18 " That entity which is factually the complete whole is known as the Supreme Absolute Being. Subordination, or service, to that Supreme Divinity Śrī Hari, is the only true independence – and it is a delightful independence. Apart from this, all pretentious claims to independence by those who have adopted the mood of being the doer or the masters of this world are the cause of extreme distress. Such false independence is nothing but subservience and slavery to māyā."


 Question 5: What is real independence?

Answer: Endeavouring to become the Lord of this world is abhakti – the antithesis of transcendental devotion. The desire to become the Lord or to become independent, by worldly calculations, is in reality the desire for servitude and dependence. Independence in this world is but a veiled form of subservience. However, desiring to become the loyal subject, or servant, of the Supreme Lord, He who is the embodiment of sat, cit and ānanda, is the factual cause of attaining the most complete independence. As long as the living being holds fast the rope of Bhagavān’s mercy, he should be known by the term sevaka (servant). The inhabitants of this material plane who fancy themselves as self-dependent, and who thus afford themselves a mood of indifference, are truly dependent on others. But those who are subservient to the Supreme Lord are genuinely independent.

When one achieves true independence, he is overwhelmed by the joyful realization, “I am eternally subservient to Śrī Hari!” That entity which is factually the complete whole is known as the Supreme Absolute Being. Subordination, or service, to that Supreme Divinity Śrī Hari, is the only true independence – and it is a delightful independence. Apart from this, all pretentious claims to independence by those who have adopted the mood of being the doer or the masters of this world are the cause of extreme distress. Such false independence is nothing but subservience and slavery to māyā.

- by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda


Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team
from Śrīla Prabhupādera Upadeśāmṛta
Questions re-numbered for this on-line presentation


Rays of The Harmonist On-line, Year 3 & Year 16, Issue 1 “What is Real Independence?” by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda , is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License to ensure that it is always freely available. You may redistribute this article if you include this license and attribute it to Rays of The Harmonist. Please ask for permission before using the Rays of The Harmonist banner-logo.


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