Monday, September 3, 2018

The Problem of Free Will

I recall being at lunch with some friends from work. We were having a lively discussions and the subject of 'free will' came up. I explained that I did not think we had free will. This horrified them! One of my friends said, "If I thought I didn't have free will I would kill myself." My response was that having no free will didn't bother me at all. This position was almost unfathomable to my friends. I explained that I was determined to live with Truth, whatever understanding it brought me.

My position on free will was brought about by self inquiry. First of all, I as a body did not create myself. The body appeared here one fine day. Secondly, I never felt I had control over my thoughts. The only response I seemed to have control over was whether or not I acted on my thoughts. I explained that I didn't create my mind, or my thoughts, they just appeared to me. It made little difference to me that I felt like I had choices, as that was just a feeling. What created the choice was just conflicts of interest, tendencies, etc. I knew the feeling of choice did not make free will a fact. It was just the appearance of the feeling of choice.

That conversation was many years ago. The fruition of my stance on personal free will has now come to fruition. The non dual perspective answers the question of free will very well. Knowing that I am the Absolute, and could be nothing other than the Absolute, were is there any lack of free will? The bodymind is simply a focal point of the Infinite. The infinite is playing the game of Lila with every creature in the universe. It is free to do whatever it wants with any of them. Knowing I am That, playing with this bodymind, where is my lack of freedom? 

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