The Eternal Paradox of free will and Predestination

'Free will is the greatest gift of God to man,' says Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi in his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (Bh.G. 1.39). 'Man has
freedom of action; thereby he can adopt any channel, good or bad,
through which he wants the course of his life to flow' (Bh.G.
2.27). We know that freedom is very fulfilling, we all want more and
more freedom. Freedom equates with happiness, independence and
sovereignty. And indeed, man seems to be more free than any other
life form.
Intuitively we may feel free - aren't we free to think, speak and act as
we like? However, certain kinds of behaviours are regarded as more
wise than other kinds of behaviours. Actions do call forth reactions.
Actions do have consequences. All of us are ac quainted with the Law
of Nature that requires that the reaction is equal and opposite to the
action. Or, as the ancient saying goes:
'As you sow, so shall you reap.'
This is universal village knowledge, as Maharishi once put it. We can
do as we please, only we should be ready to bear the consequences of
our actions.
Is this the whole story of free will and predestination? Certainly not,
since we can ask ourselves the very important question: Why do I act
the way I act? Why do I speak the way I speak? Why do I think the
way I think? Why do I desire what I desire? One person goes for art,
another for science. Some go for philosophy, others for religion. The
one likes silence, the other is fond of action. We all have different
tastes and likings. We all have different natures.
Where do all these differences come from? The nature of one person
predisposes one for a certain profession, the nature of the other
predisposes this one for a completely different profession. All of us
act more or less on the basis of our free choice. But our free choice
definitely seems to be based on the structure of our personality, our
nature. Is it not our nature that inclines us to do certain things, and
avoid other things? There is an saying in Dutch: The character and

the fate of a person relate to each other like the key to the lock.
Obviously, free will is somehow based upon our nature.
Let us examine our own experience a bit closer. In the ordinary
waking state, we feel somehow that we are pretty free, but not
completely. On the other hand, we intuitively feel that something is
predetermined for us, in other words, we feel that, to some extent,
we are destined to have certain experiences in life, but we are not
able to determine exactly what. It is only natural, that sooner or later
we ask ourselves the question: How far does the freedom go? What
exactly is its nature? And similarly: how far does the predestination
go? What is its nature?
In the normal waking state, we shall not able to sort out the answers
to these metaphysical questions. Throughout the ages, philosophers
and wise men have tried to define the range of our freedom and the
nature of predestination. But because perception in the waking state
of consciousness is very much limited, hardly anyone has hit the
mark. Let us take up some of the generally expressed viewpoints in
this matter.
Dog on a Line
Some say our situation in life is like that of a dog, who is taken out by
its master, and is attached to a leash. The dog is allowed to frolic
around somewhat, ease its nature, and - if it is lucky in life - its
master is lenient enough to take notice of its wishes, and allows the
dog to lead him on somewhat. Especially recently, the freedom of
dogs is rather great, since the invention of leashes that can be
extended up to 10 meters or so. Like this, we human beings are free
to some extent, but simultaneously bound to some extent.
Fish in a river
Others compare our situation with a fish in the river. The river is
flowing downstream, and carries the fish automatically to a certain
destination.
'Certain things are meant to be, as rivers surely flow into the s ea.'
The fish can choose to swim left or right or in the middle, etc. Some
fish can even exert will to work themselves upstream.

