Destiny - some aspects
Sri Krishna Hari Das Satish Gosain
What is destiny? Is it the same as karma, human effort? Some persons find a great deal of difference between the two. King Trisanku, frustrated in his struggles to attain heaven, lamented: daivam eva param manye paurusham tu nirarthakam—“In my opinion, destiny is all-powerful and human effort is futile.” (Ramayana 6.98.23)
He used the word daiva, often translated as “destiny.” Daiva is related both in meaning and etymology to “divination.” It refers to powers that decide man's fate: the demigods (devas), the insurmountable material energy (daiva-maya), and ultimately the supreme controller, the God of gods (devadeva), Lord Krishna.
The reactions of karma stored up for us in the future (aprarabdha-karma) are called adrishta, “unforeseen.” Again we may ask: What is the connection between unforeseen karmic reactions and the higher control of daiva?
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.31.1 clears up the confusion: karmana daiva-netrena jantur dehopapattaye—“Under supervision of the Supreme Lord (daiva) and according to the result of his work (karma), the living entity, the soul, obtains a body.” A conditioned soul cannot foresee how and when he will quit the present body, nor what sort of body awaits him in the next life. Destiny seems to us accidental. The Lord, and the Lord alone, knows all that is in store, past, present and future, for every living entity in the universe.
As we have seen, the Lord warns that the intricacies of karma are very difficult to understand. But actually we can predict our destiny. It is measurable on the balance of worship. Worship of Krishna frees us from material destiny altogether and ushers us into His eternal association. If we worship demigods, demons, ancestors, ghosts, or controlling planets, one thing is sure: we must take birth again and again as determined by the changing modes of nature.
Everyone is suffering and enjoying the result of his own destiny. This destiny is made by the living beings in course of social intercourse. Everyone here wants to lord it over the material nature, and thus everyone creates his own destiny under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. He is all pervading and therefore He can see everyone's activities.
Pain is destined if you choose to remain in material world. Unlimited bliss is destined if you choose to go back to the spiritual world. Your going back or staying here is not predestined. It is your choice. In the ultimate regard, you are the architect of your own destiny.
Fate, or destiny, is the enjoyment or suffering in store for us as the result of our past actions. The Bhagavad-gita states that by performing pious activities one may get promoted to heavenly planets and live a long life of opulence there. But as it is difficult to always determine whether an activity is pious or not, it is more difficult to determine the precise results of an activity. While general indications are given in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and in the sections of Vedas that deal with fruitive activities (called karma-kana), predicting the exact outcome of activities is almost impossible.
Every man is certainly controlled by destiny, which determines the results of one's fruitive activities. In other words, one has a son or daughter because of unseen destiny, and when the son or daughter is no longer present, this also is due to unseen destiny. Destiny is the ultimate controller of everyone. One who knows this is never bewildered.
Others, who misuse freedom, are put into miseries destined by the eternal kala. The kala offers the conditioned souls both happiness and miseries. It is all predestined by eternal time. As we have miseries uncalled for, so we may have happiness also without being asked, for they are all predestined by kala. No one is therefore either an enemy or friend of the Lord. Everyone is suffering and enjoying the result of his own destiny. This destiny is made by the living beings in course of social intercourse. Everyone here wants to lord it over the material nature, and thus everyone creates his own destiny under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. He is all-pervading and therefore He can see everyone's activities. And because the Lord has no beginning or end, He is known also as the eternal time, kala. TQK 11 The touch of Superior Energy.
Everything is moving according to its destiny, and this destiny is also described as "time," since everyone's destiny is revealed and imposed by the movements of time. SB 10.54.14
This is an example of destiny. King Saudasa was condemned by the curse of Vasishtha, and therefore even though he was well qualified he could not restrain himself from becoming a tiger like Rakshasa, for this was his destiny. Tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukham (SB 1.5.18).
As one is put into distress by destiny, destiny can also put one in a happy situation. Destiny is extremely strong, but one can change destiny if one comes to the platform of Krishna consciousness. Karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam (Bs. 5.54). SB 9.9.33
Destiny and Karma:
Destiny and endeavor are linked by a third factor: time. Some actions may yield instant reactions, while the results of others may come after several lifetimes. For instance, if I were to punch someone, the reaction would be swift and immediate. But if I were to criticize someone secretly, the reaction would be delayed. In Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu Srila Rupa Gosvami classifies reactions as already manifest (prarabdha) and waiting to manifest (aprarabdha). Some people may perform many pious activities and continue to suffer, while others may be performing sinful activities with apparent impunity. Looking at them we can understand that one reason for this is the factor of time, which separates them from the results of their activities.
One can compare the law of karma to a giant computer that constantly creates situations for us by analyzing our past activities and time. How we act in those situations becomes a part of the ongoing computation for the future, and in this way the cycle of karma goes on eternally.
