Just as yesterday’s misdeeds are adorned and transformed by today’s good actions, so too can the effects of past deeds be changed by present virtue. Therefore, one should strive always to be a doer of good. Consider the person who, misguided by faulty logic, believes everything is determined by fate. If a fire were to break out, such a one should simply say to the flames, “Let it burn or not burn by fate,” and do nothing. If destiny alone were the cause of all that happens, what need would there be for human effort? Destiny would itself bathe, give, eat, and perform every action without us. If one insists that all is moved by fate, what use is there in teaching or scriptural instruction? Such a person, like one who is mute, is moved only by destiny—so what is there to teach, and who is there to teach? In this world, we do not see stillness except among the dead; everywhere, movement brings about results. Thus, the idea of destiny is meaningless. Destiny, being formless, does not act as a helper for embodied beings; actions of the hands and other limbs arise only from effort, never from destiny. Even as the mind and intellect are directly experienced, destiny is never perceived. The wise say that destiny is like a cowherd—unreal and imagined. Suppose there is some other power apart from the intellect—what difference would there be between the two? If imagination is the authority, why not imagine that human effort itself is the cause? There is no connection between the formless and the embodied, just as the sky has no attachment to physical forms; the embodied are seen to be attached, but destiny does not exist. If, indeed, there is another who assigns functions to all beings in the three worlds, then let destiny make all beings sleep, let destiny do everything. The speech, “I am compelled by fate; what can I do?” is only a word of consolation, not the true nature of fate. Fate is imagined by the foolish, and those devoted to it have perished. The wise, however, through their own effort, have attained the highest state. Tell me, by whom in this world is fate declared—by the brave, the valiant, the wise, or the learned? If someone lives after his head is severed, despite the declarations of those who know time, that would be the highest fate. If someone becomes learned without study, that too would be the highest fate. But, O Rama, by the sage Vishvamitra, fate was cast aside; through effort alone, Brahminhood was attained, and not otherwise. Other men who became sages reached the heavens only through their own striving. The lords of the demons, having destroyed the hosts of gods, gained sovereignty over the three worlds solely through effort. Later, the lords of the gods reclaimed the world, which had been ravaged by demons, by their own vigor and striving. Rama, water remains in a vessel only through effort and proper method, not by fate; it stays in a pitcher for a long time because of technique, not destiny. In all matters of taking, giving, striving, confusion, and wandering, ability is seen, not fate—just as with medicine. All causes and effects are absent; what is imagined arises from one’s own thought. Without considering fate, which is unreal, O auspicious one, rely on supreme human effort. At this, Rama asks, “O Lord, knower of all dharmas, the foundation has been well established; tell me, O Brahman, what is called fate in this world?” The reply comes: “Raghava, human effort is the agent of all actions, not anything else; everywhere, it is the enjoyer of results, not fate. Fate does nothing, nor does it enjoy, nor does it even exist; it is unseen, unrespected, only an imagination. For those who experience results, the accomplishment comes through human effort; whether auspicious or inauspicious, people refer to the outcome as ‘fate.’ The attainment of desirable or undesirable things is always brought about by human effort—this is what is called fate. “Whatever result is bound to happen, as the sole outcome of human endeavor, that alone is called ‘fate’ in this world. But, O Raghava, in truth, fate does nothing at all for anyone; it is like space—whether it acts or not, it makes no difference. When the result, auspicious or inauspicious, of accomplished human effort arises, the reasoning, ‘this is how things stand,’ is what is called fate. The thought, ‘Thus was my understanding, thus was my resolve,’ and the attainment of the result—this reasoning is what is called fate. The word ‘thus,’ used when results are attained, is merely a word of consolation; this alone is what is called fate. “Then Rama asks, ‘O Lord, knower of all dharmas, the actions previously accumulated—this is what is called fate; how have you dismissed it?’ “Well said, Raghava, you understand. Listen, I will tell you everything, so that your understanding will become firm in the view that fate does not exist. The inclination that was once deeply embedded in the past has now, through the force of action, reached its fruition in people. A creature’s actions instantly follow its inherent tendencies; the absence of other actions or tendencies does not occur. One who desires a village attains a village; one who seeks a city attains a city. Each strives according to their own inclination. “Whatever actions were performed here in the past with intense resolve are, by convention, referred to as ‘destiny.’ Thus, destiny is one’s own actions; actions are the mature form of one’s inclinations. Inclination is not different from the mind, for the mind is regarded as the person. What is called destiny is simply those actions; action, indeed, is the mind. Since the mind is the person, it is certain that destiny does not exist apart from it.” Thus, the teaching is clear: what we call fate is none other than our own past actions and intentions, brought to fruition by effort. There is no separate destiny apart from the striving of the mind and the will.