fear of samadhi

[Swami Vishvarupananda]

>we are meant to use exactly this free
will to regain our true Self.

     But there is nothing to "regain" since the Self was never lost.

Of course the Self was never lost. "Regain the Self" is a metaphor for shedding the illusion of being a limited individual. You must confess, that our "present state" is one of very limited consciousness and great blindness. So what we have to "regain" is the full consciousness of the Self. Of course again that consciousness was not really lost, but dimmed. But you know what I mean, I'm sure.

     About free will:   You need to initially determine if there really are
separate and distinct individuals present in the first place.  If there is
no objectively separate individual, then any further talk about this
illusory self having a "free will" or not would be a lot like discussing the
probably water temperature of a lake mirage that you see in the desert.
Just like there is no actual lake to be having a temperature, there's also
no separate self present to be having a "free will."

Will you agree with me, that even in your dream, the dream-lake has a dream-temperature? Of course free will is a conception within Maya and refers to only the illusory state of individualhood within Maya. If you want to leave the Mayic state out of our discussions, the best is to stop using words, thoughts and feelings in the first place, isn't it? Because they themselves exist only in the limitations of Maya. But while caught in Maya, we have to use methods given in the framework of Maya to free ourselves from Maya. That is what the scriptures (which of course in the form we know them, too, exist in Maya) teach us, though it may seem paradox.
That we are in a state that robs us from the knowledge of our Self is true, and that we have to make an effort to end this state of illusion is as true.

Om,
Vishvarupananda