Is Karma Pointless If Destiny Is Fixed?

Question
When education, profession and wealth are all predestined then why should one work hard through school, make efforts to find a good job or even save for retirement? One should just wait for things to happen by themselves, as everything is predestined.

Answer
All lioving beings are endowed with an internal machinery, called antahkaran (अन्तःकरण​).

In the human form this machinery performs four kinds of actions: thinking, deciding, desiring and being egotistical. ​Depending on the kind of action performed, it is called one of four things: man, buddhi, chitta  or ahankaar.

This antahkaran is the only worker. It is constantly active and does not stay inactive even for a fraction of a second. It works even while the body is at rest during sleep. The only rests it gets is during the state of deep-sleep (dreamless state) or sushupti (सुषुप्ति).

The actions performed by the mind might be mental only actions, mentally attached to the physical activity, or being mentally detached and performing the physical actions [1].

As per the spiritual law, every action (karma) results in an outcome. The karma are divided into three categories. The actions performed, using our rational faculty, are called kriyamaan karma. Even though the result of each action is decided as soon as the action is performed, yet out of His kind mercy, God makes us bear the fruits of only some of those actions instantaneously for e.g. when we eat food, we feel full, when we drink water, our thirst is quenched. For all other actions, we do not have to bear the fruits of those actions instantaneously. These fruits are preserved in the subtle mind and have to be borne in multiple future lifetimes. These countless actions are called sanchit karma or preserved-actions. From the karmas performed in previous lifetimes, God selects a few karmas for which one has to bear the fruits in this lifetime. Those select few karmas are called prarabdh karma (प्रारब्ध कर्म), also known as destiny, fate, bhagya (भाग्य), kismat (किस्मत​), niyati (नियति)etc. 

Everyone has to endure prarabdha karma (fate). In everyone's life there are five principal predestined aspects i.e. age, profession, wealth, education and time of death.

So, the question arises, when we have to undergo the predestined fruits of previous actions, then why are we advised to perform good deeds?

We are expected to do good in this life because every event in life is NOT predestined. These five outcomes are predestined. The rest of the outcomes in the present and future lives depend on one’s kriyamaan karma in the current lifetime. By the grace of God, life runs smoothly, except when having to endure a few occasional problems. It is written in Shrimad Bhagvatam that saint Prahlad, who was born in a demon family, addressed his fellow demon classmates and said:

सुखमैन्द्रियकं दैत्या देहयोगेन देहिनाम्।सर्वत्र लभ्यते दैवात् यथा दु:खमयत्नतः ॥ भा ७.६.३
sukhamaindriyakṁ daityā dēhayōgēna dēhinām.sarvatra labhyatē daivāt yathā du:khamayatnatḥ . bhā 7.6.3

“O sons of the demons! Just as the sufferings inevitably befall (without any effort) upon us, similarly everyone attains sense gratification as per their destiny”.

We are rarely grateful to God in good times, but accuse Him or curse our ill-fate in difficult times. As Saint Kabir Das says:

दुख में सुमिरन सब करे, सुख में करै न कोइ ।जो सुख में सुमिरन करे, तो दुख काहे को होइ ॥
dukha mēṁ sumirana saba karē, sukha mēṁ karai na kōi .jō sukha mēṁ sumirana karē, tō dukha kāhē kō hōi

"Everyone calls out to God in the times of misery, but not otherwise. If one were to call out to Him in happy times then why will misery come?" Instead of accusing God or cursing one's fate, one needs to develop feelings of gratitude and strive to perform good deeds which would yield good results for a bright future.Lord Krishna says:

कर्मणां संचितादीनां जीवोऽधीनस्तथापि हि । स्वतंत्रः क्रियमाणे वै कृतो भगवता विदा ॥
karmaṇāṁ sañcitādīnāṁ jīvō’dhīnastathāpi hi . svatantrḥ kriyamāṇē vai kr̥tō bhagavatā vidā .

By the association of a true saint, the individual soul becomes familiar with those actions which lead to a happy and ideal future
“Though living beings are constrained by their sanchit karmas, yet they are free to perform good or bad kriyamaan karmas”.