Game of cards
Others are fond of saying that life can be likened to a game of cards.
Destiny allots a set of cards to each of us, containing some good,
some medium, and some bad cards. Then it is up to each of us to use
our Creative Intelligence to make something out of that hand of
cards. Either we focus ourselves on winning, and use all the alertness
that is in our command, or we do not exert ourselves very much and
leave many opportunities unused.
Dark labyrinth
Others say that our situation on earth is like that of many persons
trying to find their way in a dark labyrinth. The structure of the
labyrinth is so complex that hardly anyone finds the way out and is
finally liberated. The majority grope in darkness, not possessed of a
comprehensive map of the place, and are destined to die before
finding the way out.
Airport
Some say that the free will of today is the determinism of tomorrow.
This viewpoint is illustrated in the following analogy: At an airport,
we are faced with hundreds of options of where to go. But once we
have bought a ticket for Chicago, and entered the plane, we are
bound to end up in Chicago. We must be ready to accept the
consequences of this free choice.
Experiences in the waking state of consciousness
When we take a close look at these different analogies, however, we
will find that they do not provide the ultimate answer regarding the
nature of free will, nor do they define the ultimate nature of
predestination. It is clear that these analogies relate to the
experiences that we have in the waking state of consciousness, and it
is for this reason that they do not tell the whole story. They leave
many things unexplained.
For instance, regarding the analogy of the dog, we can ask, why did
the master at a certain point in time buy such a modern extending
line by which the freedom of the dog was increased?

Regarding the fish analogy, we can ask ourselves why it is that one
fish is so headstrong that he swims upstream while another takes it
easy and lets himself be carried on by the river. Regarding the game
of cards, we can ask the relevant question: 'What d id I do to deserve
such a lucky set of cards? If you say it is coincidence, then what
happened to that universal village knowledge: 'as you sow so shall
you reap'? Is it suddenly not applicable anymore? Regarding the
labyrinth we could ask: 'Why is the world experienced as a
labyrinth?' or 'How did we end up in this labyrinth anyway?'
Regarding the airport analogy the valid question would be: 'Why did
I prefer Chicago to San Francisco?'
Every philosophy is simply the expression of a certain level of
experiences in life. The Science of Creative Intelligence explains that
knowledge is structured in consciousness, and that knowledge is
different in different states of consciousness. The reason for the
existence of so many different philosophies is the fact that we each
experience life from our own individual viewpoint.
The waking state of consciousness covers an infinite range of
experiences, but they all have one thing in common: They do not
touch the ultimate truth of life. The waking state of consciousness is
like a house with a few windows here and there. Dwelling in the
house, we are not able to see the entire range of our environment.
When something passes in front of our window, we can see it clearly,
but we are not aware of where it came from, nor are we able to
determine where it goes to. This tempts us to believe that we are
living in a world full of coincidences. Moreover, this restricted
perception of the waking state poses an open invitation for us to
indulge in speculation.
Cosmic consciousness, mentioned earlier, is like a house made of
glass. We are able to see 360° of our environment. To the
farthest horizon, we can see certain events coming up and taking
shape, before they pass by and merge once again with the horizon.
Cosmic consciousness is characterised by 360° openness of
awareness. This makes for good scientists, and for good artists as
well. From this platform of unbounded awareness , now we are able

to distinguish both subtle causes as well as the subtle mechanics that

structure our life.
Furthermore, in this state of cosmic consciousness, we gain clear
insight into the nature of ourselves - we are possessed of selfknowledge. We bring true fulfilment to the ancient Greek teaching:
- 'Gnothi Seauton' - 'Know Thyself',
the central advice of both Socrates and Plato. We experience the
absolute, unbounded and eternal nature of our Self; we have
discovered our true identity.
From this unbounded and, therefore, unbiased viewpoint, we are
capable now to appreciate that all actions of persons, including
ourselves, are based upon their own very nature.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna:
'Sadrisham
cheshtate
svasyah
prakriter
gyanavanapi
prakritim
yanti
bhutani'
'Creatures follow their own nature. Even the enlightened man
acts according to his own nature' (Bh.G. 3.33).
This expression is based upon a deep appreciation of the unique
nature of every single individual. It is clear that the free will that we
as individuals exercise is determined by our very nature.
Herein lies an answer to the question why certain fishes swim
upstream, while others are happy to be carried on by the river. It
suggests that the more self-knowledge we develop, the more insight
we gain into our deepest motivations, and desires. But this is not yet
the ultimate resolution of the paradox of free will and
predetermination. For instance, what about the influence that
creatures exert on other creatures, and what of environmental
influences?
In order to provide answers to these deepest questions that life
poses to us, the wise, throughout the ages have advised us to
meditate - to transcend our thoughts and feelings, our memo ries,
desires, worries and plans - in order to obtain a complete, and all
comprehensive insight into the mechanics of life, the mechanics of

creation.
In
the
second
chapter
of
the Bhagavad
Gita LordKrishna advises Arjuna to transcend all phases of relative
experience, and just be:
'Nistraigunyo
nirdvandvo
niryogakshema
'Be
without
the
three
freed from duality, ever firm
possessed of the Self.' (Bh.G. 2.45)

