Three things that decide life and destiny for all

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Around seven billion humans inhabit the earth. Many others have come and gone in the past, each with a unique personality, life and destiny. Each has his or her own personal journey that can be appreciated fully by  that person alone. What appears as a good life to others may not really be so and vice versa. What decides the unique life of each human? All the causes that go in to determining this can be grouped into three:

1. Conditions we inherit at birth

2. Our choices, thoughts and actions through life

3. External causes outside of us that influence our lives


1. Conditions at Birth:

Genes that we inherit at birth decide how we look and to a large extent how we behave. We inherit many personality traits that determine how we shall act and behave through life. Besides this, we inherit a set of parents, country; place etc. All this has an intimate influence on how life turns out.

2. Choices, thoughts and action

Every moment of our lives a human makes choices, is engaged in thought and actions. It is easily understood how all this determines how our lives will unfold and proceed

3. External causes

Outside of us is an entire universe and what happens in it at any time may have small or big influence in our lives. It could be something as minor as what you heard a stranger say on the street or a huge earthquake or even a war.

The road ahead

Having heard of the three causes we can appreciate that we have some control on the second cause but none over the other two. However mystics and spiritual persons believe otherwise. They believe that a soul is an essential part of every human and it survives death. It goes through many lives and the conditions one inherits at birth are a direct consequence of previous lives. They reject the idea that it is a random thing like the throw of a dice and believe that the universe is intelligent and everything happens for precise causes and reason. They go even further and conclude that even external things that influence humans are a consequence of past actions stretching into previous lives and that the Universe has a supremely intelligent mechanism to organize all this for us individually or in groups for a part of it.

Since our past lives and actions were in our control. the deduction from this mystic line of thought is that actually the conditions we inherit at birth and the external things we face through our lives are in our control, that our fate and destiny is of our own making from birth to death and beyond.

A human in his younger years puts in a lot of effort to acquire education and training so that he might have a good life. During mid-life humans think a lot of retirement and many plans for their two, three or four decades of retirement. But if mystics are right, would it not be wise to do the things that make our next life starting from birth onwards be a good one too? It certainly must become a major preoccupation of retired persons at least if not younger ones in the midst of their present lives.

We shall not be able to take anything material from this life with us when we die but we shall certainly take with us a record of our deeds and some of our desires, likes and aversions with us as and many of our habits and learning that shall unfold at various times during our subsequent lives, all this because they are non-material things and can be carried by the soul. It is because of this that some can begin to play a musical instrument right from childhood and others never learn to play one.

What can humans do to improve their future life? This is knowledge one would not find through science because it has to do with our spiritual content, our souls, but mystics offer much of this knowledge because it is their major preoccupation. This blog has many older articles on spirituality that suggests some of it.

But there are skeptics who say, what is the proof of what mystics say? It could all be nonsense? They could lose a lot in following all that. No, that can not happen, dear friend, either way, shortly in a matter of a few days, years or decades it shall all end in death.

Those who believe in the indestructible soul, regarding that as their essential being and the body just its clothing and vehicles, do the things that are necessary for good new lives. In the ultimate analysis these things are simple indeed. The Lord has made it extremely simple for all humans it created. It requires that we do some good to others - other humans, life forms and the planet, simply because we expect the same, whenever it is simple and easy to do, and when it is not, we do not trouble our souls by harming others. Those who have done so, lose the fear of death, viewing it merely as a final new journey to an exciting new destination, filled with the magic of new beginnings. One concern however, remains for them, would that journey to a new destination be a quick and easy one or a tiresome and painful one? A life filled with love, truth and simplicity and faith in the Almighty makes this last journey an easy one too. Those who have discovered this path enjoy a happy life here and now, an enjoyable journey in the company of angels at its end and a happy life after that.


Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moorland_cottage,_Mountain_West_-_geograph.org.uk_-_220527.jpg  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.Attribution: ceridwen          

Comments

ProfAshok said…
In order to speak in the language of many of my younger followers on facebook where this is shared, I had uses the word 'bull shit' in the article but it seems someone on twitter thought it is better not to use a swear word so I have changed it now to, nonsense,/ Much better for older readers who find that offensive. Come to think of it I am old too and should stop using such words ( I use much worse from time to time :) ) Guess would have to become a prude now in this area, :) LOL
December 26, 2015 at 9:25 PM
ProfAshok said…
The trouble with swear words is that they can increase and become far worse and it is best to avoid them. In my younger days I had used a lot of them. As an academic I gave up on them but somehow seem to be returning to them in my older retiring years. :)
December 26, 2015 at 9:32 PM
Unknown said…
Sorry you have said past lives were in our control. No they were controlled by mind of a man in that life. He may have had my soul. Understand this difference. Hence past life, present mind and amar soul are different
December 27, 2015 at 8:45 AM
ProfAshok said…
Mind is a physical thing but desires, free choice and emotions belong to the soul, they drive our thought processes and are able to control them. Mind is like the personal computer run by the one who operates it in this case the soul.
December 28, 2015 at 7:40 AM
ProfAshok said…
And the soul has its own memory of things and experiences different from the memory of the physical mind that dies with the body.
December 28, 2015 at 7:42 AM
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