From "The Discovery of India"...

[Orange-Man]

A wonderful thought on pre-destined destiny and free will by Jawaharlal Nehru in his book “Discovery of India”:

“Whether there is any such thing as human freedom in the philosophic sense or whether there is only an automatic determinism, I do not know. A very great deal appears certainly to be determined by the past complex of events which bear down and often overwhelm the individual. Possibly the inner urge that he experiences, that apparent exercise of free will, is itself conditioned. As Schopenhauer says, ‘a man can do what he will, but not will as he will.’ A belief in an absolute determinism seems to me to lead inevitably to complete inaction, to death in life. All my sense of life rebels against it, though of course that very rebellion may itself have been conditioned by previous events.”

Basab

[manya]

Excellent!

[Orange-Man]

Thank you, Manya ji.

Basab

[rathore]

This topic I have contemplated on with no conclusion...

My hypothesis for free will: If there is no free will at all, then everything loses its meaning. Even "meaning" loses its meaning. Moreover since the scriptures usually tell to take action so Free-will must be there.

My hypothesis for pre determination: God is all knowing, so whatever action I take (or will take) in any circumstances whatsoever is already known to God. So I can only have free will if God is not all knowing.. which starts to sound absurd if we assume God is not all knowing.

This brings us to another riddle:

Can God create a rock he himself can't lift? If he can, then somethings can be impossible for God himself. If he can't create then also somethings can be impossible for God. Either way it doesn't sound right.

So the problem seems to be because of thinking of God in a limited perspective, which to me means God is beyond knowing for us. He is unknowable and perhaps also knowable at the same time. So maybe we can never know if there really is free will or pre determinism or both? Or maybe this planet is just hell of another planet

[Orange-Man]

Thank you, Rathore, for sharing your thoughts on the matter.

Basab