Gunas,
in purity

bhavarjuna
nityasattvastho
atmavan'
O
Arjuna,
of awareness,

Be without the three Gunas: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the three
qualities of nature that are responsible for conducting all processes
of change, all transformations, and all processes of evolution in the
universe. Transcend them, Arjuna. Just be yourself, be established in
your simplest form of awareness, get out of the field of change, and
experience pure being, the source of all change.
That is to say, establish your awareness in the state of unity, beyond
diversity, beyond thoughts and feelings. In that state, the mind is
freed from boundaries. When the mind has transcended itself, and
has identified itself with pure, unbounded consciousness, it is
absolutely free. Thus we see that pure consciousness, transcendental
consciousness, is the state of real freedom. To put it even more
clearly: freedom is a quality of pure consciousness. The more our
consciousness is pure, the more we experience freedom in daily life.
Absolute freedom
The freedom that we experience in the waking state is just the
reflection of the absolute freedom which is inherent the nature of
pure consciousness. Thus it is a universal experience that we only
experience real freedom when our mind has identified itself with
pure awareness, pure consciousness, pure being. We are not the
mind, we are not the body, we have a mind and we have a body. Mind
and body are the instruments through with we are able to express
our Self.
Having established ourselves in the state of being, the singularity of
pure consciousness - we feel subjectively free. This freedom is of an
absolute nature, because now we have identified ourselves with the

Unified Field of all the Laws of Nature, the intrinsic quality of which
is absolute freedom. This experience - which is now easily available
through the technique of Transcendental Meditation - is traditionally
described as 'liberation', or 'moksha', in the language of Vedic
Science.
Having established our awareness in a state of absolute freedom,
does this mean that our thinking, speech, and behaviour becomes
lawless, or anarchistic? Rather the opposite is true. Once we have
established ourselves on the level of transcendental conscio usness,
all stresses in our nervous system which impeded and disturbed the
natural and efficient functioning of our mind -body system are
dissolved. In Transcendental Meditation, this occurs simultaneously
with the expansion of consciousness. The growth of purity in our
mind-body system automatically leads to more balanced functioning
of both the physiology and the psychology, which makes behaviour
more natural and more balanced. In other words, we begin to act
more and more in accord with all the Laws of Na ture.
The Uninvolved Witness
Thus, we make the paradoxical discovery that the more we
experience real freedom the more we become open to the fact that all
our thoughts, speech and actions are conducted by the eternally fixed
Laws of Nature. What is crucial in the context of the mechanics of
creation - the mechanics of our consciousness - is that, when we have
taken our stand in our real Self, in the purity of our consciousness,
we start to be a witness, an uninvolved witness to all the activity that
goes on in our mind, body, environment and the universe at large.
This witnessing aspect of our consciousness is called 'saakshi' in
Vedic Science. This witnessing quality of consciousness is inherent in
the very nature of consciousness. In a sense, all that cons ciousness
ever does is witness. When our awareness becomes grounded in Self awareness, we simply become more and more aware of this
witnessing role that our consciousness has always been playing. We
no longer identify ourselves exclusively with our mind -body system.
In cosmic consciousness, we experience our real Self as pure
awareness, and we are aware that the mind-body system is simply a

