“To Be Free Is Often To Be Lonely”
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
21 December
2023
" Why do you want to think with people
When
you're free like a bird in the sky
See
yourself as an independent ripple
That
survives in the ocean low or high "
Iranian
mystic poet Anwari,
translated from Persian by the author
I've always
been intrigued by the British-American poet W H Auden's profound statement,
"To be free is often to be lonely."
A free
individual is free in all respects as Ted Hughes also said, "A free human
is emotionally grounded but ideologically and sentimentally emancipated. Such a
man is always lonely and alone."
Freedom
from all bonds and bindings leaves you (desirably) alone. There's no
condescension in it but if the truth must be told, almost all humans are
ideologically and sentimentally tied up just to avoid this unbearable sense of
loneliness. Hardly anyone is free in the actual sense of the word. We've
families, friends, groups, religions, scriptures, addictions and associations
just to avoid being alone. That's why, most of us never choose to be completely
free. This overwhelming desire to tie oneself to the apron-strings of some
idea, ideology, object or group is inherent in all humans. Because of this,
we're never free.
Observe
people from afar. Nowadays, you'll see people glued to their smart phones or
engaged in inane chatting and lifeless conversations or they visit a
temple/shrine to be with their god/s and other like-minded 'god-fearing'
devotees. Our aloneness frightens us. So, we keep ourselves engaged in all
sorts of humdrum pursuits.
We don't
want to be free because we don't want to think freely and independently. We
need the support of others even to think. Why true rebels have been so few in
all ages and eras? Because, hardly a few chose to come out of their comfort
zones and could think independently without any fear or apprehension of being
alone and vulnerable. Most of the humans follow religions, nations, ethnic
groups etc. because they get a false sense of societal protection.
Salman
Rushdie rightly says that every human is necessarily or unnecessarily tied-up
here and there. The constant fear of loneliness doesn't let us become totally
free and fearless. Mind you, loneliness doesn't make one a recluse or aloof. Au
contraire, it lets you introspect and reassess. But, who has time for
introspection and desire to summit the apogee of absolute emancipation? To be
alone is to be god. Here, I'm resorting to god as a metaphor for absolute
freedom and a semantic equivalent of complete detachment as I've no faith in
your concocted god/s.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/free-lonely/d/131351
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism