"The only freedom is the freedom
to do the right."
In the contemplative life, or the life of the mystic, there
is a freedom that does not exist at lower levels of existence,
but this freedom appears unattractive to most persons, as
it carries within itself the need for responsible action
by the person. Such a person has to prescribe for himself
the ethical and moral values that guide his life. No longer
can he merely obey a set of rules often elastically interpreted
by his priestly guide. Now the onus of leading a right life
is on him, and on him alone.
So the apparent freedom of the spiritual life seems to
have hidden within it the greater bondage of self-discipline,
self-control and so on, culminating in the principle of
self surrender. When this is understood, people seem to
prefer the total lack of freedom during a specified period
under the ritual life to the apparent freedom of the contemplative.
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