Often while thinking of the world, different philosophies, and reading about various subjects, I find myself coming to this one question. Just how much ‘free will’ do we have? Are our lives truly our own to rule? Does God govern us? Are we just puppets in the hands of God?
This blog post is my attempt to articulate my thoughts, give them a voice. I wish to discuss with you what I think. But what I want to do more is to listen to your ideas, what you think. Let your heart flow in the comments below. (Or our email - official@rehumanise.me)
Let’s start then.
We don’t control anything, at least not as much as we like to believe we do.
I think that the world is a play of energies at ‘n’ number of levels. What you and I think at an individual level affects our immediate surroundings and people. That, at large, influences the community. Then a nation depending on how strong a particular sentiment is ‘in tune’ with the collective consciousness already existing.
Let me explain.
Think of the world as an ocean. You are in the middle of it. You can swim and go where you want as long as the waves allow it. As soon as the waves become violent, it’s next to impossible to choose your direction. The larger the tide, the higher the strength/skill it requires to maneuver it. This example demonstrates how the environment affects the individual.
Apply this to our lives. For example, we all have wanted to take the car. Go on a late-night long drive with our friends at some point in time. What did it take to make that plan a success? Either your parent’s permission or the skill to sneakily get out of the house and get back in.
Again, this demonstrates how your life was under the influence (or restriction) caused by the family. And if not the family, the ‘societal norms’ play a significant role. “The ‘collective’ affecting the ‘individual.’”
What affects the collective community (like cities, countries)?
The Earth. It’s the weather; its environment dictates how we behave. What decisions we make. Our food depends on it, and the animals migrate based on it. There can be further examples, but I think you get the point. What’s happening on Earth, its state decides what we at individual levels will do in our life.
What dictates life on Earth?
Just like Earth’s environment was affecting the life of different lifeforms on its surface, shouldn’t the ‘environment Earth is in', affect it too?
What is the Earth’s environment? The massive celestial bodies around it. Our Solar System. Science tells us that “higher the mass of the body, the greater the influence of its gravity at a given distance.” For any two bodies, the gravitational force between them is directly proportional to their individual masses. And it increases as they move closer to each other and reduces as they go farther away from each other.
We’ve scientifically concluded that the Sun’s light makes life possible on Earth. The moon’s phases on any given day dictate the tide. It is only natural that the other planets in the solar system engage in exchanging energy with us. Their influences need not be directly visible in the physical realm but can be subtler. And if not, their movement in the solar system somehow acts as indicators.
India has known this for thousands of years. Our festivals, rituals are based on it. Even the names of the weekdays are based on the planets. Our Rishis observed and taught it all so long ago that we struggle to trace it. (This will be talked about more in an article about Vedic Astrology.)
Back to the point
So, here’s what I think. In this play of massive energies, we have limited free will. Your mind, your instincts, and the capacity at which you can influence the surroundings are dependent on a lot of factors that change with the situation. The higher the ‘energy’ you possess, the greater you can alter the surroundings, resulting in more freedom.
The more you work, the more you accomplish. What do you do for more control? You take more responsibility. I hope you can relate this to the situations arising in our lives.
Therefore, I feel the 80–20 principle applies here. 80% percent of life is beyond our control; it is what happens to us. The other 20% is an illusion of free will. Things ‘you think’ you can control. Within which again, 80% is just an illusion, and 20% is actual free will.
What does Astrology say?
If I were to add more from an astrological perspective, I would say ‘free will’ is different for everybody. Yes, each of us possesses a different amount of ‘free will.’ And also, our free will changes according to the area of life as well. All of us wanna go on fabulous vacations and see the world, but how many of us will actually do that?
And even the people who can, their timings will vary. Those who can’t do it today may do it sometime in the future. This shows our free will changes with time too. Sometimes you work and gain the ability, and sometimes it gets handed to you.
Our karma binds us and decides where we have the most freedom. And that is precisely what Astrology shows.
This is what I think. I would love to hear what you agree and disagree with in the comments below. Alternatively, you can email me on official@rehumanise.me or DM me on Instagram.
Thank you.
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