Freedom is one of the most cherished values of mankind. Freedom is also the key to happiness as a famous Indian poet Tulsidas said, "A dependent man cannot attain happiness even in his dreams." Moshe Dayan called Freedom as the oxygen of the soul. Wars have been fought to attain freedom from the foreign powers and despotic ruler. Yet after people attain freedom, they devise methods to curtail freedom and make laws that takes away freedom.
All laws of a nation seek to curtail the freedom of the citizen. Yet it is a truth that the more free a country claim to be, the more laws it has to contain freedom.
We often wonder what is so special about freedom that we cannot live without it and we also cannot live with it.
Freedom and Love
If freedom is a great desire of human kind, love is ever greater requirement for man. Man is be the only animal who experiences love in all its manifestations like affection, friendship, reverence, lust etc. Man is also the only animal who has been able to restrict its own freedom by moral and social laws. Every human civilization put some restrictions on the freedom. You cannot have more wives. You cannot have relationship outside marriage. You cannot cross the road when the light is red. You cannot assault your fellow human being. The list of restrictions is endless.
We just cannot live without such restrictions. It is impossible to find any civil society that puts no restriction on its people. No society can ever exist without restriction on the freedom of men.
The answer seems to be love. If we probe further, we find the all restrictions are due to the love of humanity, particularly the weak one. It is for the love of more human that an individual freedom has to be sacrificed. All rules are made so that powerful people should not be able to exploit the weak ones. In this way the man-made laws are different than the rules of the jungle where the might is right.
Love has the natural tendency to restrict the freedom. Love is like a binding force that pulls the lovers together restricting their freedom. A man can have any number of relationships with different women if he is not in love. However, once he falls in love, he has to control his relationships else love can not last. In the same way, if you love your children, you have to necessarily sacrifice your freedom and give your time and resources to your children. Your love for the country needs that you sacrifice your personal freedom for the sake of your country.
All laws of a nation seek to curtail the freedom of the citizen. Yet it is a truth that the more free a country claim to be, the more laws it has to contain freedom.
We often wonder what is so special about freedom that we cannot live without it and we also cannot live with it.
Freedom and Love
If freedom is a great desire of human kind, love is ever greater requirement for man. Man is be the only animal who experiences love in all its manifestations like affection, friendship, reverence, lust etc. Man is also the only animal who has been able to restrict its own freedom by moral and social laws. Every human civilization put some restrictions on the freedom. You cannot have more wives. You cannot have relationship outside marriage. You cannot cross the road when the light is red. You cannot assault your fellow human being. The list of restrictions is endless.
We just cannot live without such restrictions. It is impossible to find any civil society that puts no restriction on its people. No society can ever exist without restriction on the freedom of men.
The answer seems to be love. If we probe further, we find the all restrictions are due to the love of humanity, particularly the weak one. It is for the love of more human that an individual freedom has to be sacrificed. All rules are made so that powerful people should not be able to exploit the weak ones. In this way the man-made laws are different than the rules of the jungle where the might is right.
Love has the natural tendency to restrict the freedom. Love is like a binding force that pulls the lovers together restricting their freedom. A man can have any number of relationships with different women if he is not in love. However, once he falls in love, he has to control his relationships else love can not last. In the same way, if you love your children, you have to necessarily sacrifice your freedom and give your time and resources to your children. Your love for the country needs that you sacrifice your personal freedom for the sake of your country.