Embracing Restraints

A Word from Rabindranath Tagore

A Word from Rabindranath Tagore

Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is no freedom for the tree. — Rabindranath Tagore

Freedom is one of the most sought-after and elusive things. A longing for it comes to us whenever we feel frustrated, inspired, tired, or bored. Yet it remains elusive, and many have perished in pursuit of it because of a misunderstanding of what it means to be free.

The kind of freedom that many pine after is freedom from constraints. It convinces them that being bound to something is like slavery, and they long to be liberated to do whatever they want.

That pitiable prodigal in Jesus’s famous story found out that this was not the path to freedom. His demand, “Give me the share of property that is coming to me,” was a cry for freedom. Instead of his father’s restraining presence, with all of its rules, forms, and structure, he wanted to do things his way, led by the impulses of his immature will. Doing so, he might have said, would make him free.

This is the deception many fall under when pursuing freedom. They believe that it is possible to live life untethered to something; it is a lie. While the prodigal was no longer tethered to his father, he became imprisoned by his desires, and he experienced the only kind of freedom that unrestrained desire can deliver. That is, the freedom to destroy one’s life. “Broad is the road,” says Jesus, “that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13).

We are all bound to something. The question is: Will we be bound to something that will cultivate and liberate the better parts of us, enabling us to be virtuous, or will we be bound to something that will awaken and strengthen our vices?

Real freedom, as Tagore points out, comes from being rooted; it is a narrow way of living. If you want to see freedom in action, look at Olympic athletes or master pianists. Watch a skilled butcher slice meat from bone; it’s like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. They are free to perform with excellence because of the ascetic life they chose for themselves.

True freedom is not about casting off all restraints but about choosing the right ones. It is about finding the narrow path that, paradoxically, opens up the vast expanse of human potential. It is within these boundaries that we find the strength to soar and the grace to live fully.

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