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by Jayaram V
Contrary to the popular belief, Hinduism does not advocate fatalism
of the purest kind. In fatalistic thinking there is no place for free
will. Every thing is already
preordained and you have little choice,
other than follow the plan determined for you by God. Hinduism
recognizes the importance of both fate and individual free will in the
life of a human being. Man is responsible for his actions. At the same the
world is considered to be a product of God's creation, in which the real
doer is actually the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God. Nothing
actually happens without His knowledge or consent. We are but His
creation, either directly as some schools believe or through Prakriti,
His dynamic energy, as some other schools believe. So are our actions.
The world is an extension of Him and also every movement and object in
it. But man because of his ignorance and illusion considers himself to
be the real doer and suffers from the consequences of his actions. When
people consider themselves to be the real doers and perform actions, out
of their egoism and delusion, God gives them freedom to exercise their
free will and makes them responsible for their actions. So they become
involved with Prakriti and remain bound to the cycle of births and
deaths, suffering from the consequences of their own actions and the
limitations caused by the power of maya or delusion. But if a devotee of
God surrenders himself completely to God, accepts God as the real Doer
and performs actions with a sense of detachment as an offering to God,
he is freed from the positive and negative consequences of his actions.
God takes care of his life and looks after Him with great care and
attention. In ancient India there were some schools that believed in
fatalism, also known as determinism. One such well known sect was known
as the Ajivaka sect. They believed in passive living and considered all
human effort as mere waste of time. Gosala was one of the chief protagonists
of this sect. Both Mahavira and the Buddha were his contemporaries and
spent several years in his company before they parted their ways due to
irreconcilable differences between them and Gosala on some aspects of
the doctrine of the sect, especially fate and free will. Both Mahavirta
and the Buddha believed in karma, while Gosala believed in niyati or
determinism, according to which the world moved in a predetermined way,
in an orderly fashion, according to a well laid out universal plan in
which each being developed in the direction of its destiny following its
svabhava or disposition and sangati or chance. In the philosophy of
Ajivakas, there was no place for free will. All human effort was just a
waste of time. Every being was subject to fate and had to live
accordingly. Hinduism does not endorse the fatalistic approach of
Ajivakas. Neither it endorses the mechanical approach of Jainism and
Buddhism towards the law of karma. In
contrast to Buddhism and Jainism,
which do not acknowledge the existence of an absolute cause, in Hinduism
God is the Universal Lord of all. He not only creates the worlds, but
keeps a watch on all of them. Some times He interferes with their
working, in order to keep balance and order, either directly or through
an incarnation, emanation or some other means. If moved, He will cancel
the karmic effects of an individual and grant Him whatever boons He
deems fit, including salvation. God is thus not a mere spectator,
but controller and regulator of dharma also. While Hinduism does not actually
endorse a pure version of fatalism, an average Hindu does believe in
fate. He considers it to be a decision of God made for him exclusively.
The popular belief is that Brahma, the creator, writes it on the
forehead of every being before they are sent into the world. However the
fact is that what he considers to be fate is in reality a product of the
karma of his previous lives, or the unfinished karma, that he brings
along with him at the time of his birth. Karma is believed to be of four
types.
- Sanchita Karma. It is sum total of the accumulated karma of
previous lives. It is the burden of your past, which is in your
account and which needs to be exhausted at some stage in your
spiritual journey.
- Prarabdha Karma. It is that part of your sanchita karma which is
currently activated in your present life and which influences the
course of your present life. Depending upon the nature of your
actions, you are either exhausting it or creating more karmic burden
for yourself.
- Agami Karma. It is the karma that arises out of your current life
activities, whose consequences will be experienced by you in the
coming lives. It is usually added to the account of your sanchita
karma.
- Kriyamana Karma. This is the karma whose consequences are
experienced in the near future or distant future, but in this very
life.
As can be seem from the above, what we believe to be fate in Hinduism
is but Prarabdha karma that we bring along with ourselves from our
previous lives or kriayamana karma, which we have incurred in the recent
past and need to exhaust in this very life. While an average Hindu may consider it to be a writing
of Brahma on his forehead, in reality it is created by himself, out of
his egoism and delusion, which he needs to overcome some day in order to
become completely free from all the effects of his actions. While this logic leaves a pessimist with a sense of desperation, an optimist find in it a great opportunity to turn the tide over and
recreate his future through careful planning and deliberate action.
Hinduism therefore does not intentionally breed fatalism, but provides an opportunity to every individual to shape his future and
if he is inclined spiritually, to liberate himself from the world of births and deaths by 1. developing detachment, 2. controlling desires, 3. cultivating mental stability, 5. performing good actions, 6. devotion and 7. complete surrender to God. True liberation comes when one achieves self realization and becomes free from the cycle of births and deaths.
Suggested Further Reading
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