New Delhi: As the country celebrates its 79th Independence Day on Friday and Janmashtami on Saturday, philosopher and author Acharya Prashant sought to guide the nation and stressed that India’s political freedom of 1947 remains incomplete without the Gita’s call for inner liberation and called for uniting the Gita’s liberation with the Constitution’s liberty.
In a message on Independence Day eve on Thursday, the philosopher stressed on unity and said, “We are all Indians, yet when we divide by caste, religion, ideology, region or language, we turn compatriots into outsiders — and outsiders into enemies. This weakens us from within.”
He added: “History shows that when a people stay busy dividing themselves into insiders and outsiders, they invite domination from outside powers. A nation fractured within becomes easy prey without.”
He also pointed out that true independence demands both spiritual liberation and liberty of thought.
He noted that this year’s rare occurrence of Independence Day and Janmashtami falling so close together carries a deeper symbolism, that the nation’s well-being and true religiosity are inseparable.
“Independence comes first, Janmashtami follows. It is a sign: Outer freedom is easier and comes earlier; inner liberation is harder, yet far more important,” he said.
He added that this rare coincidence is not accidental. “As there is no gap between the 15th and the 16th, there is no real gap between the nation’s well-being and true religiosity. It is as if time itself is speaking to us, reminding us that political freedom and inner freedom must stand together,” he said.
“Independence Day marks freedom from foreign rule; Janmashtami reminds us of Krishna’s call to break free from the compulsions of the mind. Both freedoms are essential, and one without the other is incomplete,” he said.
“Independence Day reminds us of one oppressor — the British, and they were outside us. But Janmashtami confronts us with six oppressors: Lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy — and all of them are within us,” he said.
He said that political independence ended external domination but did not free us from “the slavery of greed, fear and ignorance.” Without conquering these inner enemies, even rights and freedoms can be misused to deepen bondage.
“We see this across the world today: Where inner liberation is absent but outer freedoms abound, people often act recklessly in the name of free will,” he said.
Quoting the Gita, he stressed that true freedom is “action rooted in clarity, not in compulsion.” He cautioned: “When inner liberation is absent, outer freedom can even turn dangerous. A person enslaved by fear, greed or delusion will misuse his rights to tighten his own chains.”
“On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Krishna did not tell Arjuna to escape the fight, nor to fight out of anger. He called for action free of bondage — that is liberation. Without it, even a politically free nation cannot achieve its potential,” Acharya Prashant said.
“Remember, before the 18 days of battle came 18 chapters of the Gita: Scripture before weapon, knowledge before action. Arjuna was not paralysed by the enemy outside but by his fear and attachment within. Krishna first gave him clarity, then asked him to fight. Knowledge must precede action; otherwise even the bravest warrior falters,” he added.
He said liberty of thought is inseparable from spiritual liberation. “You cannot be inwardly free yet outwardly a slave to borrowed ideas. Nor can you think freely if you are bound by fear, prejudice or unexamined belief. Liberation and liberty go hand in hand,” he remarked.
He warned that history shows nations fall when they forget the Gita’s message. “We had the numbers, the resources, even the world’s highest philosophy, and yet we lost our freedom. That can only happen when the inner message is ignored,” he said.
“How else could a vast nation with immense resources be subdued by small islands from thousands of miles away, at a time when they lacked today’s technologies of power and communication? Such a fall is possible only when a people forget the inner strength that their own highest wisdom gives them,” he added.
Drawing a parallel between the chains of colonialism and today’s subtler chains, he said: “In 1947 we broke political chains. Today we must break the inner ones — consumerism, sectarianism, blind imitation. Without that, freedom is just a shell.”
He added: “A people that ignore the enemies sitting right in their hearts, as their narrow identities and beliefs, while only focussing on foes outside, risk repeating the conditions that once led to their subjugation. If we remain careless toward these inner enemies, history will recreate the very conditions for foreign domination. Subjugation never comes by accident; it begins when people abandon self-knowledge and fall to their inner foes.”
He warned that national independence, without spiritual clarity, risks collapse from within. “Political freedom without self-governance of the mind leads to conflict, corruption and misuse of rights. The Gita holds us answerable not only for our actions, but also for our thoughts and motives,” he said.
Calling for what he termed “inner swaraj,” he urged citizens to dissolve false identifications, live in truth, and act from understanding rather than compulsion. “Look into the mirror,” he said. “See what beliefs, prejudices and fears govern you, and ask where they come from, and how much truth lies in them.”
He added: “Truth alone is strength. One who stands with truth can be harmed physically, but never defeated.”
“This is the real celebration of Independence Day and Janmashtami: Not only hoisting flags or performing rituals, but looking within to see what governs us, and freeing ourselves through truth.”
“Let patriotism be more than emotion; let it be a rise in awareness. Let us unite the Gita’s liberation with the Constitution’s liberty. Only when political swaraj is rooted in spiritual liberation will India’s freedom be secure,” he said.
He added that the true celebration of both days is the union of outer and inner freedom. “Be free citizens in a free land, but also free beings in the mind. That is complete independence,” he said.
(IANS)
