Freedom means right ways of discipline. Many misunderstand freedom to be personal liberty. Freedom does not mean living as you like and causing trouble to others. That is demonic tendency.

Freedom means sacrifice + liberty + Karma Yoga. If you perform selfless actions, your freedom is meaningful. When selfless actions are coupled with abidance to truth it truly glorifies the freedom you have. When these both are coupled with sacrifice, it is the ultimate freedom!

Without any of these components, freedom is not complete. You might have heard so many stories about Devatas and demons. Each of them was seeking superiority over the other. They wanted freedom. The word freedom is a Mantra. It is sacred. Never mix personal ego with freedom. I have been telling work is worship.

Indian flag has three colours- saffron, white and green. Green represents the symbol of work, Karma & freedom. White is the truth and purity. If you concentrate on any work with pure mind and heart, you will accomplish it. Any work for that matter… meditation, human service etc. Saffron colour in Indian flag represents “tyaga” (sacrificial nature). In the middle is Ashoka Chakra. It represents Dharma or righteousness. King Ashoka was a noble emperor. He served humanity like no other king.

The Indian flag represents the message of Upanishads. During Puja, Swamiji uses mudras (hand gestures). Even classical Indian dancers display mudras while dancing. Mudra is a way of silently communicating with God. Similar to this, the flag also symbolizes a communication with the Lord.

Datta Peetham too has a flag. It has Tripundra three white lines representing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva who perform the tasks of creation, sustenance and destruction respectively.

On this auspicious day, the fiftieth year of Indian independence, Swamiji is happy to be in Trinidad, a holy land. There is the right combination of spirituality, religion and modernity here. I think before last annihilation, India and Trinidad were physically connected to one another. I believe it.

In Trinidad, we have feeling that we are in India. India is the land of angels. It has an abundant wealth of natural beauty and there is abundant wealth of spirituality too. Though India and Trinidad are physically far away, we are closer in thoughts and relation. In Trinidad we have Aripo river which is like the Ganges in India. May Lord Datta bless this country. I bless that Trinidad progresses more and more culturally, spiritually, economically and scientifically.

In India there is a good balance between luxury and spirituality. You might be surprised to learn that still in many villages in India and in many households, there are not even televisions. They feel that they are not needed. They lead a happy life. To those who are mentally weak, these modern amenities can easily disrupt their physical and mental conditions. We are now so much dependent on modern amenities. We get very unhappy if there is no electric power for a day. Some are worried if their air conditioner does not work properly.

Real freedom is gaining freedom from over dependence on modern amenities. In the west children gain independence once they are 18 years old. But in India, there is no such thing as freedom from family. Families stay together and care for their children till they are fifty years old. Parents look after their education, marriage, career and family life.

I remember my grandfather today. He was a rationalist and was a great Karma Yogi. For him work was worship. He sacrificed for the country. He was a freedom fighter. His name was Lingannayya. Swamiji remembers a instance when Swamiji was about three years old.

In those days there was a strict ban on movement of rice from place to place. All rice that was found or thought to be abundant was confiscated by the British for 2nd world war purposes. Lingannayya was stealthily shifting rice from his barn to other villages where rice was scarce. Swamiji as a small boy was eager to go in such rescue missions.

Lingannayya finally agreed one day and Swamiji was bundled in a gunny bag and was put in the bullock cart amidst other grain sacks. The cart had a secret compartment in the wooden chassis and the rice was hidden in that compartment. During the journey, the cart was stopped by a party of British police men. As usual they started poking a sharp tipped iron staff randomly through the sacks. Swamiji could hear the officers speaking to each other. Suddenly a cold metal pierced through the sack in which Swamiji was hiding. It missed Swamiji’s side by just a few centimetres and went in front of the huddled body. Later the patrol party let go the cart and Lingannayya arrived in Sogala, his native village.

There the anxious farmers opened the sacks and were jubilant to see Swamiji come out of the sack unhurt. Swamiji did not even cry when the rod came almost close to the body. Lingannayya opened the secret cover of the hidden compartment and bags and bags of rice poured out. That was his courage and his passion for freedom was great. May God Bless India .

Jai Hind. Jaya Guru Datta

– August 15, 1997 – Trinidad