BONDAGE

                By                 

Achalabhakthan

Meaning of Bondage:

We have bondage with our family, friends, society, country, nation, universe etc. Means, we are indebted to, we are bound by or we are obliged to or we are dependent on others.  Right from our germination in the mother’s womb, after we come out in this world through birth, during our infant stage, growth and in all walks of life we are coming in contact with many relatives, friends and acquaintances, from whom we get some help and get ourselves bound with them by establishing relationship.  This may be due to the love they pour on us, the affection they show to us, the help or favours they do to us, the knowledge and experience we gain with their relationship with us etc,.  You learn from your guru (teacher) to grow and come up in life.      This is again called indebtedness or obligation towards them.  As per English Dictionery meaning, it is “enslavement or servitude”.  It may be express or implied, recognized or not recognized, revealed or hidden, demanded or by our own volition.  Our status or relationship with everyone and everything in the world has created a binding, an obligation or indebtedness. which is called “bondage”.

 Why this Bondage?:

All our actions are relative and not independent.  They will have some base in our past knowledge or help acquired from some one. We cannot act solitarily without creating a relationship with others. The world itself is dependent on the universal power, Brahman or God as you call it. All will agree, we have an obligation to those from whom we received anything as above.  It is our moral duty to be grateful to those who help us in one way or other and at one stage or other, as stated above in our growth.  It becomes indebtedness, since as per moral rule, if you take a favour you have to pay-off something in return.  Some times, legally you may become obliged to do something to those who helped you.  Even as per Vedantic code of conduct, you cannot reap the benefit without working for it by yourself and without sharing with others. If anyone helps you, you have to reciprocate in any form.  I am alone.  When I join someone, then the other has a share in all that I reap.  For example, if you are in partnership with someone in business or is a shareholder of a company, you are entitled to share in the profits made by that company and obliged to contribute towards the loss suffered (of course subject to your share or contribution) by the company.  If this is so in material sense, in moral sense also this is true.  Bondage, therefore, arises out of an obligation, (a binding) to repay or return something for any benefit received or share in loss.  Once you get associated with others the bondage arises automatically.  It cannot be avoided or cast away.  There is no option. This bondage is natural and relative.

 Is there no escape from bondage?:

To answer it simply, it is a “NO” and “YES”.  How can it be both?  I said it is relative, i.e. it is ‘conditional’.  Meaning, bondage arises provided you establish relationship by receiving something as above in any form.  If you do not get related in any way, then there is no bondage.  Otherwise, it is a bondage, which you cannot escape at any cost.  Can you avoid establishing contact with the world outside or escape from establishing relationship?  The answer is conditional and, therefore, the bondage is also conditional.  You may be convinced when I say you cannot avoid relationship with the world outside and, therefore, cannot avoid bondage.  But, if I say that you can come out of this bondage (get released from the already established bondage) and remain unbound with your future actions,  would you agree with me?  You cannot avoid action, which is the very basis of life.  But, when you act, if you stand alone without getting related to or without owning “doership” in all your actions and without getting attached to the “fruits of action” you are not creating any bondage.  This is possible through your future actions as said by Bhagawan Krishna in his Geethopadesam: “Act without doership” and receive  the outcome as it comes but without “enjoyership”.    This is the right attitude one should form while acting in the materialistic world outside to escape from bondage. 

OK, this is for present actions.  What about past actions where I have already owned and enjoyed with the relationships stated above? You have heard “repetence is the best penance” which crushes all the sins.  When you act as above it means you have already realized your idiotism in past actions and have resolved to lead a life of no bondage hereafter.  All the past actions have given or will be giving the fruits in the present or future.  But once you start taking it without enjoyership, no bondage comes to you even for past actions, because it is the attitude in enjoying the fruit that binds you and not your actions alone.  But what about the past benefits enjoyed by me?  Am I not bound to repay?   Yes, do it as a service to humanity without the feeling of doership.  This will nullify your past bondage for benefits already received.  Do not get bothered about what has gone,  and do not worry about what is going to come in future. This attitude of not having “doership” and “enjoyership” and keeping samabhavana will make you “unattached” “un-related” and “un-conditional”.  Therefore, even the past obligations do not affect you any more.  Therefore, it is this change in bhavana that is to be cultivated by us to get rid of this bondage while living. 

Now, what about bondage due to future actions?  All your present actions shape up your future.  When you act in the present with the right attitude explained above, neither your present actions nor your enjoying fruits of actions will create any bondage for future actions.  All that you do will be with an attitude of Karma Yoga, without ownership and enjoyership which, as I said earlier, do not create any bondage and hence future actions are also free from bondage and you will be free from bondage..

I repeat : there is no escape from bondage if you continue acting and enjoying with doership & enjoyership feeling and you will be free from bondage if your bhavana changes as explained above.

May you all get relief from Bondage