Free-will vs Pre-determination (Gita)
From the Bhakti List Archives
• August 21, 2002
SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.
The analysis continues¡K
To refurbish our memory:
What has been established so far is
> the ¡¥desire¡¦ to do something (freewill) is
controlled by the karmic reactions that one is going
to experience and facilitated by the thri-guNya that
is attached to the jiva.
What we gather from reader response:
(both in private correspondence and to the list) is
> there is a positive vote for positive action (read
freewill) at least for doing prapatti.
What we can do now:
„« The best authority to give us the exact position on
this notion is the Gita, seconded by Srivachana
Bhooshanam (SVB) most part of which deals with the
jiva¡¦s mentality in the act of prapatti.
Therefore an attempt is being made to deduce what BG
says on this.
The methodology followed is similar to what Ramanuja
has done ¡V in combining bheda and abheda sruti with
ghataka sruti by means of Antaryami Brahmana.
As we sift through, we find verses (in BG) supporting
freewill (to the jiva) and no free will too. To bridge
the dichotomy, are there verses in the BG is a big
question. Shall we explore?
PART-1
At the outset, we shall make it clear
that there are certain nithya karma which must be
done. There is no question of volition (freewill) of
the doer here.
¡§ Niyatham kuru karma¡K¡¨ (3-8)
Likewise there are certain other actions which can not
be given up, like
¡§Yagya daana tapa:karma na thyajyam¡¨ (BG-18-5)
(donot give up yagyam, daanam and tapas)
The importance of yagya is stressed in verses 3-9 to
3-15 (BG).
Verse 3-11 explains how Devas and manushyas are
benefited mutually by yagyam. The yagyas such as
agnihotra energise the Devas (in Agnihotra, Vaayu
Devan is energised) who in turn help in maintaining
the balance of nature. These yagyas must be done for
the sake of doing ¡V no question of freewill is
attached to these.
Taiitriya upanishad speaks of these three as ¡¥must be
dones¡¦ - as regular duties.
It says that the ¡¥rhutham¡¦ (rhythm) of Nature must
be maintained¡V {rhutham vadishyaami ¡V and- rhuthanja
swaadhyaaya pravachanEcha - meaning, (respectively)
¡¥we shall sing in praise of (or glorify) the rhythm
of nature¡¦ and ¡¥maintaining the rhythm / balance of
Nature must be done as a duty¡¦}
No attribute of whether one wills it or not arises
here. (explanation of what is daanam and tapas can be
traced to Taiitriya upanishad, chapter I-9 (on tapas)
and I- 11.3 (on daanam) which are in the nature of
nithya karma)
Once again the Lord in BG says (18-7),
¡¥Niyathasya tu sanyaasa¡K na upapadhyathE¡¦
(giving up nithya karma is not right)
It is then inferred that that which has to be done as
nithya karma is not attached to any prayathnam or
effort nor desire or freewill.
PART-2
The question now is ¡V¡§are there any karma which the
jiva must do as if longing to do / desiring to do /
making efforts to do / on its own volition?¡¨
Yes, BG says ¡¥yes¡¦
# ¡§yathatE cha thatha:bhooya: sam sidhdhou¡¨ ¡V(6-43)
( the yogi who is born with the yoga saadhana budhdhi
keeps trying to reach perfection/ moksham)
# The Lord as a kind of Commandment tells the jiva
(Dhananjayan in the context)
¡§mayi Eva man Adhatsva¡¨ (12-8)
(Keep your mind in mE)
# if you can¡¦t, try to like (aasai) Me (maam ichcha
Apthum), by doing ¡¥abhyaasa yogam¡¦ (12-9)
# If you can¡¦t, do ¡¥madh karma¡¦ -for my sake.
¡§madh karma paramO bhava¡¨ (12-10)
# if you can¡¦t, ¡¥madh yogam Ashritha¡¨ (12-11)
(surrender unto Me)
Such a person is dear to ME, so declares the Lord.
The above quoted verses indicate that the jiva must
try to make efforts to do certain things (as
mentioned)- the final step of which seems to be
¡¥surrender¡¦.
There is the charama sloka which conveys some effort
on the part of the jiva which ¡¥can be interpreted¡¦
as jiva being capable of acting on its own.
In the Part-1 of this mail, we found that there is no
question of freewill in carrying out nithya karma.
In Part-2 (above) we found that the jiva is ordained
to do karma, particularly, the act of surrender. If
the jiva does surrender, it is natural to assume that
it is doing so on its own volition.
PART ¡V3
These verse apart, it must be borne in mind there are
verses which speak on the contrary.
