FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE DR. SHRINIWAS KASHALIKAR Even as political and economic freedom is hailed time and again, the freedom of conscience is rarely spoken about. However, if you look at the matter of freedom closely, then you would appreciate that political freedom and economic freedom are important but not sufficient. They do not solve many subtle yet genuine problems of human life. In fact political and economic freedom in isolation i.e. without inner growth and development i.e. inner blossoming; i.e. freedom of conscience; can prove to be counterproductive! In fact the people in different parts of the world have gained political and to some extent economic freedom, but still they are in turmoil and tribulations due to various causes fundamentally related to inconsiderate and intolerant attitudes, bigotry, religious, racial and other cancerous and malignant vested interests, fanaticism, terrorism, and pettiness of perspective, policies, plans and transactions! In turn, the laws, the conventions, the traditions, the fashions, the beliefs and even literature, media and advertising are being built and shaped in such a way, that they are suffocating our conscience! These things are too high walls of a prison in which our conscience is imprisoned! But there is nothing to be worried about. The global conscience; still can explode the walls, barriers and shackles that throttle it and get freed! We all can then blossom together if billions of people apart from all other brilliant and valiant efforts, practice NAMASMARAN! BUT WHAT IS NAMASMARAN? Namasmaran means; remembering the name of God, Guru, great souls; such as prophets and holy objects such as planets and stars. It may be remembered silently, loudly, along with music, dance, along with breathing, in group or alone, either with counting by rosary (called
SMARANI or JAPAMALA) or without counting. The traditions vary from region to region and from religion to religion. However the universal principle underlying NAMASMARAN is to reorient your physiological being with your true self. In fact while reorienting with true self you aim to establish and strengthen the bond or connection; between; your physiological being; with your true self. You aim at reunification with yourself! Since remembering your true self is the pinnacle of or culmination of individual consciousness, and individual consciousness is the culmination of every activity in life, remembering any name of God or Guru (any symbol of your true self) is equivalent to opening the final common pathway for the individual consciousness associated with every possible activity to get funneled into or unified with objective or cosmic consciousness. Thus NAMASMARAN is in fact the YOGA of YOGA in the sense that it is the culmination of consciousness associated with every possible procedure and technique in the yoga that you are familiar with. It is the YOGA of YOGA because it is the culmination of consciousness associated with all the activities in the universe, which it encompasses as well! It is YOGA of YOGA because everybody in the world irrespective of his/her tradition and the beliefs; would eventually, ultimately and naturally reach it; in the process of liberation. Even so called non believers also would not “miss” the “benefit of remembering the true self through one symbol or another”! Just as NAMASMARAN is YOGA of YOGA it is meditation of meditation also! It is the natural and ultimate climax of every form of meditation. These facts however have to be realized with persistent practice of NAMSMARAN and not blindly believed or blindly disbelieved with casual approach! In short NAMSMARAN is superbounty of cosmic consciousness for every individual to realize it (cosmic consciousness)! This is truly a superbounty because a person who experiences it, rises above mercenary, commercial and even professional and charity planes and manifest super transactions in his or her life!
These are just few observations to give rough idea about what is NAMASMARAN. NAMASMARAN is an ocean of bliss. Its true meaning is beyond description in words and has to be experienced, most preferably, by billions!