Inner freedom is the overcoming of dependency on instincts

Man is a slave because freedom is difficult, while slavery is easy.

Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher

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Alexander Solzhenitsyn underwent a remarkable evolution, which was possible because he was a man of morals.

He became the only person to refuse Russia's highest honor, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, stating, «I cannot accept an award from the supreme authority that has brought Russia to its current disastrous state».

For many years, I heard about how Solzhenitsyn despised Soviet power and was a vehement opponent of the Soviet Union.

His books described the complete lawlessness of the people under a deranged authority.

The socialist camp turned out to be a concentration camp. Solzhenitsyn's name was «hyped» by the West and used to defeat the Soviet Union in the ideological battle. An image was formed: the Soviet Union, Soviet power—these were embodiments of evil from which one must flee.

This is hell, and one should strive for paradise. And paradise is the countries of Western democracy. Thus, liberal tendencies were shaped in the minds of Soviet people. Recently on a TV show, I heard about another side of Solzhenitsyn. It turns out that after his famous books, he came to a remarkable conclusion.

«I spent a long time trying to understand what happened to Russia, why such a catastrophe struck it», he said, «but all my attempts to understand this led nowhere.

Only recently I was astonished to see that the same tendencies that led Russia to disaster are taking effect in Western countries.

It turns out that Russia was the first to go down this disastrous path.

American democracy, where all conflicts between people are resolved through lawyers and sincere feelings are replaced by legal relations, does not seem to me to be a better alternative».

It turned out that both the good West and the bad Russia are afflicted by the same virus—the loss of love in favor of their instincts, primarily the instinct of self-preservation. Only Russia worshiped a bright future, while the West worshiped a bright present. But worshiping instincts is always slavery. Involuntarily, lines from a poem by M.Y. Lermontov come to mind:

Farewell, unwashed Russia,

Country of slaves, country of lords,

And you, blue uniforms,

And you, their obedient people.

Perhaps, beyond the Caucasus, I will hide from your pashas,

From their all-seeing eye,

From their all-hearing ears.

Lermontov would have been amazed at the «eyes and ears» of the modern state. Slaves were branded on the forehead and right hand.

Currently, Russia is preparing a universal electronic card, which will serve as both a passport and a payment method simultaneously. It will encode a variety of information about the individual.

When King David conducted a census of the population, he was punished by God for it. People are governed by God, not man; human will is secondary—that's the essence of this parable. Surveillance and control systems will inevitably develop regardless. But if spiritual and physical power end up in the hands of an imperfect state, the surgeon's scalpel turns into the knife of a bandit.

In current states that have lost faith and morality, surveillance and control systems will turn people into slaves. A consciousness that lacks love and has lost its dialectic will always transform freedom into slavery.

I smile, recalling the two eternal Russian questions: «Who is to blame?» and «What is to be done?». These two questions reflect a slavish mindset. Only a slave and a pagan seek the guilty in the ultimate sense. A monotheist recognizes that everything comes from the Creator, and thus, in the grand scheme of things, there are no guilty parties. Our imperfections, our incorrect worldview, our lack of love in our souls are to blame.

Thus, one must change oneself for the better and help others. It means striving to change not only oneself but also the world around us. We need to elevate moral discipline; we need to keep the commandments.

The question «Who is to blame?» implies an outburst of hatred, judgment, and thirst for revenge. «What is to be done?» To exact revenge. To punish the guilty one. To condemn him as the main culprit of our misfortunes.

The first question already encodes the answer to the second. If we recall the history of Russia, initially, everything was blamed on the tsar, ignoring one's own slavish condition. After the fall of tsarism, capitalists were blamed for everything. Then began the search for «enemies of the people»—another campaign of hatred towards the guilty. Later, Stalin was blamed for the repressions. And yet, the slavish, servile attitude towards oneself and others remained.

Next, the socialist system was blamed—for all the troubles and poverty. Now, oligarchs and officials are blamed. A slave will always hate the master and internally blame him for all his problems.

A dependent person tends to take offense and blame, while a free person aims to act. Inner freedom is the overcoming of dependency on instincts.

S.N. Lazarev, «Experience of Survival, Part 4»