The way of the bird

dies. The relationship is one of total dependence. But the beauty of the Self is that it is
always already there. He is the One who is living in this body, and He is always free and
independent of it.
3.13 "I don't do anything. The body does it."
If, in the evening, you look back on the events of the day, you see how many different
things you appeared to do during those hours. You seemed to be acting consciously,
though sometimes you can distinguish actions that happened completely mechanically,
without thinking, from other actions that required some thought or preparation. Whatever
the actions were, you are still here, remembering them. Although you may not have been
aware of it at the time, you were also there when any of those actions were taking place.
You remain always, whatever experiences come and go, as the witness of those events.
The body does the actions, prompted by the mind, but you are not affected by them
because you are unchanging. Identification with the body makes you believe that the
actions are your actions. That freedom from action is already yours, you only have to
realize it.
3.14 "Free will means no bondage."
The ego imagines that free will means the freedom to do whatever it wants. This seems
desirable because it knows intuitively that it doesn't have that freedom now. The seeker
understands that there is bondage, but may not understand that it is because of the "I"
concept. He or she imagines that liberation will somehow bring about that freedom of
action. That concept of unconstrained action is still there. But the realized person does
not operate on that basis. For him or her free will means harmony with what is, as it is. If
that were not so; that is, if such a person were not able to accept whatever happened, then
he or she would not be free at all. So free will means liberation from the bondage of the
ego, which is based on the false concept that "I" am the doer. When that concept of
doership is gone, the question of free will does not arise.
3.15 "`I don't exist.' That is the real free will."
The concept of free will is really something of a joke. In the West, it is often regarded as
axiomatic; certainly it is enshrined in Christian dogma. On the other hand, in the Sanskrit
language, and in the Indian languages derived from it, there is no word for free will. The
concept just doesn't exist. It is taken for granted that everything happens as a
manifestation of divine law. Maharaj is therefore being rather playful here, when he says
that the real free will comes when there is the understanding "I don't exist." He is
pointing out that in reality, there is nothing like free will. The concept only arises in
ignorance, because of the notion that "I am the doer." Choice exists as long as you
imagine that you are doing something, but if there is no concept of doership, then there is
no concept of free will either.
3.16 "Tomorrow never comes."