Do we have free will or is our life together predetermined?

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Liberation vs Karma.

From Human to #Metahuman

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  1. Virtual Insanity

    Institutions play a big (and overlooked) part in determining how/if free will is expressed. I don’t think “spiritual” or “new age” etc. communities discuss institutions enough.

    1. Gerard Sanford

      I think our institutions are what is sometimes called an emergent property of individual collectives. I think it’s likely that our rulers are our measure.

  2. Pisces69

    Please let me know how I may interact with others during the live podcast. 🙂

    1. Himanshu Sehra

      Do you know where live session happens?!

    2. Pisces69

      @Himanshu Sehra I do not. I would like too as I do notice Deepak mentions people in a chat room?

    3. Gerard Sanford

      I think it’s on Facebook.

  3. Honestmicky

    Hi Deepak, how are you doing on this nice day? Thanks for this excellent video, much appreciated. I love your channel and your daily chats. Have a good and peaceful day my friend : )

  4. Suketa Patel

    These videos are helping me a lot. I thank you, my vison is getting clearer. Please keep sharing everything you know about truth. Things are shifting inside. Blessings 😇🌈🇨🇦

    1. Reverend Eslam

      Suketa Patel
      🐟 11. FREE-WILL Vs DETERMINISM:

      Just as the autonomous beating of one’s heart is governed by one’s genes (such as the presence of a congenital heart condition), and the present-life conditioning of the heart (such as myocardial infarction as a consequence of the consumption of excessive fats and oils, or heart palpitations due to severe emotional distress), each and every thought and action is governed by our genes and conditioning.

      If we could see our lives objectively, we would understand that it is not possible for us to control our thoughts, even by practising meditation. Meditation techniques MAY reduce one’s thoughts, but obviously, that is a conditioning of the mind, which is not the doing of an independent entity, “us”.

      This teaching is possibly the most difficult concept for humans to accept, because we refuse to believe that we are not the author of our thoughts and actions. From the appearance of the false ego (one’s inaccurate conception of oneself) at the age of approximately two and a half, we have been constantly conditioned by our parents, teachers, and society, to believe that we are solely responsible for our thoughts and deeds. This deeply-ingrained belief is EXCRUCIATINGLY difficult to abandon, which is possibly the main reason why there are very few persons who are spiritually-enlightened.

      The most common argument against this concept of ‘non-doership’, is that humans (unlike other animals) have the ability to CHOOSE what they can do, think or feel. First of all, many species of (higher) animals also make choices. For instance, a cat can see two birds and choose which one to prey upon, or choose whether or not to play with a ball that is thrown its way. That choices are made is indisputable, but those choices are dependent entirely upon one’s genes and conditioning. There is no third factor involved on the phenomenal plane. On the noumenal level, thoughts and deeds are in accordance with the preordained “Story of Life”.
      N. B. According to some geneticists, it is possible for genes to mutate. However, that phenomenon would be included under the “conditioning” aspect. The genes mutate according to whatever conditioning is imposed upon the human organism. It is simply impossible for a person to use their will to change their own genetic code.

      We did not choose which deoxyribonucleic acid our biological parents bequeathed to us, and the conditions to which we were exposed throughout our lives, yet we somehow believe that we are fully-autonomous beings, with the ability to feel, think and behave as we desire. The truth is, we cannot know for certain what even our next thought will be. Do we DECIDE to choose our thoughts and deeds? Not likely. Does an infant choose to learn how to walk or to begin speaking, or does it just happen automatically, according to nature?

      To claim that one is the ultimate creator of one’s thoughts and actions is tantamount to believing that one created one’s very BEING. If a computer program or artificially-intelligent robot considers itself to be the cause of its activity, it would seem absurd to the average person. Yet, that is just what virtually everyone mistakenly believes of their own deeds.

      The IMPRESSION that we have free-will can be considered a “Gift of Life” or “God’s Grace”, otherwise, we may be resentful of our lack of free-will, since, unlike other creatures, we humans have the intelligence to comprehend our own existence.

