Humans are social beings. We live in a
society, build relationship with other people. Our actions have an impact on
ourselves and our surroundings. Based on the social setup in which we exist, we
modify & tune our performance.
It is good to obtain the feedback that leads
to changes in our behavior for the betterment of individuals and society at
large. However, it is also the trap of our environment which has a say over our
emotions. If our near and dear ones praise our actions, it would bring forth a
soothing feeling and in turn we will be happy. On the other hand, if there is
criticism then it brings misery.
Swami Vivekananda terms this as slavery. He
says that if we require someone else to make us happy, we are nothing but slaves.
He mentions that in order to break from the clutches of slavery, we have to
consciously move away from the way society operates.
We have to perform actions
without any attachment. In his speech on Karma Yoga, he declares that work that
is performed as a free-will offering to humanity does not associate itself with
any binding attachment.
The goal is to isolate the soul from all
objects – physical & mental. When this goal is attained, the soul will
realize that it was all alone and wouldn’t necessitate anyone else’s presence
or absence to make it happy.
If we have reached this state, it would possibly
indicate that we have been able to successfully break free from the bondage of
slavery.
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