You certainly have limited freedom to choose, but if you choose improperly, you have to suffer. Responsibility and freedom go hand in hand. At the same time, there must be discrimination. Without it, our freedom is blind. We cannot understand right from wrong.
People are very fond of claiming to be free, and in the name of freedom they are prepared to have sex in the street. Such illusioned living entities do not know that there is no freedom at all as long as we are under the grip of material nature. One may claim to have freedom, but nature will soon contradict this claim. We are all conditioned, and we are simply thinking that we have freedom, yet this is all illusion.
No one wants to die, and yet no one is free from death. No one wants to become old, yet no one is free from old age unless he dies young. No one wants to be in bondage to sexual desires, but the desires keep up, even in old age, for old men and old women try to remain young by cosmetic help. One would like to be free and to remain good-looking, but where is that freedom? Nature forces one to become old and wrinkled. So actually there is no freedom; freedom in this material world is simply false.
No one wants to die, but death is certain. No one wants to become old, but old age is certain. No one wants to get sick, but disease is certain. At a higher stage, the living entity does not even want to take birth, but according to Bhagavad-gita birth is also certain. One cannot be free to stop death or birth unless he comes to Krsna consciousness.
Unless one comes to the position of love of Krsna, there is no question of freedom. That is nature's law. In our present state of illusion we have forgotten Krsna, and instead of loving Him we have developed a love for the things of material nature.
This is symptomized in love of dog instead of love of God. In America there is a popular saying to the effect that a dog is man's best friend. In Bhagavad-gita Krsna says that He, God, is the friend and well-wisher of all living entities, but those in forgetfulness of Krsna have replaced God's position with the dog's position.
The living entity thinks that he will be free from love of God by embracing material nature, but actually he is trapped into loving a dog. That is nature. Indeed, it is our nature to love something. There is no freedom, therefore. If we do not love Krsna, we will then be forced to love dog. We do have freedom, however, to make the choice, to choose the object of our love.
- Srila Prabhupada
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