Why doesn’t Hinduism support free will

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Published on Jan 08, 2015

Question: Why doesn’t Hinduism support free will?

Answer: Free will is a property of the soul that is suppressed by material identification.

Material nature is a prison for souls who want to enjoy its allurements, as we (souls, jivaatma) are bound to matter by the strength of our desires in forgetfulness of Krishna.

The material environment gives the false impression of freedom due to Maya, Krishna’s energy by which His absolute supremacy and unlimited power is concealed.

Because our propensity to pursue enjoyment is antithetical to our original reality as Krishna conscious persons, we think ourselves the doers of the material actions, although in reality everything is controlled by Krishna.

The actual question of free will in the material environment is only on the single axis of how much we want to surrender to Krishna or keep trying to enjoy the prison of the material form.

Although counter-intuitive to material thinking, the means to perfect freedom of the soul is through surrender to Krishna through any of His authentic representatives in Vaisnava guru-disciple succession.

In reality, freedom is a servant of the pure loving exchanges between Krishna and His devotees, so free will is a fact that only is obscured by illusory material identification.

[For more details, visit – www.harekrishnatube.com]

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