Our life is an outcome of our Destiny/ Karma or free-will
Karma: (Noun) The sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Free-Will: (Noun) Voluntary choice or decision.
Have you ever wondered that some people you meet during the course of your life seem to have been associated with you for a long time, when the fact is the two of you would have probably just met. And then more the time you spend with that person, more the realization and a strong sense of familiarity develops. Yes I know…I may be hinting towards the concept of reincarnation or rebirth, etc. but not really. I am talking about destiny, or fate as someone would like to call it. But what exactly is destiny and how does it affect our present and future lives? I, personally, do not believe in reincarnation or rebirth but if I recall the Many Lives, Many Masters book, Dr Brian Weiss too was a skeptic who slowly started believing in this concept and slowly he started becoming an authority on this subject. So, over a period of time, I have come to a conclusion that just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean it’s not present. Just because you do not believe in something, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Even our brain can deceive us in some extreme emotional situations and even our own eyes can deceive you. Eyes could be wrong because our eyes will see only what we want to see or want to believe.
Coming back to destiny, I have reasons to express why I do not believe completely in the past life and the destiny or fate associated with that. I do believe people meet for a reason, or things were ordained to happen for a reason because of some higher superior power which we call destiny but after that it all depends on how you fulfill your destiny. I mean, how you react to your happening and how you take it forward decides the fate of that relationship or the development in your personal or professional world. I have come across some people who have told me that we broke up because it was destined and that maybe our karma defined the breakup. Well, I would like to believe in the latter and not just blame it on destiny. Maybe, if you are a believer, destiny made you come together but your karma in this life will define your state of affair today. I strongly believe whatever we do — good or bad — will have repurcussion in this life itself. There cannot be an after-effect of past life or the later effect in your next life, if there is something like a rebirth, that is. I have written in the past too that whatever we do we should be ready for the repurcussion. That means we will have to either enjoy or suffer the result of our acts.
The other perspective of Karma is our free-will. All of us (well, atleast most of us) have the liberty of free-will in today’s generation. We choose to act in a certain way because we have the liberty, the free will to do so. But if we are conscious that the repercussions would have to be handled in this life itself, perhaps we would be more careful, and less casual.
Destiny, karma, and free-will defines our life. Things happen to us, we get lucky breaks in our work, we find our dream partners, we get lucky, OR we lose our dear ones, our relationship turns sour, or our business ventures never takes off, and for all of this, we give credit or pass on the blame to destiny. If destiny was so strong and powerful, then what was the use of karma? Even if our karma was bad, or none whatsoever, if destiny has something planned for us, we would still get it, right? Nope…I don’t believe so. We need to exercise our free-will and act and live our lives in the best possible manner. All we need to do is good acts, kind acts, and acts that define as humans. If our karma is good and we have lived a good life, nothing bad can happen to us. And if something has to happen because of our past deeds, a solution will also emerge.
We all need to believe in the power of our free-will and karma and not in destiny or fate. Today if we do things fearing the rebirth, we are bound to fail as we are being mindful of something that is abstract. Let’s be realistic, if I may say so, and do things or do not do things thinking that the repercussions would be in this very life. This will lead us on the path of virtue and guide us to do things for the betterment of us as well as people around us. Our actions and for that matter, our inactions determine the quality of life we live — our karma.
I have myself seen people who alter their course of life and actions fearing karma and it’s repercussions. Howsoever wrong, bad and sad it feels, finally if you look at the broader scenario, we realise that whatever is done fearing the repercussions of Karma is well thought of and beneficial to the overall health of not just yourself but others affected by your actions. As against that, people like me believe in free-will. We do not believe in taking decisions and actions out of fear of some unknown. I, for example, believe in the power of our decisions and am ready for the repercussion. I have never ever felt remorse or guilt. Not because I am thick skined 😁, but because I have given it enough thought before I initiated. Once you are ready and have worked towards your decision, how and why should you feel remorse? “Live life as it is presented to you” should be the aim. One should develop that mental capacity to handle situations in a manner they are presented. Life is fair…it’s not unfair (https://medium.com/@snehalkaria/life-is-fair-it-isnt-unfair-681af128937a) means that we are given life as a gift…we should know how to make the best and most out of it. Fear of the unknown shouldn’t dictate your actions.
Free-will is powerful and can change the course of your life if handled with care. The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate can boost your self-confidence and can prepare you for the worse. And once you are ready for the worse and hoping for the best, feeling remorseful or guilty should be out of question. At the same time, taking and deciding upon actions based on the fear of Karma and it’s repercussions can make you feel safe and can protect you from unseen circumstances for which you are not prepared. Karma is all powerful because it is based on your past life or current life’s past deeds…whereas free-will makes you stronger, more confident, and prepared for the future of this current life. Re-birth? Well…is there a thing like a re-birth? 🤔
Ending thoughts…
According to Paul Harrison, creator of The Daily Meditation, the law of humility is based on the principle that you must be humble enough to accept that your current reality is the result of your past actions. At the same time, Tejal Patel, a mediation and mindfulness expert says, “Karma is a philosophy of how to live our lives so we can truly become the best version of ourselves and live the most fulfilling life we desire.” Using our free-will to live our life the way we want and desire, using karma as a set of powerful guidelines, can ensure that our thoughts, actions, and deeds are directed towards making us a better human because finally it’s all about energies- positive and negative. All our actions generate equivalent energies and these energies affect the way we live. “Our life is an outcome of our Destiny/ Karma or free-will.”
