Because this bondage is not immediately obvious, it becomes necessary to enquire into what it truly is and how it operates.

Bondage is the root cause of human suffering. Vedānta also assures that there is a way out, but the difficulty lies in recognising the problem itself. Unlike visible forms of bondage, this fundamental bondage is subtle, intangible, and notional. It is therefore easily overlooked.

In fact, most people either take it for granted or even find comfort in it. Recognising it requires a refined and subtle intellect.

Bondage expresses itself in many ways—attachment to people, dependence on relationships, obsession with wealth, social identity, and the constant play of likes and dislikes. It also shows up as possessiveness, the need for recognition, and a tendency to define oneself through external associations.

Even relationships that are considered desirable—such as family or close personal bonds—can become sources of limitation when they are taken as indispensable for one’s sense of completeness. While such relationships have their place and can be useful for growth, they also bind when they become objects of dependence.

At its core, Vedānta equates bondage with ignorance.

Ignorance of what? Ignorance of one’s true nature.

This ignorance leads to a fundamental error—taking oneself to be limited to the body and mind. As a result, one becomes outwardly oriented, constantly seeking fulfilment through the sensory world.

The sense organs are naturally directed outward and continually engage with external objects. Though they provide occasional pleasure, it is fleeting. Yet, these brief experiences are enough to keep the mind engaged and dependent.

The Kaṭha Upaniṣad itself points out that the senses are turned outward, which makes it difficult for one to recognise one’s inner nature.

Over time, the mind forms patterns of likes and dislikes based on past experiences. It then strives to acquire what it likes and avoid what it dislikes, assuming that this is the only way to achieve happiness.

This becomes a trap.

One cannot always obtain what one likes, nor avoid what one dislikes. As a result, one remains caught in a cycle of pursuit and avoidance, which shapes one’s entire outlook, priorities, and emotional life.

This constant dependence on external conditions for happiness is what constitutes bondage.

Vedānta highlights that this entire pursuit is misdirected.

One is, in reality, seeking lasting and complete happiness. However, this is mistakenly pursued through limited and temporary experiences. The mind does not recognise this deeper longing and continues to chase fragmentary pleasures.

This failure to recognise one’s true pursuit—lasting fulfilment—is itself ignorance.

This ignorance is referred to as the causal body (kāraṇa śarīra).

It is the basis for the repeated cycle of birth and experience and is also responsible for the manifestation of the subtle body, which includes the mind, intellect, sense organs, and vital forces. As long as this ignorance persists, the mind remains outwardly driven and unable to recognise its true nature.

A common question arises: when did this ignorance begin?

Vedānta does not consider this question meaningful. Knowing the origin of ignorance does not help in removing it. Just as one does not investigate when ignorance of a subject began, but instead focuses on gaining knowledge, the same approach applies here.

The priority is not to trace the beginning of ignorance, but to eliminate it.

Vedānta assures that this ignorance—and therefore bondage—can be removed through knowledge.

Bondage and freedom belong only to the realm of experience. The real Self is ever free and unaffected by the changing conditions of the world. Ignorance is not an actual condition, but a mistaken notion.

Because it is not real, it can be removed.

Knowledge dispels this ignorance, and with that, the sense of bondage drops away. One recognises that one was never truly bound.