If I am destined to meet an accident, can I do anything to avoid it?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
See, the word destiny is basically a generic term used to convey the effect of factors beyond our control. So, we have to be very careful about what we mean by the word destiny.
See, sometimes destiny is just seen as an equivalent to God. The will of destiny means the will of God. Sometimes it seems like that.
But usually, destiny and God are not seen together in the sense that destiny is more a result of the workings of material nature. Based on the actions that I have done, the reactions are going to come. And now, yes, we could say the whole workings of material nature are under Krishna.
And therefore, whatever is happening is by Krishna’s will. But quite often, in philosophically analytical terms, we say destiny is not Krishna. Rather, destiny works under the will of Krishna.
So, in the Mahabharata, there is an interesting dialogue where Drona takes a vow. When he has made the command on the 11th day, he says that I will have Yudhishthira arrested. That’s what Duryodhana wants.
So, then 11th day goes, 12th day goes. By 12th evening, he is not able to arrest. Although he comes very close, somehow Yudhishthira survives.
So, at that time, Duryodhana starts chastising him. And he says that you promised that you will arrest Yudhishthira, but you have not arrested him. So, this shows you are partial.
You are too soft on the Vandavas. Duryodhana gets very angry. He says, you can see on my body the wounds caused by Arjuna’s arrows.
I have exerted to the best of my capacity for your sake, O Prince, and yet you are so foolish that you are ranting at those who are slaving for you. He says, only endeavour is in our hands and the result is determined by destiny. And the lord of destiny sits on the chariot of Arjuna.
Therefore, your efforts will not be successful. Still I will try for your sake. So, the point I am making here is that Krishna is not equated with destiny.
He is called as the lord of destiny. So, in that sense, the workings of material nature under which certain things are determined to happen in our life, they are called as destiny. So, in this framework, material nature is not fixed.
The events in our life are not literally fixed in terms like, we are not literally like robots who have to function according to a particular program and go to certain things. So, if you say something like an interactive video game, in which there are certain things which are fixed. Suppose there is a video game in which somebody has to search and find some treasure.
Somebody is playing the role of a detective. You take this clue, you will be taken here. You take this clue, you are taken here.
You take this clue, you are taken here. So, what is determined is, choices are associated with consequences. You take this choice, this is going to happen.
If you take this choice, this is going to happen. But which choice we take is not fixed. So, there is a word that is often used, that is, we have unlimited freedom within a limited framework.
So, if I am playing a video game, I may have 10 choices. I can choose any of them. I am absolutely free to choose which option to take, which clue to follow.
But the framework is limited. I have only 10 choices. I cannot create an 11th choice over there.
So, like that there are certain things which are fixed in our life. But within them we have a lot of freedom. I would say that even astrologers will find it difficult to say whether destiny itself can be entirely avoided.
So, Prabhupada gave the example that Krishna can minimize your karma. So, one time some devotee was cutting sabji for Krishna. The finger got cut.
So, I was cutting sabji for Krishna. Why did my finger get cut? So, Prabhupada said, your neck was meant to be cut. Your finger only got cut.
So, Krishna can minimize the reactions. Now, this is with respect to Krishna intervening. But with respect to our own endeavours also, we may not be able to… Ok, let’s take a simple example.
Say, I am going to drive a car. While driving a car my brakes are going to fail or my wheel is going to come off. Assuming that this is destined to happen.
Now, if I am travelling at an extremely high speed, it will be a much more dangerous accident. If I am driving at a moderate speed, the damage will be much lesser. If it is stormy weather and still I choose to drive at that time, then the wheel will come off and it will be a much bigger accident.
So, if I am travelling with someone at that time, even if there is an accident, that person will help me. So, if I am travelling with someone. So, there are so many variables involved which can alter the impact of the event that is happening.
So, in that sense, if you go to astrologers and they tell us, you are going through a bad patch now, be careful. So, that be careful is basically like, there is a rainy season, now be careful, take an umbrella. You cannot stop the rains, but you can stop the rains from affecting us that much.
Whereas, I get drenched and I get cold and I get pneumonia, other case I have a raincoat or I have an umbrella, I don’t get drenched so much. So, I am saved from all that. So, instead of seeing it as a destiny, basically we could say is that the amount of happiness and the amount of distress that we are supposed to get from a previous life in this life, that is fixed.
But the, or rather, because happiness and distress are, at one level we could say, they are subject to experiences. How much I feel happy on getting something, how much I feel unhappy. We could say that the amount of good things and bad things that are going to happen in my life, they are fixed.
But the impact of them on me can vary depending on my attitude, depending on my circumstance, depending on how spiritualized my consciousness is. So, for example, going back to the same accident example, if I am driving cautiously and my car wheel comes off and immediately I put a brake and pull my car aside. Things could be very much minimized at that time.
So, the car wheel came off, but the minimization of the damage was minimal. Some other time the damage can be much more. If say I am driving when I am tired, I am half asleep and I don’t even notice things, can be much more.
So, in general, what we should focus on is on doing our duty well. So, the Bhagavatam and other Bhagavatam, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, they rarely recommend not doing endeavor in the name of destiny. In that seminar itself I gave that example that Kamsa when he is trying to kill Devaki, at that time Vasudev tells Kamsa that if your death is destined, then you will not be able to avoid it.
So, why do you do a terrible sinful activity just to avoid unavoidable destiny? Now Vasudev does not turn that reasoning around and think, if Devaki is destined to die, why should I do all this? She is destined to die. The reason if you remember in that seminar is that actually Vasudev is doing his duty of protecting his wife and Kamsa is deviating from his duty of protecting his sister. So, the idea is knowledge of destiny should never be used as a rationalization for abandoning our duty.
Knowledge of destiny should be used to increase our commitment to duty. And so, sometimes because of some trouble we may want to give up our duty. But then we think, this trouble is destined to come to me.
Even if I try to take some shortcuts, still the trouble will come. Let me bear with it. On the other hand, sometimes we may feel that we may be allured towards some pleasure and we may have to give up morality, give up our duty for getting that pleasure.
We think, the pleasure is destined for me. If I do this and I get some pleasure, but somewhere else the pleasure will go down because the amount of pleasure is fixed. So, why should I do something immoral to get it? So, basically when we try to come to absolute cause-effect relationship, it becomes very difficult to determine that.
Say, you know, if I am going out now, I slip and fall. Now, why did I fall? So, was it because somebody had spilled water over there? Because of that person I fell. Or was it that I was not paying attention, looking at where I was walking and that’s why I slipped and fell.
Or say, you are asking me a question and because you are asking the question, so I was distracted. So, you are responsible. You could go any limits to it.
So, in general, once you start going to cause, it becomes very difficult to find out. So, what we should focus on is the cure. And that means if I stick to my duty and do it to the best of my capacity, then whatever adversity is going to come in my life, that will become minimized.
So, in some cases, the accident can entirely be averted. In some cases, its impact can be minimized. In some cases, its impact will be there, but subsequent complications may not be too much.
That way we can focus primarily on doing our duty and not worry too much about whether a destiny can be changed or not. Because it is definitely true that our future is not completely determined. Certain events in our future may be determined by destiny, but even those events, how much impact they will have on us, that is shaped by our choices, our consciousness.
And that’s why in general, we should just focus, not worry too much about destiny, focus on doing our part well.