Sri Humananda
Advaita Vedanta Tantra Yogi
Satsang: Fate vs. Free Will
"Self-enquiry is not the mind's inspection of its own contents; it is tracing the mind's first mode, the 'I'-thought to its source which is the Self. When there is proper and persistent enquiry, the 'I'-thought also ceases and there is the wordless illumination of the form 'I'-'I' which is the pure consciousness. This is release, freedom from bondage."
(Sri Ramana Maharshi)
Fate vs. Free Will - November 18, 2006
You are invited to an exploration of Fate vs. Free Will.
This will be the final talk in the series. A new series will begin in the Spring.
This time we will examine the concepts of fate (that which you are 'dealt', so to speak) and weigh that against free will. What is determined and what do we actually have a say over? What can we control, if anything, and what things are out of bounds to our influence? In other words, more applicable to the world we live in, what should we worry about, and what should we just let go, or accept as is? Where should we be expending our energies, and where should we not? What is worth it, and what is worthless to pursue? What can we "do" when there is seemingly nothing that we can do any more about something? What is the higher self and what is the lower self, and how can knowledge of the difference between these two help us?
Yoga is a hopeful science. It is also very personal, private and intimate - this relationship with your inner being - and personally, intimately, there is always something you can do. Always somewhere you can "go". For most of us, it is a matter of clarifying where.
The answer is not an unknown to us. We need to get in touch with our inner being - our Self. There is really nothing additional to learn, nothing more that you should know, nothing further for you to strive towards, and nothing to add to what you already possess. You require no special tools, for you have them all. Peace, seeming so illusive to us, can be found only right here, right now and in no other place in space or time. And it is in the here and in the now that the Self resides, and it is as available to you now as is your next gently indrawn breath.
Yet, we struggle. Life experience is hard. Things are difficult. Somehow we just cannot bridge the gap from our experience of the world to our own beings. How do we get to a state of constant unfolding as life moves - to somehow move with it, rather than get stuck in the intricacies of specific detail? How do we stay in the here and now? And if we do, what might we lose? What can we gain? And how will that change things for us and our experience of life?
Yoga suggests that we need techniques - a way to turn - indeed, a "how", and provides for us exactly such a how. We will look into this and share a few very simple techniques - some being mere reminders - that should be helpful during the winter. We'll throw in some 'fun' exercises such as the "Bellows" breath to help produce bodily warmth and help with blood flow. We will also do a short, basic meditation that is easy to remember and practice, but quite powerful.
It is said that in the search for the Self, truly, there is only meditation that prevents us from drowning in the world and its detail - the rest, all these words - are only like the treading of water. So for a few minutes, we will pursue the Self more and tread water a little less - live a little, in other words.
Namaste.
The Agenda:
Introduction
Orientation (How we know what is worth it)
Readings to include excerpts from:
- Kahlil Gibran - Bhagavad Gita - Upanishads - World Within the Mind
Fate
- Genetics - what we are dealt
- Evolution - where we have come to
Free Will
- What is the Will, and what is Free Will?
- Choice - how much do we actually choose?
- The Divine Drive - what is it, and how do we tap into it?
A 7 minute Meditation ("The Invocation of Self" - with a spinal focus)
Closing Thoughts
Open Discussion and Questions
Private Questions and Ideas (please arrange with me in advance)
