Freedom from bondage

Those who are depressed, fearful, anxious, possessive, jealous, prone to prejudice, tempted by violence cannot enjoy the true quality of life. They are in a real sense "imprisoned,” restricted by an emotional or spiritual bondage which closes the door to healthy living.

To loosen restrictions, remove obstructions, take away internal "blocks” and open up the possibility of positive living is the essential work of all called to the ministry of reconciliation and healing. It is a satisfaction and a joy to help someone find that sense of freedom.

With reactive depression (depression brought on by particular events or circumstances) an individual feels desperately restricted and, indeed, imprisoned. He/she does not want to get out of bed, cannot face another day, finds the thought of some normal undertaking a huge, threatening task. Life becomes a struggle to get anything done. That is a form of bondage from which it is desperately difficult to free oneself.

Guilt is another imprisoning factor. Guilt is a proper reaction to personal error, fault or sin, but, once dealt with internally, through a consciousness of divine forgiveness, it has fulfilled its purpose. To continue to feel overwhelming guilt when it does not relate to anything that is happening and when it is wholly out of proportion becomes a form of bondage that blights present and future living as well as denies the forgiveness received. Zoroaster came to give freedom to those who are broken by life and in doing so laid down the pattern for all who seek to follow him. It is of the very essence in Zoroastrianism to offer real freedom to all who are in emotional and spiritual chains, to offer the grace that loosens bonds, to proclaim the truth that sets someone free.

FURHOK K. TANGREE

La Roche-sur Forun, France