Given our freewill, we have the freedom to perform actions. Also, every action results in an outcome. Since we want to attain an ideal life, a logical deduction would be that we need to perform ideal actions. Following the advice of ignorant beings cannot lead us towards making wise decisions. That’s why satsang - association with a true saint (see Saint or Imposter) - is so important. By the association of a true saint, the individual soul becomes familiar with those actions which lead to a happy and ideal future (see Aim of Life). 

All the karmas are driven by one of the three guna of Maya. So they can be classified into three kinds:

1.     Sattvik - virtuous actions. These are also called good actions. Honesty, purity, kindness, sympathy, compassion etc.are considered as virtues. Actions inspired by these virtues are called sattvik karm and lead towards celestial abodes. In those abodes one is provided with great sensual pleasures. However, sense gratification in these abodes is limited and short-lived. One can enjoy the luxuries of heavenly planets only as long as the fruits of one's predestined virtuous actions exist. When these are exhausted then one falls into the cycle of birth and death. 

The Gita says:

ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं​, क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति ॥
tē tṁ bhuktvā svargalōkṁ viśālṁ​, kṣīṇē puṇyē martyalōkṁ viśanti .

“After enjoying all the fruits of virtuous actions one has to come back on earth in the lower forms of life (e.g. dog cat or even lower)”.

So, if one aims to attain the permanent and ever-lasting happiness then sattvic karm are not recommended.

2.     Rajas - selfish actions - that can best be explained as somewhere in between good and bad. These actions are inspired by selfish motives. These actions result in an individual soul roaming in the cycle of birth and death in various forms of life.

3.    Tamas - bad actions - the bad attributes of dishonesty, anger, passion, greed, lust etc. which lead us towards sufferings are called tamas. The result of these actions is to undergo  sufferings of narak for an unpredictable amount of time. 

Thus according to the theory of karma, no good or bad actions are capable of permanently delivering us from our sufferings.

At this point, you might wonder “We have been born in a human form. Is there no action,that can deliver us from the miseries of life forever?” Yes, there are! To learn about such actions we need the association of a true saint, who has already attained that everlasting, unlimited bliss.

The rarest of rare human form is not meant only to undergo the results of our good and bad deeds. We have been given free-will and as a rational being we are expected to progress towards the ultimate goal of life. 

1. Human form is THE ONLY form where we can perform fruit-yielding actions.
2. We have no clue of what is predestined and what is not. In the absence of that knowledge we should strive to do our personal best. If it is not destined, we won’t get it.

उद्योगिनं पुरुषसिंहमुपैति लक्ष्मीर्दैनेन देयमिति कापुरुषा वदन्ति ।
दैवं निहत्य कुरु पौरुषामात्मशक्त्या, यत्ने कृते यदि न सिध्यति कोऽत्र दोषः ॥
udyōginṁ puruṣasiṁhamupaiti lakṣmīrdainēna dēyamiti kāpuruṣā vadanti .
daivṁ nihatya kuru pauruṣāmātmaśaktyā, yatnē kr̥tē yadi na sidhyati kō’tra dōṣḥ .

“A wise person does not sit idle relying solely on fate. He diligently works towards his goals with a firm knowledge that exerting effort is within my control; attaining a desirable result is not. So, in case, he does not get the desired results he will be certain that it wasn’t due to the lack of effort but because it was not destined for him”.

Never think ‘’everything would fall in my lap without exerting any effort’’. Suppose, you are destined to be rich. You will attain a lot of wealth in accordance with your virtuous karma. Also, that wealth might last for the whole lifetime or not. If you are not industrious, what will you do when you aren’t destined to be rich? Further, money alone does not provide everything needed for a fulfilling life. You need many other things in life, which may or may not be predestined e.g. attaining unsurpassed bliss. What will you do for those needs of life? So, being a diligent-worker with a positive mindset is very important.

That is the main purpose behind performing well-intentioned good actions.

LEARN MORE

• [1] Classification of Karma by Faculty Used