Fate and Free Will

[Guest guest]

OK - I have been prompted (against my will!) by Sadaji's early post to put

together an essay on this topic somewhat earlier than I had intended.

Apologies for the length but I decided it would be better to send it all at

once rather than post in bits.

 

Fate and Free Will

 

The reason why these topics appear so problematic to us is that we fail to

differentiate between reality and appearance.

 

The Reality:

We all (presumably) believe in Advaita to some large degree even if we feel

we have no direct knowledge of its truth. Thus we accept that reality is

non-dual – there simply are not ‘two things’. Nevertheless, we mistakenly

perceive separate things out there and have what we deem to be separate

thoughts and feelings about them. This is the world of ‘appearance’ and,

though we probably accept this intellectually, the appearance seems all too

real to us most of the time.

 

As far as the reality is concerned, it cannot be meaningful to talk about

fate or free will. For there to be fate, there would have to be someone to

whom separate things could happen or who could observe other things

happening in some predetermined manner. For there to be free will, there

would have to be someone who could choose between separate things. All of

these ways of thinking belong to the illusory world of duality.

 

The words that we use in everyday language and the very way in which we

think are part of this mistaken view. The concepts of space and time, cause

and effect, are the mental constructs that we use in order to make sense of

the appearance and they themselves bolster the dualistic view. Things have

to be separated in either space or time (otherwise they would be the same

thing). Cause and effect relationships must exist in order for us to be able

meaningfully to connect events. The ways in which we think and the language

that we use inevitably propagate this view and mean that we can never have

objective knowledge of reality or talk about it in the ways that we normally

use.

 

Thus, to reiterate, and to conclude the discussion of these topics at the

level of ‘reality’, there is no fate or free will. There is no

(satisfactory) answer because there is no question. How could ‘I’ have free

will when ‘I’ am an illusion? The rest of the material below relates only to

the mistaken world of appearances, where there appears to be someone who has

a problem. It is how things appear to be but not how they actually are. In

the context of the rope and snake metaphor, it is a discussion about how

poisonous the snake is and what to do if you are bitten.

 

The Appearance

When we act, most of us would admit that we tend to ‘re-act’ out of habit,

rather than make a clear decision in the light of a clean observation of

what is in front of us and what is needed. The habitual, automatic response

obviously cannot involve much in the way of free will. If the mind is

uncluttered with the usual junk of circling thoughts, however, is it not

possible that, in the moment of observation, there is a choice and that a

new and probably more appropriate response than the habitual one is

realisable?

 

It is necessary that this view be upheld if the path of karma yoga is to

have any meaning. This path advocates such ‘aware’ action in order to break

down the habits and purify the mind. Automatic and selfishly motivated

actions merely reinforce the patterns and mire us ever more deeply in the

world of misery. The mechanism by which this occurs is that actions which

are not simply responses to a need are said to generate effects in the

future. If we do something that we believe to be wrong, we are very likely

to experience feelings of guilt, for example, and this in turn may well

affect our future behaviour.

 

Classically, some would go even further than this and say that our actions

in the past actually bring about in some way the situations that we are

presented with in the present, as though some god were giving us the

opportunity to do better this time round. In this sense, of course the ideas

relate to the concept of ‘fate’. Again, classically, this ties in with the

notion of reincarnation. If we live a wholly ‘bad’ life, we are very likely

to come back as a cockroach and have to work our way through thousands of

lives (again) until we finally have the privilege of being reborn as a man.

 

Free will implies choice. It means that we can act – we can choose and then

we can act upon that choice. It assumes, therefore, that there is such a

thing as cause and effect. Our choice becomes a cause for our effective

action. All of this, then, is in contradiction of the idea of ‘fate’, which

implies that something will happen regardless of our choices and actions;

that an effect will occur, regardless of the causes that are in place. And

yet, of course, those who believe in fate will argue that the fated outcome

is a result of some (freely chosen) past action, possibly even in a previous

incarnation.

 

The paradoxical claim of karma yoga is that an ‘aware’ choice in the moment

somehow breaks down the chain of cause and effect resulting from past action

and does not itself generate any new chain. Once all of this past ‘karma’

has been dissolved through ‘right’ action, enlightenment results. The sort

of metaphor used to explain this is that of steering a boat against the

current of a river. You cannot escape the influence of the current (past

karma or fate) but you can navigate intelligently (exercise a degree of free

will or choice).

 

For me, in the end, I rationalise it all through reflection on my own

experience. It seems that all of the key decisions in my life have been

essentially choiceless. Of course, you weigh up all of the pros and cons at

the time but, having done so, you inevitably choose the most attractive

option for you at the time. And whichever course of action does seem better

depends upon all of our pre-conditioning by parents, education, reading, TV

etc. Having thought about this subject for some time, I cannot imagine that

anyone could ever convince me that they have any real free-will in any

choice that they make.

 

Even at the most trivial level the same arguments apply. You might say that

you are free to continue reading this or delete the message or throw the

computer out of the window or any number of other variants. But analyse

this. To begin with, only a few possibilities will occur to you. Which ones

do occur will depend upon your personality, imagination and so on. Where do

thoughts come from anyway? Can you choose to have a thought? Then, thoughts

having arisen, the particular factors that determine your choice will depend

upon other, already existing opinions, beliefs, preferences etc. Throwing

the computer out of the window will probably not be seriously considered

(unless you are very rich and particularly cavalier in your behaviour).

Switching off or deleting may receive cursory consideration but will almost

certainly be rejected – if you were sufficiently interested to begin reading

the message, you will probably want to find out how it ends. So, even

without knowing you personally, I can predict with a high degree of

certainty that you will carry on (to the bitter end) – you simply do not

have any choice!

 

You do not choose to be born or choose your parents (I know some may dispute

this – Plato has his ‘myth of Er’ in the Republic, for example - but let

them provide evidence!) so your genetic heritage is not in your control.

Having been born into that environment, you cannot help but be conditioned

by it – parents, education, religion, friends etc. are the initial source of

all of your input. The results of these influences are the thoughts,

opinions and beliefs that motivate your so-called free choices onward

throughout your life. Would it, in any case, make any sense for actions not

to be brought about by other events, thoughts etc.? We do not suddenly do

something for no reason whatsoever. We are motivated by external situations

or thoughts and respond to these according to our nature. It would make a

nonsense of education and the legal system, for example, if people were not

influenced in this way. In effect, we act in response to related causes. The

discipline of karma yoga can replace the motivation of selfish desire by

that of surrender of the fruits of action so that the being is gradually

purified of habits and ignorance but this in no way alters the fact that the

action is not ‘ours’ and is driven by simple cause and effect.

 

It is also possible to approach the subject by considering action itself. We

really seem to believe it when we say ‘I did such and such’. But a little

thought shows that there is a virtually endless chain of events that lead up

to any given action, no matter how trivial. ‘I cleaned my teeth’ simply

involves a brush and toothpaste, doesn’t it? But years of development,

involving countless numbers of people have been involved in each of these

objects. The plastic of the brush handle and toothpaste tube are processed

from oil, again involving generations of discovery, research and invention.

The oil itself is aeons old, the product of natural events. Carl Sagan said:

“If you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the

universe.”

 

Even at the final stage, where paste is applied to brush and brush to teeth,

there is some doubt as to what exactly is going on. Of course, we feel that

we are actually ‘doing’ something but is this really true? What do you

actually do to cause the brain to trigger synaptic events and release

hormones into the bloodstream and so on? It is possible to watch yourself

‘doing something’, such as walking or making a cup of tea, and to see that

‘you’ are not doing anything at all. It is happening of course but you are

not initiating any of the events, they are simply taking pace within your

awareness. And, what is even more interesting, is that when you allow

actions to take place in this way, without any thought that you are doing

something, they happen far more efficiently and beneficially than when you

attempt to interfere.

 

The Kena Upanishad says: “By whom commanded and directed does the mind go

towards its objects? Commanded by whom does the life force, the first cause

move? At whose will do men utter speech? Which power directs the eye and the

ear? It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of the

speech, the life of the life, the eye of the eye. … There the eye does not

go, nor speech, nor mind. We do not know That; we do not understand how it

can be taught. It is distinct from the known and also It is beyond the

unknown.”

 

Benjamin Libet carried out experiments to try to understand the nature of

intentionality and motor action. What he did was to monitor the subject's

brain in that region responsible for initiating action. The subject watches

a clock on a computer screen. He is asked to press either button A or button

B whenever he is ready and to note the time on the clock when he makes the

conscious decision. The computer subsequently records the time verbally

claimed for the decision and compares it with the time automatically

recorded when the brain triggered the movement in the hand to press the

button. The interesting thing is that the claimed decision to press a button

always takes place after the brain starts to move the hand. Irrespective of

whether or not this proves anything, our experience is effectively what we

mean by the term free will. If what Libet concluded is true, however, what

it means is that this 'feeling' of having free will is only a ‘side effect’

arising in the brain after some action has been initiated in automatic

response to a combination of stimuli.

 

In today’s society, we are constantly bombarded by claims that everything is

ultimately explicable by science. Although consciousness itself is not yet

fully understood, it is only a matter of time. Of course, as Advaitins, we

probably accept that this is not so but the attitude is very insidious. The

problem is that is the very nature of science to be objective. We, the

observer-subject, devise hypotheses and carry out experiments on objects.

This is what science is about. It ought not to be surprising then that,

since the ultimate reality is non-dual, this method can never succeed when

we are investigating reality itself. The mind can only operate in dualistic

concepts. Wittgenstein summed up the position nicely: “Philosophers

constantly see the method of science before their eyes and are irresistibly

tempted to ask and to answer questions in the way science does. This

tendency is the real source of metaphysics and leads philosophers into

complete darkness.”

