Sri Ramakrishna’s Divine Descent, Part 2 #304

Opinions and theories about the nature of freedom abound, from personal to political, from enjoyment of leisure to the freedom to express oneself, from the power to restrict to the ability to commit violence on others — and, of course, the freedom to do anything one wants. But all of these forms of so-called freedom are relative, are found in relativity. They suffer their opposite side, called failure and bondage. Mother India has always known the true meaning of Freedom. First, it is spiritual in nature, and secondly, it is the very nature of the Soul. In other words, it cannot be created, produced, or generated. It does not come about in time, nor happen over the course of evolution. It is not a product of transformation, nor does it manifest on account of purification or practice. It is a principle always and already at hand. It knows no bondage for it is “Ever-Free, Never Bound.”

In addition to certain fast and firm principles, Advaita, Nonduality, also has several well-mapped out avenues that lead to its timely consummation in the human mind. There is the longer, slower ascent of sythesizing the Yogas; there is the path of outright negation that simply strips away all that is illusory; and there is a pathless path uitlized by past masters when they choose to embody for some important reason. Whatever the road inward may be, or entail, a copious and well laid out map is a helpful and needful tool for those few who are entertaining the highest spiritual vision, and beyond.