Karma vs. Destiny – What Determines My Future? Swami Tadatmananda

Many people are confused about the role the results of our past karmas, good and bad. that both effort and destiny have in deter- But unknown to Yudhishthira is the fact that mining our futures. Having been asked Draupadi, when still a child, had learned about this many times over the years, I came about the doctrine of karma from a great to realize that a major source of confusion is scholar. So in Chapter 33, Draupadi apolo- the way we define and understand the word gizes for her earlier complaint and proceeds “destiny.” to explain how Ishvara's apparent unfairness What exactly does the word destiny mean? can be properly understood. Here is an The dictionary gives several meanings, fur- abridged version of her explanation to ther complicating the matter. Also, the way Yudhishthira. you happen to define the term may or may Draupadi said to Yudhishthira: not be consistent with the dictionary’s mean- ings. It will be much easier to understand अाताहं लपामीदम् इित मां व भारत | this topic if we temporarily set aside that भूय वलपयाम समनातबाेध मे || ārtāhaṁ pralapām īdam confusing English word. Let us turn instead iti māṁ viddhi bhārata to traditional Sanskrit terminology and bhūyaś ca vilapiṣyāmi teachings about the doctrine of karma. sumanās tan nibodha me (33.2) There is no specific scripture dedicated to O Yudhishthira, I was overcome by misery explaining the doctrine of karma. However, when I complained before. And I will proba- we find lucid teachings on this topic scat- bly complain some more. But now, please tered throughout the scriptures, including the listen to me carefully. Mahabharata. In the third book of the Maha- उथानमभजानत सवभूतािन भारत | bharata (Vana Parva), Yudhishthira and his wife, Draupadi, while exiled to the forest for यं फलमत कमणां लाेकसाकम् || utthānam abhijānanti twelve years, engage in an extended dis- sarva-bhūtāni bhārata course about karma. pratyakṣaṁ phalam aśnanti In Chapter 31, Draupadi complains to karmaṇāṁ loka-sākṣikam (33.6) Yudhishthira, “You are always righteous, Everyone knows that past karmas yield later yet you were banished to the forest. On the results because everyone experiences other hand, Duryodhana ignores righteous- those results. We all observe this. ness (dharma), yet he now revels in the com- The doctrine of karma is confirmed by our forts of the palace. This is unfair and I blame day-to-day experiences. Whenever we try to Ishvara (God) for this unfairness!” do something and fail to get the result we In the next chapter, Yudhishthira responds expect, the hidden force of karma is re- by explaining the doctrine of karma and the vealed. Even when we do everything right, laws according to which Ishvara dispenses the outcome of our efforts sometimes goes wrong due to the presence of unseen, unpre- priately directed towards our goals, the out- dictable factors. Scientists call these factors comes are sometimes different than what we “hidden variables.” We call it “karma,” expect. Just as the swimmer's path is divert- more accurately, karma phala, the deferred ed by the force of the river's current, similar- results of our past actions. ly, the outcome of our efforts is diverted by According to the doctrine of karma, every the force of karma. This so-called karmic action yields two results, one immediate, current exists due to the fructification of our and the other deferred. The immediate, visi- past karmas. ble result of an action is called drishta The path of the swimmer is determined by phala–seen result. The other result does not two factors: the swimmer's effort and the take place immediately; it remains in abey- river's current. In the same way, the outcome ance until fructifying at a later time. That is of every action is due to two factors: our ef- called adrishta phala–unseen result–because fort, prayatna, and the deferred results of it does not occur at the time of the action. our past karmas, adrishta phala. This two-fold result constitutes the funda- The karma that affects us in this life is called mental principle upon which the entire doc- prārabdha karma, literally, those karmas trine of karma is based. which have started to fructify. And those It is adrishta phala that accounts for the un- prārabdha karmas bear their fruits accord- seen, unpredictable factors in our lives. The ing to the laws of karma. The laws of karma, unseen force of karma is often illustrated by like all laws of nature, are part of Ishvara's the example of swimming across a river. In creation. All such laws are manifestations of spite of swimming directly towards the des- Ishvara's intelligence, the intelligent order of tination, the swimmer's path can be diverted the universe. And since the laws of karma by the current of the river. are Ishvara's laws, we say that Ishvara is the giver of the fruits of action, the karma phala dātā, the one from whom we receive the re- sults of karmas we committed in the past. That which comes from Ishvara (who is also called deva) is indicated by the word, daiva. Since prārabdha karma comes from Ishvara, it is often called daiva. Thus the word daiva means the results of our past actions which are given by Ishvara, as Draupadi explains:

