fbpx
33.9 F
Spokane
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeCommentaryAskFreewill: A Hindu Perspective

Freewill: A Hindu Perspective

Date:

Related stories

My Journey through Homelessness Part Five: Learning to Live Outside the Box

The value of my homeless experience lies not so much in having learned how to live outside — at least not in the geographical sense. The value of my homeless experience lies in having learned how to live outside the box.

Lost in Translation: Isn’t It Time We Moved Beyond a Fear-Based Repentance?

When I hear the kingdom is at hand, followed immediately by the command to repent, the good news is overshadowed by the fear that I’m not good enough to be part of the kingdom of God.

Inspiring Others: How Our Marriage Turned 50

As we prepare to celebrate 50 years there are so many thoughts and memories going through my head. I have joked about how I don't know how you've put up with me for this long, which is really true in a sense with my Irish enthusiasm and temper.

Taking the Road ‘Less Traveled by’ Has Made ‘All the Difference’

Pete Haug remembers hearing Robert Frost read his poem "The Road not Taken" 65 years ago. It reminded him of his spiritual journey out of the Christianity of his youth into choosing the Baha'i faith as an adult.

Ask an EOC: Can You Confess in Private to God but not in Church Confession and be Forgiven?

Concerning the sacrament of Confession, Christ directly gave the authority to his Church to remit or retain the sins of the penitent. 

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

Freewill: A Hindu Perspective

Editor’s Note: FāVS is launching a new series on Freewill. For the next few weeks our columnists will answer questions on the topic, including: What is free will? Do human beings have it? Is it possible to have some form of free will in one or more areas of life and not in others? What role, if any, does God play? If it exists, does it bring a sense of security, if it doesn’t exist does it lead to complacency? How does your view impact concepts of justice and accountability?

By Chellappa Deva

We are free to make our own decisions in life. We create are own destiny.

The Vedas say if you sow goodness you will reap goodness. If you sow evil you will reap evil.

We don’t believe in fate, we believe in the law of karma. Everything that happens to us is because of our actions in this life or a past life, whether they are good, bad or mixed experiences. These experiences are all good because they help us to mature as a soul.

Experiencing the World

God has given us this world to have experiences so we can mature. At the core of our soul is God and we are here to realize that. We came from God and are on a journey back to God. We are already one with God we have to learn to live up to that perfection.

These experiences help us to grow like a acorn into a mighty oak tree.

Karma is the teacher. Maya, the playground where we make our karma’s, and Anava is our ignorance or sense of separateness from God. 

Understanding Karmas

Karma is on many levels personal, family, community, national, global and universal. Specifically, there are three types of karma. First is sanchita, the sum total of our karmas yet to be resolved. Parabadha are karmas we are  experiencing in this life, and kriyamana are karmas we are currently creating.

God is loving and helps to evolve spiritually. He is not wrathful or punishing. It is our karmas that come back on us that rewards or punishes us. We can atone and soften or dissolve our karma’s.

Another law is that there is no experience that you cannot handle. By living a religious life, virtuous living, selfless service and penance karma’s can be softened or negated.

Going to a Hindu temple, God, the great inner plane, beings and devas can help to clear up karmas going back many lives.

Pilgrimage and daily spiritual practices such as home worship, meditation, hatha yoga, changing mantras, scriptural study and singing to God and the gods will soften karmas.

Donating time money and helping to build a temple brings good merit. Supporting orphanages, homes for the elderly and religious institutions is helpful. Passing on our religion to the next generation will bring good karma and fulfill our obligation as a parent or elder.

When you do these practices good things will happen in life for you. Your timing will be perfect and opportunities will come to you. Creating bad karma can bring woeful births and problems for family friends and country.

From the Tirukural

Virtue yields Heaven’s honor and Earth’s wealth. What is there then that is more rewarding for a man There is nothing more rewarding than virtue,nor anything more ruinous than its neglect.

Chellappa Deva
Chellappa Deva
My name is Chellappa Deva. In 1968, I found the teachings of Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. He is the founder of Kauai's Hindu Monastery, Hinduism Today International Magazine, Hindu Heritage Endowment and the author of "Dancing Living and Merging with Siva" books. I liked the teachings and have followed them ever since. I am currently helping the Spokane Hindu Temple and Cultural Center to come up.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

1 COMMENT

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
trackback

[…] SpokaneFāVS, Deva likes to write about the Hindu perspective on subjects such as freewill and abortion. He tries to write from the perspective of every Hindu because there are several […]

spot_img
1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x