True Freedom
The idea of freedom is one often tossed around. The dictionary offers the definition of freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” But when it comes to the path of yoga — the quest for inner knowing and a connection to the interconnectedness of all things — the idea of freedom takes on more than an externally-sourced power that circumscribes a right to act or think. Freedom, in this light, can be thought instead to pertain to the internally-sourced power of self-truth and self-knowing. Only when we take the time to investigate our motivations and our actions do we find freedom from reaction, from the idea that our lives are determined, or solely inspired by, the external world.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras — one of the foundational texts of yogic philosophy — he outlines guidelines for living in the Yamas and Niyamas. The Yamas, “moral constraints,” dictate right action toward and in the outside world. The Niyamas, “duties or observances,” are prescriptions for how we treat ourselves, and consequently how we show up in the world. The Niyama Svadhyaya asks us to not only study the ancient texts in pursuit of a yogic life, but also to study ourselves. It’s the instruction to go deep within — to better understand how and why we do the things we do; the idea that until we truly know ourselves, we are lacking in our ability to operate from an authentic and meaningful place.
There’s a hidden bonus to the practice of Svadhyaya. When we ground into the truth of our experience and hone in on our ability to truly know ourselves and show up in the world as such, we experience a type of emotional freedom that comes from the foundation that only inner wisdom can provide. We cannot control what happens to or around us, but we do have power over how we react to it. A sincere practice of Svadhyaya gives us not only the knowledge of our most repeated patterns and reactions, but also the tools from moments in which we reacted or acted in a way consistent with our morals and our personal truth — acting in accordance with our Dharma.
Independence Day is somewhat fraught in the United States, inasmuch as our society grapples with the idea of external freedom when outlined by founding fathers at a time when not all people in the U.S. were actually free. Yet the rumination on freedom, and what it means in a yogic perspective, is pertinent regardless of historical perspective or politics. When we engage in the practice of Svadhyaya we are creating the conditions for a life of true freedom — one grounded in the truth of inner knowing and wisdom.
And that’s a kind of independence e all can get behind.
Photo cred — Natalie Grainger via Unsplash