याप कपुषाे दं नाम लभयुत |

दैवेन वधना पाथ तैवमित िनतम् || In this example, the swimmer's chosen di- yac cāpi kiñcit puruṣo rection represents our efforts to achieve a diṣṭaṁ nāma labhaty uta daivena vidhinā pārtha goal. The Sanskrit word for effort is tad daivam iti niścitam (33.15) prayatna. Even when our efforts are appro- Whatever (results) a person obtains, being धाताप ह वकमैव तैतैहेतभररः | ordained by Ishvara, that is known as daiva. वदधाित वभयेह फलं पूवकृतं नृणाम् || When Draupadi says, “ordained by Ishvara,” dhātāpi hi svakarmaiva we must understand that Ishvara is not like tais tair hetubhir īśvaraḥ an impulsive business owner who treats his vidadhāti vibhajyeha employees nicely when he’s in a good phalaṁ pūrva-kṛtaṁ nṛṇām (33.19) mood, and poorly when he’s in a bad mood. Ishvara, the giver of the results of action, Ishvara is the God of the cosmos, not an an- gives the result of each deed according to thropomorphic being with superhuman pow- the action previously done by a person. ers and a quirky personality who lives in a Ishvara is manifest in creation as the intelli- heavenly domain somewhere. Unlike a ca- gence of the universe, as the cosmic order. pricious boss, Ishvara ordains everything Ishvara’s intelligent, cosmic order includes according to universal laws and not accord- the laws of nature according to which kar- ing to some whim or fancy. Ishvara, as kar- mas bear their fruits. Through these laws, ma phala dātā, the giver of the fruits of ac- Ishvara ensures that the adrishta phala re- tions, is impartial – giving us desirable re- sulting from every act we commit eventually sults for our past good deeds, and undesira- fructifies in our lives, either later in the pre- ble results for our past sinful deeds. sent life, or in a future life. After describing daiva, the second of the ययं पुषः कत् कुते वै शभाशभम् | two factors that determine the outcome of an तातृवहतं व पूवकमफलाेदयम् || action, Draupadi now turns to the first fac- yad dhyayaṁ puruṣaḥ kiñcit tor, prayatna, effort. kurute vai śubhāśubham tad dhātṛ-vihitaṁ viddhi यवयं कमणा कत् फलमााेित पूषः | pūrva-karma-phalodayam (33.20) यं चषा ं तपाैषमित ृतम् || yat svayaṁ karmaṇā kiñcit According to each action a person does, phalam āpnoti pūruṣaḥ good or bad, the result of that action is giv- pratyakṣaṁ cakṣuṣā dṛṣṭaṁ en by Ishvara. tat pauruṣam iti smṛtam (33.16) As noted before, Ishvara does not act capri- Whatever result a person obtains through ciously, but instead, impartially gives the one's own actions – results seen with one's results of each action according to the laws own eyes – is called paurusa. of the universe. But exactly how do the laws Paurusa means born from personal effort; it that govern karma work? When will the de- is synonymous with prayatna. With our ferred result of a particular good karma fruc- prayatna, we perform various actions which tify in life? And precisely when will we re- produce both drishta phala, immediate re- ceive the undesirable result of a particular sults, and adrishta phala, deferred results. sinful action committed in the past? Next, Draupadi elaborates on Ishvara's role The subtle, complex laws of nature that gov- as karma phala dātā, the giver of the fruits ern karma appear to be beyond human scru- of our actions: tiny. Scientific inquiry is useless because science can only study what is observable, with free will. And with that free will, we not something unobservable like adrishta can exercise effort, prayatna. phala. Fortunately, a general understanding Some people try to deny the existence of of these laws can be gained through scrip- free will, claiming that we are completely ture and simple reasoning, as this chapter powerless and that Ishvara controls every- shows. But detailed knowledge about when thing without exception. But the entire doc- and where our past karmas will fructify is trine of karma depends on the existence of known only to Ishvara. The laws of nature free will. Without free will, we cannot act. If that govern karma are a manifestation of we cannot act, how can we accrue karma? Ishvara’s intelligence; they are a product of Free will is a prerequisite for action. The Ishvara’s mind so-to-speak. And who among existence of free will is supported scripture us can truly know the mind of God? and by our daily experience. After all, we Draupadi explains Ishvara’s intelligent or- experience ourselves as having free will, not der: as being “puppets on strings.”