part of the whole of nature which performs its actions spontaneously

and automatically.
Cosmic Consciousness
Cosmic consciousness is the concrete experience when pure
consciousness, gained first in meditation, has become an established
feature of our being - pure consciousness, as the witness, is
spontaneously and naturally maintained during all activities of the
waking, dreaming and sleeping states of consciousness. In this state
of all comprehensive awareness, or cosmic consciousness, we find
the resolution of the eternal paradox of free will and predestination:
Subjectively we are absolutely free, but objectively speaki ng, all our
activities are carried out by all the Laws of Nature. From this cosmic
perspective, we are able to see the truth about both the subjective
and the objective sides of our existence. Subjectively, we know we
are part of the eternal and absolute silent value of consciousness;
and objectively, we know that we are part of the eternally dynamic
value of existence.
In cosmic consciousness, we directly experience that our subjectivity
belongs to absolute silence, and that our objectivity belongs to the
eternal dynamism of the 'automatic production line' of creation.
When we no longer identify ourselves with the mind or the body, we
know we are just the silent witness of all that is, was, and will be. Or,
as the Bhagavad Gita puts it,
'Naiva
kincit
karomiti
yukto
manyeta
'He whose awareness is united and knows
he will maintain "I do not act at all".' (Bh.G. 5.8)

tattvavit'
the truth,

Not that the mind-body system stops being active after having gained
a higher state of consciousness - we simply become aware of the fact
that we are not acting, and that in the past we have never been
acting, and that in the future our true Self will never be acting!
What is it then that makes our mind, body, intellect, and senses act?
It is nature, nothing but nature, as Lord Krishna says to Arjuna:
'Prakrityai
va
yah
pashyati

cha
karmani
kriyamanani
tathatmanam
akartaram
sa

sarvashah,
pashyati'

'He verily sees, who sees that all actions are done by nature alone,
and that the Self is actionless.' (Bh.G. 13.29).
The Yoga Vasishtha confirms this experience,
characteristic of cosmic consciousness:

which

is

the

'When thus one realises the supreme, which is the only essence of
truth beyond this ocean of Samsara, one realises "I am not the doer,
but cosmic Creative Intelligence alone is the doer, not even in the
past did I do anything".' (Y.V. 6.1. 32)
The more our awareness is anchored in eternal silence and absolute
freedom, the more we become aware that it is the cosmic Creative
Intelligence that conducts all activities of mind, body, behaviour, and
environment. These mechanics of creation are also revealed by a
verse of Rik Veda
'Yatinam
brahma
bhavati
sarathih'
'For him, whose awareness is withdrawn from the field of change,
whose awareness is established in its own unbounded nature, the
cosmic Creative Intelligence become the charioteer of all actions.'
(Rik Veda 1.158.6)
The more that we are consciously identified with our essential
nature as pure consciousness, the more we become aware of the
perfect and orderly development that characterises the 'automatic
production line' of the universe.
Absolute Freedom and Absolute Predestination
The more self-referral we are, the more we realise the mechanics of
nature's functioning. In this experience of higher states of
consciousness, we resolve the paradox of free will and
predetermination. In one and the same process of establish ing our
awareness in transcendental consciousness, we have discovered the
truth about freedom, and we have discovered the truth about
predestination! From the perspective of cosmic consciousness, we
are able to see that these two fields of life exist side by side. Both are
100% in their own right. In cosmic consciousness, we experience
absolute, eternal freedom as the essential quality of our own
consciousness, and on that basis, from that transcendental viewpoint,