(1) For example, verse 3-5 of the BG says
Due to the connection with
¡¥Prakruthi jai gunai¡¦, the jiva does the karma
¡¥a-vasha¡¦ ¡V without being under its own control,
the jiva does the karma under the influence of
prakruthi-gunas.
(2) When the jiva realises that it is prakruthi ¡Vand
prakruthi alone- which is actually facilitating the
performance of karma, it is then the jiva starts
seeing (pashyathi) (the Truth ¡Vby implication).
Verse 13-29 says,
¡¥prakruthya Eva cha karmANi kriyamANAni sarvasha:¡¦
(prakruthi alone is doing the karma ¡Vthe explanation
as to how this is possible can be found in previous
mails)
The jiva which understands that AthmAnam is ¡¥a-
karthAram¡¦ (he is not the kartha for the performance
of karma) actually sees (pashyathi) ¡VSees what? -the
Truth, Satyam, the Brahman.
(3) On the other hand, it is the jiva, which has
aham-kAram, thinks that it is the doer (aham kartha)
Verse 3-27 says
¡¥Prakruthe kriya mANAni guNai:karmANi sarvasha:¡¦
(All actions are performed due to the presence of
gunas of the prakruthi (attached to the jiva due to
anAdhi karma)
It is only the ¡¥ahamkAra vimoodAthmA¡¦, the one who
is immersed in I-ness ( I do, I know, I will) who
thinks that he is the kartha.
Inference:- The jiva is blemish-less. (Sri TG Ram
kumar to pick up the thread from here to know how the
all-Goodness Brahman can be found in ugly things
too.(gathirithi pAdhayOh:¡¦- Taiitriya up ¡Vmeaning,
Brahman is present in feaces too) It is enveloped by
the tri-gunas, (due to karmic limitations). Bound by
the law of Cause and Effect, these guna combination
are making the effects happen which in turn become new
causes.
Thus the prakruthi is the kartha. If the jiva thinks
he does (is the kartha), he is a fool (the Lord says
so.) The one who sees through the ¡¥game plan¡¦ will
not say that he is acting on his own volition.
It can be said in the other way too, that the scope
for freewill is almost zero when prakruthi is actually
the kartha. The jiva can not destroy the doership of
prakruthi, as if by wielding his ¡¥freewill¡¦, nor is
he the real doer if he believes so. Because that
belief itself arises due to ahamkaaram which is also
the result of prakruthi (guna ¡Vmix). It is thus
inferred that even the notion (held by the jiva) that
it has freewill is the result of prakruthi in perfect
control over the actions!
PART ¡V4
The question comes here whether the above pertains to
prapatti also.
It follows that when the jiva sees prakruthi as the
kartha and
when he knows that there exits someone else too who is
different from and distinct from these gunas, does he
raech Brahman ¡Vhood.
BG verse 14-19 says this
¡¥Naanyam gunEbhya¡K¡¦
When the jiva understands that the doer is none other
than the guna, (¡¥gunEbhya anyam karthaaram na
anupashyathi¡¦) and understands ¡¥gunEbhya cha param
vEthi¡¦ that the Lord is different and distinct from
these, does he attain ¡¥madh-bhavam¡¦
The question is how does the jiva understand these two
positions, by freewill? Or is there some other
facilitating agent to make the jiva understand this?
This part seems to tally with the verse in part ¡V2
(above) because it is at this juncture the jiva starts
preparing itself for ¡¥madh-karma¡¦ and ¡¥madh-yogam
ashritha¡¦. In other words the jiva is perfectly fit
enough to do prapatti. Does this arise on its own or
by jiva¡¦s effort in ¡¥seeing through¡¦?
PART-5.
Before going into this question, it will be useful if
we know the causes / factors that help in successfully
completing / doing a task. If we know the causes we
can arrive at how the jiva is able to do prapatti.
(own volition or not)
According to BG verse 18-13,
For ¡¥sarva karmANAm sidhdhayE¡¦ (for the
fructification of all action) there are five kAraNani.
Verse 18-14 lists down the 5 causes.
(1) Adhishtaanam (body)
(2) kartha
(3) indriyaas (pruthak-vitham karNam)
(4) vividha pruthak chEshta ¡V different types of
actions/ movements.
(5) Daivam.
There may exist many interpretations for all the 5.
But we want to take up only 2 &5 on the assumption
that there may not be any difference of opinion
regarding the other three.
Who is the kartha? The jiva?
We don¡¦t think so. In part ¡V3, we saw that prakruthi
is kartha ¡V something vouchesafed by the Lord too.
If it be said that the jiva is the cause as the
kartha,
it is replied that the one who is going to be helped
or facilitated by the causes can not himself become
one among the 5 causes.
