Free-will vs Pre-determination - poser-I

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SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

Erudite explanation from Sri sriram!

Yet some posers are presented here that are left to

the scrutiny of readers.

This discussion is planned in 5 mails, taking up each

of the questions raised initially, along with the

replies given, in each mail.

 

The Q-1 raised:-

 

# Does the jiva enjoy / possess any freedom to act

(freewill)? Did the lord

mean this when He said in BG 18-63 __yathA echchasi

thathA kuru__ _do as per

your wish?

 

The answer from Sri Sriram:-

 

Yes, the jIvA does possess the freedom to act. Towards

the end of His

discourse/dialogue, ……the decision-making to Arjuna.

By this it is

clear that He expects the jIvA/an individual to take

the initiative and do

the right thing, given the knowledge/qualification,

and therefore the

implicit recognition of jIvA's freedom.

 

The poser:-

 

Let us examine this scenario.

A bird is trapped in a room. The room has as many as

20 windows, all except one of which are bolted. All

that is required of the bird is to tap the windows.

The window that is not bolted will immediately open

upon tapping, but the bird can not identify this

window without tapping.

This scenario presents certain options.

The bird can either flutter around in panic and or do

nothing.

 

Or it can make some attempts to come out by tapping

the windows to find out whether they are open.

 

In any case the bird is at liberty to use its freewill

– even if it is about not taking any effort and remain

mute and inactive.

 

This free will or freedom of choice of an option can

not be discussed in isolation, for every such act of

free will (here) is done with some motive and will be

inexplicably connected with a consequence/ outcome.

Only if we relate the consequences to the action, (in

this context free will) can we prove beyond doubt

whether it is freewill or guided action that has taken

place.

 

We know the motive here. And the result too. The

motive of the bird, or rather the result that the bird

expects is the escape from the room. The question is

whether the action it is going to take up has sprung

due to its own volition or guided by an already

programmed chip

 

Looking at the options-

 

1. It can keep on tapping one window after the other.

 

2. It can try a few windows and finding no success, it

can give up the effort and lie down to face the

possibility of getting trapped for ever.

 

 

3. It can keep trying till the last window as the last

window happens to be the opening one

 

4. It might even happen that the very first window it

tapped opened up! So no need for further toil and

quick release from the room.

 

In exercising these options, we are tempted to say

that the bird has free will to act or not to act! But

taking into account the toil it has to put up with and

the consequences upon delayed success or failure and

lack of endurance or initiative, we are forced to

reset our understanding. The said consequences have to

be inevitably taken into account, for, every action

here is accompanied by or bound by some karma.

It is like this.

Suppose the bird finds the escape upon the first

tapping itself. Its toil is less but happiness is more

/ enormous.

Suppose the toil is prolonged till the last window,

the bird is said to undergo a tough time in terms of

working out its karma.

Suppose the bird is not able to endure the search, its

karma once again is seen to be terrible as it has to

languish in the room for ever.

 

In other words,

IT IS THE KIND OF KARMA IT HAS TO ENDURE THAT DECIDES

THE SEARCH IN TERMS OF FREE-WILL AND NOT THE OTHER WAY

ROUND.

If its karma is such that some minimal suffering has

to be undergone, it will be hitting upon the right

window sooner than later. Here its free will has not

decided that it will soon hit the right window, but

the karma – that which has already been decided as to

what must happen!

 

If the bird just remains mute, leaving things to

happen on their own, (we characterise this as anathema

to freewill), it is because the karma clause has

ordained so in accordance with the experience it has

to undergo in that condition.

If the bird picks up some course of action (which we

characterise as free will), it is once again because

the karma clause has ordained so- in accordance with

a different set of experience to be undergone.

 

The Q-1 ‘yatha echchasi thtatha kuru’

God seems to tell the bird (here) the possible options

before the bird and tell it to decide whichever way it

wants to go. The way that it finally decides to choose

will automatically comply with the kind of karma it

has to endure in given situation.

 

If it is not to be so, ie., if the spending off karma

in the course of the (now so-called) free will is not

to be there, that is untenable. For, the texts do not

support such a notion. (More explanations in this

regard can be found in earlier mails on why of

creation)

 

Only if the spending off the karma is taken as the

deciding factor, can there be justification for why

the lord has so painstakingly (!?) delved into the

different dimensions of attitude with which one must

perform action.

If you think that it is on your own volition, you are

gone. Think that you are only instrumental (proxy?)

and so on. This is akin to telling that you are doing

HIS will, and not applying your free will.

As such freewill looks notional not real. Freewill

seems to be part of the greater design –what we call

the already pre-determined one.

 

Such being the case why did the lord say yatha

echchasi...?

Probable answers are-

 

# to inculcate ‘karmasu kaushalam’ attitude in

performing the action. When a person wishes /wills to

do something, complete involvement will be there. The

yogam, namely dexterity in action or perfection

(kaushalam)will be there. Without echchai, aasai or

involvement, results will not be forthcoming. (The

prescription in today’s terms – ‘Open the LID and

discover your DIL’-- L for liking, I for involvement

and D for dedication. If one proceeds in this fashion

he will have DIL - the heart in the job he does. This

results in karmasu kaushalam)

 

# Krishna has all along extolled the need to perform

and how to perform. Now Krishna says this as Arjuna’s

moment of reckoning is drawing near.

Arjuna fittingly replies with complete understanding

of the import of the teaching, ‘karishye vachanam

tava” –I will do as you have said (not as I wish)

 

 

 

Jayasree sarnathan.

 

Food for thought:-

“God smiles on two occasions,

one, when the doctor tells the mother of the

terminally-ill patient, “don’t worry madam, I will

take care of your son”

and two, when brothers fight for the land, telling,

“This is mine and that is yours”

 

- Sri Ramakrishna paramahams

 

 

 

 

 

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