Category: dharma

Free will (I don’t care if I’m branded superstitious)

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There is no free will. Even in the attainment of good things or bad.

 

Iti horaśāstre(referring here to Bṛhat Parāśara hora śāstra,Chap 2,śloka 3)-

 

avatārāṇyanekāni hyajasya paramātmanaḥ/jīvānāṃ karmaphalado graharūpī janārdanaḥ//

अवताराण्यनेकानि ह्यजस्य परमात्मनः|
जीवानां कर्मफलदो ग्रहरूपी जनार्दनः||

[Indeed,the unborn paramātmā has had many avatāras. Janārdana in the form of grahas(graharūpī) grants the karmaphala of living beings.]

Basically,whatever little will you have is also coloured by your past karmas. Your svābhāva which influences how you respond to whatever situations you get and the impressions your receive in your formative phases –they too are a result of your prārabdha karma. What can possibly be changed to make this better in long run is your attitude towards what you receive and how you manage with the cards you have been dealt with.

 

 

 

Vaśiṣṭha’s stava to Sarasvatī(from the Mahābhārata)

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Source: Shalya Parvan,Critical edition(it is missing in the Southern recension).

pitāmahasya sarasaḥ pravṛttāsi sarasvati ।
vyāptaṃ cēdaṃ jagatsarvaṃ tavaivāmbhōbhiruttamaiḥ ॥

tvamēvākāśagā dēvi mēghēṣūtsṛjasē payaḥ ।
sarvāścāpastvamēvēti tvattō vayamadhīmahē ॥

puṣṭirdyutistathā kīrtiḥ siddhirvṛddhirumā tathā ।
tvamēva vāṇī svāhā tvaṃ tvayyāyattamidaṃ jagat ॥

tvamēva sarvabhūtēṣu vasasīha caturvidhā ॥

Translation:

From the Grandsire’s (manasa) lake you have arisen,O devī! This whole universe is filled with your excellent waters! Coursing through the firmament, O devī,you give your waters to the clouds! All the waters are you! Through you we exercise our thinking faculties! You are Pushti and Dyuti, Kirti, and Siddhi and Uma! You are speech, and you are svāhā! This whole universe is dependent on you! It is you who dwell in all creatures, in four forms!

 

Note:Interestingly here,the devī still retains both her watery associations and her associations with speech and wisdom(contrast this with some medieval stavas).

 

Side note: Since I am lazy,this is the place where you can find this in the Ganguli translation.

Addendum: The stava in Devanāgari

पितामहस्य सरसः प्रवृत्तासि सरस्वति ।
व्याप्तं चेदं जगत्सर्वं तवैवाम्भोभिरुत्तमैः ॥

त्वमेवाकाशगा देवि मेघेषूत्सृजसे पयः ।
सर्वाश्चापस्त्वमेवेति त्वत्तो वयमधीमहे ॥

पुष्टिर्द्युतिस्तथा कीर्तिः सिद्धिर्वृद्धिरुमा तथा ।
त्वमेव वाणी स्वाहा त्वं त्वय्यायत्तमिदं जगत् ॥

त्वमेव सर्वभूतेषु वससीह चतुर्विधा ॥