We can practically see. Everyone is working with this body in Bombay city. A very poor man is also in Bombay city, and a very rich man is also there. Both of them have the same facilities to work, but we find that one man is working very hard day and night. Hardly he is getting his morsel of food. Another man is earning thousands and thousands, simply by going, sitting in the office. Why? Because the difference of the field of activities. The body is different. Because one has got a certain type of body, his destination is already there. Karmana daiva-netrena jantur dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. We can study this thing that somebody is living in a poor slum and another man is living in a very palatial building. So simply by endeavoring that "I shall live in a palatial building, and I shall not live in this poor slumhole," it is not possible because the destiny is there. Therefore the body is made according to our past karma, and that is called destiny. Your happiness and distress according to the body is already settled up. It is not possible by natural way to improve or disimprove it. Bhagavad-gita 13.8-12, Bombay, October 2, 1973
Once we take a human birth, our destiny is shaped by karma. In the Bhagavad-gita (8.3) Krishna succinctly defines karma as "actions pertaining to the development of material bodies." This means that there are actions we do now that determine our future material births. What kind of actions? We may do the actions, which are motivated by material desires directly for ourselves or indirectly for our extended self—our family, friends, community, nation, and the like. All such acts sentence us to future births in the material world, there to reap what we have sown.
Karma is of two kinds: good and bad.
Every civilized society recognizes a set of commandments that have divine authority and that regulate material enjoyment. Such commandments, for example, restrict the enjoyment of sex to marital relations and oblige the wealthy to be philanthropic. They also encourage religious and charitable acts, which earn the performer merit. And they prescribe atonements for transgressors. Thus people are allowed to pursue material enjoyment, but they must observe moral and religious codes. And those who follow these codes, who live pious lives of restricted sensual pleasure, are assured of even greater enjoyment in the life to come.
If we act according to scriptural regulations, the Vedas tell us, we will produce good karma and in future births enjoy the benefits of our piety. For example, if a person is born in an aristocratic family, is beautiful, well educated, or wealthy, he is reaping the benefits of good karma. The Vedas also tell us that if a person is extraordinarily pious he may be reborn on one of the higher planets in this universe, where the standard of sensual pleasure is far greater than anything we have on earth.
Conversely, there is bad karma. We create bad karma when we disregard scriptural injunctions and restrictions in our pursuit of sense pleasure—that is, when we act sinfully. Bad karmas bring suffering and misfortune, such as birth in a degraded family, poverty, chronic disease, legal problems or physical ugliness. Exceptionally bad karma will take us into animal bodies or down to lower planets of hellish torment.
The law of karma is as strict, relentless, and impartial as the grosser natural laws of motion and gravity. And, like them, it applies to us whether we know about it or not. For example, if I eat the flesh of animals even though I can live as well without it, my bad karma will force me to be born as an animal and to be slaughtered myself. Or if I arrange to have a child killed in the womb, I simultaneously arrange for myself to be killed in the same way, again and again, without ever seeing the light of day.
So when you and I were born we inherited, along with our blue eyes or our black hair, the consequences of our past good and bad deeds. We have a long history, and the happiness and distress our lives will bring is set. We are indeed children of destiny, hostages to fortune, but it is a destiny we created for ourselves, a fortune self-made. And in this life we are continuing to create our future.
When a devotee goes out to spread the message of Krishna consciousness, he is, as you say, trying to change the destiny people's karma has determined for them. But what's wrong with that? Whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, or atheist, a person who lives out his karmic destiny is sure to suffer repeated birth, old age, disease, and death. Only pure devotion to God can break the chains of karma and release us from these four miseries.
For a devotee however, whatever it may be, he takes the opportunity to chant Hare Krishna, and if Krishna’s Grace changes destiny, then it is all right. Nature's law will work. We cannot change that, but Krishna, the Supreme Controller, He can change it; just like if a man is sentenced to be hanged, no one, not even the judge can pardon him, except the king or president. He only can excuse the offender. Similarly, I have to execute Krishna's order, and suppose I have to suffer to execute this order. Therefore, devotional service and the devotee is so dear to Krishna.
Changes in Destiny: Can Destiny be changed?
So far we are concerned, that any living being is destined to a certain position of happiness and distress. By dint of his past activities he gets a particular type of body destined to suffer or enjoy. That cannot be changed. Either you call this fatalism or destiny—every man is destined—that cannot be changed. His intelligence can change only his position with reference to God. His present position is he is forgetful of God and his relationship with God. So this position, forgetfulness, can be changed, and human life is meant for that purpose. So far improvement of economic condition or other condition is already fixed up. One cannot change it. So that is confirmation in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: he is creating his own destiny. Just like it is said, "Man is the architect of his own fortune." Destiny cannot be changed. It is fixed up. Tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido [SB 1.5.18].