      When a person blames another person for their actions, it is akin to blaming the penultimate domino in a row of dominoes for doing what it did to fell the final domino, when in actual fact, the ultimate cause of the final domino falling was the INITIAL domino which fell. If anyone is to blame for anything, surely it is the Person who created everything. Who then, is that Supreme Creator? That thou art (“tat tvam asi”, in Sanskrit).

      Therefore, EVERY action, including seemingly-heinous deeds, is ultimately in alignment with the predestined “Story of Life” (or, for those who are attached to a theistic viewpoint, “God’s Perfect Will”), since nothing could have happened differently, given the circumstances. That does not mean that a person ought to deliberately perform criminal acts and use his lack of free-will to justify his actions.
      If, however, he blames his dastardly deeds on a lack of personal freedom, that blame too was destined, just as any consequences were destined. Unfortunately, very few crimes are punished in so-called “first-world” societies, which helps to explain why the “Westernized” nations are morally bankrupt. When did you last hear of an adulterous couple being put to death for their sin? Never, I would posit.

      That explains why this “Wisdom Teaching” was traditionally reserved for students of high-calibre. It requires an unusually wise and intelligent person to understand that, despite everything being preordained, to blame one’s lack of free-will for criminal actions and expecting NOT to be punished for them is unbeneficial to a peaceful society. Even today, with easy access to knowledge and information, few persons will come to hear this teaching, and fewer still will realize it, and integrate it into their daily lives.

      Everything is permissible but not everything is BENEFICIAL. One can eat junk “food” but that is not going to benefit one’s physiology in any way (unless, of course, it enables one to temporarily survive a famine). We can murder our enemy, but we may not escape being punished by the local judicial system.

      To assume that free-will suddenly and INEXPLICABLY appeared on this planet at the birth of the first Homo sapiens, is the height of arrogance.

      “The Lord dwelleth in the hearts of all beings, Arjuna, causing all to behave as if seated on a machine, under His illusory spell.”
      Lord Śri Krishna,
      “Bhagavad-gītā”, 18:61.

      “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”
      *************
      “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
      William Shakespeare, English Playwright.

      1. Shakil

        You are so full of shit.

    2. Suketa Patel

      Reverend Eslam , I will have to read more and contemplate of what you wrote. Thank you for such deep message. All I can say is that I am seeking for a better way of living. Since 2012, miracles did happen. A wider opening of my awareness to fully see emerged like butterfly coming out of a cocoon. Suffering led me to contemplate, and my heart began to grow to feel more love. The seeking began and meditation stillness grew stronger inside me to the point of hearing channeled sweet voices inside my head, However, I still kept falling on my knees with physical and mental illness of depression, mostly to do with chronic pain, My story is of resurrection. A new beginning, and the work of light…finding and throwing love. I feel and see everyone’s energy, and this is my downfall…..I am learning to put boundaries. This teachings and others enter my life as synchronicities. Anything I contemplate will arise in an answer some way or another in time. My desire is to see in the eyes of spirit. In the eyes of Christ and all those guides who’s hearts extend to us as oneness. I see my conditioned mind, I see my story, I see the illusions. I have learned to allow….resistance kept me in fear. Blessings of such truths my dear soul! your message is profound! May our journey on this Earth be magnificent as our heart is! 😇Thank you!

      1. Shakil

        Do not listen to this guy he is a rightwing idiot. He’s not even an actual reverend.

    3. Reverend Eslam

      Suketa Patel
      To read the remaining twenty-nine chapters of “A Final Instruction Sheet for Humanity”, which are the most accurate spiritual precepts so far in human history, Email:
      [email protected]
      with the acronym “FISH” in the subject field.
      🐟
      “The gateway to knowing is IGNORANCE”. 🤓

  5. Sonja Avramovic

    Thank you!

  6. cityguy0189

    Don hoffman?. hmm :-/ not sure. Vedanta is all you need to read. All that is to be said, has been said(& written) there. I don’t think anything else comes close to the depths of self-discovery as much as Vedas.

