We are often taught that freedom is the right to pursue what we want. But is that definition of freedom complete? What if the things we want immediately take us away from the things we want ultimately? For example, if addicts are given the right to indulge, they may harm themselves. That’s why addicts serious about recovering, voluntarily place themselves in recovery centers where they don’t have the right to do what they want immediately. Complete freedom is not just external — having the right to do what we want — but also internal: having the wisdom and the will to want what is right. That wisdom is developed by gaining spiritual knowledge, and that will is developed by spiritual practices, as indicated in Bhagavad-gita (2.64) To summarize, freedom comes not just by having the right to do what we want, but also by wanting to do what is right.

Watch this content at: Seek complete freedom

***

02.64 But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord.