Self will, more than anything else in the human being, has been identified as the root cause of all evil in the world. Speaking at a level different from that of the material, it is man's self will that spells his own ruin. Of course, in order to achieve one's goals of material wealth, power, prestige and so many other ambitions, it is the human will that has to operate. One needs an indomitable will to win a war, or an election, or even a game. The will also comes in handy while pursuing an idea, an ideal or an ideology for achieving a desired end.
It is however a mistaken notion that the same will, the same drive can enable one to climb the summit of the spirit and reach towards god. This is not so. Self will is in total opposition to god's will. And if god's will is to be done one has to abandon self-will. Even this attempt by one, is the same self will operating at a very subtle level to seize and establish god's will in oneself.
So self-will has to go, but not through your forcing it out. The maximum that you can do on your part is to see for yourself, what self-will has done to you all along, what it is doing at present, and what it is likely to do if you continue with it. In other words, you see the whole picture of self will, and all the implication thereof, in great detail.
It is undoubtedly true that you have achieved most of your targets in life through self will, but you have also realized that it has left you many an enemy, fallen by the way side through your ruthless competition. You have no doubt achieved a lot of fame and prestige, but your constant anxiety now is to protect it, stand guard over it, and not allow someone else to surpass you in the field. You have settled all your progeny in comfortable positions, cutting down others who came in the way, but you are not sure whether these beneficiaries are going to remain loyal to you or love you, according to your expectations. You have practically every thing that man can desire but inside you there is a loneliness gnawing at your heart.
Thus there is something terrible in self will, of which you were so proud. Perhaps it was the same self will that was in evidence in respect of Nadir Shah, Gengis Khan, Hitler or Stalin, when millions were slaughtered under their direction. Please see that if you were in their shoes, you would not a have acted any different, under the given circumstances. Man is capable of descending to abysmal depths, as he is equally capable of rising to the greatest heights in his conduct.
If you can see, really 'see', the horror that self will can perpetrate, you would then avoid it like 'hell', since it destroys your inner peace, and you as a human being. The seeing of this fact, the total seeing, is the flash of understanding, and the simultaneous dropping of the self will. Please note that you did not drop it; you only understood its implications and it dropped of its own accord.
Does the dropping of self will mean that one becomes soft and malleable, chickens out whenever action is demanded, gets manipulated and exploited by others? Oh, No! When self will, or action based on one's own choice is seen for what it is and gets dropped, one need not fear a vacuum. One does get an intimation of the action needed under all circumstances, through choiceless awareness of 'what is'. Since self-will is now not operating, such action is spontaneous, and invariably right. One may not know the source of such action, and it is also true that it may not be immediately profitable to you at the material level on certain occasions. But it takes care of you at a higher level thus ensuring your good on a long term basis.
The word' hell' in the quote is not important. Whether there is such a thing
as 'hell' or not, is of little consequence. But right here, on earth, self will
itself is hell. Let it get burnt out in full, and see for yourself how you emerge
from the ashes, fresh, light and joyful.