Morality, Choice, Free-Will, and Responsibility

In our everyday experience, we often think of ourselves as a separate “Self”-a permanent entity that is distinct from everything else in the world, including other people and things. This sense of separation can lead to anxiety, fear, and other forms of suffering.

Non-duality offers a radical shift in perspective. Instead of seeing ourselves as separate from the world, we start to see and experience everything as ONE interconnected whole. The line between “a personal self” and “not-Self” blurs, and everything becomes one. Initially, this can feel overwhelming and even scary, leading to confusion, anger, and sometimes even causing belief in wild superstitions. But, over time, we come to understand that everything just is, that there’s no one in control, and reality is simply a dance of cause and effect.

The idea of “morality,” “choice,” “free will,” and “responsibility” in this context needs to be rethought.

I’ll share my perspective, but keep in mind that I’m still working through this myself. I’m not fully in the non-dual state yet, so this is just a theory and may evolve over time. Take it with a grain of salt.

I write this mostly to construct a framework for looking at this stuff. I surely do not intend to script this into anybody else’s way of looking at things, or to teach or preach. Also, to be brutally honest – none of this is my making. I did not invent any of this, nor did I discover these. At best, I am recreating this from what I have read, heard, and learned from others, based on what I see in my meditation practice.

With all the time spent on the cushion (meditating), certain new realities are showing up – which I am simply unable to ignore or brush aside. It’s calling for a radical new way to look at everything and live from it.

I highly doubt if “I” am doing any of this. This too seems to be happening all on its own, much like everything else.

What’s Non-Duality?

I have already written this paragraph before, I’ll just repeat it here to set context.

Non-duality offers a radical shift in perspective. Instead of seeing ourselves as separate from the world, we start to see and experience everything as ONE interconnected whole. The line between “Self” and “not-Self” blurs, and everything becomes one. Initially, this can feel overwhelming and even scary, leading to confusion, anger, and sometimes even causing belief in wild superstitions. But, over time, we come to understand that everything just is, that there’s no one in control, and reality is simply a dance of cause and effect.

I started noticing hints of non-duality as I switched from observing the arising of sensations to observing the peak and eventually observing their passing away. The more I saw sensations passing away, the more it seemed like all of reality was collapsing and disappearing into a void. While the experience of this is not stable 24×7, there are enough hints that are nudging me into knowing that all of this reality is just illusions sprouting out of that one non-dual Brahman, only to disappear into it.

Having seen this, I feel that the idea of “morality,” “choice,” “free will,” and “responsibility” needs to be rethought in this context.

Morality

Morality is a natural by-product of living from non-duality. When one experiences all of it as ONE, everything will seem like it is “mine”. There is no in-here vs out-there—all of it is out-here. In such a worldview, there is no need for an artificial construct of morality. Quite naturally, life will flow in perfect harmony with everything there is.

Choice

Choice, in this view, is not about controlling outcomes but about taking action without the need to control the result. Sri Krishna Paramathma said it best: The only real choice we have is to act in line with what’s needed and wanted, while completely letting go of any attachment to the outcome.

Why is that?

The universe is vast and interconnected. Everything—every event and moment—has happened due to an endless chain of causes, perhaps starting with the Big Bang, but I suppose it started even before. The reason you experience this moment is because everything from galaxies to solar systems to life on Earth has unfolded in just the right way to bring you here. In this sense, it’s not a “tiny Self” controlling everything. The entire universe, in all its complexity, participates in the unfolding of each moment.

A “tiny-individual-self” can’t possibly control such an enormous, interconnected dance of causality, not even the tiny-body-mind-system it seems to embody. So, the only real choice we have is to act without trying to control how things will turn out.

Responsibility

In the context of non-duality, responsibility means stepping back and allowing oneself to align with the flow of the universe. It doesn’t mean being passive or doing nothing; it’s about engaging with life without thinking there’s a “separate self” pushing the actions.

Choice and responsibility are deeply connected. While choice is about letting go of control over outcomes, responsibility is about taking action without attributing it to a “separate self” who’s making it happen.

At its core, responsibility is about letting go.

But what exactly do we need to let go of?

• Let go of the idea that there’s a “personal self” doing anything.
• Let go of the idea that the results of actions happen to a “personal self”, which includes success, failure, or anything in between.
• Let go of the illusion that there’s a “personal self” in control, pulling the strings.
• Let go of placing too much importance on anything, like superstition, failure, success, or feedback.

The most responsible thing we can do is let go and allow things to unfold naturally, without resistance. When we resist, that’s when things like superstition, beliefs in wild theories about cosmic forces, and intense feelings of failure or disappointment arise. But left alone, the body-mind system is fully capable of navigating the world and its challenges. The problem is, we often interrupt that process with our constant need to control or judge.

Being truly responsible is about not injecting the idea of a separate “personal self” into the mix.

Free Will

The term “free will” is a bit of a contradiction. Will is force, while “free” means no force. So, bringing them together doesn’t quite make sense.

But, if we define “free will” as the awareness that everything happening in the universe is a result of causes and conditions—and not because of a separate “personal self”—then we might be closer to the truth.

Every idea, intention, and plan that comes up within you isn’t from a separate “personal self” pulling the strings. It’s simply a result of the interconnected cycles of cause and effect. You didn’t create the human being—you stepped into the firmware of a body-mind-complex that already had a momentum of its own, with intentions, ideas, and plans shaped by past causes (genetics, civilisation, social conversations, era-specific habits, points of view, and so on…)

A Concrete Example: Starting a Business

Let’s bring this down to a real-world example. Suppose you want to start a business.

• Free Will is the understanding that the intention to start a business didn’t come from a separate “personal self” within you. It’s just a natural result of living in a time and place where starting a business is a thing. You didn’t create the human capacity for entrepreneurship. It’s just how things unfolded in your life, as a natural sequence of cause and effect.
• Morality (and ethics) is the consideration that comes about from knowing everything as ONE, which naturally leads to ways of being and acting that are in perfect harmony with everything there is.
• Choice is about acting on the desire to start a business, but without trying to control how it turns out. Once you start the business, the entire universe participates in bringing outcomes—success or failure—based on countless factors beyond your control.
• Responsibility is about engaging with the business fully and without reservation, but without identifying yourself as the “doer” of the actions. The body-mind system will do what it knows to do, in perfect sync with everything else in the universe. Your job is to step back and allow it to happen, knowing that the results aren’t up to you.

Final Thoughts

If all of these terms seem like they are describing the same thing, then you are not mistaken. Standing in non-duality, these are not separate ideas. They are all just ONE, much like everything else.

As I have stated before, none of this is my invention. It’s not new or original. In fact, this idea was shared thousands of years ago by Sri Krishna Paramathma, who said, “Take action, but let go of control over the results, and don’t take ownership of any result that shows up”. By ownership, I think he meant to advise that we shouldn’t ascribe a sense of “personal-self” to whom those results belong. That isn’t the same as saying: don’t take care of the result, or don’t deal with the result. It means don’t suffer the result, they are not yours anyway.

The body-mind system is perfectly capable of interacting with the world and producing results. These outcomes aren’t because of a separate “personal self”—they’re just part of the universe’s ongoing dance of cause and effect. When you stop trying to control everything, you free yourself to act more naturally, without attachment to the outcomes. You become more of a witness to life as it unfolds.