If following others is slavery, the mind quickly wants to conclude that following oneself is freedom. No, following oneself is deeper slavery because what we call the 'self' is just an aggregate of internalized, pervasive influences, like a crow mistaking a cuckoo’s eggs for its own. True freedom is to be free of others and, more importantly, yourself.
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Questioner: Sir what is the meaning of Slavery?
Acharya Prashant: Obviously, if you are following just the commands, the dictates, of somebody else, then it is slavery; slavery in the sense that obviously, you have no freedom. Somebody else is on top of you, pushing you, guiding you, compelling you or luring you, to be in a certain way, to act in a certain way, then we can obviously see that is slavery. But it is important to see what looks like opposite of this is not really freedom.
If I say that following others is slavery, then mind quickly wants to conclude that following oneself is freedom. No, following oneself is slavery even deeper, because what we call as oneself is usually just an aggregate of the influences of others, influences of others that have been internalized. Influences so ancient, so common and so pervasive that one doesn’t call them influences anymore, one calls them as one’s individuality. One says that – this is me, and now because the effect of others upon you gets your own support, so it becomes very difficult to treat.
