Many teachings emphasize the fact that all action is predetermined by karma. To what extent does a person actually have a choice in his actions?

Ans : You are what you choose to become. Nothing is forced on you-nothing imposed. There is no external force in this universe that can compel you. All force, all power, is within you. It is for you to choose how you will express it. The great Upanishadic seers of realisation have declared that life and the outcome of life for each and every individual is a matter of constant, continuous choice. In the Kathopanishad Lord Yama taught Nachiketas: "At every step before every individual there are two paths, the path of wisdom and the path that is merely pleasant." In another context, the Upanishads say that within the human psyche there is a constant flow of thoughts. They either take the channel of the auspicious or the channel of the inauspicious. It is for the wise, awake and alert individual to keep watch and to be immediately aware of which direction the thought flow is taking. If it is in the right direction, it should be encouraged, if it is in the wrong direction, it should be immediately checked, and the thoughts made to flow in the right direction.

Swami Sivananda reiterated this same truth in his own unique manner, summing it up briefly by saying, "Detach, attach." It is for you to say, "No," and break the connection to a wrong current of thought, and then attach to where you want the connection to be. You must constantly make use of this power of choice and detach your mind from the petty pursuits and fleeting perishable objects of this world and attach it to the lotus feet of the Supreme. Detach and attach. He constantly said that this is what sadhana is. Herein lies the secret, the key to a progressive spiritual life and the surety of attaining the goal. Detach and attach! And, as though to clinch the issue, at the conclusion of the Gita after all the great teachings had been given, Lord Krishna declares to Arjuna, "Now do as you wish." With that statement, it is up to us what we will choose, whether to follow, obey and do as the Lord has said, or whether to follow our own mind. It is up to us.

Therefore, the individual soul has freedom of choice. He can weigh pros and cons. On the basis of his own experience and logic, rationality and intelligence he can anticipate what will happen if this or that course is taken, what will be favourable or unfavourable to him, what will be conducive to his highest welfare, and what will be adverse to him. Then he can make a choice. Thus we create for ourselves our experience and our future. Long ago in ancient India they expressed the same law, "As a man thinks, so he becomes." They said that upon both the right and left shoulder of each individual two deities preside, and these deities keep saying: "Be it so, be it so." That is, whatever arises within the hidden depth of your own inwardness, which you think is not known to anyone, as you make a choice, these celestials say, "Be it so," and so it comes to prevail.

We live in the presence of God; He is a Being who can give us the highest-greater than which there is no other gift. Why would we choose to deprive ourselves of the highest and greatest of all gifts and attainments by asking for something very petty and small? That which you ask for, that you are given. Therefore, we have to guard ourselves not only from external adverse forces, but more that anything else, we have to guard ourselves against our own folly. This reminds me of a subtly humorous statement that contains great wisdom: " It is a great pity that ignorance is not painful." If it were painful, people would try to get rid of it immediately. But unfortunately, ignorance not being painful, one allows it to be, and this leads to endless suffering later on.

The entire Vedanta doctrine says that the great problems, all the suffering of man, all his problems are due to ignorance. Through knowledge alone can ultimate liberation be attained. One has to guard oneself against one's own folly through awareness, reflection and being in the company of wise people. Our situation is very much indeed a situation of choice. This choice is that which ultimately decides what you become, what your life ultimately culminates in. This is to be pondered deeply.