Hindu Beliefs about the Universe and Human Beings » Karma and Freedom: Hindu Views on Free Will

Karma: action and its results

The lesson Free Will, Determinism and Predestination set out the general debate. Hinduism's own answer is built on one idea: karma.

Karma is a Sanskrit word meaning 'action'. The law of karma says that every action a person chooses to do brings a result that comes back to them. Kind and honest actions bring good results. Harmful actions bring suffering. One of the Upanishads, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, teaches that a person becomes what they do: good by good actions and bad by bad actions.

Many Hindus see karma as a natural law, not as a judge handing out prizes and punishments. It is more like farming. Whoever sows rice gets rice. The result may come in this life or in another, because Hindus believe the atman is born again many times. That teaching comes in Samsara, Karma and Reincarnation in Hinduism.

The spec uses the plural, 'karmas'. Hindu teachers usually describe three kinds.

Key terms:

• Sanchita karma: stored karma. All the results a person has built up in past lives that have not yet arrived.
• Prarabdha karma: the part of the stored karma that is being lived out in this life.
• Kriyamana karma: the new karma a person is making now by their present actions. It is also called agami karma.

The three karmas

A traditional picture is the archer. The arrows in the quiver on the archer's back are sanchita karma. The arrow already flying through the air is prarabdha karma: it cannot be called back. The arrow in the archer's hand is kriyamana karma. The archer still decides where to aim it, or whether to shoot at all.

What limits human freedom?

Hindus do not claim that people are completely free. Three limits stand out.

• Past karma. Nobody chooses their prarabdha karma now. A person's health, talents, family and some of the events of their life are the flying arrow.
• The gunas. Remember, the three gunas shape each person's character. The Gita (chapter 3) says that actions are really carried out by the gunas, but a person fooled by ahamkara thinks, 'I am the doer.' In chapter 18 Krishna tells Arjuna that even if he decides not to fight, his own nature will drive him to it. Habits and temperament pull hard.
• Dharma. A person's duties come with their place in life, as a parent, a child, a ruler or a student. Arjuna did not choose to be born a warrior with a duty to protect his people. He can choose how well he carries out that duty. Dharma is taught fully in Dharma and the Four Ashramas.

Where freedom remains

Inside these limits, Hindus believe the present choice is free. Past karma gives the situation. It does not give the response.

The Gita supports this in three ways:

• After a whole book of teaching, Krishna does not order Arjuna. He says: think it over fully, then do as you wish (chapter 18). The choice is Arjuna's.
• Krishna teaches that a person has a right to their actions, but not to the fruits, or results, of those actions (chapter 2). What I do is up to me. How it turns out is not.
• The Gita (chapter 6) says a person must lift themselves up by their own effort, because each person is their own friend or their own enemy.

An old Sanskrit saying puts destiny and effort together: a chariot cannot move on one wheel, and destiny achieves nothing without human effort.

God's will and grace

Hindus who worship a personal God, such as Vishnu or Shiva, believe karma is not the whole story. Many believe God watches over the law of karma and makes sure results are fair. The Gita (chapter 18) says the Lord lives in the heart of every being and makes them all turn, as if they were fixed on a machine. Yet near the end of the Gita Krishna promises that those who give up everything else and take refuge in him will be set free from all their sins. This is grace: God's free gift, which karma alone could not earn.

How much does the person have to do? One group of Vishnu's worshippers in South India split over this question.

Many Advaita Hindus think differently again. They say karma belongs only to the body and mind. The atman itself was never bound, so knowing your true self is freedom.

Is karma the same as fate?

Most Hindus say no, for three reasons.

• It is self-made. Fate is handed to a person from outside. Karma is the result of the person's own past choices.
• It can change. New actions add to the store every day, so the future is still being written. Many Hindus also believe that knowledge and God's grace can wipe out stored karma.
• It leaves the choice open. Prarabdha karma fixes the situation a person meets, not what they do in it.

Views differ, though. Some Hindus speak of events as 'written' in their destiny, and some consult astrologers about the future.

Responsibility. Because karma comes from a person's own free actions, Hindus believe each person is responsible for what they do. Nobody can blame God, the stars or other people for their own choices. The gunas and past karma explain why a choice is hard. They do not excuse it. Karma also does not replace human justice: in Hindu tradition, punishing wrongdoers fairly is part of a ruler's dharma.

Exam-style question

Paper 1 style. (a) and (b) test AO1; (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.

(a) Identify three beliefs about what decides a person's future. [3 marks]

(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings about human freedom in this religion. [4 marks]

(c) Choose one religion. Explain why followers of this religion believe that people are responsible for their actions. [6 marks]

(d) 'Belief in karma means that people are not really free.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]