 

Nisargadatta Maharaj said: “Destiny is usually thought of as something that

is going to happen in the future. Destiny is all here-now. The script has

already been written. I am playing all the characters in the movie; and I am

witnessing the movie which is already done.” I like Burt Harding’s comment

on this: “The movie of our life is being replayed like a movie-video,

however, with one exception, we can either accept it or reject it as it is

being replayed. Do you see the simplicity of it? When the ego, through

ignorance, rejects the movie then we have suffering. If we accept the movie,

we have enlightenment.”

 

In the end then, free will has no meaning in respect of reality and only an

illusory meaning as part of the phenomenal world. The Self is always free

and, as Ralph Ellison said, “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free”.

Unfortunately, as someone else said, “Before you can break out of prison,

you must first realise you are locked up”. The person is not free.

Fortunately, the person does not exist…

 

In many ways, fully appreciating the essence of this topic is key to

understanding our Self. Whilst we genuinely believe that we have free will,

we continue to see ourselves as independent agents i.e. as separate and as

‘doers’ and ‘enjoyers’. We are none of these things and an intellectual

appreciation of that is a valuable first step towards liberation.

 

******* END – Over to others for comments. *******

 

I will also add this essay to my website at www.advaita.org.uk/freewill.htm

..

Incidentally, if I may be allowed a brief ‘plug’ for my efforts, my book

‘The Book of One’ may now be pre-ordered from Amazon. It is currently

available at 30% discount ($12.57). Direct link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1903816416/fromtheunreat-20 or link

from my website at www.advaita.org.uk/thebook.htm . In the UK it can also be

ordered from Amazon.UK for £9.99 (no discount), URL:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1903816416/qid=1047646037/sr=1-2/re

f=sr_1_0_2/026-2813508-4675623 . It is due out in July or August.

 

Incidentally, this prompt to provide me with some much needed income does

not apply to Greg or Sadananda, who should hopefully receive a free copy for

their help in its preparation.

 

Best wishes to all,

 

Dennis

[Guest guest]

Namaste!

 

Thank you, Dennis, for an article whose clarity more than

compensated for its length!

 

It seems that Dennis' view that all is strictly determined is

in agreement with a common view among Advaitins ... at least the

modern ones. In a previous article on this list (16117) called

'Essay on Good and Evil' I also discussed this, with reference to

corroborating views from Ramesh Balsekar, who was a disciple of

Nisargadatta (quoted in Dennis' article).

 

I could write at great length on this topic, but instead I

will simply list a few thoughts:

 

(1) If everything is 'God' or 'Consciousness' or 'Ultimate

Reality' or 'One', then determinism seems inevitable to me. This

eliminates the possibility of free-will in any meaningful sense.

 

(2) We must therefore bravely accept that whatever happens in

this world MUST happen and must be for the best, as it is the

manifestation of God. A philosopher named Leibniz was ridiculed for

this view, but Advaitins must logically accept it.

 

(3) If we assume that this 'world' and 'life' exist for the

evolution of our consciousness from ignorance to realization, then

this must REQUIRE all the pain and suffering. The reasons may seem

mysterious, but what do we really know about consciousness? A world

that is 'perfect' from the beginning may be like trying to 'square

the circle' - mathematically impossible even for God!

 

(4) Determinism is not bad. The alternative is chaos. If

everything follows according to a chain of cause and effect, then we

indeed have no free-will. But if it does not, then everything is

pure chance, and how is that any better? A lack of determinism

actually puts us in a worse state, since we are then the helpless

victims of chance.

 

(5) A lack of free-will does not mean that we cannot do good

or become realized. In fact, this is what occurs when the 'good

causes' have become planted in us, like watering and fertilizing a

plant. THIS is what we want: good causes replacing the bad ones,

which are obtained through education and spiritual guidance.

Becoming detached from identification with the mind/body complex is

one of the most beneficial causes of spiritual progress, perhaps the

most beneficial.

 

(6) The 'aware action' of karma Yoga is also a good cause,

like sunlight melting the ice of bad tendencies. It purifies our

mind through 'good' determinism. Feelings of guilt can also be

beneficial good causes if they make us behave better. But

ultimately, there is no such thing as guilt and culpability. If

people are punished, this is again a 'good cause' for the benefit of

society, since it inhibits future bad action on the part of others.

 

So in conclusion, the script is indeed already written, as

Nisargadatta, Dennis and other Advaitins have said. What we must do

is allow good tendencies to replace bad. But we ultimately have no

choice in this. Even the worst people in history had some role to

play in the overall cosmic plan, which I believe was chosen and

calibrated by 'God' to evolve the consciousness of everybody in the

optimal way allowed by the nature of consciousness. (By god, I mean

not Ishawara but Pure Consciousness, and THAT also had no choice! It

simply computed some mathematical equations!)

 

Om!

Benjamin