    1. Reverend Eslam

      cityguy0189
      I disagree. ☝️

  7. Paula Clements

    THANK you Deepak…

  8. E.k. Bastiaannet

    Thank you Deepak. you changed my perception for the better.

  9. Heaven And Earth

    Wonderful! Tks for sharing.

  10. Tracy Racette

    Thank you.

  11. Veena Srinivasaperumal

    Respected sir, Thank you.

  12. Angelica Skelly

    Pure consciousnss beyond free will, yes!

  13. Liz Stanley

    Thank you again for your time. I am really enjoying these videos and this one particularly struck a chord within me. Choiceless awareness is where I want to be! ❤️ 🙏🏻

  14. Greg Halvorson

    LOL…. Can you say “charlatan?”

  15. About Creativity

    Very good, ´´do we have free will?´´ ´´is our life predetermined?´´ ´´is there ultimate freedom?´´ ´´karma – cause and effect?´´ ´´ego = condition mind´´ ´´Meta-Human = going beyond´´ ´´pure consciousness´´ ´´infinite possibilities´´ ´´infinite choices´´ ´´ultimate freedom´´ ´´infinite consciousness´´ infinite creativity´´ intention´´ ´´higher levels creativity, synchronicity´´ ´´perceptual experiences´´ ´´go beyond all modes of knowing and experience´´ ´´field of unpredictability´´ ´´infinite choices´´ ´´outside the range of our perceptual capacities´´

  16. John Rountree

    How about “you get what you believe in”?

  17. Mark Rudis

    Physyical veiws happen in consciousness as does every thought or discussion on the subject. Science is a human construct, another method of human attempts to control his own environment. Each carries the pull of dharma, synchronicity occurs when we act consistent with our own dharma. Great discussion! Thank you Deepak and consider more on this subject. 🙏❤

  18. Lisa butter

    This has been my struggle lol I try to live like the physicality but I truly know that my soul??? Whatever I don’t need to name it won’t allow it. Its like I have been in this weird struggle with myself. I think I’m free now. To me it means I will be labeled crazy as I have been…I’m scared to hear karma I don’t believe in karma.

  19. Reverend Eslam

    🐟 11. FREE-WILL Vs DETERMINISM:

    Just as the autonomous beating of one’s heart is governed by one’s genes (such as the presence of a congenital heart condition), and the present-life conditioning of the heart (such as myocardial infarction as a consequence of the consumption of excessive fats and oils, or heart palpitations due to severe emotional distress), each and every thought and action is governed by our genes and conditioning.

    If we could see our lives objectively, we would understand that it is not possible for us to control our thoughts, even by practising meditation. Meditation techniques MAY reduce one’s thoughts, but obviously, that is a conditioning of the mind, which is not the doing of an independent entity, “us”.

    This teaching is possibly the most difficult concept for humans to accept, because we refuse to believe that we are not the author of our thoughts and actions. From the appearance of the false ego (one’s inaccurate conception of oneself) at the age of approximately two and a half, we have been constantly conditioned by our parents, teachers, and society, to believe that we are solely responsible for our thoughts and deeds. This deeply-ingrained belief is EXCRUCIATINGLY difficult to abandon, which is possibly the main reason why there are very few persons who are spiritually-enlightened.

    The most common argument against this concept of ‘non-doership’, is that humans (unlike other animals) have the ability to CHOOSE what they can do, think or feel. First of all, many species of (higher) animals also make choices. For instance, a cat can see two birds and choose which one to prey upon, or choose whether or not to play with a ball that is thrown its way. That choices are made is indisputable, but those choices are dependent entirely upon one’s genes and conditioning. There is no third factor involved on the phenomenal plane. On the noumenal level, thoughts and deeds are in accordance with the preordained “Story of Life”.
    N. B. According to some geneticists, it is possible for genes to mutate. However, that phenomenon would be included under the “conditioning” aspect. The genes mutate according to whatever conditioning is imposed upon the human organism. It is simply impossible for a person to use their will to change their own genetic code.

