and wishes in return because you have accepted their decisions, but if you question their decisions and seek consideration of what you like or dislike the whole story took a drastic change. 

The reward of what they have done for us become prime demand then, the emotional part of the story sets in and it changes the minds of people and they accept what is decided for them. We don’t realize this because we are always told to become obedient and we think this is the only right thing to do.

The parents always want that their children should do what they and society as well family approve of. There exists a very beautiful yet illusive concept of family respect and fame which is dependent solely on others (people around). We are always warned don’t do this “what the people will say” we don’t think about reality but about fake perceptions of people, we are always scared of defamation of the fame which is a matter of question. Parents always wants to maintain status quo as society around demand it. You can be a good human being but if you don’t fit the criteria of society, you are ineligible to be accepted in the society. Our religious rituals and scripts forbid such kind of actions which go against the status quo. There is no scope of individual freedom, we are taught to become so obedient that we become ready to sacrifice every happiness of ours for fake and sometimes hollow identities and fames.

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