Acaryadeva explains in this class how different notions of freedom ultimately lead to questions about self-realization and the nature of soul and consciousness.

Listen

key points:

Freedom usually indicates the absence of something. We are “free from” or “free to”.

There are different notions of freedom.  Why do we value freedom so much? Freedom requires the option of a choice. We have to understand the impediments to freedom. To understand our different options of freedom is directly connected with understanding who we are.  There are several philosophical questions based on who I am:  what can I do, what are the forces that are acting upon me, how can I achieve the highest liberation? Philosophy is supposed to address these issues. Bhagavad-gita explains the notion of consciousness which allows us to think, to have freewill and to have emotions.

The essence of being a person is not tied to being a human being. It only requires that you are a centre of individual consciousness.

In all world religions we find impersonal and personal conceptions. As personalists we understand that we are part of an infinite person. The idea of yoga is to connect ourselves to Krsna.

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