Fate Is Free Will

Westerners are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of destiny. The Hindus, however, are very conscious that the actions we perform lead to a corresponding karmic result. Sooner or later we get our reward or our comeuppance. The Mahabharata says that just as a calf can always find its mother, no matter how large the herd of cows its mother has wandered into, so the karmic results of actions we performed in past lives eventually and inevitable seek us out.

The Hindus definitely believe in fate. The paradox is that we create our own fate through the use of our free will.

Karma can be strong or weak. If it's strong, a particular karmicly  predetermined event will almost certainly occur. If it's weak, you may be able to dodge the bullet. The three levels of karmic magnitude are :

< Flexible : We can easily deflect this karma.

< Medium : We can change this karmic pattern if we make a substantial effort.

< Fixed    :   There is nothing humanly possible we can do to prevent this karma from playing out. Only God can alter fixed karma.

Maybe you paid $60 for tickets to a world Federation Wrestling match, but on the night of the match you , but have a cold and don't feel like going. You hate to throw away the $60, but you stay at home in bed anyway. The karma you set in motion- to go to a wrestling match was flexible. It was easy to change.

Suppose you spend twelve years in medical school learning to be a doctor. Then just as you're about to graduate you decide you hate dealing with whining sick people, and you'd rather be an architect. Now you have to lay out lots more money and lots more years going to architectural school. It look to modify the flow of your karma, but you managed it.

Maybe you know of a politician who's repeatedly been accused of graft, who's been in one sex scandal after another, and who never made a promise he didn't break. Yet he keeps getting elected back into office! His fixed karma propelling him into government positions is still in effect in spite of his enemies' efforts to point out his incompetence and corruption. For this lifetime, at least, he continues to enjoy the benefits of positive karma earned in past lives.

If the karma we've got coming to us is good, everybody's happy. But if we're experiencing a spate of bad karma, we may want to look into some of the traditional Hindu methods for paying off our karmic debts.