Advaita, Free Will and Free Choice.

[Guest guest]

Namaste All,

 

It is evident by the posts that Advaita is difficult to understand

even intellectually. We still think we are inside driving ourselves--

the Ego.

 

In the first place 'it' never happened but lets give creation some

validity for arguments sake. Its real whilst your in it--to

paraphrase Sankara.

 

Firstly there is no time, even in science it is relative.

Consequently everything, uncluding lives must be happening at once.

So 'Freewill' can only be an illusion. On the other hand one can

allocate some validity to the idea of 'Free Choice', this being a

little different. Why? because it is disassociated from the action

by attitude----good response or bad response to karmic events.

 

So in each life every little thing is predetermined, for there is no

time. The mind is above the concept of time and can travel without

the bounds of it. So one can make a choice to suffer, enjoy or to

learn. So depending on what one's attitude is to the prarabda one

either repeats it in a future life or it is accomplished and lesson

learned and balanced.

 

As I have mentioned before lives are like a cartwheel with

consciousness at the hub and each spoke a life. All that is

happening is we are concentrating on one spoke at a time, but the

other spokes are there at the same time. Occasionally there

are 'bleed-throughs' from another life or spoke, usually triggered

by a common or similar samskara or vasana.

 

So if we accept prarabda as a fact we have to understand the seeming

difference between 'Free Will' and 'Free Choice' and not confuse

them. Freewill is not divorced from the action, Freechoice is our

attitude and this seems to be variable, it can agree or disagree

with the action, but the action will happen anyway for we are not

the 'doer'. Thereby hangs the crux of the problem, thinking we are

the doer therefore we must have freewill.

 

We can only affect our 'future lives' not the one we are in. But as

there is no time this all happens at once....Freewill and Freechoice

should not be confused, one is connected with action more and the

other, so to speak is connected with attitude.......ONS...Tony.