Freedom is important to any human being, and is of particular relevance to a sAdhaka, but there are several types of freedom. There are the basic freedoms of speech and religious expression that a secular democracy tries to ensure, and these are valuable and certainly cannot be taken for granted. Even yogis of yore recognized the importance of these basic freedoms that many of us are fortunate to enjoy today. In the HaTha Yoga PradIpikA it is said
surAjye dhArmike deshe subhikshe nirupadrave (I.12)
(The yogi should live) In a country that is properly governed, virtuous, prosperous, free from affliction or danger (harmless, peaceful) ...
In America, and in other democracies of the Western world, there is also a great emphasis on personal freedom. With globalization this idea has now gained currency in many other parts of the world as well, and the word freedom has become synonymous with a particular notion of personal freedom.
By this I mean that individuals want to be free to express themselves in whatever way they are inclined as long as it does not inhibit another individual's freedom of expression.
But even if one is fortunate enough to live in a prosperous and free country and enjoy this level of personal freedom, is a human being truly free? Is freedom only a matter of having the freedom of individual expression? Now we already know that even this freedom of expression is a very limited kind of freedom because it is circumscribed by what is deemed acceptable in that particular society. So while some Americans may feel the US allows more freedom of expression than certain other countries, not everyone considers the freedom of blaring music in your truck, or the ability to consume copious amounts of alcohol in public to be representative of human freedom. The acceptable limits for freedom of individual expression may vary from one society to another, but there are always certain actions that are taboo or forbidden in every society. There are 'sacred cows' and forbidden topics in all societies, but they are often ignored by those who are proud to be part of that country or society. Given this context, even a little objective reflection will reveal that our notion of 'freedom' is deeply tied to our worldview that is constructed in the mind on the basis of certain mental concepts. The key point is that our conventional notion of freedom is not free from our worldview, and it is constructed in our mind.
Now the freedom a yogi seeks is the ultimate freedom that is unfettered by even the thralldom of mental concept. So what we conventionally think of as freedom are all merely minor forms of freedom for a yogi. The pinnacle of civilization is reached when man is able to effectively leverage these minor freedoms to discover his true nature. For this the sAdhaka must recognize that even with a guarantee of the minor freedoms, we are thralls of action, thought, and desire. Through yoga meditation one can begin to examine the nature of this bondage.
Every so often we are aware that in certain situations we act reflexively. Whether this reflexive action is performed for what we perceive as a good or bad reason is not important. Sometimes we also regret these reflexive actions and later wish that we hadn't said or done something so automatically. This is the bondage of action. It comes from the deep samskAras that impel us to act without the intervention of reasoning, discrimination and balanced judgement. So even if we are guaranteed the minor freedoms, the yogi realizes that unless this freedom is gained, one is never truly free. Through yoga meditation and yoga nidrA it is possible to examine these samskAras while they are still in their latent form in the causal plane. In this form they can be attenuated, and eventually burnt, so that they cease to exert the powerful reflexive pull on us that they did before. Referring to kriya yoga, which in the Patanjali Yoga SUtra is defined as tapas, svAdhyAya and Ishvara praNidhAnam (austerity, self-study and surrender to Ishvara, the uncontaminated pure Consciousness), Maharshi Patanjali notes that its purpose is:
samAdhi bhAvanArha klesha tanu kAraNartha cha (Yoga SUtra II.2)
to bring about the state of mental equipoise and to attenuate the coloring (or afflictions) [associated with thoughts].
Often action and speech are together referred to as the most external form of bondage. They are external because although we may think certain thoughts or have certain desires, through self-control we may choose not to verbalize them, or to act on them. The ability to exercise this self-control is the first freedom from bondage.
The second bondage is that of thought. Even if we have freedom from action, it is more difficult to gain freedom from the bondage of thoughts. Often people who can exercise self-control over actions are unable to control the mind from returning to the same thought pattern again and again. Especially if something happens that deeply upsets us, we find ourselves powerless to just let go of the bothersome thought pattern. This kind of 'mental churning' consumes a lot of energy, and can manifest itself in body ailments and production of toxins. The greatest gift of Yoga science is the precise meditational techniques and attitudes to secure freedom from thoughts. This freedom is not to be gained by repressing or suppressing thoughts that arise from desires. That only creates more psychological complexes. In the Yoga SUtras Patanjali advises that cessation of thoughts is to be accomplished by abhyAsa (the systematic practice to rest in the stillness of meditation through effort) and vairAgya (non-attachment). Then the recommended approach in Yoga and VedAnta is to use the sword of discriminatory knowledge (viveka khyAtih) to sever this bondage to thoughts themselves:
viveka khyatih aviplava hana upayah (Yoga SUtra II.26)
Undisturbed discriminative knowledge is the means to destroy (avidyA or ignorance)
By discriminating that which is transient, impure, sorrowful, and not the true self from that which is Eternal, pure, happy and that is the Atman, the yogi severs this bondage.