Anyone who is very expert and intelligent, he should know that destiny cannot be changed, but he can change his position with reference to his relationship with God. At the present moment he is forgetful of his relationship, but by good association, by Vedic knowledge, by training, he can change his position, and in that way he can improve his destiny also, or he can change his destiny. Karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam [Bs. 5.54]. A person, by engaging himself in devotional service, he can change his destiny. Otherwise destiny is very strong. It cannot be changed. Discussions with Hayagriva Das, Auguste Comte
Devotee (1): ...Krishna knows everything we're thinking and He knows exactly when each of us will give up the material body, does that mean that everything is predestined?
Devotee (2): Krishna knows everything in the past and everything in the future, so can we say it is predestined?
Prabhupada: Yes, so long within these material laws, it is predestined, but according to karma. Karmana daiva-netrena [SB 3.31.1]. You are doing work, you are acting, and that is being supervised by the superior authorities. And you get a type of body that this living entity has worked in this way, he should get this type of body. Therefore, it is predestined. Karmana daiva-netrena. Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. That is being automatically done because a materialistic person is associating with different types of the modes of material nature. So he is forming a certain type of body, sattvic, rajasic, tamasic. Therefore, it is predestined. But karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam [Bs. 5.54], those who are engaged in devotional service, they are not under karma. Their destiny is being prepared by Krishna. Even though they are supposed to be doing ordinary work, but because he has surrendered to Krishna, his destiny is being manufactured by Krishna Himself, not by this material nature. He is not under these material laws. Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.30-31, Mombassa, September 12, 1971
Destiny and Astrology:
O great saintly person, you have compiled the astrological knowledge by which one can understand past and present unseen things. By the strength of this knowledge, any human being can understand what he has done in his past life and how it affects his present life. This is known to you. SB 10.8.5
Astronomical calculations of stellar influences upon a living being are not suppositions, but are factual, as confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The laws of nature control every living being at every minute, just as a citizen is controlled by the influence of the state. The state laws are grossly observed, but the laws of material nature, being subtle to our gross understanding, cannot be experienced grossly.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (3.9), every action of life produces another reaction, which is binding upon us, and only those who are acting on behalf of Yajna (Vishnu) are not bound by reactions. The higher authorities, the agents of the Lord, judge our actions and thus we are awarded bodies according to our activities. The law of nature is so subtle that the respective stars influence every part of our body, and a living being obtains his working body to fulfill his terms of imprisonment by the manipulation of such astronomical influence.
A man's destiny is therefore ascertained by the birth time constellation of stars, and a learned astrologer makes a factual horoscope. It is a great science, and misuse of a science does not make it useless. Maharaja Parikshit or even the Personality of Godhead appears in certain constellations of good stars, and thus the influence is exerted upon the body thus born at an auspicious moment. The most auspicious constellation of stars takes place during the appearance of the Lord in this material world, and it is specifically called jayanti, a word not to be abused for any other purposes.
Maharaja Parikshit was not only a great kshatriya emperor, but also a great devotee of the Lord. Thus he cannot take his birth at any inauspicious moment. As a proper place and time is selected to receive a respectable personage, so also to receive such a personality as Maharaja Parikshit, who was especially cared for by the Supreme Lord, a suitable moment is chosen when all good stars assembled together to exert their influence upon the King. Thus he took his birth just to be known as the great hero of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
This suitable arrangement of astral influences is never a creation of man's will, but is the arrangement of the superior management of the agency of the Supreme Lord. Of course, the arrangement is made according to the good or bad deeds of the living being. Herein lies the importance of pious acts performed by the living being.
Only by pious acts can one be allowed to get good wealth, good education and beautiful features. The samskaras of the school of sanatana-dharma (man's eternal engagement) are highly suitable for creating an atmosphere for taking advantage of good stellar influences, and therefore garbhadhana-samskara, or the first seedling purificatory process prescribed for the higher castes, is the beginning of all pious acts to receive a good pious and intelligent class of men in human society. There will be peace and prosperity in the world due to good and sane population only; there is hell and disturbance only because of the unwanted, insane populace addicted to sex indulgence. SB 1.12.12
Destiny and Death:
Once you take up one body and enjoy as your body's senses dictate, you prepare another body by such sense enjoyment, and you get another body as you want it." There is no guarantee that you will get a human body. That will depend on your work. If you work like a demigod, you will get a demigod's body. And if you work like a dog, you will get a dog's body. At the time of death, your destiny is not in your hands—it is in the hands of nature. It is not our duty to speculate on what material body we are going to get next. At the present moment let us simply understand that this human body is a great opportunity to develop our spiritual consciousness, our Krishna consciousness. Therefore we should at once engage ourselves in Krishna's service. Then we will make progress. TTP 2 We are Spoiling Our Bodies.
Yours Servant
Sri Krishna Hari Das
Dr. Satish Chander Gosain
M.B., B. S., D.N.B.(i) Med
Congregational Preacher, ISKCON Delhi, NCR, Meerut & Panchkula.
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