    We did not choose which deoxyribonucleic acid our biological parents bequeathed to us, and the conditions to which we were exposed throughout our lives, yet we somehow believe that we are fully-autonomous beings, with the ability to feel, think and behave as we desire. The truth is, we cannot know for certain what even our next thought will be. Do we DECIDE to choose our thoughts and deeds? Not likely. Does an infant choose to learn how to walk or to begin speaking, or does it just happen automatically, according to nature?

    To claim that one is the ultimate creator of one’s thoughts and actions is tantamount to believing that one created one’s very BEING. If a computer program or artificially-intelligent robot considers itself to be the cause of its activity, it would seem absurd to the average person. Yet, that is just what virtually everyone mistakenly believes of their own deeds.

    The IMPRESSION that we have free-will can be considered a “Gift of Life” or “God’s Grace”, otherwise, we may be resentful of our lack of free-will, since, unlike other creatures, we humans have the intelligence to comprehend our own existence.

    When a person blames another person for their actions, it is akin to blaming the penultimate domino in a row of dominoes for doing what it did to fell the final domino, when in actual fact, the ultimate cause of the final domino falling was the INITIAL domino which fell. If anyone is to blame for anything, surely it is the Person who created everything. Who then, is that Supreme Creator? That thou art (“tat tvam asi”, in Sanskrit).

    Therefore, EVERY action, including seemingly-heinous deeds, is ultimately in alignment with the predestined “Story of Life” (or, for those who are attached to a theistic viewpoint, “God’s Perfect Will”), since nothing could have happened differently, given the circumstances. That does not mean that a person ought to deliberately perform criminal acts and use his lack of free-will to justify his actions.
    If, however, he blames his dastardly deeds on a lack of personal freedom, that blame too was destined, just as any consequences were destined. Unfortunately, very few crimes are punished in so-called “first-world” societies, which helps to explain why the “Westernized” nations are morally bankrupt. When did you last hear of an adulterous couple being put to death for their sin? Never, I would posit.

    That explains why this “Wisdom Teaching” was traditionally reserved for students of high-calibre. It requires an unusually wise and intelligent person to understand that, despite everything being preordained, to blame one’s lack of free-will for criminal actions and expecting NOT to be punished for them is unbeneficial to a peaceful society. Even today, with easy access to knowledge and information, few persons will come to hear this teaching, and fewer still will realize it, and integrate it into their daily lives.

    Everything is permissible but not everything is BENEFICIAL. One can eat junk “food” but that is not going to benefit one’s physiology in any way (unless, of course, it enables one to temporarily survive a famine). We can murder our enemy, but we may not escape being punished by the local judicial system.

    To assume that free-will suddenly and INEXPLICABLY appeared on this planet at the birth of the first Homo sapiens, is the height of arrogance.

    “The Lord dwelleth in the hearts of all beings, Arjuna, causing all to behave as if seated on a machine, under His illusory spell.”
    Lord Śri Krishna,
    “Bhagavad-gītā”, 18:61.

    “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”
    *************
    “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
    William Shakespeare, English Playwright.

    1. Reverend Eslam

      Magda 13
      06. CONSCIOUSNESS:

      CONSCIOUSNESS means “that which knows” or “the state of being aware”, from the Latin prefix “con” (with), the stem “scire” (to know) and the suffix “osus” (characterized by).
      Higher species of animal life have sufficient cognitive ability to know themselves and their environment, at least to a measurable degree.

      HOWEVER, in recent years, the term has been used in esoteric spiritual circles (usually capitalised) to refer to a far more Universal Consciousness, due to the fact that the English language doesn’t include a single word denoting the universal Ground of Being (for instance “Brahman”, “Tao”, in other tongues).

