The question of free will-1

One gets accustomed to the idea that there is an entity here called a "me' with volitional control on all the actions of the body (which one calls "my body"). Voluntary means "acting in accord with one's own will". In contrast, there is the word "involuntary" which means"independent of one's own will or not by one's own choice". Now, let us examine the question of free choice or will. Before any action, a thought arises. After the thought comes the action. But, do you actually have any control over your thoughts? Or, do thoughts arise spontaneously? When one says "I have a free choice on what I do", it means that one also has free choice on what thoughts arise, since thoughts precede any action including speech. If one had a free choice over thoughts, why would one ever choose to have bad or unwanted thoughts? Can anyone deny the fact that bad or unwanted thoughts arise spontaneously and not to one's choosing? It is amazing that so much is written about why one should avoid bad or unwanted thoughts. But, the fact is that no one can control thoughts. Fortunately, not all thoughts are expressed as actions or speech. But, how often, have you not said "I wish I had not done that". Or, "I have no idea why I did that", or "what was I thinking when I said that (or did that)". If one had volitional control on one's actions, then we would never have anything like regret!

Thoughts like everything else is part of the universal functioning, functioning that is not within the control of an entity called "me". Now, the same universal functioning is also responsible for what we call the 'involuntary actions'. When we say "involuntary", we assume that these are actions which are not under the control of a "me". For instance, the process of making urine, the process of digestion, the process of beating of the heart, and the growing of the finger nails, are all not under the control of a "me". Therefore, it is very convenient to throw it into a category called "involuntary" and forget about it. That is right, forget about it. It is exactly this forgetting about IT, that is the cause of all suffering(and the reason why you are reading this message)!! But, if one starts inquiring into what exactly do we mean when we say involuntary, a lot of questions arise which need to be answered. If it is involuntary, it means not under "my control". Well, then what about your involuntary actions? The same answer is given by you. In the same way, every person will give the same answer. In that case, who is in control of these so called "involuntary actions"? Logic dictates that there has to be an answer to this question. We can't just dismiss it as just another function of the body. Because, in that case, the next question is, "why is it that a dead person no longer has these involuntary actions, like beating of the heart, or digestion, or making of urine, etc.?". If the answer is "because a dead person has no life in him/her", then another question arises " what exactly do you mean by 'life'?". Invariably, one gets drawn back to one's own source as the answer to all questions.

By using the word 'involuntary action' ( not according to one's will), one indicates the fact that there is someone or something other than you that is the cause of the action. Then, who is that someone or something? Can you answer this question? If not, would it not be appropriate to inquire further into this matter to reach a conclusive answer? Without an answer, can one still insist on the presence of a free will, a free will that is responsible for voluntary action but not know who is responsible for the other action (the involuntary action)? Or, can we not just stop using the words 'voluntary' and 'involuntary', and just relax into accepting the universal functioning just the way it IS? Accepting what IS rather than resisting what IS? Accepting what IS, rather than categorizing into "I like this" and "I don't like this"?

Where is the mind?

There is an assumption that the mind is a function of the brain. Thereby, many assume that without a brain there can be no mind. Let us analyze this assumption and see if it is indeed true or false. It is assumed that action is done as a result of direction of the mind. It could be interpreted as meaning that without a mind, no action is possible. The mind is considered to be a part of a "me", an entity that assumes ownership of the mind. That is why, we speak of "my mind". Very often, you hear of people saying "my mind is going crazy". When asked where is the mind, most will point to their head naturally. Well, if the mind were a function of an anatomical site called the brain, what about a bacteria or a virus? Does the bacteria, which is single celled organism, have a brain? In the same way, does your liver (composes of billions of small cells) ask "you" if it is okay to metabolize the food? Does the digestive system (composed of billions of small cells in the form of a stomach, intestine, pancreas etc.) ask for permission from "you" to digest the food? Does the heart or the lung, for that matter, not function on its own without any constant supervision from a "you". The nails on your fingertips grow spontaneously. The hair grows spontaneously ( unless of course if you are bald!). Functioning is going on at all times of the waking hours (called daytime) and even during deep sleep. A tiny virus can cause havoc in the public health system. Yet, there is no anatomical location of a mind or brain in the virus! The virus in fact knows how to respond to threats to its survival by adapting itself fairly quickly. That is the reason, mankind has been unable to cure the common cold! The virus knows how to adapt to the vaccine that mankind keeps developing. The virus is even tinier than a bacteria. The bacteria, which are just single cell organisms, similarly adapt to threats of antibiotics by developing resistance.

Extend this to the plant kingdom, and it becomes obvious that there is an universal intelligence or mind, which controls everything (yes, including what you call "my body"). Plants know when to sprout leaves as soon as the weather warms up in spring. They know when to shed leaves in Fall. Grass grows spontaneously. Flowers bloom. Ever wonder who controls all of the functioning in the world and the universe?

The fact is that the mind has no substance by itself. When looked for, one cannot point with certainty to any particular location for what they call the mind. The mind is not a container in which thoughts, feelings and emotions can be stored. The mind is a general term that encompasses the intellect, the ego, and the will. The mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts, all of which are constantly changing. No thought can be held on to for a prolonged length of time. Since, thoughts are nothing but vibrations of the universal energy, they are in a state of constant flux. It is because of memory, that one gets a feeling of continuity of thoughts.

