INVALIDATION OF FATALISM

Fate is nothing other than a name for our past actions of the earlier state. It can be kept at a safe distance by extricating oneself from one's past fetters by Self-effort, Self-knowledge, Self-realisation, Satsanga, or associating with good company of virtuous people, and study of sacred scriptures, proclaims Yoga-Vasistha (2.6.1-8). The scriptures are disinclined to accept a fatalistic worldview but rather accentuate the need to be aware of Self to transcend fate. They do not support absolute fatalism; rather, they present a dynamic system where the person, while navigating the results of his former state, is the architect of his own future. While the law of Karma might be mistaken for fatalism, the scriptures dictate that present actions can override past, predetermined actions, encouraging responsibility rather than resignation. Whatever one attempts to do, according to Yoga-Vasistha (2.6.2-3), he readily meets with its reward: this being the effect of exertion. Fate is nothing other than the same thing. Men labouring hard are heard to exclaim, "O how painful it is!" So men suffering under fate cry out, "O how hard is fate!" So the one is as bad as the other. Fate is simply the accumulated result of past actions, not an immutable decree. Just as yesterday's bad action can be corrected by today's good one, future fate can be rewritten through Self-knowledge, Self-effort and Self-realisation. The goal is to realise Atman, or Self, or a state of liberation that transcends all Karmic constraints and fatalistic limitations.

 1. Outline 

 One creates one's destiny; that is the law of Karma, or action, according to the Upanishads. Past actions decide the present and present for the future. What goes around comes around. What you put out into the universe in thoughts, words, and actions comes back to you. Every action, whether manifest or unmanifest, subtle or gross, has certain consequences. As you sow, so shall you reap. It reflects the concept of Karma, proffering that how one treats others will ultimately determine how one is treated. It is the universal law of cause and effect.

It is often used to articulate accountability, justice, or the cyclical nature of life. It suggests a flexible approach to life or projects, where one adapts and learns as they engage in activity, rather than having everything planned from the start. The Upanishads (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad) teach that every action, intention, or thought produces a corresponding, inevitable result. It requires participatory involvement by creating positive things that one wants to see. One must learn and practise humility to accept things as they are to change them; denying reality hinders growth. Karmic law believes that change starts from within; one can only control oneself, not one's surroundings. You are the source of your own life; blaming others obstructs progress. Every step and experience, however small, connects to your path. What you put out into the universe (thoughts, words, actions) comes back to you. Self-focus enhances the elevation process of spiritual growth and development. Whatever one gives in energy, kindness, or love, clarity and non-duality of thought and action, will circulate back. The Upanishadic teachings emphasise that dwelling on the past or worrying about the future prevents living in the present. The teachings highlight significant rewards that require consistent effort and discipline as history repeats until lessons are learnt. It signifies that change is inevitable, as every action has purpose and inspires others.

2. Scriptures

 The theory of Karma, according to the Upanishadic teachings, explains that life is not accidental; rather, current circumstances, or Prarabdha, are direct results of past actions and desires, while present actions, or Purushartha, shape future destiny. The teachings emphasise cause-effect relationships. As you sow, so shall you reap. Past actions determine present circumstances in relation to family, environment, life events and opportunities, while current actions shape the future. It says that one is in the Samsara Chakra, or wheel of birth and death, due to unfulfilled gross and subtle desires catalysing Atman, or Self, to take on new bodies to experience the results of these desires. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.4.1-5) pronounces that one becomes good by good deeds and evil by evil deeds. That Self is indeed Brahman, as well as identified with the intellect, the Manas, or mind, and the vital force; with the eyes and ears; with earth, water, air and the ether; with fire and what is other than fire; with desire and the absence of desire; with anger and the absence of anger; with righteousness and unrighteousness; with everything—identified, as is well known, with this, or what is perceived, and with that, or what is inferred. As it does and acts, so it becomes; by doing good it becomes good, and by doing evil it becomes evil—it becomes virtuous through good acts and vicious through evil acts. Others, however, say, ‘The self is identified with desire alone. What it desires, it resolves; what it resolves, it works out; and what it works out, it attains.' Chandogya Upanishad (3.14.1) asserts that the future is in accordance with the determination (Kratu) of man; his own actions, work and conduct led him to his future existence in the form of rebirth. The transmigration of Jīva is individuated in accordance with the quality of the desire. Actions thereby produced results both ways as auspicious or inauspicious, being decisive in determining the further motion. The motion or gati following dharma or adharma is differentiated on account of the quality of  ‘Adrṣṭa’. Whereas earlier the existence surviving after the bodily death was believed to keep on moving by its inherent power (Svadhā), later the force of man’s own past actions came to be believed as the source of his link with the future. The Upanishad notes that what a person wills and acts on, they become. The present life is the effect of past wilful actions. Mandukya Upanishad (55), particularly through Gaudapada’s Karika, teaches that cause and effect are not ultimate realities but are apparent, relative, or transactional. It says that because Brahman, or the Cosmic Self, is unchanging and unborn, it cannot truly produce or become anything. The world of causes and effects is seen as an illusion comparable to dreams. The Upanishad says as long as there is the obsession of cause and effect, so long is the uprising of cause and effect; when the obsession of cause and effect ceases to exist, there is no uprising of cause and effect.

We take the term "obsession with cause and effect" to mean the seeing of cause and effect to be a reality. Cause and effect are assumed by most to be the nature of existence. This assumption goes hand in hand with the acceptance of the reality and birth or origination of objects and phenomena. When originality is seen and realised to be illogical, then the proper implications of cause and effect will be understood and so seen to be non-existent. Thus, then, fate being no other than a name for our past actions, contends Yoga-Vasistha (2.6.4-10), it is as easily overcome by present acts. As some bad conduct of yesterday is corrected by proper behaviour of the present day, so the anterior fate is removed by posterior acts. It says, like two rams, our fate and exertions are fighting with one another, wherein the victory is always on the side of the stronger.

 3. Remarks

According to Yoga-Vasistha (2.6.18–27), present actions destroy those of the previous life, and vice versa, but a man's efforts are always successful. It claims that since the current state's power is clearly superior to the other, the past can be overcome by the present. The more diligent are the most successful because all of our actions are subject to their appropriate time and location, as well as the ways in which they operate and combine in accordance with the natural order, which emphasises the importance of timing our efforts with the right circumstances to achieve the best outcomes. Yoga-Vasistha asserts that in order to cross the ocean of this world, we should rely on our efforts and clarity of understanding with the aid of scriptures and relationships with the wise. It illustrates how humanity's past and present deeds are like two fruit trees growing in a garden, with the best-cultivated one flourishing and bearing fruit the most. If he can't escape his false fate, he's worse than a beast that can't control its pleasure or pain.

 -Asutosh Satpathy