Yes, destiny can be changed but it requires special effort! One can never know exactly or precisely what one’s destiny is but can know how it comes into fruition. Its fruition is dependent on the coming together of different factors, including your effort (your role). So, let’s understand how destiny unfolds in detail to know how can you change your destiny.
Many people tend to ponder why to make an effort or what is my role when life is pre-destined. After all, what's meant to be, will always find its way. In reality, destiny is just one of the factors that lead to a specific outcome/happening/incidence; there are several other factors such as time, place, Mother Nature, and even your effort.
It is true that one cannot change destiny that is about to unfold in this life. However, there are two special keys with which this can be possible. Read on to unleash these keys while understanding your role in unfolding destiny!
An Experiment to Understand the Interplay of Factors
Aim: To recognize the need of one’s effort
Materials/Prerequisites: Your favorite empty decorative pottery mug in your hand
Assumption: The fragile mug suddenly slips from your hand.
Procedure/Action: Now, you can either wait and watch how the mug is falling from your hand or try to hold it so that it does not fall and break. As a wise person, you will try to catch the mug, right? This action of trying to save the slipped mug is the effort from your side. The action of “wait and watch” is ruled out, as no human would do that, especially when the mug is a favorite one.
Result: Now, despite you putting this effort, the result (destiny of the mug) is still unknown. Either the mug may fall and break or you may successfully save it from falling and splitting into pieces. So, the result can be either positive or negative.
Conclusion: From this example, it is clear that your trial effort to save the mug is there until it hits some surface, such as that of a table or a floor. You make an effort to save regardless of the result (destiny of that mug). We should always try for the positive occurrence.
Application to Real Life: This is also the case with a human life. What is meant to be is surely going to happen but because you do not know what is going to happen, you need to make an effort until the very end. Remember, you are one of the instruments in giving shape to what is going to happen (fruiting destiny).
It is unwise to not play your own role by giving an excuse that everything is pre-destined and consequently sitting idle.
Real-life Role Model Examples
- What if Albert Einstein would have not made an effort to come up with theory of relativity and E=mc2 equation?
- What if Thomas Edison did not make effort to discover light bulb?
- What if Charles Babbage did not make effort to discover computer?
- What if Aryabhata did not try to come up with the digit 0?
- What if Mahatma Gandhiji did not try to free India from the clutches of Britishers?
- What if spiritual masters did not preach about how to attain permanent happiness?
- What if all great people left everything on destiny and did nothing to come up with these timeless accomplishments?
- Above all, what if you do not earn for your living thinking that money will come on its own, as even that is destined to come?
These examples of real-life effort simply indicate that each human has to make an effort without which no desired fruit is gained. This know-how is the primary milestone achieved so that this life’s destiny can be changed.
Your Role During the Unfolding of Karma
Now that you have a role to play despite the destiny being pre-decided, it is time to know the roles. You have two types of roles to play when the past-life karma is unfolding:
Gross Roles
- Working positively towards the goal with great will power
- Acknowledging the result and then trying again sincerely until being favorable if it is not favorable (understanding that whatever has happened is the result of the karmas done in the past life, people and circumstances are only instrumental)
Subtle Roles
- Keeping a good intent (changes next life’s destiny for better)
- Praying for favorable circumstances (can change unfolding destiny or its negative impact)
- Keeping a strong determination (can change unfolding destiny)
The Positive Effects of Gross Role
- Facing any situation with positive mindset and strong willpower
- Never feeling depressed or feeling like giving-up or having a negative attitude (thanks to the “I can!” positive attitude)
- Spontaneous help from Mother Nature in terms of the required favorable circumstances (although this may take time), as Mother Nature helps those who are positive and remain sincere towards their goals
- Living a fully satisfied life
- Developing virtues such as commitment and optimism
The Positive Effects of Subtle Role
There is only one but it is the biggest positive effect of your subtle role: favorable destiny! Keeping good intent, praying selflessly or consistently, and having an unwavering determination are the causes of the desired destiny. Although all three roles help in forming favorable future destiny, the latter two have the power to change the unfolding destiny. This know-how is the secondary milestone achieved so that this life’s destiny can be changed.
