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Is Non Adherence marketed as Freedom?

renuka

Well-known member
I have been doing some thinking and adhering to a new but not an unknown modification of life.

It is quite regimented, proved a bit challenging at first cos I have never followed any regiment in my life in the real sense though I am quite a disciplined person who has never even broken a traffic rule in my life...but my new lifestyle is a 2nd nature to me almost reflexive Pavlovian.

Then it got me thinking...as Hindus as how Shashi Tharoor puts it...there is Freedom to not adhere to anything as there is no compulsion.

Yes..I pretty much lead my life that "I have freedom of non adherence as there is no real Halal and Haram policy in Hinduism"

But at the same time I could not help thinking...well Hinduism does have the concept of Nithya Karma ..so was non adherence really an option in Hinduism or its just that some of us were just finding escape grounds of non adherence by stating that there is freedom for us to not adhere to anything.

Just like some go into a frenzy of rituals and some others go into hibernation mode of not doing anything.

So was it really freedom or just our inability to commit?

Is sheer "laziness" actually marketed as Freedom?

It surprisingly took me 48 years to realize that I was masking my "laziness" by calling it freedom in Hinduism.Well...its one heck of a "crime"!

And it took me another lifestyle to realize this fact..well I never stop learning and would like members to give feedback.
 
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Digging a hole in the ground and filling it back, for 8 hours a day is regimented and disciplined.
It is productive work?

Similarly, Assuming earth is flat, and walking a million miles and thinking that you will reach the edge of the earth, will also be futile.

I agree that sometimes too many choices make it difficult, but the disciplined few will make a successful decision.


An example From the mundane world of Stoch Market.

If you are an investor in the USA, Europe, or Australia:
The choices are literally unlimited. You can invest in any part of the world. Your currency is accepted anywhere.
So you can buy stock, bonds, etf etc of your country, that itself is large. You can buy or trade stock of any other country as well.

So the smart and lucky make a killing in the market at all time. In the upmarket or downmarket.

People in other parts are limited by the market in their country and their currency. They too may make money.

The smart will succeed, the dumb will fail, the average will muddle through.

People who do not invest in an active market will depend on fixed income and be satisfied.

No one really knows who is happier.
 
I have been doing some thinking and adhering to a new but not an unknown modification of life.

It is quite regimented, proved a bit challenging at first cos I have never followed any regiment in my life in the real sense though I am quite a disciplined person who has never even broken a traffic rule in my life...but my new lifestyle is a 2nd nature to me almost reflexive Pavlovian.

Then it got me thinking...as Hindus as how Shashi Tharoor puts it...there is Freedom to not adhere to anything as there is no compulsion.

Yes..I pretty much lead my life that "I have freedom of non adherence as there is no real Halal and Haram policy in Hinduism"

But at the same time I could not help thinking...well Hinduism does have the concept of Nithya Karma ..so was non adherence really an option in Hinduism or its just that some of us were just finding escape grounds of non adherence by stating that there is freedom for us to not adhere to anything.

Just like some go into a frenzy of rituals and some others go into hibernation mode of not doing anything.

So was it really freedom or just our inability to commit?

Is sheer "laziness" actually marketed as Freedom?

It surprisingly took me 48 years to realize that I was masking my "laziness" by calling it freedom in Hinduism.Well...its one heck of a "crime"!

And it took me another lifestyle to realize this fact..well I never stop learning and would like members to give feedback.

The real question underlying your post is al about what you want out of life.

Committed Christians and Muslims for example choose to follow a regimented life because they want to go to heaven and their religion tells them how to ensure that.

I think some of the Hindus want to go to reach Narayana after death for example. So they pray and say they love their God and religion.

I do not know the mysteries of life and I feel our heart has the love needed to feel towards all beings. To me for now that is religion. I am not afraid of death or after life, so I do not see a need to follow any regimented life style.

If I do not care to want anything, then God & religion has no use for me LOL. I also do not think God intervenes due to prayer or requests because I cannot imagine God the Almighty waiting to see who is doing prayer and giving out goodies.

So regimented life style has to do with what one wants in life. So real question after 48 years of analysis is - what do you want ?
 
The real question underlying your post is al about what you want out of life.

Committed Christians and Muslims for example choose to follow a regimented life because they want to go to heaven and their religion tells them how to ensure that.

I think some of the Hindus want to go to reach Narayana after death for example. So they pray and say they love their God and religion.

I do not know the mysteries of life and I feel our heart has the love needed to feel towards all beings. To me for now that is religion. I am not afraid of death or after life, so I do not see a need to follow any regimented life style.

If I do not care to want anything, then God & religion has no use for me LOL. I also do not think God intervenes due to prayer or requests because I cannot imagine God the Almighty waiting to see who is doing prayer and giving out goodies.

So regimented life style has to do with what one wants in life. So real question after 48 years of analysis is - what do you want ?

After 48 years I wanted some sans motive connectivity and regiment.

I do not desire rewards or heaven or hell..that was never my motive but a regiment has made me feel more connected.

Not a transactional one or delusional one...my logical mind still works..no mumbo jumbo too..but a connectivity does help focus the mind.

I wouldnt say I was a chaotic person either before but I was always analyzing..but the moment I dropped all the analysis the mind could focus.

Its strange ..as if I could be " tamed" and after years of " freedom of non adherence" the mind seeked regiment strangely.


I do agree with what you wrote but my question is..." Is non adherence actually allowed in Hinduism?"
 
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After 48 years I wanted some sans motive connectivity and regiment.

I do not desire rewards or heaven or hell..that was never my motive but a regiment has made me feel more connected.

Not a transactional one or delusional one...my logical mind still works..no mumbo jumbo too..but a connectivity does help focus the mind.

I wouldnt say I was a chaotic person either before but I was always analyzing..but the moment I dropped all the analysis the mind could focus.

Its strange ..as if I could be " tamed" and after years of " freedom of non adherence" the mind seeked regiment strangely.


I do agree with what you wrote but my question is..." Is non adherence actually allowed in Hinduism?"

The answer has to be Yes, because I heard Sannyasis do not have any duties prescribed. I assume Sannyasis are still considered Hindus.
 
A lot of choices is good for people who like to lead their own path.
I go to a cafeteria, I like to pick and choose.
I refuse to accept prison. Yes, prison is regimented and your choices are taken away.
Generally, people who lay out regiments for others are above law.
I love the freedom and choices, I will not trade that for anything.
 
The answer has to be Yes, because I heard Sannyasis do not have any duties prescribed. I assume Sannyasis are still considered Hindus.

Then Sankaras, Jeers and Adheenams are not sanyasi, per your understanding.
 
The answer has to be Yes, because I heard Sannyasis do not have any duties prescribed. I assume Sannyasis are still considered Hindus.

But to reach sanyas state..one had to perform nithyakarma right?

Btw a sanyasi has to remain celibate..so its not as if he has full freedom..he has also.a dress code and food code
..so is a sanyasi really free?
 
Generally, monopolies succeed at the expense of the consumers.

For instance, most of the government-run businesses squeeze the common public and are inefficient.

In the USA the old AT&T was a monopoly and used to provide landline service. The charges of making telephone calls were exorbitant. It did provide basic phone service to the general public. But when it was broken up, we got tremendous innovation and the competition has made talk cheap.
But the choices you can make are innumerable and disciplined people will make an intelligent choice and succeed.
But someone who is not so sophisticated will be fleeced.
 
But to reach sanyas state..one had to perform nithyakarma right?

Btw a sanyasi has to remain celibate..so its not as if he has full freedom..he has also.a dress code and food code
..so is a sanyasi really free?
Is

OK, Is Sadguru a Sannyasi?
Not sure what it takes to be a sannyasi, that is a true sannyasi who has given up everything

No matter what, all lifestyle have some rules.

At a nude beach it is rude to be dressed (though clothing is optional)
Similarly in a supermarket we want people to be dressed properly. It helps us all to have rules.

If I embrace a rule because it benefits me then is that really a way to cut my freedom? I do not think so.

Sannyasi needs a dress code so he or she can get free food. In India homeless Sannyasis are still treated with respect and given food. So lifestyle needs some dress code.

The point is this: Hinduism has no prescribed rules that I know of for its followers, other than common sense rules

If one wants to do a Puja then one should do that according to rules. Only then there are mandates. But then there is no mandate to do Puja every day

Still think there is true freedom in Hinduism (nothing to adhere to) , it is up to us to fool ourselves by abusing the freedom or follow common sense rules for a given situation.
 
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Yes, we have freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution, but you can abuse it by shouting FIRE in a crowded theater and causing a stampede.
That misuse will be punished.

So TB-ji point is well made.

There are some siddhars, and they do not have to follow any dress code or celibacy.

Siddhars are a type of saint in India who are said to have had many powers and achieved a ‘god-like’ state through specific secret practices that were known only to them. These powers spanned from controlling time and space, to transforming the body, manipulating matter at the molecular level and achieving immortality.
The Siddhars were followers of the God Shiva and according to different texts there were 18 of them. Their teachings and findings were written in the form of poems in the Tamil language , a language spoken mainly by people in South India and parts of Sri Lanka. The poems were very difficult to interpret and were written in an encoded way so that only a few could understand them.

Maybe Sadguru is siddhar and not Sanyasi.
 

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