While addressing a gathering of spiritual seekers, I was entreated to clarify a serious perplexity. The questions raised were: "Is our destiny written by someone? Can we change what is forecast?"
During a momentous battle, the Commander-in-Chief decided to attack, even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident that they would win, but his men were filled with doubt. On the way to battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the Chief took out a coin and said, "I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself." He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads! The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a lieutenant remarked to the Chief, "Can destiny be changed". "Yes," the Chief replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.
There is a very widespread belief that destiny cannot be changed. However, the authorized Vedic scriptures reveal that destiny can be changed.
An analogy: If you are in a train and overstep a man’s feet. The man is irked and slaps you. Now what you do determines your future reaction. Let us see it like this:
1. You slap back (You just created a reaction for getting back a slap).
2. You could just rebuke him severely (You just created a reaction for getting a severe rebuke for yourself)
3. You could just forgive (Assuming that it was your karma, you just kept silent and asked for forgiveness. This action of yours has stopped the cycle of slaps. The man could melt and he could have also asked for forgiveness thereby reducing his reaction. So your action can create multiple reactions).
An analogy: If you are in a train and overstep a man’s feet. The man is irked and slaps you. Now what you do determines your future reaction. Let us see it like this:
1. You slap back (You just created a reaction for getting back a slap).
2. You could just rebuke him severely (You just created a reaction for getting a severe rebuke for yourself)
3. You could just forgive (Assuming that it was your karma, you just kept silent and asked for forgiveness. This action of yours has stopped the cycle of slaps. The man could melt and he could have also asked for forgiveness thereby reducing his reaction. So your action can create multiple reactions).
The Roadmap:
This gives rise to the perennial philosophical conundrum of predestination verses free will. There are three elements—fate, effort, and time—which conjointly affect the course of one’s life. For example: A farmer’s crop depends on three factors: planting, rain, and time. Planting represents effort, and rain represents fate. If the farmer plants, but there is no rain, he’ll have no crop. And if it rains but he hasn’t planted, he’ll have no crop. Both fate and effort are required, as is time.
This gives rise to the perennial philosophical conundrum of predestination verses free will. There are three elements—fate, effort, and time—which conjointly affect the course of one’s life. For example: A farmer’s crop depends on three factors: planting, rain, and time. Planting represents effort, and rain represents fate. If the farmer plants, but there is no rain, he’ll have no crop. And if it rains but he hasn’t planted, he’ll have no crop. Both fate and effort are required, as is time.
If we act properly and perform pious activities, we are awarded good fortune, and if we act sinfully, we have to suffer. Over time, good fate manifests as situations favorable to our endeavor and bad fate as unfavorable situations. Destiny may even give us enjoyment or suffering without much endeavor. Winning a lottery, being born in a rich family, or diseased body are examples of this.
By our endeavor we create our destiny: We reap what we sow.
Just like when a man wants to reach a particular destination and takes a flight for it; once he is on the flight he cannot reverse his decision to fly. Similarly, when we are in this body, we have to suffer or enjoy whatever is pre-destined for this body. But if the man picks up a quarrel in the flight with an air-hostess and smashes her, then he will be bound by the law when the plane lands. Similarly when we have received this body, the actions we do in this body will determine our next body and reactions. So whatever has to come will come, but how we react to that will determine what comes next. This is in our hands.
Anchor of Holy Scriptures:
Lord Krishna explains the effect of destiny in the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (15.15). The Lord says, “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge, and forgetfulness.” Later (18.61) He reiterates: “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.” In his purport Srila Prabhupada elaborates: “After changing bodies, the living entity forgets his past deeds, but the Supersoul, as the knower of the past, present, and future, remains the witness of all his activities. Therefore all the activities of living entities are directed by this Supersoul. The living entity gets what he deserves.”
Destiny and endeavor are linked by a third factor: time. Some actions may yield instant reactions, while the results of others may come after several lifetimes. For instance, if I were to punch someone, the reaction would be swift and immediate. But if I were to criticize someone secretly, the reaction would be delayed. In Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu, Srila Rupa Goswami classifies reactions as already manifest (prarabdha) and waiting to manifest (aprarabdha). Some people may perform many pious activities and continue to suffer, while others may be performing sinful activities with apparent impunity. Looking at them we can understand that one reason for this is the factor of time, which separates them from the results of their activities.
Reactions can be Altered:
An important point to understand is that the reactions to our prior activities can be altered. There are two processes for this. The first is prayashcitta, or atonement, and the second is devotional service.
The Vedic way of life prescribes atonement for sinful activities. With atonement, a person voluntarily accepts some penance to offset the reactions to previous sinful activities.
While activities performed in the mood of detachment do not have any reactions, devotional service, performed only for the pleasure of the Lord, goes one step further. It not only stops the cycle of karma; it relieves one from one’s due distress and eradicates the unmanifest desires in various stages of maturity. In Nectar of Devotion (1.1.17), Srila Rupa Goswami describes devotional service, or bhakti, as 'kleshaghni', 'shubhada', which means that if one takes to devotional service, all kinds of unnecessary labor and material distress cease entirely and one achieves all good fortune.
The Trigger:
One can compare the law of karma to a giant computer that constantly creates situations for us by analyzing our past activities and time. How we act in those situations becomes a part of the ongoing computation for the future, and in this way the cycle of karma goes on eternally.
God impartially induces the fallen souls to act in the way that is consequent on the deeds of their previous births and to enjoy the fruition of their labors but, out of His great mercy to His devotees, He purges out, by the fire of ordeal, the root of all karma, viz., nescience and evil desires.
Conclusion:
Therefore, we conclude - Destiny being spiritual in nature, can definitely be reshaped with a spiritual remedy i.e. nurturing a strong fire of determination and engaging in unalloyed devotional service unto the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Article by:
Meghna Choudhury
(H.G. Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)
Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author
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