Destiny or Free Will!!

by Vikas Varshney

What  is  final  decision  about Destiny &  free will?  “Does Astrology  teach  fatality?”  “Do  the stars  indicate circumstances or conditions over which  the  individual can have no control?””Does  Astrology  help  us  find  our  true  niche  in  the  Universe?”  These  are  very  loaded questions and due pondering is required. ‘Tamaso maa Jyotirgamaya’ … Take me from darkness to the eternal light. This prayersays that we always want to be positive, lively, and energetic, with the power of our Soul,which is divine. It says God is our friend. Let us learn to make God Himself our friend, get out of the clutches of Fate and Destiny and expand our free will. Let us meet God with our free will today and everyday for the rest of our lives.

To find out an answer to this question we must start with the premise that there is somepurpose in creation of the universe and everything therein works in accordance with a pre-arranged sequence wherein there is no chaos and man is just a small component of the whole marvel. The purpose of human life in this scheme of things is to make man perfectand thus free him from the cycle of repeated births and deaths (moksha) Many learned people say that there is nothing called destiny or fate. This line of thinking says that human beings have the option to take decisions using their free will.All our successes, failures and actions are governed by the decisions we take. If we take correct decisions and act accordingly, no one can prevent us from achieving what we want to. If we fail,it must be due to something gone wrong on account of our own shortcomings.

Theory of free will will does not answer the question of differences between different people at the point of their birth. Why one is born to rich parents and another to poor ones? Why are some children born healthy and some sick or crippled in some way? And such other similar questions are unanswered.The Bhagavad Gita has been advocating nishkama karma – desireless action – since time immemorial. It says “Your choice is in action only, never in the result thereof. Do not be the author of the result of action.The reincarnation theory also states that the consequences of actions (Karma Phala) need not necessarily be experienced in the present life; they can be carried over into future lives. Because of this, several sub-divisions of Karma have been postulated.

Sanchita Karma:The store house of unexhausted Karmic end results accumulated from previous births.

Prarabdha Karma That part of one’s Sanchita Karma which started bearing fruit and must be worked out in the present life. Prarabdha is often translated as destiny.

Agami Karma:Consequences of new Karma getting accumulated in the present lifetime on account of current actions which is carried forward into future lives. This theory implies that all events are predestined. There is nothing called free will. We are all like instruments in some grand design and nothing else. All our thoughts and actions are
predestined.

The third school contends that both destiny and free will work side by side in human activities. It says that free will is not exclusive but is included in destiny. Hindu philosophy does not entirely accept any one theory viz. destiny or free will. If destiny is the only deciding factor how is it possible then that the seeds for future births can be sown in the present birth which is dependent on one’s free will? If no initiative is taken in life and everything is left to destiny it is a mere escape from responsibility to perform one’s own duties and is fatalism. Bhagavad Gita reiterates that none can remain without performing action even for a second.  On the other hand if absolute free will alone is going to be the determining factor, then why many of our efforts result in failures despite sincere and honest efforts while many other actions succeed where no sincere efforts are made?

TO BE CONTINUED..