And yet when that conscience is supposed to be dead, a small light is noticed to scatter its beams at its proper time. In America they gave him a fine welcome but they could not check that torture of conscience which led him eventually to a lunatic asylum. Do not deceive yourself into thinking that you will be influenced by others if you are not influenced by your own conscience. One of our religious injunctions is to judge ourselves and issue a verdict against ourselves when necessary. All these show the human being's complex personality which has a lower animal side and higher human side.
Spiritual freedom means that the higher side is free from the lower one.
In connection with self-punishment, I remember a case related to Hadrat Ali. A man came to him to repent, supposing that by saying the sentence of repentance, everything would be all right. It is very much higher than saying a sentence. That is, a total of six points. The second is to decide never to commit that sin in the future.