The Hindu : Man reaps the result of his actions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 26, 2002

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Man reaps the result of his actions

CHENNAI JULY 26 . There is an element of unpredictability in human life. When everything works to one's advantage a person feels he is lucky whereas when he faces problems and setbacks he curses his bad luck. This has been the layperson's view over generations. One with a philosophical outlook will say that it is fate, which is responsible for man's lot in life. The layperson's attitude is to put the onus on God by considering himself as an instrument in His hands, which amounts to saying that He predetermines everything. This view is called fatalism. Scriptures reject fatalism outright but accept fate. So, it is necessary to understand the difference between fate and fatalism.

Destiny (fate) according to scriptures is the result of the Karma done in earlier lives. What one enjoys in this life is what one reaps as a consequence of previous actions. Assuming that God wills everything in human lives and that they are only puppets in His hands, then no responsibility vests with the individual for his actions. This is the corollary of fatalism. According to the scriptures human beings have freewill to act but has to enjoy the result of their actions, which is destiny. Moreover, there are intrinsic flaws in the theory of fatalism. It makes God the doer and not man. The analogy of a car (man) and driver (God) helps to understand this. In an accident it is only the driver who is penalised and not the car. If fatalism is true then God becomes the perpetrator of all the atrocities committed by all, as humans are only instruments. Not only is this preposterous, but it follows that if God is the doer then He must be the enjoyer also. Then what a tragedy it should become at the cosmic level if it is true. On the contrary it is man who is in bondage.

Further, such a view makes God unkind and whimsical because He gives joy to some and sorrow to others in an arbitrary manner. The Almighty, on the other hand, is an ocean of compassion and impartial. If fatalism is true then the scriptures will become redundant because man is not the doer and hence has no need for ethics. This view also has no room for freewill because it posits that man does not have a choice, as everything is predetermined.

In her discourse, Swamini Satyavratananda said the very fact that human beings had conflicts in life showed that man was endowed with freewill to exercise his choice. Those who profess fatalism are escapists in that they absolve themselves of the repercussions of their actions as they consider God as the one who directs them.

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