If God decided my Fate, then why should i put efforts

Since childhood, we are brought up in the society inculcating a firm belief in the existence of a Super natural power God. We are told God punishes those who do evils and takes care of those who love God and love the people around them whom God created. As time passes by, we hear stories from our parents, teachers, well wishers on how our "Fate is Pre decided", "Everything  good or bad in our Life is due to Karmas of purva Janma" etc. And as we grow big, complete college and start our professional career, one question that starts bothering us is that "If God has already decided my Fate or everything that happens in my life is due to results of my Purva Karmas, then what is the point in my putting in any efforts, because i don't have control on my destiny" . And this questions bothers us only at those times when we are facing failures in life.Today, we will try to find answer for this question.

I will first tell you a story about 3 friends and then try to give my perspective on the Laws of Fate, Destiny and Freewill. There were 3 friends, we will call them A, B and C who joined same company after completing their graduation. All 3 started at a Salary of Rs. 3 lacs per annum. After working for 2 years in that company, they found that their was no growth in company and so their careers were struck. Since A was a firm believer in fate and destiny, he thought God has already decided my career path, so let me carry on as per his wishes. B and C though believed in destiny but they had faith in their efforts and hard work too. So both B and C cleared couple of certification courses. Afterwards B got a job in a large Corporation with a decent salary hike. And C got a job in a small start up company where he had to start from scratch. But C also got a decent salary hike.



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Since then, these friends were busy in their life and were unaware of the whereabouts of each other. After 10 years, they got connected through Facebook and decided to meet. They met at A's house. A told them that he was continuing in the same company as he had joined after graduation. He had got 2 promotions and his salary was of Rs. 10 lacs per annum. B told that he has he cleared couple of more certifications, he changed 2 more companies during last 10 years and now he is earning Rs. 20 lacs per annum. And now it was C's turn. C told them that his fortunes have completely changed in last 10 years. The small start up company where he joined had grown phenomenally and he had played a key role in the success of the company. The company recognized his efforts and rewarded them with growth in career and big bonuses year on year. His current salary was Rs.50 lacs per annum.

Now lets try and understand the concept of Fate, Destiny and Freewill. Somebody has rightly said "Fate is what you are given, Destiny is what you make of it". Being a student of astrology, i firmly believe that whatever happens in our lives is because of our Karma's of past. For good Karma's we get good things in life and for bad Karma's we get bad experiences in life. You may call God has decided your Fate but ultimately its you and your past Karma's which decide your Fate. You may not have control on your Past Karma's and their results but God has given you the power to take charge of your current Karma's which will decide your future lives. Another way of looking at is that due to past life Karma's, though God may have decided your starting point of this life(your family, its status, your immediate environment on which you have no control) and the final destiny of your current life, however he has given you the choice to choose the path in this journey. There can always be more than one path to a destination. You can choose the path which is less bumpy, which has beautiful surroundings, lots of greenry, rivers in between. Basically this is the path of good Karma's and this is Freewill on which you have control.

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Now lets apply above principles to our story. A mistook Fate and Destiny to believe that our hard work and efforts will yield no results. So he got only which Fate had in store for him. B though believed in Fate and Destiny, he also had a strong Self belief and through his hard work, he wanted to shape his career in his own way. But since due to his past Karma's, his efforts resulted in limited success, though he was far better off than A. C on the other hand, had the support of his past Karma's i.e Fate and through his Self belief and hard work, he was able to achieve extra ordinary success in his life as Luck was also by his side. In Corporate world, we always call such people "He was at the right place at the right time, so he suceded". 

So the morale of the story is, that even though we may not have Luck by our side, through our Self Belief, hard work and perseverance, at least we can try to achieve what B achieved in his life. We still will be far better off than A. At least this much Freewill God has given to all of us. And who knows with our Good Karma's, if not of past but of present, we may also be at the right place at the right time.

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