Who am I?

How wonderful it is to drop our self-image, all those things that give us a sense of identity. It opens up an infinite world of possibilities, so much to play with! 

Like an actor in the play of life, I can take on any role according to whim, without compromising who I really am, because who I really am has nothing to do with what I wear, what music I listen to and which places I hang out at and with whom... and everything to do with my sense of being a soul having a human experience, with gratitude and compassion. 

Which Mali will you be meeting today? Spiritual-Yoga-Meditation-Hare Krishna Mali? Sexy Salsa Mali? Psy-Trance Mali? Outdoor Adventures Mali? Holistic Therapist Mali? Marketing Executive Mali? Bohemian Artist/Writer Mali? Travelling Hippy Mali? 

The list goes on and oooooh it's so much fun... !!! 

Freedom!

"I am free to express myself!"

"I am free to wear what I want!"

"I am free to do as I like!"

But where is freedom to be found here?

Could this, perhaps, actually translate as slavery to the need for self-identification, desire and sense-gratification?

Could there be more freedom in the absence of this need?

How about...

"It doesn't matter whether I get an opportunity to express myself or not, because I feel complete and fulfilled anyway."

"What I wear no longer affects how I feel about myself. And I am not concerned about others' perception of me."

"I am equally satisfied while fulfilling your wishes rather than mine, and while working or playing."

"It is not a matter that I am not free to do that, but rather I am free from the desire, or the need, to do it."

This is not suggesting annihilation of personality, rather equanimity in all situations presented before a person.

This is true freedom: freedom to be fully active without the sense of necessity or attachment.

In reflecting upon this point, I dug into the timeless wisdom of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, ancient Vedic text, and decided to share some of it here:

2:15
yam hi na vyathayanty ete, purusam purusarsabha
sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram, so ’mrtatvaya kalpate

O noblest of men, the wise man who is equipoised in pleasure and pain, and undisturbed by sense-experiences, is alone qualified for immortality.

2:64
raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu, visayan indriyais charan
atma-vasyair vidheyatma, prasadam adhigachchhati

The integrated person who can control his mind at will, and who, free from attraction and repulsion, accepts his worldly necessities through his controlled senses, attains tranquillity.

3:19

tasmad asaktah satatam, karyam karma samachara
asakto hy acharan karma, param apnoti purusah

So perform your prescribed duties without attachment. By selflessly executing one’s duties a person attains liberation. (True liberation is the state of pure devotion, attained in the maturity of selfless action.)

6:8
jnana-vijnana-trptatma,kuta-stho vijitendriyah
yukta ity ucyate yogi,sama-lostrasma-kancanah

One who is always satisfied within by both knowledge and realisation, who is always fixed in his spiritual nature, who is sense-controlled and who has the vision of equality for a clod of earth, a rock, or gold—it is said that such a person has attained yoga.