How Society Traps You, but an Awakened Person Remains Truly Free From It
Never fall into the subtle manipulation of society again.
Yesterday, in a Satsang, someone asked, “Osho was a great spiritual leader. Then why did he try poisoning people.”
It reminded me of many questions that surround Osho. Once, someone asked me a similar question on Osho.
I said, “I don’t know the image of Osho that Netflix painted it to be. In fact, I experienced Osho within myself, and what I know can’t be expressed in words.”
Osho has become a topic of great interest and time-pass debate. Some people love to show their powerful knowledge and tear him down.
But a real seeker doesn’t waste time on hollow debates. He/she goes beyond what is given/shown to them and experiences for themselves.
You’re being manipulated into thoughts and beliefs that benefit someone in power.
I don’t know about your news channel.
But here in my part of the world, there are 27 Hindi news channels, 15 English news channels, and hundreds of regional news channels.
No matter the time, the news channel mostly shows how the world is always collapsing. There is always some breaking news going on 24*7. Often, it is all praise for one political party and subtly eating away the other party's reputation and freedom of speech.
Why?
Because the ruling party or their allies brought all news channels.
They show what suits them. And conveniently ignore what does not.
When you hear the same lies 24X7, the wires of the mind subtly change. Now imagine the minds of billions who regularly watch them.
The subtle change is so minute that it can’t be noticed easily but creates a deep and long-lasting psychological impact.
But why does someone want to affect our psyche?
Because the ruling one fears losing relevance. Be it a political party, an individual, or a billion-dollar company.
They use fear tactics and mind manipulation to rule over us. Media, social media, and PR campaigns are their tools.
They show and even manipulate facts to benefit from them while strategically hiding what impacts their image.
A ruler never wants the public to be actually free, though they can put on a facade of freedom.
We actually think, believe, and act what we are fed within our brains. We decide from that mindset.
When COVID happened, every pharma giant pushed its vaccine as the most effective. Later, it came to light how companies manipulated their results to show their high efficacy while they raked in billion-dollar profits at the cost of human lives.
We are pawns to satisfy their hunger for power.
We are not given an entire picture of any topic—just the tints of what a few people benefit from.
Spirituality frees you.
People are power-hungry. Politics makes people a pack of hungry wolves.
Once, while conversing with a retired army person, he said, “Why do you think war happens?”
“It is propaganda of commerce and power. If ammunition is not used, how will the company that makes it gain from it? If battles and hatred are not present, how can politicians remain in power, fooling others into thinking they are the best leaders?”
This had me thinking.
No human wants to fight. Be it an army person or anyone. At the foundation, we all want peace.
Despite that, we are cleverly led to each other’s throats. Be it competition, war, or even family dramas.
But spirituality makes you free from it.
Spirituality opens you to that level of acceptance and openness that many powerful lobbies don’t want you to explore.
It gives you a route to go beyond the fear.
A real seeker doesn’t believe things. They try to understand every aspect of a situation. Instead of becoming narrow-minded, they become more open to every side of the truth.
Manipulation makes us close. But the openness is within every heart.
When you peel the layers of closeness, you explore the acceptance within your hearts. The openness is there but is hiding beneath the layers.
Genuineness helps you explore the truth through their experience.
Don’t remain a believer. Turn to an open experimenter.
A nice example is the one-sided Netflix documentary of Osho. Does it really show an unbiased approach?
I know many of Osho’s direct disciples who are enlightened, and under their guidance, more enlightenment is spreading in people’s hearts. One of my mentors is an Osho disciple.
Their wisdom is far more infinite than the biased documentary some selfish people make to whitewash the mass’s minds.
But why would anyone benefit from throwing mud at a deceased master after decades of his passing?
Because his teachings are like wildfires that can burn a jungle of ignorance. And society can’t afford you to be a freethinker.
An unbiased approach would have considered both sides. However, showing Osho as a murderer or criminal can diminish his power.
A beginner will fear going near him. Thinking he is a cult leader, sex guru, or just a materialistic conman.
Not just Osho. It happens with almost every enlightened master who goes beyond length to preach spirituality.
Have you ever noticed how Buddha’s teachings are more prominent outside India?
Because Buddha was shooed away by then-pundits of India. Pundits could not allow the power to slip from their hands.
The world was, is, and will remain affected by power-hungry individuals.
It is your openness to the realization that can make you free from society’s conditioning.
Ramana Maharishi perfectly said, “Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world.”
When a flower blooms, it leaves its fragrance. No matter, even if it is crushed.
A genuine seeker goes beyond what society says. It questions what is served in the public domain. They take everything with openness and reject anything that makes them rigid or extreme.
Spirituality gives ultimate freedom. Freedom from one’s own thinking and from others as well.
Be daring to be authentically you.
When you go deeper inside yourself, many layers of your unconscious self will peel off.
It is not easy.
The more you stick to these layers, the more painful the process becomes.
The process can start by not being a puppet of what others want you to be.
We are constantly manipulated in the name of the region, religion, money, or just about anything. Our choices, thinking processes, and beliefs are subtly forced in certain directions to favor a few.
We consume, think, and act what these biggies want us to.
Not just powerful people, even the powerful person at home subtly try to subdue you into their thinking process.
I remember being influenced by my mother's fear and acting selfishly because that is what I learned. By doing selfish acts, I was praised. I felt included within the family.
Such a sick trap!
The mind is corrupt. It wants power. Be at the family level or world level.
But self-realization is beyond the mind.
It does not affirm or give opinions or siding with the majority or minority. It is a courageous act to explore one’s discovery of who you really are.
When I slowly dived deep within myself, I realized how many layers stuff me. Millions of conditionings and fears to tackle with.
Yes, overwhelm will happen.
But the beauty is you don’t have to fight against it.
You just have to be conscious of it.
Don’t give anything your attention. Let the movie of life go on without getting attached to any one side and watching everything as a spectator.
Difficult. But doable.
Final Thoughts
Ultimate freedom is when you are free to think and choose where you want to act or respond. Nobody can give it to you. It happens when you realize the self.
Self-realization is the highest freedom. Only a daring person can finally be free from every trap—be it self-created or society-made.
The inward journey may seem daring.
But it becomes possible once you take authentic and dedicated steps to really understand yourself and not society.
Open your eyes to the lies and deceits people tell you, and you say to yourself. Be genuine, and then slowly, the fog goes away.
You don’t need to know the entire staircase at once. Just one step at a time towards your inner self is enough.