      The Tao which can be expressed in language is not the REAL Tao. All concepts are, by nature, relative, and at most can merely point to the Absolute.
      That explains why some branches of theology use the apophatic method of pointing to The Infinite (“neti neti”, [not this, not that], in Sanskrit). Also known in Latin as “via negativa” or “via negationis” theology, this philosophical approach to discovering the essential nature of The Tao, gradually negates each description about Ultimate Reality but not Reality Itself.

      The brain is merely a conduit or TRANSDUCER of Universal Consciousness, explaining why the more intelligent the animal, the more it can understand its own existence (or at least be aware of more of its environment – just see how amazingly-complex dolphin behaviour can be, compared with other aquatic species), and the reason why it is asserted that a truly enlightened human must possess a far higher level of intelligence than the average person. The brain is the equivalent of computer hardware, whilst consciousness is akin to the software programme, using deoxyribonucleic acid as the memory chip. A person who is comatosed has lost any semblance of individual consciousness, yet is being kept alive by the presence of Universal Consciousness (here, the word “coma” is not to be taken by its etymological definition of “deep sleep”).

      So, then, one could complain: “That’s not fair – why can only a genius be enlightened?”
      The answer is: first of all, as stated above, every species of animal has its own level of intelligence on a wide-ranging scale. Therefore, a pig or a dog could (if possible) ask: “That’s unfair – why can only a human being be enlightened?”
      Secondly, it is INDEED a fact that life is unfair, because there is no “tit for tat” law of action and reaction, even if many supposedly-great religious preceptors have stated so. They said so because they were preaching to wicked miscreants who refused to quit their evil ways, and needed to be chastized in a forceful manner. It’s not possible to speak gentle words to a rabid dog to prevent it from biting you.

      There is evidence of consciousness being a universal field in SAVANT SYNDROME, a condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrate certain abilities far in excess of the norm, such as superhuman rapid mathematical calculation, mind-reading, blind-seeing, or astounding musical aptitude. Such behaviour suggests that there is a universal field (possibly in holographic form) from which one can access information. Even simple artistic inspiration could be attributed to this phenomenon. The great British singer-songwriter, Sir Paul McCartney, one day woke with the complete tune of his song “Yesterday” in his mind, after hearing it in a dream.

      Three states of being are experienced by humans: the waking state (“jāgrata”, in Sanskrit), dreaming (“svapna”, in Sanskrit), and deep-sleep (“suṣupti”, in Sanskrit). Beyond these three temporal states is the fourth ‘state’ (“turīya” or “caturīya”, in Sanskrit). That is the unconditioned, eternal ‘state’, which underlies the other three. So, in actual fact, the fourth state is not a state but the Unconditioned Ground of Being (or to put it simply, YOU, the real self/Self).

      Perhaps the main purpose of dreams is so that we can understand that the waking state is practically identical to the dream state, and thereby come to see the ILLUSION of this ephemeral world. If someone were to ask your dream character if the dream was real, you would say, “yes, of course this is real!” Similarly, if someone were to ask your waking state character if this world was real, you would respond in a similar manner. The Ultimate Reality (“Brahman”, in Sanskrit) alone is real – real in the sense that it is the never-mutable ground of being. Reality is clearly seen by those self-realized persons who have experienced spiritual awakenings, yet only intellectually understood by those who have merely studied spiritual topics (that is, practiced one of the four systems of religion described in Chapter 16).

      “If you remain as you are now, you are in the wakeful state. This is abolished in the dream state.
      The dream state disappears, when you are in deep sleep. The three states come and go, but you are always there.
      Your real state, that of Consciousness itself, continues to exist always and forever and it is the only Reality.”
      *************
      ”It is fallacious to think that there is an individual self, which functions through the body and the mind.
      The ‘me’ as an individual self, is merely a mental modification, and there is no such thing as a mind, apart from thought.
      When the source of thought is probed continuously as it arises, it is revealed, that there is no such thing as mind, or an individual behind it.”
      Ramesh Balsekar,
      Indian Spiritual Teacher.

      “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clearheaded science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Spirit. This Spirit is the matrix of all matter.”
      *************
      “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
      Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck,
      German Theoretical Physicist.

