Nelson Mandela spent 25 years or more in prison, and when released he went on to become president of the new free South Africa. He later wrote a book called "Long walk to freedom".
Our condition is like that. We're all trying to break free from the prison, yet most do not yet even realize that we are in a prison to begin with.
This material world of birth, old age, disease and death, is a prison for the eternal spirit soul. The superintendent of this prison is a woman called Durga Maya. This is her world and she performs the service of keeping us here by binding us with the ropes of illusion.
You could say that we are ensnared or tangled up in the net made up of our desires to enjoy the fruits of this world, to indulge our senses and preserve our existence. We aspire to acquire more and more material assets which we can control.
Yet all of this is a foolish illusion because in the prison you own nothing. You're not free in any way. It's all owned by the boss of the superintendent Durga, the original king and queen of the realm for whom she works.
And like Mandela, we are all trying to find our long walk to freedom. Each prisoner dreams of liberation and searches for the path out of the prison for ever. Yet few find it.
This is because we still believe that we have the right to claim ownership of the material realm. As servants of the King and Queen, we're engaging with their property, for their pleasure. But if a servant secretly takes some of that property and tries to enjoy it for themselves independantly, then they are thrown into the prison for theft.
That's why we're here in this material world. And still, while in the prison we try to claim ownership of the material energy and desire to enjoy it ourselves. And that keeps us chained in bondage even longer.
The long walk to freedom involves realizing this condition in which we find ourselves and shifting our consciousness from that of trying to be the enjoyer and controller to that of being the enjoyed and the servant of the king and queen of the realm once again.
Another of the primary obstacles on the path, is the tendency for the caged prisoner to become depressed and feel defeated. After all, when you're used to eternal bliss and knowledge, yet are caged in a cell which is temporary, constantly being changed, full of misery and with no knowledge of the outside world, it's possible that you become depressed and you give up the will to escape.
Yet we can escape. We can leave the prison by remembering and by letting go of the chains that appear to bind us. We're not tied to them or tied up by them. Rather we are holding on to them.
By allowing ourselves to be addicted to the pleasures of the senses, by thinking we are the owners and controllers of anything, we keep ourselves chained by those very desires. We do it to ourselves.
And thus we feel hopelessly chained to our prison, we see no means of escape and thus we become depressed and lethargic, like a caged lion.
If by some good fortune a message gets through to us in the prison that some have escaped, that there is a way out, then that can become a spark to reignite our remembrance of the real world outside the prison and can become a catalyst to inspire us once more.
With this hope and inspiration we can rise up, shrug off our lethargy and resume our long walk to freedom.
It simply requires us to give up the foolish idea that we are the enjoyer, independant of the king and queen of the realm, and to remember our position as their servants. And that everything belongs to them and should be offered to them for their pleasure.
And if we realize that our real pleasure is not from trying to make our prison a more comfortable place, or trying to enjoy here, but to get out altogether, then our long walk to freedom will become easier with every step.
Bhagavad Gita ch3:30
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi
sannyasyādhyātma-cetasā
nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā
yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ
SYNONYMS
mayi—unto Me; sarvāṇi—all sorts of; karmāṇi—activities; sannyasya—giving up completely; adhyātma—with full knowledge of the self; cetasā—consciousness; nirāśīḥ—without desire for profit; nirmamaḥ—without ownership; bhūtvā—so being; yudhyasva—fight; vigata-jvaraḥ—without being lethargic
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight.
PURPORT
This verse clearly indicates the purpose of the Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord instructs that one has to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious to discharge duties, as if in military discipline. Such an injunction may make things a little difficult; nevertheless duties must be carried out, with dependence on Kṛṣṇa, because that is the constitutional position of the living entity. The living entity cannot be happy independant of the cooperation of the Supreme Lord because the eternal constitutional position of the living entity is to become subordinate to the desires of the Lord. Arjuna was, therefore, ordered by Śrī Kṛṣṇa to fight as if the Lord were his military commander. One has to sacrifice everything for the good will of the Supreme Lord, and at the same time discharge prescribed duties without claiming proprietorship. Arjuna did not have to consider the order of the Lord; he had only to execute His order. The Supreme Lord is the Soul of all souls; therefore, one who depends solely and wholly on the Supreme Soul without personal consideration, or in other words, one who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, is called adhyātma-cetasā. Nirāśīḥ means that one has to act on the order of the master. Nor should one ever expect fruitive results. The cashier may count millions of dollars for his employer, but he does not claim a cent for himself. Similarly, one has to realize that nothing in the world belongs to any individual person, but that everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. That is the real purport of mayi, or unto Me. And when one acts in such Kṛṣṇa consciousness, certainly he does not claim proprietorship over anything. This consciousness is called nirmama, or nothing is mine. And, if there is any reluctance to execute such a stern order which is without consideration of so-called kinsmen in the bodily relationship, that reluctance should be thrown off; in this way one may become vigata-jvara, or without feverish mentality or lethargy. Everyone, according to his quality and position, has a particular type of work to discharge, and all such duties may be discharged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as described above. That will lead one to the path of liberation.
Reference: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation and commentary by Swami A C Bhaktivedanta, original MacMillan 1972 edition
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/reflection-brick-road-rain-fence-2922045/
Edited and published from my mobile device onto the Hive blockchain as a message to all prisoners wishing to escape and walk free again.