The mind appears along with the waking state. It disappears or subsides in the deep sleep state. When there is no mind, there are no thoughts, like in a deep dreamless sleep state. It again points to the fact that mind and thoughts are one and the same. Meaning, there can be no mind without the thoughts and no thoughts without the mind.

What appears and disappears cannot be real. The mind is something that appears and disappears. The only Reality is that which is continuous and present in all states. The only Reality is the presence-awareness or awareness of presence, which is there in all three states (deep dreamless sleep, the dream sleep state, and the waking state). You know you ARE in all the three states. If woken up in the middle of deep dreamless sleep, you immediately KNOW that you ARE. Who are YOU?

The various states of the mind and YOU

The three states of the mind can be analyzed to point one towards the Reality. Essentially, we assume that the waking state is real as we are able to perceive various objects through the senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell. We also experience various thoughts, feelings and emotions. The mind is fully active in the waking state and so also are the sensory organs. With the fully active mind and sensory organs, one has the feeling that the world of objects, emotions and thoughts is real. However, with the onset of deep sleep, the mind is inactive and so also the sensory organs. In this state, there are no perceptions, feelings or thoughts. There are therefore no objective experiences as such. If one asks oneself to describe the state of deep dreamless sleep, there is no way one can really answer, since there was no sensory or mindful experience. Meaning, there is a state of forgetfulness or unknown-ness. However, if one analyzes the feeling that one had in deep sleep, there is no doubt that one felt peaceful and happy. This peace and happiness that one feels is not an objective experience that can be described in the usual way we describe objects. Yet, one is certain of the feeling of peace and happiness in deep dreamless sleep. Since there are no objects in deep sleep, but you are still there in deep sleep, it becomes clear that you are the peace and happiness. You, as the subject, are the only one present in deep sleep (and objects are absent or not perceived) and the only way to describe your own self in deep dreamless sleep is peace. Therefore, peace is your true nature and is undeniable (by every entity).

In the next state of dream sleep, the mind is partly active but the senses are not fully activated. Dream sleep is therefore a state of internal experience, whereas the wakeful state is a state of external experience. In the dream state, a mental construct of a different type of world (than what is experienced in wakeful state) or sometimes a similar world may be experienced. The dream appears real until the next state i.e. the state of wakefulness arises. The dream world and all the objects of the dream world disappear immediately. Similarly, when one enters the deep sleep state after the wakeful state, the world as experienced in the wakeful state ceases to be.

We already know that what comes and goes, or what appears and disappears is not real( real = unchanged). The world of objects appears and disappears in both the wakeful state and the dream state. Therefore, both the wakeful state and the dream state are not real. The state of deep sleep can also be described as unreal since it is not constant (meaning it is not a permanent state). But the fact is that the experience in the deep sleep state is unchanged through all your life. The absence of experience of objects and thereby the feeling of peacefulness, is constant in deep sleep state. The peace that is "experienced" in deep sleep state is constant and unchanged. The sleep dream state and the wakeful state experiences are constantly changing. The only difference between the sleep dream state and the wakeful dream state(as this writer would like to call it) is that the wakeful (dream) state is just a longer and more contiguous state and therefore appears more real.

This does not mean that the deep sleep state is the Reality. It however is an experience of the causal body. The deep sleep state is also called a state of ignorance or forgetfulness. Meaning, in that state, there is no knowledge or absence of knowledge. It is from this ignorance that the other states arise and create a dream-world or the wakeful-world. In this state of ignorance, there is no way one can analyze the status of one's experience. One can only analyze the deep sleep state in the wakeful state and come to a conclusion that one experienced deep peace in that state. There are two types of knowledge: (1) a knowledge of objects and (2) knowledge without objects. Knowledge without objects is pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is what is known in deep sleep state and since there are no objects in that state, there is only pure consciousness and nothing else. There is just knowing present in deep sleep state. This knowing is all there IS irrespective of what state the body-mind complex is in, but in the wakeful state and dream state this knowing is not appreciated due to false identity with the body-mind and the distractions from the world of objects.

Now there is another state, which is not experienced by everyone. In deep meditation, a fourth state called the Turiya state is experienced by the seeker. The turiya state is similar to the deep sleep state but the mind is just stilled into a state of no-thought. Meaning, there is forgetfulness in this state despite the fact that one is actually awake. The turiya state provides the seeker with a sense of knowing the absence of objective experience as is noted during deep sleep state. But like any other state, it also is transient. Even if one goes into deep meditation and is unaware of the world of objects, when he comes out of the meditative trance (turiya) he is immediately immersed in the world of objects, perceptions, feelings and emotions (that he had temporarily left behind). All the problems that were left behind temporarily resurface with a vengeance! So, it becomes clear that one cannot hope and desire for any one particular state (even if one feels most at peace in one state!). All states come and go, like everything else in the universe. It becomes clear that the direct way to Reality is through knowledge gained from inquiry. One has to therefore leave behind all the states to know the Reality, which is the unchanging background against which all these states appear.

The fact that you can remember your experiences in all the above three states indicates that you were aware in all the three states. The one who is aware in all three states is who you really are. The unchanging you, as awareness, is your true nature. Please note that even in the wakeful state, you are aware of what you call "my" body and "my" mind just like you are aware of the world of objects, emotions, thoughts and feelings.

All states come and go and cannot be descriptive of the Truth (which is unborn and unchanging). As discussed previously by this writer, you cannot be the object of awareness since you are the awareness itself!

The above method of analysis is just another way of discovering one's own true nature. One must explore and investigate all avenues of finding out one's own True Self.