Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

In today’s world, many pursue happiness through material comforts, fleeting relationships, and transient pleasures. This relentless chase often leaves us feeling unfulfilled and trapped in a cycle of constant acquiring and validation from the external world.

Amid this pursuit, a profound question arises: What is the elusive freedom that only a few seem to yearn for? While many find solace in momentary joys and external successes, a select few seek a deeper, more enduring form of liberation. This quest transcends superficial gratifications and touches the essence of our existence, urging us to confront the nature of our deepest attachments, fears, and desires. What lies beyond conventional understandings of freedom, and how do those who seek it differ from the rest?

Guru Teghbahadar Sahib offers a profound insight in the fifteenth stanza of Salok Mahala 9: In whose mind happiness and sorrow do not hold power, for whom enemy and friend are equal, understand that person alone to be free. This perspective invites us to pause and reflect on the true nature of freedom.

True freedom is not found in the transient states of happiness, sadness, comfort, or pain. It is a state where one treats friends and enemies equally, transcending the superficial labels and attachments that bind us. This vision of freedom extends beyond traditional notions of religious or liberation theology; it captures what freedom truly means in everyday life. The truly free person looks past temporary emotions and relationships, recognizing that such labels are mere forms of bondage rooted in attachment. Attachment leads to worry and distress, making it challenging to experience genuine freedom.

Freedom does not imply the absence of emotions but rather the ability to remain centered and unaffected amidst them. It involves shifting our focus from our emotions' fluctuating highs and lows to a stable remembrance and identification with the Divine. Emotions may still arise, but they do not dictate our actions. While our attachments to people and things can stir our feelings, the goal is to reach a state where these attachments do not control our responses. A truly free person navigates emotional currents with clarity and composure, regardless of external influences.

Can we achieve a state where friends and enemies are treated equally? True freedom emerges when our focus shifts to Nam, the Identification with IkOankar, the Beautiful One, the Treasure of Grace.

Is this the profound freedom we are truly seeking?

May we long for this freedom.

May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!