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Homer wrote (Iliad): "No man
or woman born, coward or brave, can shun destiny." The ancient Persian
thinker, Omar Khayam also noted in his Rubaiyat: "The Moving Finger writes;
and having writ, / Moves on: nor all yours Piety nor Wit / Shall lure it
back to cancel half a Line, / Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it".
Various religions and the
Tamil work Kural (371 to 377) also talk of the inexorability of fate and
destiny. Bartruhari, the great Sanskrit poet also observes how one will get,
according to his capacity, which is determined through his past actions
(Karma), only what is "written" for him by the creator, Brahma. He points
out that a pot of certain size can be filled up only with a limited quantity
of water regardless of whether it is dipped into a small well or a huge
ocean.
In the sprit, "Man proposes,
God disposes", the Bible too talks about retribution while the Holy Koran
notes, "That which God writes on thy forehead, thou wilt come to it" (Ch. 7,
Rukoo 16).
Though the great writings and
scriptures, as above, are based on intuitive wisdom, these are cited often
as convenient excuses and alibis by fatalists and the indolent to explain
away their ineffectiveness and failures. In this regard, it is pertinent to
note that free will coupled with intelligent action and thought can, to a
large extent, neutralise and make up for the limiting and binding effects of
Karma and destiny. The Bhagawad Gita (4, 19 and 4, 37) and Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras (2,16) also assure that intelligence (jnanagni) can quell the impact
of all Karma whereby difficulties, which would otherwise have ensued, can be
preempted.
This intelligence is obtained
by assiduous study, practice and application (sadhana) cultivating thus a
dominant free will within. Aeschylus observes how even gods join in when a
person is eager and willing, while H W Longfellow sings (Psalm of Life), "
Let us then be up and doing / With a heart for any fate". This is also the
application of W E Henley's concept in his Invictus: "I am the master of my
fate; I am the captain of my soul,"
This, indeed, is the process
of neutralising, making up for and winning over the fetters of all Karma and
retribution. This verily is Yoga, which Bhagawad Gita points out, is " skill
in action" (2, 50) and also "dissociation from pain and suffering" (6,23). |