तेषु तेषु ह कृयेषु विनयाेा महेरः | To explore the role of free will and prayatna further, let us return to the example of सवभूतािन काैतेय कारययवशायप || teṣu teṣu hi kṛtyeṣu swimming across a river. A skillful swim- viniyoktā maheśvaraḥ mer can compensate for the river’s current sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya by swimming at the correct upstream angle. kārayaty avaśāny api (33.22) According to each individual action, Ishvara determines the results. Thus all beings are helpless, under Ishvara's control. We are helpless to the extent that we have no choice over which past karmas will yield their results in the present moment. The fructification of our past karma is metaphor- ically in Ishvara's hands, not ours. But even though Ishvara establishes the so-called In spite of the current, the swimmer can karmic current we encounter each day, we reach the destination directly by adjusting still have the ability to use prayatna, effort. his direction to offset the force of the cur- Even though we have no choice over situa- rent. In the same way, we can compensate tions born due to past karmas, we are always for the so-called karmic current in our lives free to respond to those situations in any by making skillful adjustments in the efforts way we choose, using our free will and we make. You actually do this every day prayatna. without even thinking about it. If traffic is heavy on one road, you take another route. If We are not mere puppets behaving as you are running late for an appointment, you Ishvara commands when he “pulls our eliminate something from your schedule. strings”. Ishvara has endowed each of us We are all masters of this art of compensa- paścāt prāpnoti karmaṇā tion; we instinctively respond and adjust to buddhi-pūrvaṁ svayaṁ dhīraḥ the karmic current in our lives. puruṣas tatra kāraṇam (33.23) We can exert a wide range of efforts. To un- Having mentally chosen a goal, it is then derstand the maximum and minimum limits obtained through action. In this case, the person causes the result. of effort, consider the following two exam- ples. When swimming across a river, if the Ishvara has endowed all of us with free will. current is weak and the swimmer is strong Because of this free will, we can exercise enough, he could even swim directly up- prayatna in every situation, even when past stream. In the same way, if the karmic cur- karmas are bearing their fruits. By employ- rent in our lives is weak and our effort, ing prayatna, we can compensate for the prayatna, is strong enough, we can directly force of those past karmas. oppose the effects of our past karmas in a But prayatna is not all-powerful. Our physi- given situation. cal strength is limited. Our mental capacities On the other hand, suppose a weak swimmer are limited. Our time, money, and other re- confronts a river whose current is tremen- sources are limited. So when we find our- dously strong. If the swimmer tries to cross selves frustrated by obstacles born of past the river, he would certainly be doomed to karmas, and we lack the capacity to over- failure. But even then, the swimmer is not come those obstacles, what can we do? Of completely helpless. He can choose to wait course, we can always seek the help of oth- and not jump in! In the same way, when the ers. And in addition to that, we can seek karmic current is so strong that we cannot Ishvara’s help. We can pray. overcome or compensate for it, we are nev- But then, how does prayer help? If every- ertheless free to change our plans. We can thing depends on just two factors – prayatna choose not to commit ourselves to a doomed and the results of our past karmas (daiva) – effort. We commonly respond like this when then what is the purpose of prayer? First of we encounter strong karmic currents in life. all, we must recognize the fact that every For example, someone with weak math prayer is a karma. Prayer can be a mental act skills will probably choose a profession oth- (mānasa karma), an oral act (vācika karma) er than engineering. or a physical act (kāyika karma) like ritual Thus we are never completely helpless. Re- worship. Since prayer is a karma, it must gardless of the situations our past karmas produce an effect, phala. And that effect, produce, we can always use our effort, like for every other karma, is twofold: prayanta, to respond to each situation intel- drishta phala, the immediately experienced ligently and effectively. Draupadi affirms result, and adrishta phala, the result that this fact: will fructify sometime in the future. The drishta phala of prayer is the calmness, मनसाथाविनय पाााेित कमणा | inner peace, and comfort we usually feel as बुपूव वयं धीरः पुषत कारणम् || manasārthān viniścitya a result of praying. Anxiety and agitation can be major obstacles to accomplishing our rything is due to effort (prayatna)." In three goals. Prayer helps remove obstacles like ways the results of action are explained. anxiety, thereby helping us reach our goals. We have seen before that the outcome of Returning to the river example, suppose a every action is determined by the combina- swimmer jumps in the river and suddenly