Part-I: Of Karma and Predestination

Does a belief in predestination negate free will? Does predestination make efforts unnecessary? The normal arguments against a belief in predestination are all focused on these questions. Thus, whether or not the hypothesis of predestination is true or not, a belief in predestination is seen as detrimental to human progress.

Hindu philosophy has to be seen holistically. From the very earth from which the idea of predestination arose also sprang the Gita saying ‘Karmanyevadhikaraste ma phalesu kadacana’. This and the verses of Karma Yoga enjoin people to action without regard to whether or not such action would lead to success or failure. Thus, even if the results of the action are predestined, it is prescribed as the duty of the person to act.

In one form, you could see predestination as a form of self counseling. If your actions yield success, a belief in predestination would keep you from becoming arrogant about the success since you would not consider the success as the result of your own inimitable brilliance and hard work. If your actions fail, you would not get depressed since you would ascribe the failure to predestination rather than your own unworthiness.

The Hindu religion, probably, was not created to act as a home-made psycho-analyst for people. Thus, predestination is probably considered as the truth of the way the universe is rather than as a fiction to keep people sane. Then, if what happens to you is all predestined where, then, is the role for free will?

Assume that you are predestined to kill your grandfather and inherit property. You could want to inherit the property, push your grandfather down the stairs and inherit his property. You could love your grandfather but slip on the floor, bump into your grandfather and knock him down the stairs. In either case, predestination is served. Are both occurrences one and the same? So, if you are destined to kill your grandfather, you might as well go ahead and plan his murder since there is no room for free will?

As long as you see results exclusively in the realm of what is getting done, you would see predestination as something that negates free will. The moment you start seeing that the motives for what gets done are also important, you can see you have free will in deciding what motivates you. That, to me, is a far higher freedom.

The other aspect that predestination does not pre-define is the way you react to what happens to you in the world. You could feel rich with USD 1 million, Anil Ambani would feel poor with it and, a Saint, would be indifferent to the presence or absence of the money. Predestination would only define that you would have USD 1 million and not how you feel about it. Free Will, again!

What you get may be predetermined whether or not you put in efforts. The efforts, themselves, alter you as a person and changes the way you view what you have as well as how you see the world. If you are destined to be a millionaire, you could become one either because you earned your way or because someone gave you a hand-out. It is a miserably stunted person who would view both as being the same.

Efforts matter because they determine the sort of person you are and how much respect you have for yourself. Free will exists in determining the motives and in dealing with consequences. Predestination, thus, has room for both efforts as well as free will.

You can read the next two parts here - Part II and Part III