Freedom and its contents (fwd)

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Hi All,

This article may be of interest to some.

bye

Raj

 

 

FREEDOM AND ITS CONTENTS

a condensed extract from `Presuppositions of Indian philosophies'

by Karl.H. Potter, Dept of philosophy University of Minnesota

 

Mainstream western philosophers throughout the history seems to be in

general agreement that the highest value for man lies in the exercise of

his reason and the subjugation of his passions. On the contrary, the

ultimate values of classical Indian philosophy is not rational morality

but complete freedom. Before looking into this idea of complete freedom

as the highest purpose of life, it will be helpful to ask what -according

the classical Indian ways of thought constitutes the path by which

ordinary men are expected to mature toward this ultimate state.

 

FOUR ATTITUDES:

 

In dealing with the process of maturing, the Indian philosophers had

recourse to a series of notions viz. Dharma, artha, kama and moksha,

generally known as purusharthas. These are usually considered as states

of control, which are aims of life, but these can be construed more subtly

as attitudes or orientations.

Artha is the attitude that a person takes towards objects encountered

in the routine of making a living, say towards the door in ones office. It

is an attitude of minimal concern that can be taken towards anything.

Eventhough this attitude is exhibited frequently towards things that

provide material prosperity, it is not a defining characteristic of artha

attitude.

The mark of kama attitude is an element of possessiveness in the

concern one has for the object of ones attention coupled with a partial

identification of oneself with that object. In a kama relationship , one

depends on the object of ones love, guards it jealously restricting, if

need be, its habits /wishes and exhibits at some moments a feeling of

becoming one with the loved object. Again, as earlier, this attitude need

not be restricted to objects with which one can come into sexual

relationships, but sexual relations are where this attitude is typically

exhibited.

In the dharma attitude, there is a progression towards greater

concern than artha /kama. In dharma attitude, not only do we project

ourselves into others, but we do so with a certain conception of ourselves

which precludes either using others as by an artha oriented person or

depending/ restricting others as a kama oriented person. It is an

attitude of concern for others as a fundamental extension of oneself.

This attitude is generally seen as exhibited toward family, clan or caste

members but can be taken toward anything.

The most worthwhile attitude, that of moksha- evolves as an

extrapolation of the earlier progressive route - lies in the mastery of

greater and greater concern coupled with less and less attachment. In

moksha the person is free from restrictions initiated by the not self (due

to his complete detachment) and he is also free to anticipate and control

anything which he turns his efforts, as the whole universe is considered

as himself(due to his universal and complete concern). We can also notice

that a man ordinarily takes artha or kama attitudes towards objects in his

environment, eventhough -as per Indian philosophers- one ought to take

dharma attitude towards all objects. These are aims of life in the sense

that they represent capacities for taking things in a certain way. Let us

now turn back to the grand concept of complete freedom in life

 

BONDAGE AND KARMA

Man faces specific challenges at every moment in life arising from

his relationships with objects, people and oneself. The inadequacies in

our responses to challenges reflect our bondage(bandha). There exist many

ways like a good birth, social action, science & technology etc that

reduce the conditions that breed bondage. Still, successful personal

responses to challenges need building up of habits. But, these habits

themselves constitute bondage, when hardening into habitual responses, one

becomes less capable of adjusting to fresh or unusual challenges. The

challenges arising from habits themselves, which continue after conditions

that engendered them have been removed and which in turn engender new

habits must be somehow removed by ones own self discipline, discrimination

and insight. This round of habits breeding habits is `Samsara', which is

governed by `Karma', the habits themselves.

So we can see a constant source of tragedy and frustration in life

in that in every case a man of perfect good will seek success with respect

to a challenge, and in each case he fails despite his best efforts-

eventhough he appears to have achieved his goal as habits of mind and

action are set up in him through his apparent success, which as it

develops, he is unable to control fully. The point to be noted is that

each of the types of habits - good, bad or indifferent - bind a man surely

as another. So success in itself, nor does suffering/ frustration by

itself enlighten to freedom. Something more is needed. The ancient

philosophers and sages teach us that a man established in dharma

attitude could remove the sources of all his frustrations and perfect

himself into a creative, spontaneous and unique way of life through

renunciation of the fruits of his actions. Let us now examine the attitude

of renunciation and how perfection in such an attitude will lead a man to

freedom.

 

RENUNCIATION

Renunciation is not to be done on ones ability to exert a certain

capacity that one know he has, but on the attachment to the fruits of that

exertion. He does not renounce the fruits of ones capacities for action

by refusing to exercise those capacities, because whatever one does or

whatever one refrains from doing is an action, and unless it is an act of

renunciation it is bound to breed habits (karma), bondage and frustration.

Hence it follows that it is only by disciplined and non attached exercise

of a capacity that an ordinary individual believes himself to have can he

grow into freedom. So faith in ones own capacity to do something

successfully - a faith born of conviction that one is capable of mastering

a challenge - is a necessary condition for renunciation. The lack,if seen

in many cases,can be considered to be due to a doubt about an adequate

conception of self- a conception of oneself as broken off from others and

world which is manifested as a fear of being at the mercy of some or all

of ones environment as it is conceived as other than oneself. So we can

see that self knowledge is necessary for renunciation and freedom.

It is necessary to have knowledge of ones own personality makeup,

ones own capacities at a given moment, so as to choose the appropriate

role within which to renounce and thus become free. But a man may know

himself very well, may be armed with a set of appropriate roles and still

not be spontaneous, he may still be attached to the satisfaction born of

his achievement and so subject to challenges and tensions. The completely

free man , though has an armory of roles, is free from challenges, is

unattached to his achievement and so responds spontaneously, though in a

disciplined manner to situations as they arise and feel no tensions. So if

freedom is possible this way, then men have it in their power to be

concerned for each other lovingly yet in a disciplined manner,

spontaneously yet responsibly. If freedom is worthwhile, everyone has a

stake in everyone else's advancement, for to help another become more

concerned for oneself is at the same time to help oneself become more

concerned for him. So the philosophy then encourages development of

mutual concern between one self and another in order that each may

eventually reach freedom.

There is no more dramatic difference between western traditions'

characteristic philosophy of limited human capacities and the Indian

belief in the unlimited potentialities of man than one we have arrived at.