So the kartha must be something / someone other than
the jiva. What it is then is what has already been
shown (prakruthi gunas)
Now what is / who is daivam?
The answer for this is found in the 16th chapter,
Daivasura sampad vibhAga yogam.
Verses 16 ¡V1 to 16-3 list out 26 ¡¥lakshanas¡¦ as
¡¥daivee sampad¡¦. They are all virtuous, auspicious
and sattvic qualities. Those who have these 26
qualities are said to have been born with ¡¥daivee
sampadam¡¦. The Lord says,
¡¥Arjuna, you are born with daivee sampadam¡¦
The more of tamasic and Rajasic lead to Aasura sampad
which is explained in subsequent verses.
One may not have all the 26 daivic lakshnas. But with
the majority of them that one comes to possess in his
guna-mix, one can be said to be at an advantage in
sarva sidhdhi
When the jiva comes to possess all or a majority of
the 9 lakshanas listed in 16-1, he can be said to be
moving in the direction of ¡¥madh-karma¡¦ and
¡¥madh-yogam¡¦ (The combination of these lakshanas
themselves arising from the ¡¥kartha¡¦ can not be
discounted)
Now what does the Lord say about a jiva as mentioned
above?
The crucial verse which we would like to call as the
ghataka verse comes in 10-10 (any significance to this
number?)
¡§Tehshaam sathatha yukthaanaam Bhajathaam preethi
purvakam¡¦ (note all these are daivic qualities)
the Lord declares
¡§dadaami budhdhi yogam¡¨
I grant budhdhi yogam to those people (who have yoga
saadhana and who are devoted to ME)
Because of that they reach me
¡§ yEna the mAm upayAnthi¡¨
{To substantiate that it is God alone who gives us the
Budhdhi to reach Him,(to do prapatti), we can see what
He does for those who are not devoted to Him or who
have Asura sampad (due to the prakruthi-kartha)
Verse 16-19 says,
¡§Those people, who, because of their cruel nature,
show hatred towards me¡¨ I make them be born in Asura
vamsam
¡¥asurishu yOnishu eva aham kshibhAmi¡¦ (words
interchanged to draw the meaning)}.
Now with this background information, if we look at
the 5 causes that assist in fructification of an
action, we arive at a conclusion that the more daivee
sampad that the jiva comes to possess, he becomes
eligible for God¡¦s grace. God grants further
necessary knowledge, and the jiva is able to see the
Lord as said in BG verse 14-19
¡¥Naanyam gunEbhya¡K¡¦
When the jiva understands that the doer is none other
than the guna, (¡¥gunEbhya anyam karthaaram na
anupashyathi¡¦) and understands ¡¥gunEbhya cha param
vEthi¡¦ that the Lord is different and distinct from
these, does he attain ¡¥madh-bhavam¡¦
{Remember what we said here
¡¥The question is how does the jiva understand these
two positions, by freewill? Or is there some other
facilitating agent to make the jiva understand this?¡¦
The facilitating agent is God¡¦s grace as mentioned in
verse 10-10.}
If the jiva still thinks that it is because of its
self-effort and volition, it is trying to reach Him,
it amounts to undermining the Lord¡¦s grace and His
declaration in the Gita that He gives him budhdhi
yogam to reach Him (10-10)
If it still be said that by using the ¡¥budhdhi
yogam¡¦ that God has granted, it is the jiva who
¡¥wills¡¦ and works towards prapatti, it is replied
that such a position is untenable as it gives rise to
the fallacy of reciprocal dependence.
It is the jiva who is dependent on the Lord to receive
knowledge about Him and the mind to think about Him.
The Lord does not need the jiva¡¦s freewill to get the
jiva unto Himself.
The ¡¥will¡¦ that flows from the Lord to the jiva is
held onto like a ladder to climb, by the jiva.
If it be said that upon receiving ¡¥budhdhi yogam¡¦
the jiva gets ¡¥freewill¡¦ to reach to Him, it is
replied that it amounts to philological absurdity.
After all what is freewill?
It is budhdhi forcing the owner of the budhdhi to
behave in a particualr fashion.
If the budhdhi itself is granted by a Mega-Budhdhi
like the Lord, whose will is at work, philologically,
theoretically and ultimately?
If it be said that it is the Lord who has asked the
jiva to make efforts (refer part ¡V2 in the beginning
of this mail), it is replied that we don¡¦t contradict
this. But it is contended that a problem of confused
semantics arises if effort is equated to freewill.
There is a difference between ¡¥you have the freedom
to act¡¦ and ¡¥you must act¡¦ The Lord ordains the
jiva to act.
The Lord ordains Arjuna to take up the dhanush and
leads him to places in the chariot. Everywhere it is
He who guides him what to do. Arjuna merely carries
out His orders.
