Twitter bans have completed their first week. By banning YouTube a few days ago, we put another notch on the board of bans. Rumor has it that Facebook is next. But who knows, maybe just as it was banned all of a sudden, all problems will be resolved in a day and we will get our ‘freedom’ back.

Personally, I am against bans. In fact, I wrote a post offering various methods to log in to Twitter for this. I didn’t see the need to write for YouTube, because our experienced people already have expertise on the subject 🙂

Thousands of memes, comments, tweets, etc. about the closing of social media and restriction of our freedoms have already been published, and on this occasion, other issues that bother my mind have emerged.

  • What is freedom really?
  • Can our freedom be restricted?
  • How do we get freedom!

In defiance of those who have recently used ‘Freedom’ especially to serve capitalism, I want to redefine this word for myself. I had experienced this a few times. A word can really change a person’s life. Speaking of words, I remembered a book I read a long, long time ago…

Krishnamurti says; Is freedom doing whatever one wants, going wherever one wants, thinking whatever one wants? You are already doing these. Is independence enough to be free? There are many independent people in the world, but very few who are truly free. Starting from the moment we want to be something, we lose our freedom. Freedom can be achieved not by trying to be someone other than who you are, not by doing everything we want to do, not by going down the path shown by tradition, doing what your parents and teachers tell you, but only by watching and understanding what you are from one moment to the next. You see, you were not educated for such a purpose; your education encourages and provokes you to be an important person in this or that way, on this or that path. You cannot be free as long as you try to be like an important person or a respectable role model.

I don’t know what you understood from the short text above, but basically what I understand is this: Freedom is not something that will be formed with external influences and have external consequences. Freedom is an inner adventure and is about who we really are and being aware of who we are.

I seem to hear you say “But how?”. In response to this question, we connect to Yunus Emre for poems that can be counted as answers.

I CAME TO BUILD HEARTS

I have no staying here, I came to depart
I am a merchant, my goods are plenty, I came to sell to the buyer.
I did not come for dispute, my work is for love
The Friend’s house is hearts, I came to build hearts.

The Friend’s wine is my madness, lovers know what I am
Gathering my duality, I came to unite in oneness
Yunus has fallen in love, became distressed from the beloved
I came to spend my life at the door of the true man.

bezirgan: Merchant
mata: Goods, provisions
dav’i: Chasing dispute, fight, lawsuit.
sev’i: Love
eşruk: Drunkenness
devşuruben: Lifting / Gathering
bitmek: To reach / To unite
maşuk: God (the beloved one)

THE HEART IS THE THRONE OF THE CREATOR

They found it in humility, whoever has manhood
They pushed him from the ladder, if he looks from above
The heart wanders high, from time to time goes astray
Whatever is inside leaks out to the outside

The white-bearded old scholar does not know how his state is
Let him not waste effort on pilgrimage, if he breaks a heart
The deaf does not hear the word, thinks night is day
Blind is the eye of the denier, even if the world is enlightened

The heart is the throne of the Creator, the Creator looked at the heart
Wretched in both worlds, whoever breaks a heart
Whatever you think of yourself, think the same for others
This is the meaning of the four books, if there is any

We knew those who came have passed, those who settled migrated back
He drank from the wine of love, whoever senses the meaning
Let Yunus not go astray and stand in a high place
He will see neither grave nor bridge, if his beloved is the divine face

Dem-be-dem : From time to time / Constantly
Münevver : Enlightened, intellectual
Calap : GOD (Creator)
Pir koca : Elder / Old man
Bedbaht : Unfortunate / Wretched
Sin : Grave / Tomb
Sırat : The bridge to heaven / The path
Didar : Reunion with God / The face of the Divine

I think this is freedom! Freedom goes through complete submission to Allah. It goes through following the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). If “He” is the creator of everything, wouldn’t it be madness to believe otherwise?

“Do not rise up against me, but come to me in submission”. Surah AN-NAML — Verse 31.

“Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask for peace in submission.” Surah AL-AHZAB — Verse 56.

“Then will we treat the Muslims like the criminals?” Surah AL-QALAM — Verse 35.

“Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.” (Surah Al-Anbiya, 35)

In this short life of ours, the place we will return to is obvious. Some of us are rich, some are poor, but in the final analysis, the hole we will enter is the same.

We can gain our freedom not by owning things, not by trying to be something, not by doing things; maybe by being nothing. Of course, we have to work, earn money, interact with people and society to live. But I hope you understand what I mean here. I am talking about living with a breadth of heart by staying away from bad habits and features such as selfishness, grudge, hatred, waste, ignorance, and wailing. To find true happiness and freedom in life…