Free will vs Destiny

meeta said...

how much is destined and how much is free will?. soham says to gunjan that it is all destined.can destiny be changed by hard work/prayer/penance?
were soham and the psychatrist both destined to die. but miracles do occcur and the psychatrist was saved???
when one brother killed the other in anger was it both brothers destiny or was a life cut short?

11:42 AM

Dear Meeta,

A simple answer would be that free will and destiny are as a double helix intertwined
.
We get born to particular parents; we never had a choice. We were born in a particular country; we had no choice. We were raised in a particular way; we had very little choice. The truth is that all of the above on which we had very little choice have good bearing on how we make our choices.

A lot of events that happen in our lives that we have no control, yet how we deal with them are certainly our choice.

How we act and how others act collectively within a society or how others react to our action has also got a bearing on how shall we act in future. So each “system” that we are a part of, also has a significant bearing on how we make our choices.

This is not the place to discuss the systems and cybernetic influences while exercising a so called “free will”, but it’s enough to say that, many times we merely believe to have made a choice out of our free will, where as the truth is, that a person in fear (which we all are under: fear of some kind) does never make a choice out of free will.

That was also the context in the movie when Babaji tells Soham what he wanted to hear. He was in love with Shwetambari and at that time, to be with her was the only thing that mattered to him. Yet he was afraid to admit it. A “free will” he exercises only when he is enlightened and decides to continue being with her. I say it a free will because that was done, not in fear but in complete awareness.

However what happens to Soham was indeed the destiny.

Let’s now look at a totally different example of destiny and free will.

Taking a particular road is your choice, driving at a particular speed is your choice but a drunk jumping in front of your car and getting injured is the destiny. Again running away from that place and not reporting to police is your choice (i.e. if that choice did exist J ). The most important aspect of this accident, however, would be as to how you deal with it. You can act responsibly with compassion or act like an irresponsible being.

But the question would be, in making that choice, how free is your will? Like if you were aware of the area where accident took place and knew of a case where a driver was lynched for causing an accident, you would possibly run away even though you had real intention to act responsibly.

In a circumstance that you have the option to apply a free will, see if you are free of all prejudice and fear and then make a choice.


To your other question, let’s face it we all are destined to die. But to an aware soul death draws no fear. Soham had gone far beyond death and fear. In fact Shwetambari reflects on this when talking to Dr Bhattacharya that “Sohams” don’t die in Banaras. Dr Bhattacharya seemed to have answer for everything yet under a deep trauma when he abandons all his knowledge, his own mind creates a reality out of his own latent faith.

When one brother kills another it’s a collective response of a system of which they both were a part. Don’t blame one brother alone. He only pulled the trigger. As far the Supreme intelligence, life and death, time and space they are just intent.