QUESTION ONE:
If all knowledge is contained in the starting point and the starting point contains complete knowledge of all future developments, does it mean that everything is predetermined and that there is no free will?
Maharishi says that there is 100% determination and 100% free will. Determination is related to the past, free will is related to the present. Our actions in the past have created the situation in which we fi nd ourselves in the present. Th ese past actions have reduced our choices to hose available at the present time.
To this extent our actions are determined. In the present we can exercise our free will and choose among the available choices of action. If, for example, we are on a journey and have reached London, our journey to London has limited our choices for further transportation to those available in London. However, from the transportation in London we can choose freely, exercising our free will. Knowledge of the future helps
us to make the right choices and manage our life more perfectly. Th e relationship between determination, free will, and knowledge of the future can also be seen from a diff erent perspective. Maharishi said that everything in the universe is fi xed from beginning to end. At the moment the universe was born, all knowledge of what would happen within its lifespan was already present. Prediction of the future
with the help of the mathematics of Vedic Astrology is possible only because everything is fixed from beginning to end. Evolution fl ows in a predetermined direction. The individual can use his free will to be in tune with the evolutionary fl ow, to act in tune with all the Laws of Nature. Or he can choose to oppose evolution. An individual who has reached the state of enlightenment will naturally use his free will
to act in accord with all the Laws of Nature. A religious person would say, ‘Let Thy will be done’. Unenlightened individuals will only act in accord with the Laws of Nature in relationship to their level of consciousness. The Vedic texts discuss the question as to what is more important, the actions in the past that have determined our life and created the current situation, or the actions in the present that are meant to change the current situation. Th ey very much praise the eff orts made in the present, because it is in the present that we can overcome any negativity from the past, whereas the past is no longer accessible. An individual should always try to overcome the negativity from the past; whether he succeeds or not, it is a praiseworthy eff ort. Th e most effi cient way to improve the situation in which we fi nd ourselves is through Maharishi Yagya performances which directly enliven the Laws of Nature, thereby bringing nourishment to our life and reducing negativity created in the past.
Jai Guru Dev