we see the truth about activity - namely that it is conducted by the

Laws of Nature, by almighty Nature itself, which moves according to
a cosmic plan, outlined in the 'instruction manual of creation', the
Veda.
However new and perhaps unbelievable this may sound to people in
the world, it is exactly the experience in cosmic consciousness. Not
that the freedom becomes 100% available in cosmic consciousness,
we only become aware of the freedom that has always been there.
Likewise, not that predestination becomes 100% operable in cosmic
consciousness, we only become aware of the predestination that was
eternally there. Vedic Science is not a religion. Nobody is asked to
believe anything of this description of life. Vedic Science can verify
that it is so! And this is exactly the job that Jyotish performs for us.
In Chapter Three, we mentioned the Vimshottari Dasha system,
which allots different Grahas to different periods of our life. With the
help of this timetable, we have an overview over the entire
'production process' of our life. When we combine this system with
the study of the actual position of the Grahas at any given time (the
so-called Gochar or transit system), we are in a position to gauge the
actual mechanics of our life on a day to day basis!
Having performed this experiment hundreds of times, we have
become absolutely convinced that everything develops according to
the cosmic plan. All processes of thinking, speaking and acting are
the expression of the cosmic mechanics of creation. Having observed
this to be true, over and over again, we develop an intuition, a feeling
for the perfect and orderly set up of creation - even when our
subjective experience is still limited to the waking state of
consciousness.
In this way, the study of Jyotish is helpful in expanding our
consciousness into cosmic dimensions. In the event that we are
meditating, the study of Jyotish becomes supportive to the
development of our consciousness that results from regular
experience of the absolute level of awareness in meditation.
Maharishi emphasises that knowledge and experience always go
hand in hand. Combining the intellectual study of Jyotish with the
experiential development brought about by the regular practice of

TM, we soon begin to experience glimpses of the cosmic reality, and,

in due time, this most natural, blissful, and most exalted state of
consciousness becomes a permanent feature of our daily life.
Mere coincidence?
Having secured our subjective existence in absolute bliss
consciousness, we begin to recognise that everything big or small,
important or non-important is organised by the Creative Intelligence
of nature. We start to cognize that all actions and all events are
products of the Laws of Nature. In the normal waking state, we were
not able to figure out reasons for many events in our lives, and,
indeed for many events that were happening in the world at large.
But now, when the comprehension of the mind has rea ched a cosmic
perspective, everything begins to make sense to us.
Wise men throughout the ages have had insight in the perfect, just
and mathematically precise functioning of Nature. In his Essay on
Man, dated 1774, Alexander Pope in England wrote:
'All
nature
is
but
art,
unknown
all
chance,
direction
which
thou
canst
all
discord,
harmony,
not
all
partial
evil,
universal
all
chaos,
reason
which
thou
canst
One truth we know there is - whatever is, is right'.

to
thee;
not
see;
understood;
good;
not
see;

These poetical expressions do not come from what we can call the
'normal' waking state. These enlightening words come from an
experience of a higher state of consciousness, where an intimate
unity is experienced with Nature. This experience enabled him to see
that 'all is well and wisely put' as another great poet once said. The
Laws of Nature operate with absolute precision. There is no 'mere
coincidence' in creation. Every single event, big or small, important
or unimportant, good or bad, perfect or imperfect, future or past, is
part of an all-embracing, cosmic evolutionary process, in which
consciousness is manifesting itself.
God is Not Playing Dice

Is 'normal' waking state, we may not comprehend the truth, but that
does not mean that it isn't there. Experiencing the enriched,
enlightened state of consciousness, wise men have always tried to
awaken us to this cosmic truth. For instance, there is a popular song
in India, that says:
'Dane
dane
pe
lika
hai,
khane
wale
ka
'On every grain (of rice), the name of the eater is written.'

naam.'

Here we are also reminded of the great Albert Einstein, who is known
to have said:
'God does not play dice.'
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Einstein of consciousness, once said:
'Everything is fixed, all the transformations are fixed
The exact moment of gaining enlightenment is forever fixed.'

...

Fatalism?
Must these expressions of wise and enlightened men lead the
mentality of the world to a kind of fatalism? No, not at all. This would
be a wrong conclusion, drawn from perfect knowledge. Admittedly,
these wrong conclusions do exist, and they form part of the wide spread misunderstanding in which the world is today engulfed. But
of course, these misunderstandings also form part of the cosmic plan.
They must serve some purpose. But the fact that all processes are
fixed, does not mean that we are forced to accept the situation as it
is, without trying to do something about it. The tendency to help
fellowmen who are in distress is just natural.
To give food to the hungry is just human. To give shelter and
affection to the needy is just an expression of human nature. To help
others to enlightenment, and to experience freedom and success in
life, is only natural. To strive for happiness, health, wealth and
enlightenment is just natural, embedded in the structure of life itself.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Brahman, the wholeness of consciousness, the wholeness of all that
exists - contains all: knowledge and ignorance, light and darkness,

