Do you really want freedom?
So first of all, what is freedom? The Oxford dictionary says it is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. We all do have that in the "free world" we talk about to a certain degree, if it ticks all the necessities to sustain the ideal society we humans have proposed to build. But this idea of freedom does not sit well with what the dictionary says; the restraint here is the maintenance of the blueprint you’re given of how the perfect society should be. We all carry thoughts and feelings that do not fit in that blueprint, leading to a maintenance of the self we want the world to see and what internally exists. That is conflicting for anyone, because performance is tiring. It’s like you’re working in a boring job you never signed up for or can't sign out of, just to be accepted by what you believe to be your belonging, because that’s all you’ve known through your eyes.
It’s disturbing to look at it from this point of view, but it’s what it actually is. Many philosophers talked about it, and many saints or the “enlightened ones” went against it. One of the most recent ones is Bhagwan Rajneesh, that is Osho. He believed that he had found the perfect route to enlightenment, that is through sex and meditation, which is letting all your energy out to reach the last door of consciousness, that is enlightenment. This was derived from people’s frustration of being what they believe they are supposed to be. Humans are the weirdest species to exist; we have evolved completely differently from any other species. We have learned to please each other’s insecurity, envy, and jealousy. We are not “wild” like every other animal is; we are highly conscious beings. According to Osho, the last stage of consciousness was letting go of what the world tells you you are.
But his practices will make you question: do you really want that freedom? In normal words, his ashram was an LSD orgy party where anyone could have sex with anyone, and there were reports of even children being drawn into that. Do you really want that freedom? I personally don’t, but in modern days, people have been much more vocal and expressionate about our deep desires and self, which has created a chain of sentimental disagreements that were always there, but previously kept to a norm because of the oppression of the “weak.” I was born and brought up in a patriarchal setting; I struggle with freedom if it crosses my degree of it, but that’s the difference—how much one is okay with oppressing. If we want acceptance of oneself, maybe we should learn to accept the parts of others that hinder our self-worth or vanity. Are we ready to actually be free like that, or do we just want what is perfect for us while signing an unseen pact with society which does not hinder our egotism?