Becoming a Free Servant: A Spiritual Reflection on the Proclamation

Every 17 August, we recall a historic decision: the Indonesian nation refused to live under colonialism. The Proclamation became an important marker of the nation’s journey to determine its own direction after breaking free from colonial power.

But independence also leaves a more personal question. Is a person truly free when they are no longer under the power of another human being, yet still ruled by their own desires?

This kind of question brings us to an important area within Sufism. Independence is not only a matter of outward circumstances, but also of a person’s ability to control themselves. Someone may possess power, wealth, and position, yet remain inwardly unfree. They may not submit to others, but their life is controlled by greed, ambition, or a constant need for praise.

Sufism extends the question of freedom to this point. Sufi reflection is not intended to replace the meaning of national independence, but rather to add another question: after being freed from external colonisation, how does a person use that freedom to shape themselves?

This question is relevant to Indonesian life today. Political independence provides space to manage power, the economy, education, and social life. That space can be misused if people are unable to control their own self-interest. Power can turn into a tool of personal interest, and economic freedom does not automatically liberate a person if their entire life orientation is controlled by consumption, prestige, and social status.

Simply put, freedom means being released from bondage or domination. In the context of a nation, independence means being free from colonialism and having space to determine collective life.

From a Sufi perspective, the question of freedom can be extended to the inner realm. What needs to be liberated is not only the body from external pressure, but also the soul from various forms of domination that are not always visible.

A person may possess wealth, but lose their freedom because their entire life is directed towards pursuing wealth. Someone may hold office, but their life is determined by the need to maintain power. Another person may appear modest, but still be heavily dependent on the praise and recognition of others.

From here, spiritual freedom can be understood: it relates to the ability to control desire, manage wants, and not make the world the centre of inner submission. In certain Sufi traditions, this freedom can be understood through several levels of spiritual depth. At the initial level, a person strives to free themselves from the domination of desire, learning that not every want must be fulfilled. Desires remain, but the person does not allow themselves to be controlled by them.

The matter then becomes more subtle. A person is not only confronted with material desires, but also with the ego. The desire to be praised, respected, considered successful, or to always receive recognition can become a form of attachment that is difficult to recognise. At the next depth, a person strives to release the inner dependence that makes something other than God the centre of their life orientation.

This division is one way of understanding the depth of the spiritual journey, not a single classification representing the entire Sufi tradition. The more seriously a person undertakes self-formation, the more subtle the forms of attachment they need to recognise and control.

Liberation from other than God does not mean severing relations with people. What is liberated is the heart from absolute dependence on anything other than God. The world is still lived in, people still work, have families, participate in society, and carry out their responsibilities. The question is who becomes the centre of their inner orientation.

Spiritual freedom is a process that is continually lived throughout life. It can be both a direction and a spiritual attainment, but realising it requires practice that does not stop at a single point.

This idea needs to be read carefully so as not to be misunderstood: one interesting point in Sufi reflection on freedom is the relationship between servitude to God and human freedom. At first glance the two appear contradictory—servant means submissive, free means independent. But the main issue is not whether a person will submit or not, but to whom and to what that submission is directed.

A person can submit to money when all their life decisions are determined by material interests. They can submit to praise when their self-worth depends on the assessment of others. They can also submit to the ego when personal interest becomes the main measure in every decision.

Tawhid directs the centre of servitude to God. Within this framework, being a servant of God does not mean losing freedom. Servitude to God can actually free a person from absolute dependence on anything other than Him, so that their life choices are increasingly directed by values and guidance they believe come from God.

Spiritual freedom, therefore, is not the freedom to do anything. It is the ability to choose consciously and responsibly, without being enslaved by desire, greed, or self-interest.

Freedom also does not mean living without rules. People need values and moral limits so that their freedom does not turn into actions that harm themselves or others. Within a Sufi framework oriented towards servitude to God, sharia becomes part of the path to order life and direct human action.

A person does not automatically become freer simply by rejecting all rules. If that rejection actually makes them more dominated by desire, the freedom they obtain is merely illusory. Freedom requires the ability to choose as well as the willingness to take responsibility.

One easily recognisable form of unfreedom appears when the means of life become the purpose of life. Wealth can be used to meet needs, help others, and carry out responsibilities. The problem arises when the entire orientation of life is directed towards possessing it. At that point, a person no longer merely possesses wealth; wealth begins to possess them.

The same can happen with position and recognition. Office can be used to carry out a trust, but when a person is unable to detach themselves from the ambition to maintain their position, office can turn into a shackle.

This is where zuhud needs to be understood proportionally. Zuhud does not have to mean physically abandoning the world. What matters more is how a person places the world in their life—using it without being enslaved by it, possessing wealth without making it the main measure of self-worth, holding office without making it the centre of identity.

This issue has real social relevance. Power becomes a problem when office is used primarily for self-interest. Consumption becomes a problem when the freedom to choose goods and lifestyles turns into dependence on social status. In both cases, the problem is not merely the existence of wealth, office, or consumption choices, but when these means take over life’s orientation.

It is in this context that the education of the soul has meaning. Repentance, wara’, zuhud, patience, tawakal, and rida, as described in some Sufi literature, can be understood as part of the process of self-formation. These stages show that freedom is not born from a single action completed in a day, but grows through practice, self-control, and continually renewed awareness.

Indonesia’s independence is a historical achievement born from the struggle to free the nation’s life from colonialism. The freedom of the soul has a different field of struggle. The nation needs freedom from foreign power, while the individual needs self-formation so as not to lose control due to desire and inner attachment.

The two need not be opposed. National independence gives people space to determine collective life. Spiritual freedom helps people use that space with moral awareness. Sufism should not be used to reduce national issues to matters of individual inner life. National independence requires structural and political liberation, while inner freedom requires self-formation. The spiritual dimension provides a moral foundation so that politically obtained freedom is not used arbitrarily.

The discussion of freedom also relates to qada and qadar. Within an Islamic theological framework that acknowledges God’s power as well as human effort, human limitation does not erase moral responsibility. People do not control all the circumstances of their lives, but they still have room to choose, strive, and determine their attitude. Therefore, freedom and responsibility go together. People strive with the abilities they possess, while the final outcome remains in God’s power. This awareness should not produce passivity, but rather encourage effort as well as acceptance of one’s own limitations.

The Proclamation has a date. The formation of the soul does not.

Every 17 August we are reminded that independence is not only something inherited from history, but also a responsibility that must be safeguarded in daily life. The question returns to oneself: are we truly free, not only from the power of others, but also from what rules our own hearts?

Greed, praise, office, wealth—all of these can quietly become masters that govern our lives without our realising it. The question is no longer whether these things exist in our lives, because of course they do, but whether we are still able to place them as means, not as rulers.

This question does not erase structural problems in national life. On the contrary, it places individual moral responsibility as one element that complements the national struggle. The state needs just institutions, society needs responsible governance, and individuals need self-formation so that freedom does not turn into a space for greed.

Spiritual freedom can be both a direction and an attainment in the human journey. It is called an attainment not because it is a finished and fixed state, but rather a quality of self that is continually striven for and renewed throughout life.

True freedom is not something that ends once the flag is raised and the ceremony is over. It is present every time a person is able to overcome their greed, grows when they are able to subdue their desires, and finds its deepest meaning when a person is able to be a servant of God while also carrying out their responsibilities as a human being.

The Proclamation can be read in a single day. The liberation of the soul is a struggle that never ends.