birth and death, freedom and predestination, creation and

destruction, good and evil, positive and negative, yin and yang, past
and future, perfection and imperfection. To say that everything is
ordained and organised by nature should not bewilder the wise. To
say that everything is fixed does not mean that we cannot improve
anything. To say that everything is fixed does note mean that we are
not absolutely free! Our freedom is absolutely fixed. We are all
destined to be free. We have the total freedom to create our destiny.
Freedom and predestination are two sides of the same coin, the coin
of life. Maharishi once said: 'Life is a composite of a 100% freedom
within a 100% determinism.
Master of Our Own Creation
Miraculously, all of us are essentially and totally one with cosmic
intelligence, which makes each one of us our own predestinator,
whether we are aware of this fact or not. Man is born to be the
master of his destiny - we have heard this saying many times. It
means that all of us are bound to realise that we are essentially one
with the cosmic Creative Intelligence. The more our life evolves in
the direction of this realisation, the more intelligent and creative our
thinking, speaking and acting will be.
Once we start to experience that we are the masters of our own
creation, we automatically start to behave in a more and more
evolutionary way. We no longer obstruct - as it were - the cosmic
force of evolution working in each and every one of us. In this way
we start to make use of our full mental potential.
The only reason that we are not making full use of our Creative
Intelligence is because of certain stresses that are inhibiting the
normal and natural flow of energy and intelligence in our mind -body
system. Stress gives rise to frustration, and even to destructive
behaviour. Crime is the natural expression of stress. It is stress that
restricts our awareness and makes us feel bound, makes us feel
forced to a certain type of negative behaviour. When the stresses are
gone, we feel free and unrestricted, and automatically we start to
think, speak and act more in accord with the evolutionary Laws of
Nature; we feel more supported by the almighty forces of evolution.

This results in more positivity, and in health, wealth and wisdom in

life.
It is in this light that Maharishi once said:
'Human life is all divine.'
We are all the creators of our destiny - whether we know it or not!
Our mind, the human mind is so infinitely powerful that it creates
whatever it contemplates - whether we know what is going on in our
mind or not! When the nervous system is free from stress, we have a
clear mind, and we naturally create a life that is pleasant for all of us.
When stress no longer obstructs our mind-body system - as is the
case in cosmic consciousness - we are more and more aware of our
infinite free choice in life. Naturally, we choose for progress and
happiness. In the state of enlightenment, we naturally desire 'all
good to everyone, and non-good to no-one'.
Becoming enlightened just means that we claim our birthright, and
that we start to make use of our inborn potential, which, according to
Vedic Science, is unlimited in its scope and power.
When we become dedicated to the idea of creating a heaven on earth,
it is bound to happen. And in fact, the study of Jyotish is an excellent
aid to that: we study the wonderful orderliness and harmony of the
celestial mechanics, and apply this knowledge here on earth. This is
the whole purpose of Jyotish and, in fact, the whole purpose of each
and every branch of Vedic Science. Each of those branches of 'Brahma
vidya' - knowledge of the totality - gives a complete insight, each
from its own vantage point, into the mechanics of creation. Each
branch of Vedic Science offers the potential to raise life to its full
dignity - enlightenment to the individual and a diseas e-free,
problem-free society for every nation.

As It Should Be
The whole truth about life - the whole truth about freedom and
predestination - is summarised in a little interaction of Maharishi. A
few years ago Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was interviewed by a French
journalist, who asked: 'Maharishi, how does the world look like in the

highest state of consciousness?' Then Maharishi said: 'Then you see

that everything is exactly as it should be'. The man, not realising the
depth of this expression, asked: 'But why then, are you working so
hard to improve the situation?' Whereupon Maharishi smilingly
answered: 'Because that is exactly as it should be'.
In this little anecdote, the whole wisdom of the Vedas and the Vedic
literature is contained. Thus, it forms a beautiful conclusion to this
essay on the mechanics of creation, seen in the light of Maharishi's
Vedic Science.