What
is the position of Advaita on Freewill?
Apart
from karma, there is scope for free will (called “purushartha”) in human lives.
Good action and good thought can reduce papa and increase punya. Whether free will
or karma will prevail or to what extent free will can mitigate karma depends on
the relative strength of the two. Since there is no way of knowing
what one’s karma is, wisdom lies in doing good actions and entertaining good
thoughts. One should not lose faith in the efficacy of good actions
and good thoughts; good actions and good thoughts are bound to bring about a
better balance of punya papa and, consequently, mitigate suffering and increase
happiness in the present janma itself or in future janmas. Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad, fifth chapter, fourteenth section talks of the beneficial result of
the chanting of the famous Savitri mantra in the Gayatri metre.
There are various other sections in
the Upanishads, particularly Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya, which talk of
beneficial results of meditation on deities. We should extend this to good
actions and good thoughts in general. What physical and mental equipment one is born with, in which
set up one is born and what opportunities are available are determined by one’s
karma. But, in any janma, how one develops one’s potential, how
one makes use of opportunities and how one does action in and reacts to
situations depends on one’s free will.
Factor which operates in our
life is vasanaas, tastes and attitudes resulting from the impressions
of the experiences of our previous lives. Vasanas govern our action in the
sense that towards the same objects, different people have different likes and
dislikes and the same situation different people face with different attitudes.
One loves music; another can’t stand any music One loves swimming; another does
not want even to have a bath. One loses heart at the slightest obstacle;
another bulldozes through the toughest situations. Vasanas of the past can also be changed or overcome by free will,
with determination.
Thus our life is an interplay of Iswara srshti including niyati, our
karma and vasanas and jivasrshti.
The very fact that human beings
have a choice to do a thing, or not to do it or do it in a different way, is
proof of free will. A powerful argument for free will is that, unless you accept free will, moksha will be impossible.
Aspiring for moksha and making use of the opportunities available for
spiritual advancement are matters of free will. Punya karma may even give you
birth in a family of spiritual seekers, but whether you yourself take to the
spiritual path depends on your free will. Papa karma may give you birth in a
family of materialists, but, with your free will, you can transcend those
surroundings and , if your aspiration is intense, you will find the set up
where you can pursue your spiritual sadhana.
If free will
is not accepted, there will be certain other problems:
(i) The commandments
and prohibitions of scripture [ Ntj Gj;jfk; ] will become meaningless. Scripture is advising man to do good actions and
avoid evil actions only because scripture assumes that man has free will.
(ii) If man
has no free will and not merely our karmaphalam but fresh action is also
impelled by Iswara, Iswara becomes responsible for the good action and bad
action done by man. The problem then
would be two-fold. By making some men to do good action and some men do bad
action resulting in punya and papa followed by enjoyment or suffering as
karmaphalam later, Iswara would become partial and cruel. Secondly, if Iswara
is responsible for man’s good action and bad action, no one can be rewarded nor
can any criminal be punished. A murderer will say “I am not responsible for what I did. The Lord made me
do it.”
Since no one knows what one’s
karma is, the best way to act is to do action
according to Dharma.
Dharma in, the modern context, should be defined as principles of
self-improvement, developing one’s potential, putting forth utmost efforts to
achieve legitimate goals, morality – not only personal morality but what may be
called social morality - such as doing
or not doing to others what you would like them to do or not to do to you,
working for the greatest good of the greatest number, adhering to values like
non-violence, truthfulness, charity,
having regard to ecological balance etc.
When one is in doubt in any situation
whether what one is intending to do is right or wrong, there are two ways; follow
the example of great people, if available, or see that your motive is pure and
do what your conscience dictates.
How a person
takes the initiative to create situations, how he faces situations created by
others, how he makes use of the opportunities available to himself to develop
himself, how he reacts to actions, behaviour and conduct of other people, all
these depend on his free will. In the same school, with the same teaching
faculty and library, one works hard and studies well; another with an equally
good brain wastes his time and fails to make the grade. One manages his office, being a friend of
all; another manages the same office as a ring master. The situations we are
faced with is Iswara srshti. How we face
it is Jivasrshti.
Compiled by T.S. Prem Kumar, Madurai, India.
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