The karmas and our destiny

[Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian]

Jonathan Bricklin wrote:

>A belief in predestination is a first step only in deconstructing the
>self.  A belief in free will, on the other hand, is a rope tied around >the
 ankle to keep you from realizing the state of non-action.

No one denies that _if_ the same person follows the dictates of shAstra
with respect to dharma. However, unfortunately, most persons who tout
this "There is no free-will" idea also claim "I didn't want it, I am
just drinking wine without volition", "I didn't want it, I am doing X
without volition", "I didn't want it, I am doing Y without volition"
etc. X, Y etc are all things which the shastra-s prohibit, since they
lead one away from realization. In this case the one who claims
non-volition and flouts dharma is no better than a hedonist, actually
worse. In this case he is glorifying indulgence as philosophy and
nothing could be more foolish. naishkarmya siddhi is attained only when
there is complete purity of mind, not by repeating "there is no
free-will" ad-nauseam. Do you agree?

Ramakrishnan.