Time spent laughing is time spent with the Gods. - Japanese Proverb

Karma and Free Will

Gyan Rajhans P. Eng.

Although karma literally means deed or act, the doctrine or law of karma and the word karma have become synonymous in the western world. In other words, karma is broadly accepted with the principle of cause and effect. It is the law of action and reaction like Newton’s third law of motion which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Thus karma is the law that states that every mental, emotional and physical act, no matter how insignificant, eventually returns to the individual with equal impact.

Categories of Karma

There are three categories of karma:

(1) Sanchita Karma: meaning the sum total of past karma yet to bear fruit.

(2) Prarabdha Karma – that portion of sanchita karma which is showing its effect in the present.

(3) Kriyamana Karma – it is the karma one is presently creating, which will determine his or her tomorrow.

Relationship of Karma and Free Will

The past negative karma can be softened, if not totally eliminated by creating positive karma in the present. This brings to the relationship between karma and free will. One of the three categories of karma cited above – the Prarabdha karma, which is the part of one’s past karma bearing fruit in the present of the individual has two components – fixed and variable. The fixed component of the Prarabdha karma is beyond one’s control and it consists of that component of the past karma in previous lives ( the Hindu theory of reincarnation), which determines your parents, how you look (the general features of your body, i.e. black, white, brown, tall, small, fat, thin, etc.) and the place and environment you are born in. The variable component of Prarabdha karma remains latent in the child in the form of natural habits and tendencies. It is this variable component of Prarabdha karma that one can overcome by one’s initiative and free will. Remember, you cannot change your parents, neither how you look, nor the place of your birth, but by the power of your individual will you can alter the effects of the variable component of the Prarabdha karma and achieve success in any endeavor.

The Equation

"The Hindu Mind"^* by Bansi Pandit (newagebooksindia.com) proposes the following equation to explain karma and free will:

Success (S) = Effort (E) x Prarabdha or Destiny (D)

In the above equation the fixed portion of Prarabdha karma has been translated to destiny because it refers to that component of the past karma which already has begun to bear the fruit and nothing can be done about it.

In this equation S can range from 0 to 1. When S equals zero, there is zero success, or complete failure. When S is equal to 1, there is 100% success. Likewise, E ranges from 0 to 1. When E equals zero, there is zero or no effort. When E equals 1, there is 100% effort. Similarly D also ranges from 0 to 1. If D equals zero, there is only past bad karma. If D equals 1, there is good fortune or good karma.

Now look at the equation: S = E x D again. If 1 is substituted for D and zero for E, S will be zero. This means, even with the best destiny due to one’s past best karma, success is directly proportional to one’s efforts, your free will to work hard or not. Thus, the only way S can be equal to 1 is by having both D (destiny) and E (individual effort) equal to 1. Therefore, it can be concluded logically that destiny or Prarabdha karma alone cannot lead to success unless effort is maximized.

Again, from the equation of success, it follows that if D is equal to zero, S will be equal to zero, even if E equals 1. This is the power of one’s predetermined destiny. Bansi Pandit^* therefore concludes “Since a person’s destiny in the present life is based on his karma from previous incarnations, he has no control of impact of his predetermined destiny on his present life. All he can do is maximize his effort in the present life. Although the impact of individual’s destiny cannot be underestimated, it is the effort that he must control by utilizing his free will. On a broader level, this means that one must do the best one can and not worry about the results.”

* The wonderful handbook of Hindu history, beliefs, and practices by Bansi Pandit (available on www.amazon.com)

[Gyan Rajhans, an internationally recognized heath & safety professional has been broadcasting the only non-commercial Vedic religion radio program in North America since 1981 & worldwide web cast on www.bhajanawali.com since 1999. Mr. Rajhans has published extensively on religious and spiritual matters. Some articles are available on the Bhajanawali web site. He has translated Sri Mad Bhagvad Gita in English for the younger generation. Mr Rajhans has been conferred various titles, including that of Rishi by Hindu Prarthana Samaj of Toronto Hindu Ratna by Hindu Federation of Toronto. He received Canadian Journalists' and Writers' Club (CEJWC) award  for 2005 in the Internet category - Opinion - for his Spirituality columns in South Asian Outlook e-Monthly.]

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