Non-duality and the implications for Fee-Will and the passage of time.
Non-duality, frequently rendered from the Sanskrit terms Advaita (“not-two”) or Advaya (“not-two” or “unique”), is a key principle in numerous philosophical and spiritual traditions worldwide. It maintains that ultimate reality constitutes an indivisible and unified whole, suggesting that distinctions such as self and other, subject and object, and Creator and creation are conceptual constructs or illusions.
The position of non-duality on free-will:
The concept of free-will is seen as incompatible with non-duality. Non-duality asserts that there is only one unified reality, where the notion of an independent free-will is an illusion. If everything is truly One, then there isn’t a separate being of independent will.
Illusion of Separation:
The belief in free will stems from the individual’s perception of separation where there is none, creating a false sense of individuality.
Determinism:
Many non-dual teachings, such as Advaita Vedanta or those of Ramana Maharshi, suggest that all events are determined or unfolding according to a greater sense of unity, following a divine sense of order.
Action vs. Doership:
While actions happen (the unified “dance of life”), non-duality argues there is no separate “doer” behind them. There is no separate seer or seen, there is only seeing.
The separate “me”, the ego identity is seen as a construct of the mind and consciousness.
Paradoxical perspective:
From a relative, everyday viewpoint, free will seems real, but from the ultimate non-dual perspective, it is a mental construct or, as Einstein noted, part of a fully determined system’
In the context of non-dualism, pre-determined perhaps brings up the wrong meaning in the sense of time past and time future. In reality there is only ‘now’, and everything is determined by cause and effect of what is going on ‘in the ‘now’.
“I can only act according to my nature as it is now. The agency I have is to observe and learn. As I learn, my nature is adapting and changing to better meet the world as it is in the ‘now’ to come. The past, as we understand it has influence on us, but it is only my nature as it is now, in this moment. that determines how I act.
The key to change is present centred awareness, allowing our nature to adapt and change.”
Non-duality and the illusion of time:
Time is compatible with non-duality only as a relative, functional appearance within an eternal, changeless “now”.
In non-duality (Advaita), time is generally considered a mental construct or illusion rather than an absolute reality. We generally measure time by a sequence of events. If there is no duality between events, then the idea of time collapses. We can see that every event contains its cause and every cause contains its outcome, they are not seperarate.
True reality is deemed timeless, with past and future existing only as thoughts occurring in the present timeless moment.
Key aspects of time in non-duality:
The Eternal Now:
Non-duality posits that only the immediate “now” exists. It is not a moment within a timeline, but a timeless, undivided awareness.
Time as Illusion:
Time is often viewed as a construct that allows for the experience of separation and change (a “movie screen” analogy). It is not a fundamental feature of reality, similar to how space is perceived within a timeless, non-local awareness.
Relative vs. Absolute:
While time is useful for functioning in the world (relative, or vyavaharika), it is not ultimately real. (absolute, or paramarthika).
Thought-Based:
Past and future are recognized as memories or projections of the mind, not actualities.
All exists only in potentiality and in timeless imagination. It is the nature of consciousness to imagine in a timeless present. We share the same imagination – the collective – which gives us the illusion of a shared reality; yesterday, today and tomorrow. Einstein tells us we create the persistent illusion of time so that everything doesn’t appear to happen on once. Follow to the root of non-duality and we can see it so.
Non-Duality and philosophical Traditions:
Advaita Vedanta (Hinduism):
This is the most structured form of non-dualism, which teaches that the individual self (Atman) is identical to the ultimate reality (Brahman). It argues that the phenomenal world of multiplicity is Maya (illusion or appearance).
Mahayana Buddhism:
Central to Mahayana is Shunyata (emptiness), which means that all phenomena are empty of inherent, independent existence.
Non-duality in Buddhism refers to the non-separation of form and emptiness, samsara and nirvana.
Zen Buddhism:
Emphasizes direct, immediate experience of reality, often using paradoxes (koans) to break down rational, dualistic thinking to reach a state of non-dual awareness.
Taoism:
Based on the concept of the Tao (the Way), which is seen as the underlying unity and flow of existence. The Yin-Yang symbol represents the interdependence of opposites within an inseparable whole.
Hermeticism:
Is a form of non-dualism that uses the concept of polarity to explain that all apparent opposites are just different degrees of the same, singular, mental reality.
Kashmir Shaivism:
A tantric, non-dual tradition that views the universe not as an illusion (as in Advaita), but as a real, conscious manifestation of Shiva.
Dzogchen and Mahamudra (Tibetan Buddhism):
These traditions focus on rigpa (pristine awareness) and the direct recognition of the non-dual nature of the mind.
Sikhism: While often focused on devotion to one God, aspects of non-duality exist in its teachings regarding the presence of the divine within all.
Modern and Neo-Nondual Approaches
Neo-Advaita (Satsang Movement):
Modern, direct interpretations of non-duality that focus on abrupt, immediate awakening or insight.
The Diamond Approach:
Developed by A. H. Almaas, this approach uses self-inquiry to explore the non-dual nature of reality, combining it with psychological depth.
The Headless Way:
A set of experimental”pointing-out” instructions developed by Douglas Harding to help individuals directly notice the lack of a “self” from their own perspective.
Key Shared Aspects:
While they use different language and methods, these traditions generally converge on the idea that separation is not the final truth, and that recognizing this can lead to liberation, peace, and a profound sense of interconnectedness
Philosophy and science are closing their gap:
Science and Nonduality:
Here is a breakdown of the relationship between science and non-duality where Science Points Toward Non-Duality
Fundamental Interconnectedness:
Modern physics has moved away from viewing the world as composed of separate, solid “billiard-ball” objects. Instead, it sees a world of interconnected energy, fields, and quantum, potentials where the observer and observed are not strictly distinct.
Quantum Mechanics – Observer Dependence:
Quantum experiments, such as the double-slit experiment, suggest that the observer plays a role in defining the reality of the particle, which aligns with the non-dual view that reality is not independent of consciousness.
The “One” Source:
Scientific concepts like the Big Bang theory, which suggest all matter and energy in the universe originated from a single, unified point resemble non-dual, or Advaita (non-two) concepts of a single source of reality.
Subjectivity Studies:
Some neuroscientific and phenomenological studies have begun examining “non-dual awareness” as a valid, distinct, and measurable state of consciousness.
Where Science Differs from Non-Duality:
Methodology:
Science relies on observation (measurement), whereas non-duality is often considered a direct, subjective experience (an “inner knowing”) that cannot be measured or quantified by instruments.
The Subject-Object Split:
Science operates by creating a separation between the researcher (subject) and the thing being researched (object). Non-duality asserts this very separation is an illusion.
Limitations of Language:
Any description of reality is a mental model, which is inherently dualistic, making it difficult for science to fully grasp a “non-dual” concept without turning it into another object to be analysed.
Summary of Perspectives
Materialist View:
Most mainstream scientists still operate on materialist assumptions (that matter is the only reality), though this is increasingly challenged by findings that matter itself is not “made of” solid matter, but rather information or energy.
Complementary View:
Many, including physicists like Schrödinger, have found deep compatibility between Vedanta and modern physics.
Limitations:
Non-duality is often viewed as “non-falsifiable” (cannot be proven false), making it a philosophical or experiential framework rather than a strictly scientific one.
Ultimately, while science does not “prove” non-duality, it has moved from a mechanistic view of the universe to a holistic, interconnected one, leading many to believe that science and non-duality are increasingly complementary, if not identical, descriptions of the same reality.
