"Questioner:
Surely, I am not the master of what happens.
... Its slave rather.
Nisargadatta Maharaj:
𝐁𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞.
... 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐟!
Questioner:
Does it imply avoidance of action?
Nisargadatta Majaraj:
You cannot avoid action.
... It happens, like everything else.
Q: My actions, surely, I can control.
NM: Try!
... You will soon see that you do what you must.
Q: I can act, according to my will.
NM: You know your will,
... Only 'after' you have acted.
Q: I remember my desires, the choices made, the decisions taken, and act accordingly.
NM: Then your memory decides - not you!
Q: Where do 'I' come in?
NM: You make it possible by giving it Attention.
Q: Is there no such thing as Free-Will?
... Am I not Free to desire?
NM: Oh No!
... You are compelled to desire!
In Hinduism the very idea of 'free-will' is non-existent.., so there is no word for it.
... Will is commitment - fixation, bondage!
Q: I am Free to choose my limitations.
NM: You must be Free first!
To be Free 'in' the world,
... You must be Free 'of' the world.
Otherwise, your past decides for you, And your future: Between what had happened, and what must happen - you are caught!
Call it Destiny or Karma, but never Freedom.
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠,
... 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 '𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞'."
I am that