The Ascent towards Supermind, Part II, Chapter XXVI - The Ascent towards Supermind 304

Now you begin to change your point of view, of freedom. Previously when you were drinking, you were feeling free to do it. At this stage you are feeling that while you take it you are bound, you are not free and you want to become free. You realize that when you are choosing by inclination, by passion it’s not really choosing, you are not free and choosing. So now, your idea of freedom is changed and you make an effort, a real effort to choose the other one that which is good for you. Abstain from drinking or doing something much better, not only abstaining from drinking but doing something positively not only by negative action but even positive action, which may be better. You may develop such a good interest in something which is noble that you forget all other passion altogether. You may become extremely interested in the cause of animals for example; it may become a great habit with you to spend your time in protection of animals, in propagating the idea of protection of animals. And that becomes such a positive action in you that you forget drinking all together.

It is not battle in you consciousness whether to drink or not to drink, you just do the right thing, − a good cause that you had taken into your heart and you are engaged in that action. When you abstain you are struggling to become free, you are not really free, although you may abstain and succeed in abstaining but it is the result of your struggle. It is an effort to gain freedom, freedom from drinking. But when you really don’t even think of drinking, the battle is all over. Then you can really say that I have become free from drinking. It has gone. It’s no more there and then when you are doing your action choosing the cause of animals, you really feel free, you really feel that now no more that thing, which was compelling you, is there. Something is lifted away from you in a sense here you don’t even have a choice. Previously there was a choice between this and that and that but here there is only good for you and you choose automatically the good, in a sense that you don’t have a choice even.

There is a state of freedom, where there is no choice and yet you feel freedom. Not only when you have alternatives and you choose one but here you have a condition, where there are no options before you and when you do that thing which is before you, which is really good, you really feel that you are free, It’s the freedom without choice because it’s a choice for the good. When there is a good, which is done by you, you really feel free.

At a still higher level you find that there are so many things, which have to be done, all of them are equally good. If you are engaged in ten good activities, looking after children, studying, going to health club, going to help poor children, going to a school, many good things you are doing, so many things and all of them are good. It is only the question of time available to you. In every activity that you do you’ll feel freedom, each one is good and each one gives you experience of freedom but now you have a real choice. When you have ten activities to do and you don’t have time to all the activities then what do you do – then you have a real choice. Whether you choose these five, or those five, makes no difference to you, you can do any five that you like because of your timing. This is the condition, which is the most enjoyable condition. When you have so many and consciously you may decide that I will take this. It’s a wonderful experience of freedom.

If you have thousands of such alternatives before you and you can really choose so many or all that is a supreme freedom. The supreme freedom is the state of condition where all alternatives are equally best, not only good are equally best. When you have possibility of doing all of them or any of them, or some of them, or many of them, when you are in this state it is perfect freedom, − such a freedom exists. It exists at the very root of creation, at the root of everything in the world that is here. At a human level, we have only all those freedoms of which I have spoken. A few alternatives before you, each one of them may be best, but thousands of alternatives, all equally best and possibility of choosing all, or many, or some or any, this also exists.

A human consciousness at a certain stages capable of attaining that when that condition is obtained it is called realization of your true individuality. From our present level of individuality which starts at the small stage, which I described. At each stage of freedom wherever you have the problem of freedom, you experience something of your individuality but the highest experience of the individuality arises when this freedom is available to you. That is obtained in the stage of supramental consciousness. At the mental level this freedom is not available but as you make an ascent towards supermind you ascend towards that freedom. At a lower level we may have the idea of freedom. We may have sense of freedom but not actuality of freedom or there may be some actuality of freedom, as when I find that between evil and good. When I choose the good and when I do it, I really feel freedom. So some kind of actuality of freedom you experience but it can grow more and more, as you rise higher and higher. But until you reach the supramental manifestation, first of all until you reach the supramental consciousness, you don’t have the full freedom of which I spoke. Where all alternatives are equally best and you can choose freely, simply pick up and it is equally best rather than the other one, which is also equally best. Since this freedom exists ultimately even at lower levels, we have some kind of shadow of it. Every human being feels in his heart that he is really free. He may not really be able to articulate his sense of freedom in the way in which I have articulated just now.