tion of prayatna together with the results of realizes the presence of a powerful current. past karmas given by Ishvara (daiva). These The swimmer might start to panic and thrash two factors were depicted by the river ex- about in the water. But if the swimmer takes ample. a few moments to calm down, he can figure In this verse, Draupadi describes three kinds out the direction and strength of the current of people who fail to properly understand and make the necessary adjustments to reach the doctrine of karma. The first group claims his goal. In a similar way, the drishta phala that everything happens by chance, that is to of prayer can help us. It can prevent us from say, the result of every action is completely being overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, random. When you toss a coin, it will land thereby empowering us to respond to a chal- on one side or the other randomly. But is a lenging situation in the best possible man- random outcome like this true of all our ac- ner. tions? Certainly not. Like any other karma, prayer also has An element of randomness in the outcome adrishta phala, the deferred result, which of our efforts can occur because randomness will bring a blessing into our lives sometime is part of nature, as in the toss a coin. But to in the future. There is no guarantee that the claim that the outcome of every action is adrishta phala of our prayers will fructify completely random implies there is no when and where we want. Prayer is not a cause-effect relationship whatsoever be- magic incantation. Prayer cannot coerce tween our actions and the results they pro- Ishvara into fulfilling our desires. Prayer duce. And that is contrary to our experience, simply invokes Ishvara's grace. And we can to common sense, and to science. use all the grace we can get! The second group of people Draupadi de- Next, Draupadi explains how people misun- scribes believe that everything is ordained derstand the doctrine of karma: by Ishvara, that is, everything is due to daiva alone. But this belief denies the existence of सवमेव हठेनैके देनैके वदयुत | prayatna, the other of the two factors we पुषयजं के  च द ् ैधमेतयते || sarvam eva haṭhenaike have examined in detail. Just as the river’s diṣṭenaike vadanty uta current is one of two determining factors, so puruṣa-prayatnajaṁ kecit too, what Ishvara ordains is just one of the traidham etan nirucyate (33.30) two factors that determine the outcome of an action. Some people say, "Everything happens by chance." Others say, "Everything is or- The third group believes that the outcome of dained (ie. due to daiva)." Others say, "Eve- every action is completely and solely under a person’s control. They believe that prayatna alone determines the outcome. But kiñcit kiñcid eva svakarmataḥ these people deny the existence of daiva, the puruṣaḥ phalam āpnoti results of past actions given by Ishvara. By caturthaṁ nātra kāraṇam (33.32) ignoring daiva, they delude themselves One receives results partly due to what is about the complex reality of the world by ordained (daiva), partly due to chance, and failing to appreciate that there are many un- partly due to effort (prayatna). There is no seen and unpredictable factors that affect the fourth cause. outcome of every action. Here, Draupadi summarizes what has been Suppose you were swimming across a river taught throughout this chapter. The results and you falsely believed that your effort of our actions are not pre-ordained, nor are alone was decisive. Because of this false be- they random, nor are they completely under lief, you would ignore the river’s current. our control. It is the confluence of these fac- And as a result, you could never reach your tors that determine the outcome. To deny goal. On the other hand, suppose you ob- any of these factors is to be willfully blind to served the river’s current and wrongly con- the complexity of life. And that blindness, cluded that your efforts would be useless like any disability, would make us less ef- because the current alone was decisive. In fective in reaching our goals. that case, you would not even try to swim To be skillful and effective in life requires towards the far side and be swept directly that we be flexible enough to make adjust- downstream (towards a dangerous water- ments when things go wrong. But some fall). people are less than skillful when they de- These scenarios illustrate the danger of mis- clare, “This is my destiny. There is nothing I interpreting the doctrine of karma. If you can do about it.” This kind of self-defeating assume that everything is under your per- attitude arises due to the misinterpretation of sonal control, you will fail to appreciate and the doctrine of karma. And this misinterpre- adjust for the unknown, unpredictable fac- tation can be traced to confusion about the tors due to the fructification of your past word, “destiny.” We set this thorny word karmas. And if you assume that everything aside before; let us consider its meaning will be determined by your past karmas now. alone, you will fail to exert the effort needed The dictionary defines destiny as: (1) the to compensate