Free Will & Destiny…the question and the answer
“The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their prarabhdhakarma. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain
silent.”
“As long as a man is the doer he also reaps the fruits of his deeds, but as soon as he realizes the Self through enquiry as to who is the doer, his sense of being the doer falls away and the triple karma (destiny) is ended. This is the state of eternal liberation.”
The following question/answer gives a further understanding of Sri Ramana Maharishi’s words, by prescribing what needs to be done…
A devotee asks a question to Ramana:-
“ Is there predestination? And if what is destined to happen will happen, is there any use in prayer or effort or should we just remain idle?”
Ramana Maharishi replies:-
“ There are only two ways in which to conquer destiny or be independent of it.
One is to enquire who undergoes this destiny and discover that only the ego is bound by it and not the Self, and that the ego is non-existent.
The other way is to completely kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, by realizing one’s helplessness and saying all the time, ‘Not I, but Thou, my Lord’, and giving up all sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and leaving it to the Lord to do what he likes with you.
Surrender can never be regarded as complete as long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord. True surrender is love of God for the sake of love and for nothing else, not even for the sake of salvation. In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through self enquiry or through bhakti-marga.”
(The Teachings of Ramana Maharishi – edited by Arthur Osborne)
On a personal note, I have found this to be true in life. In situations where one seemed helpless, surrendering through prayer brought strength and calm…all being well.
Bhagavan says in Ulladu Narpadu, “Vidhi madhi moolam vivekam illarke….
“The debate, Whether there is destiny or free will, is only for those who do not know the root of both. The root is ego and the self realized person, who has transcended the ego and abides in the Self, the whole debate is meaningless.”
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Thank you Poonam.. for introducing us to this great Maharishi’s teachings.
And for sharing your experience … and reminding us of the power of prayers
Thank you Rohita… Ramana Maharishi’s teachings seem to answer the questions very simply as one’s experiences happen in this life…guiding us to a way of life through the silence of his teachings… the silence that is the magnifier of all that is.
So beautiful. A trip to treasure
. Thank you
Thank you Sonal 🙂
Most of the statements quoted have inherent contradictions. Take for example – “Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may”. You cannot try, because trying means you have freewill.
“…but as soon as he realizes the Self through enquiry as to who is the doer,…” You cannot realize anything unless it is written in your destiny. Self enquiry means you have freewill.
Destiny is precisely predictable by any high level yogi. Therefore destiny and God are contradictory concepts. Both cannot simultaneously exist. God cannot be predictable by definition, but destiny is. Therefore God cannot exist.
For more take a look at the destiny chapter in https://theoryofsouls.wordpress.com/ The book is free, it also has a chapter on Yogis.
Thank you for your comment. This has been written from a question/answer perspective.
The contradictions are all annihilated in Ramana’s following words…
In the “Reality in Forty Verses” by Ramana Maharishi, he says in Verse 19 – “The debate, Whether
there is destiny or free will, is only for those who do not know the root of both. The root is ego and the self realized person, who has transcended the ego and abides in the Self, the whole debate is meaningless,” says the Verse.
“Free-Will holds the field in association with individuality. As long as individuality lasts so long there is Free-Will. All the sastras are based on this fact and they advise directing the Free-Will in the right channel.
Find out to whom Free-Will or Destiny matters. Abide in it. Then these two are transcended. That is the only purpose of discussing these questions. To whom do these questions arise? Find out and be at peace.”
– Sri Ramana Maharishi (Talk 426, 12th June 1937, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi)
“All the sastras are based on this fact and they advise directing the Free-Will in the right channel.” – That is not correct, it is the reverse, both Bible and Gita say destiny rules. Gita says – “ G.18.61 The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone‘s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” Bible says – “What you sow is what you reap.”
It is very easy to understand that we do not have freewill. You have never done anything without any reasons. But since reasons come before you act, you are controlled by your past reasons. Thus you cannot have freewill at present moment.
Here is an example illustrating lack of freewill – A yogi from India came to visit a research institute in USA during the early seventies. A white American woman came to his office to see him. As she entered his office, the yogi told her to ask some questions. One by one she asked seven questions. Then the yogi picked up a paper from his desk, turned it upside down, and gave that to her. In that paper all her seven questions were already written along with their answers.
Ramana also says – “ God created man; and man created God. They both are the originators of form and name only. In fact, neither God nor man was created.” (0ctober 20th 1936 – Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi)”