The body is dependent on the whole creation. In society, someone must sew clothes, produce electricity, drill for oil. The body cannot be independent of the world. For the body, dependence is absolute. When the spirit identifies with the body, then it gets pinched and it looks for independence. Mind, intellect, ego, they all look for independence.
In looking for independence you often get stuck in the ego and become more miserable, but most people are not aware of their dependency. When they become aware of their limitations and dependency, the desire for independence arises.
Independence cannot be achieved unless you start moving from within and when you move within, you discover that you are interdependent. The individual Self is interdependent and in fact, every wise person knows that everything is interdependent and that there is no such thing as independence.
On one level dependence is a harsh reality. On another level, it is an illusion because there is nothing else but the Self. It is only when you do not feel oneness, belongingness that you want independence. Because the self is non-dual, there is no question of dependence or independence.
One who asks for independence is a beggar. One who knows that it is an illusion is a king. When the sense of belongingness is not well founded, there is a volatile state in the life of a seeker. The ego then finds some excuse to revert to smallness because it is not yet soaked in the totality of knowledge. As the ego is not accustomed to belongingness, the mind finds every little excuse to revert back to the ego and to be aloof, independent and separate. It finds any small fault and blows it out of proportion. Be aware of these tendencies and come what may, be strong in the commitment to satsang, to the spiritual path.
