We often feel confounded at the play of destiny in our lives. At times we feel quite paralysed by its power and so surrender ourselves. But are we really so powerless? The Yoga Vasishta has some clear answers to this question. Prince Rama, at the tender age of sixteen, is disturbed at the transient nature of the world and suffers a deep sense of vairagya, having no inclination to indulge in worldly affairs. Sage Vishwamitra requests Sage Vasishta to enlighten Rama about the true nature of the powers at work.
The Yoga Vasishta says that there is nothing in this world which is not attainable by human effort -- provided one adheres to the standard path prescribed in the relevant scriptures. Human effort is of two kinds -- one that is done at an earlier time or in previous births and the other that is undertaken at the present moment. Vasishta assures Rama that past karma can definitely be outwitted by present action.
He who has strong will is ever-enthusiastic; he can even ingest the insurmountable Meru. What can any pre-ordained destiny do to such a person? In fact, it is maintained that our past actions only make up what we understand as destiny or fate and there is nothing apart from our previous actions which impede or catalyse our progress. Our past karma and present action are exemplified as two rams fighting each other where the stronger triumphs over the weaker. Hence, man has to endeavour to defeat his past karma with greater diligence which causes obstructions in his pursuits.
He who does not rely on directly perceivable human effort, but banks on ‘fate’ -- which can only be inferred and not directly perceived -- is like one who runs helter-skelter, full of self-doubt. If a person fails in his endeavours, he should realise that his past samskaras are dominant and persist in his efforts till he overpowers them. Such a person is sure to succeed in his efforts. Just as past mistakes can be rectified by appropriate rectification measures taken today, similarly all residues of our past karmas can be effectively cleansed by determined effort. Our samskaras can drive us in the right or wrong direction. If our mind is steadily taught to tread the right path, it gains enough strength to overcome all forces that decelerate our progress.
Yudishtira also was enlightened of this simple yet profound truth by Bhishma the patriarch when, upon the advice of Krishna, Yudhistira approached him to understand rajadharma. Greatly pained at the loss of human lives in the Mahabharata war, Yudhistira was inclined to the path of inaction -- leaving everything to destiny and leading the life of an ascetic, thinking that such a path would absolve him of the sins of war. Bhishma enlightens him of the power of karma over destiny and impels him to accept the throne. You can untangle yourself from your past karma only with a stronger positive karma and not with akarma or inaction! The same precious advice was received by Arjuna from Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita.
It is we who carry false notions and unnecessarily burden ourselves and indulge in blame games. The day we take our lives into our own hands, everything will fall into place.