Dear Ramji,
(a) If Iswara, God, Macrocosmic Maya doles karmas according to our collective actions dharmic and adharmic, is the decline in righteousness at any time in history this process of doling out part of our collective free will? (b) At least from the Jiva’s point of few, Is this due to free will?
James: The collective is the sum total of individuals, Don. Only Individuals have free will. The collective is called God, the creator, because individuals are born in societies, which creates our bodies, organizes us into groups, provides us with talents and abilities and teaches us everything we know. Groups can follow universal dharma or not depending on their values.
Righteousness is always declining and growing simultaneously. Adharmic actions by some individuals produce the opposite reaction in dharmicly-oriented individuals causing the collective to come, momentarily into balance.
c) Are the rich, and their business poisonous byproducts upon the earth part of this adharmic karma coming upon humanity?
James: Yes, but humanity is equally adharmic since it encourages businesses to produce cheap products that kill. Keep in mind the businesses are human beings. There is no way to actually determine the virtue or lack thereof of an action. A surgeon performs an operation and the patient dies. A mugger knifes a person to get his wallet and the person dies. Both deaths were caused by a knife to the gut but the surgeon is praised and the criminal is incarcerated. There is no solution in the apparent reality, just an endless back and forth between dharma and adharma. It is a zero-sum. I think you should give up this dualistic thinking. It is a waste of time.
(d) Does Iswara desire us to live in a collective harmony with each other and the earth?
James: In so far as we live in harmony it is Isvara’s desire. In so far as we don’t live in harmony it is also Isvara’s desire. But Isvara 1, existence shining as blissful awareness, is not a big person who is concerned about dharma and adharma. It is dharma that is not opposed to adharma. Why are you worried about “us?” Are you living in harmony with yourself or do you have conflicts? If you want the world to be free of conflict, then remove your own conflicts and the world will be a better place by one person.
(e) Does Iswara have desire at all? Does he have thoughts and feelings at all?
James: No, but yes, in the sense that everyone wants to be free. Isvara/Maya, which I call Isvara 2, is not a he or a she. It is just ignorance of the non-dual nature of reality. If ignorance wants anything, it wants us to suffer because that is what we do. So if you want to get rid of suffering get rid of ignorance.
I ask such questions because the Gita states that we are being moved like a machine. Ultimately, we have no free will. This is what this suggests—reality is impersonal. Ramesh S. Balsekar stated in one of his books that any free choice we make at any moment is part of that “Cosmic Machine.”
James: We are being moved by ignorance of the non-dual nature of reality. Ignorance is mechanical. It doesn’t think. You’re not getting the important part, Don. You still think the world and people and what’s happening is real, but it is only seemingly real.
And the bible clearly states that Adonai has feelings and thoughts of its own and feels remorse like we do–just in a cosmic incomprehensible way.
James: The Bible personifies. It was written for people whose minds are not subtle enough to see that reality is impersonal. It’s a feel good story to give people some hope. Even though Christ was a non-dualist, he personified the impersonal to help people understand according to their capacity. He called the Self the father and himself the son. The Puranas are the Vedic equivalent of Biblical literature. They personify Vedic truths.
Lord Krishna states that he is that SELF and knows the workings of all universe’s infinitum. Lord Krishna was a man with feelings and thoughts. He was God personified as man–like it is claimed of Jesus Ben. Joseph the CHRIST. Except he had a Cosmic Perspective. We don’t.
James: Speak for yourself, Don. You can gain the cosmic perspective and you can also see beyond the cosmic perspective.
As I have always stated Vedanta ends in paradoxes.
Your loving Devotee,
James: Your statement is not true, Don. Vedanta resolves all paradoxes because paradoxes are not real. It is ignorance to think that life is paradoxical. It is only non-dual unborn existence shining as consciousness.
Throughout this email you have not used the word apparent at all. Jiva and Isvara are not actually real. They are just dualistic teaching tools that remove duality if they are properly taught to a qualified inquirer. You’re hanging on to ideas that aren’t serving you. There are moments when you hear the teaching but you always default to duality. Your last statement is the best example. Vedanta starts with paradoxes and removes them. You are confused because of a paradox. You know you’re free but you’re not convinced.
Much love,
James