anitya ashuchi dukha anatmasu nitya shuchi sukha AtmakhyAtih avidyA (Yoga SUtra II.5)
Ignorance is seeing the Eternal in the transient, the pure in the impure, happiness in sorrow, and the Atman in that which is not Atman
This is certainly not an easy thing to practice diligently in daily life. However, yoga meditation helps in both a direct way and in an indirect, subtle way. For this the sAdhaka needs to understand that the mind is infinitely flexible and can be reprogrammed at will. Our personalities are nothing but a set of habit patterns that have arisen from grooves created by reacting to certain situations repeatedly in the same manner. In Yoga science this is called a nirmANa chittam (a created or constructed mind field).
nirmana chittani asmita matrat (Yoga SUtra IV.4)
The emergent mind fields spring forth from the individuality of I-ness (asmitA)
The root mind field arises from the sense of I-ness (asmita: the state of I am, from asmi meaning I am) and creates other mind fields. These habit patterns are obviously not the same in everyone, which is why some people crave ice cream while others can't tolerate it. So clearly the same physical apparatus that is the brain can accommodate different habit patterns and personalities. When we get wedded to the idea that our personality or habit pattern is unchangeable, we condemn ourselves to stasis. The sAdhaka needs great inner strength and courage to embrace the idea that these mental patterns and habits can be changed, even if at times the change is so slow that nothing at all seems to be happening!
The direct way in which sAdhanA helps one to change habit patterns is through a meditation practice called manaprakshAlanam (literally, washing or cleansing of the mind; similar to the word hastaprakshAlanam that is used to denote hand-washing) that is described on SwAmi JnAneshwara BhArati's website. In this direct approach the sAdhaka brings forward objects, people or thoughts that create strong reactions in daily life and examines them in meditation and burns the avidyA that creates these strong reactions in the fire of wisdom (jnAna). The indirect way in which sAdhanA helps is that the mental equipoise gained in meditation seeps into daily life and one tends to react slowly and less radically to situations that were previously experienced as highly provocative. The state of samAdhi that is attained in meditation starts to manifest as a state of samAdhAna (or equipoise) in daily life as well.
In Yoga SUtra it is said:
tajjah samskarah anya samskara paribandhi (Yoga SUtra I.50)
The samskAra (deep impression in the mind) arising from that (samAdhi) reduces other samskAras
This is precisely the reason why samAdhi is such an important technique in Yoga.
The final freedom is the freedom from all desires. In the Yoga SUtra it is said that when even the desire for omniscience is set aside and there is no further interest in the play of the three guNas, then the final liberation or kaivalyam is attained. Recall that kAma or desire is the cause of all Manifestation that led to mind and eventually the organs of action. Hence, it makes sense that the bondages that are more external are relatively easier to gain freedom from, than the more interior ones. In the truly desireless state, the root cause of manifestation is itself removed and although the body will continue to exist the yogi is liberated while living (jIvanmukta).
The mahA mRtyunjaya stotram is recited to gain freedom from bondage, and it is these bondages that it refers to. Often it is misunderstood as a prayer for long life, but that is not the true import of the invocation. The mahA mRtyunjaya stotram is a plea for release from these bondages so that by identifying with the Eternal Atman the aspirant is freed from death and attains immortality. This freedom from death does not result from the body becoming immortal, but from the aspirant removing his or her false identification with the body as the Self. For this the sAdhaka needs to first transcend fear of death of the physical body. This is accomplished by realizing through meditation that one's true self is not just the body, and thus freeing oneself from attachment and association with the physical body. If one is very concerned about one's looks and appearance, then one is not really free. It might be interesting for people who are extremely body-conscious, this being prevalent although not exclusive to Western society, to realize that they are not really free!
The next step is to penetrate through the annamayakosha (sheath of food) to the prANamayakosha (energy sheath) and to transcend that. Then the aspirant is also free of attachment to the energy body. The next step is to penetrate through the manomayakosha (sheath of the lower mind). By reaching the end of the conscious mind in meditation and observing all mental activity from the vantage point of the sAttvic buddhi, the aspirant can release attachment to the manomayakosha, and thought patterns. Finally, when even the sAttvic buddhi and all aspects of the active unconscious mind and latent unconscious mind are transcended, the sAdhaka rejoices in pure Consciousness. Through repeated practice of meditation (abhyAsa) and cultivating dispassion (vairAgyam) in daily life these bondages are progressively weakened. But this takes time and the aspirant needs to be patient and sincere in practice to gain true freedom.