University of Michigan; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Rackham Hall
12 February 1974

Dear seekers of Truth, Light and Bliss, I am extremely glad to be at this august
University today. This University loves progress more than anything. In our
spiritual life also, we care for only one thing—progress. We do not care for
success; we care only for progress, and in our progress looms large our success.
Today’s success is the starting point for tomorrow’s achievement. Success never
gives satisfaction, but when we make progress we do get satisfaction. Progress is
the Will of God working in and through us, carrying us safely to our Ultimate
Goal.
Today I wish to give a short talk on Freedom. We all know something about
what freedom is, for freedom is very familiar to each individual soul. As a
freedom-loving country, America stands in the vanguard of the freedom-loving
countries. So, dear sisters and brothers, perhaps you know more about freedom
than I do. But from the spiritual point of view, for the seeker of the Infinite
Truth, I would like to say a few words on spiritual freedom, inner freedom.
What is freedom? Freedom is our conscious, spontaneous and selfless search
for Light, abundant Light, infinite Light.
There are two kinds of Light: the outer light and the inner light. The outer
light exposes us, examines us and judges us. The inner light awakens us, illumines
us and fulfils us.
Once we enter into the world of aspiration, we come to realise that there are
three types of freedom: animal freedom, human freedom and divine freedom.
Animal freedom enjoys total destruction. Human freedom enjoys fleeting or
deluding pleasure. Divine freedom enjoys illumining and fulfilling oneness.
Animal freedom and human freedom are earth-bound freedom. Divine freedom
is Heaven-free freedom. Earth-bound freedom is the song of our unlit ego’s
supremacy. Heaven-free freedom is the song of our reality’s perfection and
divinity’s manifestation.
In today’s world, man and perfection are perfect strangers. In tomorrow’s
world, man and perfection will be bosom friends, illumining friends and fulfilling
brothers. In the mind of today’s world, divine manifestation is sheer impossibility;
but in the heart of tomorrow’s world, the divine manifestation is an
unmistakable inevitability.
Spiritual freedom is our liberation from the mire of self-created bondage.
When the body is liberated from the mire of ignorance, the body divinely serves
God in man. When the vital is liberated from the aggression of ignorance-dream,
the vital divinely loves God in man. When the mind is liberated from its tiny,
limited ignorance-cave, the mind divinely manifests God in man. When the heart
is liberated from its insecurity-prison cell, the heart constantly feels the Supreme
Pilot here on earth, there in Heaven.
In the spiritual life, we need speed. To my great joy, we are very close to
Detroit, the capital of the automobile world, the city of speed. In the inner life,
speed is aspiration. If there is no aspiration, then there is no speed, and Godrealisation
remains a far cry. We know the speed of an Indian bullock cart and
the speed of a modern jet plane. Aspiration has the speed of a modern jet plane.
Aspiration is the heart’s mounting cry that finds its satisfaction only when it
reaches the Goal of the ever-transcending Beyond. Once it reaches the Goal, the
inner being is inundated with freedom, the freedom that feeds us, energises us
and fulfils the hunger of humanity.
Right now, if you ask, “Who needs freedom?” our answer is that everyone
needs freedom. If you ask, “Who has freedom?” the answer is that nobody has it.
But if we launch into the spiritual life, if we follow the path devotedly, soulfully
and unconditionally, then today’s bondage can be transformed into tomorrow’s
freedom. Outer freedom is fleeting and badly lacking in satisfaction. Inner
freedom gives us real and abiding satisfaction. Unless and until we have attained
satisfaction, we shall always remain unfulfilled and empty.
In order to bring satisfaction into our life, we cry deep within. When God’s
Hour strikes in our life of aspiration, we become not only men of freedom but
also lovers of freedom. At that time we transform mankind with our embodied,
revealed and manifested Freedom divine.
Now we are in the state of Michigan. The state motto is extremely significant
from the spiritual point of view: “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about
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you.” In the spiritual life, we are looking for a spiritual peninsula. The peninsula
is Love, Devotion and Surrender—divine Love, divine Devotion and divine
Surrender.
Human love binds; divine Love expands. Human devotion is our unconscious
attachment; divine Devotion is our conscious awareness of our Ultimate Reality.
Human surrender is the surrender of a slave to his master; divine Surrender is the
surrender of the finite to the Infinite. This surrender is conscious, wholehearted
and unconditional, and it allows the human being to realise his Source, God.
After God-realisation, the finite human life becomes inseparably one with the
Infinite. At that time, the Infinite sings its most soulful song, the song of God-
Reality, and the finite sings its eternal song, the cry of millennia.
The moment we enter the spiritual life, one sublime thought, word and idea
becomes paramount to us, and that is ‘consciousness’. Strangely enough, this state
of being abounds in lakes. Lakes consist of water, which signifies consciousness.
Consciousness and spirituality are inseparable.
When we elevate our consciousness to the highest level of awareness, illumination
dawns. When we spread the wings of our consciousness, we fly into the
sky of Immortality. Each seeker consciously tries to expand his consciousness,
illumine his consciousness and fulfil his consciousness; for in the expansion,
illumination and fulfilment of his consciousness, he becomes one with the Real,
with the Supreme, his Source and his Goal.