Two Ways of Keeping Good Intent
Way 1
One way to get to the desired destiny is to repeat five times every morning, “May no living being be hurt even to the slightest extent through my mind, speech or body.” This intent forms the cause of making our next life peaceful and happy (favorable destiny) in future.
No effort goes futile. It surely yields the result because an effort in action has a positive intent. Remember, this intent is the cause, and destiny is the result.
Way 2
According to Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan who is the founder of Akram Vignan, if you are facing a negative or an unwanted outcome in accomplishing a goal, you must ask for forgiveness (pratikraman) and keep an unflinching determination.
The negative result is because you have obstructed your own positive or desired outcomes by bringing negativity in it. For example, if you are trying hard to become a doctor (positive effort) but are unable to, it means you had created obstruction for this by being an instrumental in stopping someone else’s from being a doctor (may be in the past life). At the same time, if you keep blaming others for not being successful, even that would result in a bad karma and consequently unfavorable destiny.
Now, if you heartily do pratikraman for the past mistake as well as for blaming anyone (they will be surely hurt) for the negative result, your past obstructive karma and the current bad karma (blaming others) wither away. Pratikraman is a three-stage subtle process in mind: Accepting the mistake of the wrong intent or action done in the past, asking for forgiveness, and resolving of never to repeat it again (firm determination). This is one way of making your intent pure.
There are two parts to understand:
- The destiny (discharge karma) of not becoming a doctor
- The determined goal of being a doctor
The result (destiny or result of the karmas of past life) may or may not be in line with the goal determined in this life. The destiny is separate from the current goal. Thus, you can achieve the goal of this life without depending on what destiny brings. For this, you need to make a determination that never wavers, no matter what the circumstances are, and make all possible sincere efforts so that your destiny can be changed.
Can Determination and Prayers Change Destiny?
Yes! While many believe that it is impossible to change or escape destiny, the truth is that one can overcome an unfavorable destiny by keeping a strong, unflinching determination backed by daily prayers. This is regardless of how powerful the other factors for shaping the destiny are.
According to Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan who is the founder of Akram Vignan, when the current destiny is not what you want, an unflinching determination of the destiny you want and prayer for gaining it, help to obtain the desired destiny. He shows the following way to change destiny:
- Make a firm determination, “I want to do this only.”
- Stick to it; do not falter even a bit, no matter how many unfavorable situations may come.
- Remain sincere towards it (keep doing what you need to do to achieve it).
According to Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, firm determination gives immense strength and power to achieve what is decided. Even Mother Nature then helps by bringing the necessary circumstantial evidences together. Therefore, once determined, remain sincere to it and do not give up midway. So, make the determination and then nobody will stop you.
Apart from determination, prayers can change your destiny in this life. However, it should not be just a prayer but a prayer with a pure heart to the Supreme Being. The higher this inner purity is, the more is powerful or impactful the prayer is! Here is what Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says about changing your destiny through prayer:
Questioner: Will it (the karma) change? Will it change destiny?
Dadashri: Even if it were summer right now, it could bring rain.
Questioner: If someone is bound by some karma, how can we facilitate his freedom?
Dadashri: However, much purity there is within, there will be that much of an effect.
Questioner: If there is anyone who is suffering from some kind of illness, some result of karma, and we pray for him from the heart, then will he get the result of that (prayer)? Can things be changed?
Dadashri: The prayer is to God! It overrides all laws; it overrides the laws of destiny.
Thus, you can change your destiny by praying with an extremely pure heart!
Conclusion
Even though the karmas of past life decide the destiny of this life, you still have a critical role to play at present. This role is of making every possible positive effort, including determination and prayer! With the latter two, your destiny can be changed.
