The myth of freedom and the general will

It is surprising that the world is governed by a General Will. Our individual will is free only so long as it serves the ends of that General Will. If we contravene it, there is a crash. There is so much turmoil in the world simply because people think they are free to do anything they want. They are unaware of the fact that gods take note of it, and act instantly and men come to grief for their violations. Gods do not interfere when they find men are doing their jobs with their good intentions. But once they try to be over smart, or over confident, they lose their balance and prove detrimental to the harmony of the universe and invite divine intervention.

- DR. JERNAIL S. ANAND

Freedom, the sweetest sounding word in the dictionary, stands for man's free will while undertaking an action. But, there is a great question mark on the idea of free will. Are we really free? Can we exercise our free will? We often say that for man sky is the limit. It means he is free under the sky to do what he wants. Is it really so? What I am discussing today goes beyond the idea of political freedom. I am talking of freedom in existential as well as extraterrestrial terms.

ARE WE REALLY FREE?

In this world where constitutions grant freedom to their citizens, can we say we have freedom to act? A woman who gets pocket money, has freedom to use it the way she likes. These are small little freedoms which give us a feeling of being free to choose. But there are larger questions also which are involved in the perception of freedom. Every person wants to be rich. He works hard for it. Sometimes he commits frauds also. Can he claim freedom to do what he likes? What restricts us from doing a hundred things although apparently there is nobody to challenge us if we do?