Breaking Free from Karma

Eastern & Western Perspectives on the

Fate-Free Will Dilemma

Nirgunananda Giri

(Email: swaminirguna@gmail.com)
Manuscript dated: 30 August 2020
 Table of Contents

Preface ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 8
From Los Angeles to Mumbai ................................................................................................. 8
The Problem in a Nutshell........................................................................................................ 9
Karma and Purushartha – ‘Unpacking’ the Terminology....................................... 12
Practical Benefits of this Topic ................................................................................................ 16
I. Karma, a Traditional Perspective ............................................................................................ 17
Role of Beliefs and how it shapes our Karma? ............................................................ 20
Conditioning and deconditioning of beliefs.................................................................. 21
What do We Believe in - Fate or Free Will? .................................................................. 23
Karma One-on-One ........................................................................................................................ 26
Types of Karma and Their Relationships ...................................................................... 33
II. Karma and Free Will — Philosophical and Scientific ................................................... 38
Perspectives ........................................................................................................................................... 38
Is Free Will just an illusion? ................................................................................................. 38
A Clear Case for Free Will ...................................................................................................... 39
Free Will – A Western Perspective ........................................................................................ 41
Eastern Counterparts to Western Philosophy ............................................................ 42
Vedic Perspective — Can Karma be Modified and Erased? ....................................... 45
Plan A: Avoid New Karma — The Right Inner Attitude to Freedom ................ 45
Rituals, Astrology, and Worship to Counter Karmic Actions................................ 47
The God Element and the ‘Mysterious’ Grace Factor ............................................... 49
Prayers, Devotion, and Their Significance .................................................................... 51
Faith, a Mental State for Working with Karma............................................................ 55
Non-Theist Perspective on Karma and Self-effort.......................................................... 60
Sankhya, Jainism, and Buddhism ....................................................................................... 60
Buddhist Perspective: Cycle of Cause-Effect Relationship ......................................... 63
A Simplified Model of the Wheel of Samsara ............................................................... 67
Mental Conditioning and its Role in Creating Karma............................................... 68
Scope for Introspection and Mindfulness ...................................................................... 70
How did we get Stuck in this Cycle? ................................................................................. 71
Ignorance, the Root Problem ............................................................................................... 74
Scientific Perspective ................................................................................................................... 77
A Case of Gambling Addiction ............................................................................................. 79
Addiction, the Barrier to Free Will.................................................................................... 81
Practical Apps – Breaking the Addiction Loop ................................................................. 86
III. Vasanas – Habitual Tendencies ............................................................................................. 87
The Missing Link in Scientific Studies ............................................................................. 87
Fate and Tendencies (Prarabdha and Vasanas) ......................................................... 89
The Manifestation of Vasanas .............................................................................................. 90
Free Will, an Expression of Inner Freedom .................................................................. 92
Practical Apps – Understanding Our Tendencies ........................................................... 94
IV. Purushartha – Free Will and Self-effort ............................................................................. 95
Terminologies of Free Will and Self-effort .................................................................... 96
Four Kinds of Purushartha and the Choice Factor ......................................................... 98
 The Ultimate Purushartha Choice and the Vedic Perspective ............................. 99
Decision-making Factors - Purushartha choices ..................................................... 101
Practical Apps – Exercising Self-effort .............................................................................. 104
Fate & Free Will – A Philosophical Comparison and Summary ................................. 105
V. Transformation by Overcoming Vasanas ........................................................................ 108
Breaking the Cycle of “Vasanas – Actions” ................................................................. 109
Purifying Vasanas through Right Intentions – The Karma Yogi ........................... 112
Meditation and the Art of Controlling Attention .......................................................... 113
The Right Dosage of Effort ................................................................................................. 115
The Yogic Formula for Transformation ............................................................................ 118
Stilling the Thoughts and Resetting Intentions ....................................................... 119
Buddhist Path to Transformation and Ultimate Freedom....................................... 124
Buddhism and the Vedas – Two Sides of the Coin .................................................. 127
Multiple Models of the Wheel of Samsara .................................................................. 129
The Vedic Path – Mature Conviction versus Blind Faith .......................................... 132
Purushartha: The Essence of all Practices - Vedic and Non-Vedic .................. 137
Practical Apps – Transformation through Spiritual Practices ............................... 140
VI. Non-Dualistic Perspective and Resolution .................................................................... 142
Waking up to Reality: An Anecdote .................................................................................... 142
Advaita Perspective: Resolution of Fate-Free Will Dilemma ................................. 149
Advaitin’s Planes of Reality ............................................................................................... 152
Time-based Path versus Instant Liberation .............................................................. 155
Practical Apps: Inquiry into the Mistaken Identity ..................................................... 159
Foundational Concepts in Non-Duality & Consciousness ........................................ 162
Superimposition and the Birth of Ego! ........................................................................ 162
Nature of Consciousness: Comparing Scientific and Advaita Perspectives .... 165
Conditional and Unconditional Free Will – The Non-Dual Resolution ......... 170
A Direct Approach to the Non-Dual Truth.................................................................. 171
A Traditional Approach to Non-Dual Truth............................................................... 173
The Pursuit of Happiness and Freedom ...................................................................... 175
Self-realization, Where the ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ Ceases ................................. 176
CONCLUSION – Fate or Free Will?......................................................................... 178
Epilogue ................................................................................................................................................ 183
Moral and Religious Implications of Free Will and Karma ..................................... 183
The post-Pandemic World and the Effects of Collective Karma ........................... 187
References & Notes ......................................................................................................................... 192
Acknowledgment .............................................................................................................................. 195