Karma, Destiny, Fate and Free Will

Karma, Destiny, Fate and Free Will.........Are they mutually exclusive? Do they blend into one another? Do they live cohesively? We each seem to have our own opinion and belief system that lends itself to the understanding of these terms, and somehow presuming they are ‘either …..or’, as in, that karma and free will are a dichotomy with each at the opposite end.

When I did the Pranic Healing course, I remember the sir saying, when I do the course in India, if I ask what karma is, I’ll get an essay from each one, and all different. So true, right? We each have an opinion, but dig a little, and it starts to get pretty nebulous, where does one end and the other begin. Which aspect of life falls under karma and which under Free Will? So,let’s see if we can do some exploring, some unraveling and at the end of it maybe we can each revisit the notion we have and see how it now looks. 

The deepest and most interpreted of words, let’s start with Karma.

To a lot of us karma is actually synonymous with fate, with destiny , (fate and destiny used synonymously here). How often don’t we see people beat their heads and say ‘na karma adi’, or the gesture of drawing a line over their foreheads and say ‘kismat yaar ( fate man), can’t fight it’

Now, strange as it is, Karma literally means ‘action’. And the closest one gets to free will is in action, choice...... in Karma

Contradiction in terms? No, Karma is a word that holds within it the concept of action with its reaction……the well known 'reap what you sow' or ‘every action has a reaction’. So to that extent karma is not just the consequence, as would be the understanding if it was just fate, or destiny but is primarily the action, the first act of Free Will.

At a simplistic level, its about I use my will, my discretion, I make a choice, a decision........there’s action and there’s consequence. Now let’s stretch this to a wider and deeper range. Stretch this over time. Still the same principle. I choose, I act and there’s a consequence. The deeper the action, the more significant the impact, the longer the consequence. When it’s stretched over time, we’re not going to be able to connect the action to the consequence. The consequence will likely be something I am choosing at a later date. Yes, choosing because it's the net impact that you need to experience. So the possibilities externally and the choosing, both become a part of that karmic cycle. What becomes the framework of our existence, the external influences, the choices available and likely the choice we make, would all be part of this consequence.

What constitutes our ability to assess those possibilities and take the decision and implement the action is our persona. And that is again part of the consequence of Karma. Our Free Will here is functioning out of a framework of ego, habit, conditioning, all arising from our karma.....our previous actions. From one perspective it is free will…but from yet another, the thinking itself is determined by the consequences, the experiences needed, the lessons to be learnt. And to that extent it’s the series of opportunities offered to enable you to learn your lessons and evolve our consciousness as we grow. All the opportunities you get are the possibilities from past actions. 

So what then is really Free Will? Free Will is determined by ones own level of consciousness. As you become more self aware, you move in tandem out of the traps of ego, fear, negativity, judgment, worry, and move into being, being in the here and now….that’s when we can experience free will in all its beauty and freedom. It's always available to us.

Once we can use our free will out of awareness and not fear and ignorance, it becomes a different dimension of free will. It’s about how much we can be in free flow. The higher the level of awareness and acceptance the more free the free will, so to say.

Fundamental is that every karmic action is subservient to the human will. The choice is still ours. And that’s free will. And that’s when karma can magically move entirely into our own hands.