Destiny and Free Will
Swami Paramarthanandaji answers one of the most frequently asked questions on destiny and free will at the end of his talks on नारद भक्ति सूत्र - nārada bhakti sūtra.
The question is "Is everything in our lives predetermined? What is the role of free will if everything is destiny?"
Swamiji categorizes this question into three parts and answers them.
Please listen to 12 minutes of Swamiji's audio as per the link below.
Definition of Action - karma
Sanskrit word for action is karma. And destiny = karma phalam - is fruits of our actions. Swami Dayananda defines karma - action is as below.
कर्म - कर्तुं शक्यम् अकर्तुं शक्यम् अन्यथा वा कर्तुं शक्यम्।
karma - kartuṁ śakyam akartuṁ śakyam anyathā vā kartuṁ śakyam |
Action – may be done, may not be done or may be done differently.
We have svatantraṁ - a free will to perform a particular action, not act or act differently.
Swami Paramarthanandaji answers one of the most frequently asked questions on destiny and free will at the end of his talks on नारद भक्ति सूत्र - nārada bhakti sūtra.
The question is "Is everything in our lives predetermined? What is the role of free will if everything is destiny?"
Swamiji categorizes this question into three parts and answers them.
Please listen to 12 minutes of Swamiji's audio as per the link below.
Definition of Action - karma
Sanskrit word for action is karma. And destiny = karma phalam - is fruits of our actions. Swami Dayananda defines karma - action is as below.
कर्म - कर्तुं शक्यम् अकर्तुं शक्यम् अन्यथा वा कर्तुं शक्यम्।
karma - kartuṁ śakyam akartuṁ śakyam anyathā vā kartuṁ śakyam |
Action – may be done, may not be done or may be done differently.
We have svatantraṁ - a free will to perform a particular action, not act or act differently.
- Q1: Is free will itself because of our destiny?
- Answer: Yes
The very possibility of free will in human beings is because of our destiny. Because free will is not available for other living beings. Animals and plants do not have free will. Only human beings have the free will.
So if I should deserve free will, I need to get a human birth. And the human birth itself is because of our pūrva janma karma alone.
So we can say that free will is available to us because of our karma phalam - destiny. - Q2: Are our options for the choices because of destiny or free will?
- Answer: Both
We come across very many situations in life. And often we have to choose among many options. The various options in one's life are determined by destiny to a great extent, because we are born in a particular culture.
Even to choose mokṣa, we should be borne in this culture. Because many other cultures do not have a concept of the mokṣa as per our vedic definition.
They have got some kind of salvation like going to eternal heaven etc. But if I have got the option to choose self knowledge, it is mainly because of my birth in this culture. And therefore we can say that to a very great extent the options themselves are determined by destiny.
We have some free will in going to a different country for further studies and settling in that country. Afterwards, we may choose various things from that environment. What is acceptable to one culture may not to be acceptable in vedic culture. Examples would be alcohol, non-vegetarian food and such.
That means free will also determines and changes the type of options available to us.
Both destiny and free will determine the contents and options of our choices. - Q3: Once we have the varieties of choices, is the process of choice is solely determined by destiny?
- Answer: No.
Because I have a control over choosing an action. In fact this is the greatest blessing. We have a choice between श्रेयस् - śreyas and प्रेयस् - preyas and we can choose either one of them.
Śreyas is something that is good for all, something that is above dharma and adharma. Whereas preyas is the result of dharma. Any good action produces a result for you, such as prosperity, pleasure, and so on. Śreyas is other than this, more than this; it is mokśa.
We are faced with many choices in our life: Go to Bhagavad Gita class or not; Get married or not. We have got a free will to choose among them.
Because of pūrva karma and because of the upbringing I might have certain tendencies - vāsanas- inclinations. These vāsanas will try to influence my choice.
If the parents have a particular way of life to which a child is exposed, then it is easier for the child to pick up that way of life, because of the influence.
But still our choices are not totally governed by vāsanas. Because we have got a will to learn the śāstras and decide whether I should go by my vāsana, adopt as per dharma or against my vāsana.
I am not totally forced by vāsana. My vāsana tells me to choose what is not right. But vasana can only tell me. Vāsanas of a diabetic tell one to eat sugar. Buddhi - intellect makes that person to avoid sugar.
Vāsanas are only one of the factors of influencing the choice. We have got the option to learn, to understand, to assess and overrule the demand of vāsana .
This has been emphasized by Kṛśṇa in Bhagavad Gīta.
Everybody has vāsanas. Everybody has rāga and dveśa - likes and dislikes. Mind will keep on asking us to make our choices without consideration to any criteria.BG 3-34
इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ।
तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ॥
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāgadveṣau vyavasthitau |
tayorna vaśamāgacchettau hyasya paripanthinau ||
There is attachment and aversion with reference to every sense object. May one not come under the spell of these two because they are one’s enemies.
There are many values involved in a moral order - non-injury (ahiṁsā), the absence of deception, speaking the truth, compassion, sharing, the absence of jealousy, the absence of hatred and so on - all of which are connected to each other. With reference to the behaviour of others, we are very clear. Thus, this particular knowledge is with all of us and is gathered by common sense. Duryodhana had this knowledge and so did the Pandavas. However, problems arise because of our priorities, which is why we settle for compromises.
Mind can only produce the desire. Vāsanas influence up to the production of the desire . But whether the desire should be implemented through action or whether I should ignore the desire, is determined by my will.
Then what should you do? Censor the vāsana. If they are śuba vāsana- implement it. If they are aśuba vāsana- get rid of it.Krishna says - tayor na vaśam āgacchet - Do not come under the spell of likes and dislikes. May your life be governed by dharma and not by vāsana.
Is our choice in life is governed by destiny? The answer is that it is not. It has to be and it can be governed by the free will. Not only it can be governed by free will, all our śāstra tells that it should be.
And if it is not governed by free will, there is no difference between the human beings and animals.
Suresvaracharya scolds such people: buddha dvaita satatvasya yateshtacharanam yadi shunam tattva drisham chaiva ko bedhah ashudhi bakshane.
If the discriminative human beings also live according to the dictates of their vāsanas, without bothering about dharma or adharma what is the difference between the intelligent human being and the road side dog?