    2. Dream Logic

      You disproved your point in the first sentence. The heart attack you refer to would be the direct result of *dietary choices*, mostly likely informed by and despite the genetic predisposition you mentioned. Free will reigns. With one caveat; it requires consciousness. Those who choose to be unconscious, unthinking, slovenly, addictive…. certainly they play out robotic and predictable actions, but there was still the original choice to abdicate free will, and recede into a dark cave of unconsciousness.

    3. Dream Logic

      p.s. Shakespeare referred to notion that we all play roles, our lives have a plottedness, a story, and we have seeds, tendencies, character. This does not belie free will. There is still the choice to abdicate or refuse one’s role on Earth, or to face it with courage, humor, creativity.

      1. Shakil

        Thank you for calling the fool out.

    4. Reverend Eslam

      Dream Logic
      Have you CAREFULLY read my comments?

      If not, I suggest you re-read it.

    5. Gerard Sanford

      @Magda 13 I believe that there is one awareness that intentionally separates itself by what it is aware of. If we consider our lives we can get a feel of how very different the things in our life have changed through our lives but our awareness of these things is always the same. I don’t think it’s very important or even very useful to understand these kinds of particulars which few agree on any particular anyway. I believe what is important to understand is that Love is the way, the Truth and the Life and is the key to the Kingdom of God which only exists on Earth as it is made entirely of imagination.
      If someone believes that we don’t have free will then what point is there to try to convince another that we don’t have free will. Why suggest a reason why so few are enlightened if there is no free will. Everything would have already have been decided would be the reason for any condition we witness. I think it’s best to act like we do have free will if there is any chance that we do. I believe that it is only when we react as though we are the veil that we have chosen for ourselves that we lose free will but when we experience enough pain from the consequences we will awaken to the awareness of Love that gives us back the authority that we abandoned in the Garden of Eden. Authority gives us the ability to write the play of which we are players rather than have our parts written by dictators. Everything in the reality that appears before us begins with the word and can only be described by the word because it is literally the word. All relationships are codependent and each tells a story that is a part of a great many stories and can be written only by those who have the authority to act and the players are those who have not yet found this authority in Love. The players are always archetypes like the damsel in distress that automatically attracts many would be heroes who compete to be chosen. I think that’s the easiest play to recognize at it’s beginning and to see the players take their places. One could see a few of these plays on a stroll through Walmart. 🤗

  20. Gerard Sanford

    I say that consciousness can be pointed to by it’s ability to deviate particles from there otherwise inevitable position. I say the inevitable position of particles can be absolutely predicted and Heisenberg’s uncertainty is entirely due to conscious choice. Forgive them for they know not what they do would describe those in a reactionary state that the native Americans called Wetigo and is the disease of the mind which is the basis of the zombie movies.
    Of course I can’t prove that we are not hopelessly trapped in little Timmy’s Nintendo 6400 or some other man made matrix but it seems to me that any story that has matter as the fundamental basis of the Universe can only evidence this by the notion that anything is possible because we can’t find the source of our own perception. We can point to it though, apparently.
    I sometimes find myself wandering if my Life wouldn’t be more enjoyable if I weren’t so “smart”. It feels like patting my head and rubbing my belly trying to guard against the ego and not to say any jinxy words and being present feels like trying to get a handful of water from a fire hose. No worries though, believing that the only part of me that is real is God is a good trade off to finding out I can’t win, especially when I consider what the scoreboard would say.
    Like so many things it doesn’t seem possible to prove if we have free will. If all is God who would predict what a part of God would do and who would measure the result? It does seem that there’s a lot of evidence that we should act as though we have free will just in case we do.
    I would love to hear Mr. Chopra’s views about the teacher student archetype and if he feels that it is possible to progress spiritually entangled in the leader follower archetype, if these are actually archetypes, if not then his views about these relationships.
    I have in my mind that Mr. Chopra has an assistant read these and forward what he might be interested in teaching. I enjoy these videos very much and think Mr. Chopra is an excellent teacher. 👍

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