This happened in the Ithihasa when the Lord made
Himself available mortally. What about other times
with other jivas?
He is present in everyone¡¦s heart, monitering the
developments happening to the jiva.
¡§sarvasya Chaaham¡K¡KvEda ¡Vvid eva cha aham¡¨
(15-15)
(The Lord is present in everyone¡¦s heart. From Him
springs all thought (memory), gyanam and their
destruction too.)
Even this ¡¥smruthi¡¦ ¡Vthought or memory can be
retained / retrieved / received by His grace only.
If not, how does one interpret Arjuna¡¦s ¡¥theLivu¡¦
in verse 18-73.
¡§tat pradhaath¡¦ ¡¥smruthi mayaa labhda¡¦
It is by Your grace ¡Vyour prasaad ¡Vthat I got back
my smruthi ¡V memory , thought, says Arjuna.
If it be asked once again how this can happen, look at
verse 13-22.
The parama purushan is present in the dEham (asmin
dEhE) as
Upa-drushta (saakshi)
Anumanthaa (one who grants anumathi)
Bhartha, Bhokhtha, MahEshwaran and Paramaathma.
The Lord as Anumantha allows you to do / go ahead in
your way.
Coming to the crucial question of whether the jiva
does prapatti on its own volition, no.
It is all just happening or evolving gradually. When
the jiva is rising up in daivic qualities, somewhere
occurs the cut-off line where the Lord casts His look
on the jiva. With the budhdhi yogam that He has
granted by His grace the jiva picks up the way to
surrender.
It is like this.
A person wants to enter a palace and live forever with
the king. It is his wish and desire (freewill )too.
Can he enter the palace if he says that he has the
freewill to enter?
Who decides who must enter the palace and live with
king?
Whose decree will work, the person¡¦s? or the King¡¦s?
It is the king who must ¡¥desire¡¦ and decide too,
about who has to come inside to be with him.
If it be said that the person improves his credentials
(by freewill)¡V to make himself eligible for the
entry, it is replied unless the king desires to have
the person, he can not enter- however eligible he may
be.
It is also asked how the person comes to know what
credentials are required to make him eligible, unless
it be made known to him. And how can that be made
known to him unless the king himself has let him know.
The king in our analysis is the Lord who as
¡¥Anumantha¡¦ grants the ¡¥budhdhi yogam¡¦ for him to
know Him and inch towards Him.
If it still be asked that as one in possession of
¡¥budhdhi yogam¡¦ it is the jiva which is still moving
ahead in prapatti on its own,
Our final astra is verse 11-34.
¡§droNam cha Bheeshmam cha jayathratham cha
KarNam tatha anyAn apiyOdha Veeran/
MayA hathAn sthvan jahi¡K.¡¦
Drona, Bheeshma, jayathratha and other brave soldiers
have already been killed by the Lord.
Arjuna simply happens to be the instrument in carrying
out their killing.
If Arjuna thinks that it is he who is going to kill /
has killed them, he is wrong. The moment they are born
in their respective shariras, it is also decided what
they are going to do or /and how their life is going
to come to an end. This is what is meant when Krishna
says that He has already killed them. If, for the
record, it is held that Arjuna has killed them, does
it not mean that he is only carrying out what is
previously decided. In other words, is he not merely
enacting a scripted (prepared) role/ action? Where is
the place for freewill here? Is not the so-called
freewill a part of pre-determination?
Jayasree sarnathan.
Quote(s) of the mail:-
(1)¡§Saarnda iru valvinnaigalum,
sariththu maaya-p-pattraruththu,
theerthu than paal manam vaikka-th-
tiruthi veedu thiruththuvaan¡¦
-Nammalwar in TVM
(1-5-10)
( explanation, not translation:-
It is the Lord who removes our binding karma;
it is He who removes our attachment to mundane things:
it is He who makes us contemplate on Him
and it is He directs us towards Liberation and makes
us reach the same)
(2) verses 19 &20 of Acharya Hrudhayam
(3) ¡§sva yathna nivruthi bhaarathantirya phalam,
sva prayojana nivruthi seshathva phalam
-verse 71of
Srivachana Bhooshanam
(4) ¡§seashathva virodhi svaathantiryam¡¨
-verse 76 of
Srivachana Bhooshanam (5) ¡§aham kaaramaagira aarppai
thudaiththal, aathmaavirku azhiyatha per ¡¥adiyan¡¦
endrirE¡¨
-verse 77 of
Srivachana Bhooshanam
PS:- Readers are requested to scrutinize the mail and
send replies to the list. Poser-5 is yet to be sent.
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