Karma - Free will or destiny
The question regarding free will and destiny has arisen in the minds of great thinkers and sages alike for thousands and thousands of years and is nothing new. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously coined the statement “Character is destiny”, proposing that destiny is not determined by fate alone but shaped by the development and refinement of our temperament. “Choice, not chance, determines your destiny”, Aristotle confirmed. In the East, Gautama Buddha came to the same terms by teaching: “Change your perception, and you change your destiny.” Even among modern Western thinkers today, the same idea prevails: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate”, Carl Jung wrote.
In any culture of the world, at any point in history, we will find great thinkers and philosophers who agreed that there must be free will and that we are competent to decide our destiny. Even Krsna himself, in Bhagavad-Gita, the famous yoga classic, concludes his dialogue with his dear friend Arjuna by asking him to exercise his choice: “Now, my friend, after I have explained everything you have asked me about. After I spoke to you about the functions of material nature, the position of the living entity, its entanglement through action (karma), time and the controller of all of them. Will you fight the greatest battle of your life, or will you run away to the forest? The choice is yours. Please deliberate and act as you desire.”
The Vedas emphasise that we all have the freedom of choice. However, we do not have freedom from the consequences of our choices. Every action creates a reaction. This is commonly known as karma. We can choose to go for a holiday with our friends or stay back and work extra hours, but in either case, we will have to experience the fruits of our actions, such as a fun weekend with lots of expenses or laborious tasks but financial revenue. Many people don’t realise, however, that the reactions to our actions expand far beyond our momentary perception and reach far into the future. Our choices at every moment ripple in the future, not only today but also tomorrow, the next week, month, year, and even future lifetimes.
Indeed, our actions today are the culmination of actions taken in the past. Let’s say I chose to spend the weekend with my friends, go on a holiday to the beach, go to the pub, drink, eat and be merry. My choices were a response to desires planted in my mind from previous actions - I might have had pleasant experiences in nature, good times with my friends, and the resemblance of pleasure at wild nights in the pub. The next time I plan my weekend, my mind, due to attachments and desire for pleasure, will draw me to the same activities. Thus, our inclinations get stronger, we develop habits and become conditioned. Our life today is a culmination of all our choices, inclinations, and habits from the past, from this life, and the previous.
“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. I am directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine made of the material energy.” The Bhagavad Gita explains that we accept different bodies according to our choices in the past. Our physical bodies and our mental make-up, with all its impressions, inclinations and patterns, allow us to act, but only within their boundaries. The more we act against universal laws and the aim of self-realisation, the more we lose our freedom of choice. We can see this in our own lives when we are challenged by futile attempts to overcome bad habits, addictions, or self-defeating thought patterns. Or, to a lesser degree, when we try to be someone we are not.
“The unborn has many incarnations. He has appeared as the planets to bestow on living beings the results of their actions (karma). He assumed the auspicious forms of the planets to teach the wicked and reward the wise.” The great sage Parasara explains that the position of the planet's birth indicates all the karma that we are coming into this world with. As seeds sown in the field grow during different seasons, a learned astrologer can understand by studying the birth chart when and which karmic seeds will fructify in this lifetime.
Karma is described as being of four types: (1) prarabdha karma: Prarabdha means undertaken and represents the reactions experienced in this life (this can be seen from the birth chart). (2) Samchita karma: Samchita means piled together. It contains the sum total of all actions one has done in the past (this can be seen in the 60th division of the birth chart, called Sashtiamsa). (3) Kriyamana karma: Kriyamana means being done. It refers to activities carried out in this life. Kriyamana karma is the exertion of your free will (this can be read from the Prasna chart). And (4) agama karma: Agama means coming or approaching. Agama karma is the karma created in this life or the next by the power of our desire (Muhurta charts are used to create the best result of the actions one plans to undertake).
Karma appears in our lives with three intensities: (1) Dridha karma: Dridha means fastened, tight and strong. This is fixed karma and very difficult to change. It is the easiest to predict because it has to come to pass, and only very rarely can a person escape its manifestation. In general, a learned astrologer can help by making meaning of the situation and re-directing the energy in other, more healthy and fruitful directions. C. G. Jung said that a person can suffer either neurotically or meaningfully. A skilled astrologer can see the past life actions responsible for the present and thus empower the client with meaningful direction and understanding. (2) Adridha karma: Adridha means not fixed. It can easily be changed by good deeds, the right association, choice or remedial measures. It is the hardest to predict because of its fluctuating nature and the fullest pool of potentiality. Most karmas, however, fall in the realm of (3) Dridha-aridha karma: Meaning fixed but not fixed. This karma can be changed by perseverance, discipline and determination. Most problems in a person's life are a consequence of dridha-adridha karma, and a Vedic astrologer can help the client exert his free will to alter his destiny.
In summary, Vedic astrology does not support the idea of a fatal, predetermined universe but instead understands the cosmos as a playground of action (karma). Negative actions bind us and limit our freedom, while good actions lift and empower us. A qualified astrologer can analyse the pool of your accumulated actions from the past and understand in which areas they are binding and enabling you. With this higher knowledge, the astrologer can guide you to overcome your obstacles and unlock your greatest potential.
