Guest guest Posted January 25, 1999 Report Share Posted January 25, 1999 (Even though Raviji has not specifically asked me to respond, I offer my penny's worth) The question from Mr Kathi can be rephrased: Is there room for free will or is everything including what we may think is free will predestined? Is everything predetermined? This is a fascinating subject - all serious thinkers face this question at some time or other. The ancient philosophers have given quite elaborate explanations. (Shri Raviji has already pointed out the archives available.) I have found the best and most satisfying answer from Sri Ramakrishna. He uses simple language and says. A goat is tied with a rope to a post. The goat happily grazes within its circle of freedom. The goat thinks that it is free to decide where to graze. This simple explanation in a few sentences gives the heart of the matter. They put to shame all elaborate explanations given by philosophers as well as scientists (do not forget this subject effects science even more than philosphers these days). One days someone asked Swami Vivekananda to explain the depth of Sri Ramakrishna's teachings. Vivekananda then took this simple example - gave a lecture on this illustration (which lasted few days) to show how this example gives best fit to the situation. pranams from Vivekananda Centre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 1999 Report Share Posted January 25, 1999 > . A goat is tied with a rope to a post. The goat happily grazes >within its circle of freedom. The goat thinks that it is free to decide >where to graze. A beautiful reminder of the famous story by Paramahamsa Ramakrishna. I am recently reminded of this stroy by the free-will of US Major sitting in Hawaii limiting my free-will! Thanks. Hari Om! Sadananda K. Sadananda Code 6323 Naval Research Laboratory Washington D.C. 20375 Voice (202)767-2117 Fax:(202)767-2623 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 1999 Report Share Posted January 25, 1999 Hari Om! Thanks Sadanandaji for an excellent review of the suject matter. Thanks to Jay for the profound example. The scriptures describe the law of Karma and expect the person with the free-will to act to perform the Karma with the Yagna spirit (as Karma Yoga). Implicitly, the law of Karma says - Do your duty earnestly, but be ready to accept the outcome whether you succeed or fail. We have the free-will to act, but have no control over the outcome! The list moderater wants to take this occasion to invite the silent listeners (also new entrants to the list) to participate in the deliberations. The list has several dedicated, energetic and enthusiastic discussants looking for questions/doubts from the listeners group. The listeners should exercise their free-will to ask questions/doubts that are directly/implicitly related to Advaita/scriptures. This is a friendly forum and the sole purpose is to exchange the view points with an open mind and to grow spiritually. Ram Chandran List Moderator sadananda wrote: > > sadananda <sada > > > . A goat is tied with a rope to a post. The goat happily grazes > >within its circle of freedom. The goat thinks that it is free to decide > >where to graze. > > A beautiful reminder of the famous story by Paramahamsa Ramakrishna. I am > recently reminded of this stroy by the free-will of US Major sitting in > Hawaii limiting my free-will! Thanks. > > Hari Om! > Sadananda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.