Free will (was: Katha upanishad verse I.2.23)

[egodust]

Giri wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Apr 1997, Charles Wikner wrote:
>
> > But to return to some semblance of sanity: so long as there is
> > not-Self, there is ego; and where there is ego, there is volition.
>
> Wonderful post, Charles. Ramana Maharshi puts it succintly,
> 'As long as there is individuality, there is free will.' As long as one
> thinks and is under the illusion that (s)he is a separate individual i.e as
> long one has an ego, there is free will.
>
> Let us look some more on what RM says,
>
> D: It is said in our scriptures that God creates, sustains, and destroys
> all and that He is immanent in all. IF so, and if God does everything,
> and if all we do is according to God's law, and had already been planned
> in the Cosmic Consciousness, is there individual personality and any
> responsibility for it ?
>
> M: Of course, there is. The same scriptures have laid down rules as to
>    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> what men should or should not do. If man is not responsible, then why
> should those rules have been laid down ? .... If you believe in God
> and His niyati working out everything, completely surrender yourself
> to Him and there will be no responsibility for you. Otherwise, find out
> your real nature and thus attain freedom.
> [...]

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SRI RAMANAYA!

Yes.  We have to be clear what Sri Bhagavan is saying here.  As He mentioned
elsewhere, "If the jiva is regarded as real, so is free will operable."
Yet this is true for the vyavaharika and, as such, it is the *dvaitamarga*.
However, if we're after moksha, why reinforce dvaita?  It's all well and good
for clearing the antahkarana, but the sadhaka should thereof be clear that
(s)he's adhering to, at best, visishtadvaitamarga.

He goes on to say that through parabhakthi or vijnana such responsibility
is only then relegated to Isvara.  Yet even [this] bhakti, if strictly
applied, winds up true advaita.  The sadhaka therefore must be clear what
(s)he is ready for.  I tend to believe many more are ready to assimilate
the radical innate fact that they are *already* Paramatman, and let such
buddhic seed be implanted within, and the stronghold of vasana-s will yield!

Namaste.


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