Social Gatheka Number 31

This is the subject which comes in the mind of every intelligent person. Very often a person asks himself if it is fate which governs his life or if it is his free will. And there is one temperament that takes one point of view and there is another temperament that takes the other point of view. And when the people of these two opposite points of view meet together and discuss, they have a thousand reasons to give is support to their own argument. For instance, the man who thinks that fate governs life, he can find a thousand reasons by examining his own life, by looking at the life of another; when we think of the mystery behind what we call coincidence, when one finds the secret of what one calls accident, and when one finds the times in life when success comes continually, other times when failure follows failure.

Besides that, when a person has perhaps a pain there are thousand other pains also attracted; often it happens that in a week's time a person has heard from several places bad news, and there are times when in one day's time perhaps from many corners good news comes – if a person wishes to see the truth behind what one calls fate, there are a thousand reasons. For instance, is it always the qualified who is successful? Is it always the learned whose name and fame rise high? Is it always the most capable who becomes rich? Not always, very often quite the contrary. And you will find a businessman, very little he knows about his business, but every move he makes there is a success. And there is another man, perhaps he has learned and experienced and understood business, and yet he tries all his life, success is never there.

And when we come to think about the point of view of those who think that there is free will, there is no such thing as fate, we can give a thousand arguments in support of their idea also. There are many in this life who are lazy and inactive, and they will always say, 'it is because of my fate that things go wrong, there is no use in taking any step,' – they remain where they are. Besides, the person who has the chance to attain either health or wealth or power or rank or position, learning or wisdom, it is all attained by effort, by hope. One finds in the lives of individuals, as well as of the people collectively, that those who make the effort to advance, there is the advance. In support of the idea, of the belief, of the fatalist one may quote a saying of the English language that man proposes, God disposes.' And in support of those who believe in free will, one may quote an English saying that, 'where there is a will there is a way.'

Now a question arises in the mind of an intelligent person, 'then which to believe, the point of view of a fatalist, or the point of view of those who believe in free will?' And we come to a realization from the point of view of metaphysics, from a mystical point of view, both are right, and yet both lack the complete idea. It is like the blind people, after having seen the elephant by touching. One day some blind people were allowed to see the elephant. As they could not see, they went near to the elephant and touched it, and, coming together, they began to dispute and fight. One had felt that the trunk was the elephant, the other had felt its leg to be the elephant. When the argument went still further there came a fight of fists; and only someone who had seen the elephant, he said, 'my friends, both are right, only that you have seen part of the elephant, I have seen the whole.'

The mystical point of view comes from the study of life, from the observation of life. The nature of creation is such that not only every object is an object, but even every person is an object. A chair is made to sit upon, and a table is made to write upon, and so every object is made for a certain purpose, and so there is a purpose in the life of every individual. Of course, a person would be offended if he was told that he is a thing, not a being. But one must know that a soul begins its life as a thing. As every thing, every object, is affected by the climate and the weather has its influence upon every object, so on human beings.

Then what appeals to the human senses, what appeals to the sense and what deludes man, what makes him intoxicated, all these things show that man is, so to speak, an object which is used by conditions. Where does a sorrow come from, where does a joy come from in life; and then depression and fear, doubt and confusion? In all these man shows that he is the instrument which is handled by the whole life, by all conditions. But this is one part of his life. But the next part of his life, or the advance of human life is different. And that life is that when man begins to distinguish, and when man has choice, and when man can attract or repel by his power, there is something, a new life, developed in man.

And what does this life represent in man? It represents heaven. The sense of distinction, and the sense of desire, the sense of attaining, and the power, together with it, of attaining, all this shows the heritage man has from heaven. And this shows that man has the earthly heritage and the heritage from heaven. The heritage that man has from the earth makes man a thing, the heritage that man has from heaven makes him a being. Then what does fate belong to? Fate belongs to the heritage in man, the heritage which he has from earth. And to what part of man's being does free will belong? It belongs to heaven, for it is from God. It is not only that the weather and the conditions affect one and have their influence upon him, but also man is a tool in the hands of planetary influences, in the hands of visible and invisible influence. And therefore the more heritage from earth he has, and the more he holds to the heritage he has from earth, the more helpless he is and the more subject to fate.