Eastern philosophy and Hinduism

Philosophy

In Defense of Free Will

Do we create our own destiny or does our destiny create us? Buddha would have had one answer, Jesus another, and the great Islamic and Hindu prophets and teachers still a third. The modern age of science, spiritualism, atheism, and humanism can present many more. In essence, the concept of free will, fate, and destiny is one that has baffled scholars and sages for centuries. Not only has the question of free will and fate been one of the most elusive questions facing philosophers throughout the ages, it is also one of the most important. In fact, whether or not a person's consequences are a result of his or her own actions or fate is vastly important in determining one's day-to-day goals, accomplishments, and actions. If one believes he or she has free will, then he or she will work hard, believing his or her actions are the stuff of his or her rewards and consequences. If that person believes that destiny creates him or her, that he or she is fated to become involved in certain ventures, make certain choices, and suffer certain consequences and rewards, that every thing the person does is predetermined, than he or she is much more likely to flow with events as they occur than a person who believes that he or she is creating his or her own destiny. The importance of this question can easily bee seen in many Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. In fact, Hindu's belief in a caste system, which does not allow "upward mobility," or the ability for one to better one's fate through one's actions or abilities, is a prime example of a society based on the concept that destiny creates the being, and not the other way around (Mannion 164). On the other hand, the concept of Karma, which is prominent in both Hindu and Buddhist religions, suggests that one's actions create one's destiny. Karma is the "moral compass" for the lives of both Buddhists and Hindus, and determines what will happen to the person in this life and the next, based on their actions (Sach 81). Thus, the question destiny and free will is not just one for philosophers and thinkers, but also it exists a matter of great importance in each person's personal lives, determining to some extent how they will shape their actions. Although the belief in fate, or that a person's destiny creates them, is logical for many who have a spiritual understanding of the world, a discussion of both Eastern and Western morality suggests that, in order to have a moral society, one must believe in the concept of free will and self-determination.

Both the Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism require some sort of moral responsibility. Hindus value vegetarianism and have "a reverence for cows," while similarly valuing the concept of unity, as the "transmigration of souls," or reincarnation, is intended to achieve this goal at the end of the process, when one is expected to "transcend [one's] humanity and become one with all" (Mannion 165-166). Furthermore, Hinduism is rich in tradition and rituals that practicing Hindus are expected to perform. Thus, while its moral and value requirements may be different than other religions', Hinduism does have a code of moral values, and breaking this code has consequences through the Hindu version of Karma, "the principle that maintains there is an inherent balance to the cosmos" (Mannion 166). Mannion compares the Hindu concept of Karma and reincarnation to the Biblical quote, "What you sow, so shall ye reap" (166). Good actions bring about another life filled with good and bad deeds bring about another life filled with punishment. Though the cycles of lives are intended as learning processes until "you can enjoy eternity as a fully awakened spiritual being" (Mannion 166), they are also dependent on the actions of the previous life. Thus, Hindus believe that one creates his or her own destiny through his or her actions, that a Caste system simply allows for easy placement for the deeds committed in a past life. Buddhists, who similarly believe in the concept of Karma, also have a strong commitment to the belief that their actions have consequences. While Buddhists have a much different value system than Hindus or especially Western religions that tend to see good and bad as black and white, while Buddhists see it as wholesome or unwholesome (Sach 80), they still have a code of morality, such as valuing peace over harm. Karma represents this moral dichotomy. Thus, both the Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism support the theory that one creates one's own destiny. If they did not, they could not have their system of moral rights and wrongs. Without the chance to make positive or negative decisions, a belief system cannot coherently state that one cannot make one's own decisions, creating one's own destiny. How could a belief system maintain that one would be punished for his or her actions without giving one the chance to make those decisions, instead suggesting that the decisions were simply a product of fate or destiny?

The major Western religion, Christianity, makes similar claims. By offering the punishment and reward of heaven and hell, much like Buddhists and Hindus offer the punishment and reward of positive and negative future lives through Karma, Christianity espouses that one has the ability to choose between right and wrong. Otherwise, the principal concept of the religion would be a judgment of those who could not make a choice. Although Christianity complicates matters by suggesting that a God knows what will happen in the future, the religion does not make the claim that God makes certain events happen to certain people. St. Augustine is one of the primary Christian philosophers and theologians that came up with this concept. He maintained that:

We have the free will to embrace light, and if we eschew its beacon to sulk in the darkness of sin and despond, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Such is the price of free will. Just as goodness is its own reward, sin is its own punishment -- a descent into the maelstrom of nothingness..."(Mannion 45).

Thus, both the major Eastern and Western religions maintain that one creates his or her own destiny, using free will, and that punishments and rewards exist for each person's decisions.