We mistake freedom for something the world grants us: the right to speak, move, or choose. But whatever the world gives, it can also take away. This is why the scriptures speak of an inner freedom: the one that's untouched by time, politics, or power. True freedom of expression lies not in the right to speak, but in the clarity from which the speech arises. Before we defend our right to free expression, we must ask ourselves: Who is the one within me who's expressing? Are my words truly my own, or just echoes of the noise that surrounds me?
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Originally published in NDTV on 17 oct '25.
Never before have we had more freedom to speak, and so little clarity about what we are speaking. There are voices everywhere, shouting and debating in the name of freedom of expression. But is it really freedom if the one speaking is bound by confusion, borrowed beliefs, and anger?
True freedom of expression lies not in the right to speak but in the clarity from which the speech arises. In other words, what you say is only as free as you are. Dominant political, cultural, and technological narratives of the time merely reflect our inner tendency to be told what to think and how to hear. In such a scenario, freedom of expression becomes much more than a right: it becomes almost a necessity. So before we defend our right to free expression, we must ask ourselves: Who is the one within me who's expressing? Are my words truly my own or just echoes of the noise that surrounds me?