for the karmic currents in life. events that will necessarily happen to a per- In both cases, you would fail to achieve your son in the future, (2) the hidden power be- goals. On the other hand, an intelligent per- lieved to control what will happen in the fu- son acknowledges and accepts all the factors ture; fate. that can affect the outcome of an action, as Neither of these definitions are consistent Draupadi explains: with the teachings in this chapter. Contrary कैवाठाकत् कदेव वकमतः | to the first definition, the results of our past पुषः फलमााेित चतथ ना कारणम् || karmas do not predetermine or predestine kiñcid daivād dhaṭhāt any particular event in our lives. Our past karmas certainly affect our lives, but be- because Sanskrit words can indicate com- cause we are always free to exert effort, plex ideas that cannot be conveniently trans- prayatna, those past karmas alone cannot lated by a single English word. Consider the determine our futures. complex meanings of the following Sanskrit The second meaning of destiny–a hidden words which are often imprecisely translated power that controls the future–is also incon- as destiny: sistent with Draupadi’s teachings. Past kar- bhāgya: Derived from bhaga which means ma does not have exclusive control over our prosperity or glory. It often means blessings. lives. It is but one of the factors involved, as daiva: That which comes from deva, the verse above says. The basic problem Ishvara, specifically, the fruits of our past with the word “destiny” is that it implies actions given by Ishvara. predetermination or predestination of specif- ic events that will happen in life. There is niyati, vidhi, dishta: Ordained, that which nothing in the doctrine of karma to support has been ordained by Ishvara, the karma this view. phala dātā (giver of the fruits of action.) Then why do so many Hindus use the word, None of these Sanskrit words mean destiny destiny? I believe its use is rooted in Indian in the sense of predetermination or predesti- history and culture. Muslims have dwelled nation. Indeed, such concepts are foreign to in India for centuries. Their religion, culture, Hindu culture and religion. and language have become interwoven to Draupadi then concludes: some degree into the dominant Hindu socie- ty. As a result, it is not uncommon for Hin- कुवताे नाथसमे भवतीित ह भारत | dus to use words like kismat and nasībh िनवेदाे ना गतयाे ावेताै य कमणः || when talking about their karma. These two kurvato nārtha-siddhir me words explicitly mean destiny. They indicate bhavatīti ha bhārata nirvedo nātra gantavyo events that are predetermined or a power of dvāvetau hyasya karmaṇaḥ (33.47) predestination. One should not despair, thinking, “In spite of These words belong to the Urdu language effort, my goal cannot be reached,” because and are of Persian or Arabic origin. They are there are two other causes for every result not derived from Sanskrit, the language of (daiva and chance in addition to prayatna). Hindu scriptures. Therefore, it is safe to as- Here, Draupadi shows us the benefit of un- sume that these words reflect Islamic culture derstanding the doctrine of karma–it helps and religion, not Hindu. us cope with the unpredictable ups and There is no Sanskrit word that means desti- downs of life due to factors we can neither ny as it is defined by the dictionary. Yet, foresee nor control. A proper understanding some Sanskrit words are often translated as of the doctrine of karma empowers us to an- destiny. There are two reasons for this im- swer questions like, “Why do bad things precise translation. One, the influence of Is- happen to good people?” The Biblical reli- lamic culture and religion in India. And two, gions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – constantly struggle with this question. They presume the existence of a power of evil (Satan) that causes all misfortune. But then the question must be asked, “Why would an all-good and all-powerful God allow the power of evil to afflict us so unfairly?” According to the doctrine of karma, every- one, no matter how pious they are, has committed sinful acts in past lives. So, even pious people are subject to suffering the consequences of those past sinful acts in the present life. Thus the doctrine of karma easi- ly answers this vexing question (Why do bad things happen to good people?) without needing to introduce dubious and undesira- ble ideas like a power of evil. How did Draupadi come to understand the doctrine of karma so thoroughly? Her knowledge seems to surpass that which Yudhishthira shared with her earlier. Here, at the end of this chapter, Draupadi finally reveals the source of her wisdom:

ाणं मे पता पूव वासयामास पडतम् | साेऽा अथममं ाह पे मे भरतषभ || brāhmaṇaṁ me pitā pūrvaṁ vāsayāmāsa paṇḍitam so 'smā artham imaṁ prāha pitre me bharatarṣabha (33.56) Long ago, a learned brahmin once lived with my father. He taught all this to my father and to me, O Yudhishthira. Thus it is that Draupadi attained thorough knowledge of the doctrine of karma. With such a deep understanding, she had much to teach not only to Yudhishthira, but to all of us who study the Mahabharata.