How free is the Freewill?

Baal Bazaa.n ra su-e-sultaa.n barad
Baal Zaaghaa.n ra ba goristaa.n barad

Wings bring a hawk to Kings;
Wings bring a crow to the grave.

Rumi

The toss-up between the free will and the determination has baffled thinking men since the time immemorial. Simplifying the conundrum it comes down to whether all our actions are pre-determined or acts of our own free will. In the first instance if it is all determined then we don’t have to worry about being accountable for our actions; good, bad or ugly as we don’t have any control over it and hence no risks and rewards could be associated with our actions. On a fundamental level it takes away any incentive to do good because one will do good if one is supposed to. On the other hand if it is all act of our own freewill then why many of us against our strongest desires and despite our best efforts remain stuck with profane lives, superficial jobs, indifferent peers and uninspiring leaders. This makes an aggrieved party completely responsible for its grievance because this is what he has brought on himself by his own free will. Strict adherence to any of these seems to be a losing proposition.

This whole journey of life seems to be a late night train trip, say, from Delhi to Aligarh wherein you know the origin and destination and have some recollection of the stations in between but have no particular memory of the vast fields and landscapes in between. The train is also a typical Indian train which can stop in the middle of nowhere in between without any prior notice. The compartments are all lit well but there is a pitch dark outside. You can move within the train from one end to another, talk to fellow passengers, drink tea, read a book, listen to music, doze off , visit the toilet or just stare in the darkness. There is enough manoeuvrability allowed within the compartment and you are accountable for all your acts in here. That is the freewill. However, you have no idea of your exact location as the train is moving through the darkness and if stops somewhere in between you can’t do anything and have to patiently wait. If a stray cow hits the train or the winter fog thickens or the engines fail, you have no control over it. That is determination. This analogy to an extent supports the assertion that we have free will for a certain set of activities and specific spheres in our lives and hence are accountable for the corresponding acts. On the other hand there are larger events to which these activities belong on which we have no control and hence are not accountable for those acts.

This is a like the proverbial rope which each one of us are supposed to be holding. All of us have our own designated lengths of the rope and are allowed to manoeuvre within that. Beyond the designated length there is no flexibility to manoeuvre. However there are also times when you have exhausted the designated rope, another rope begins for you to manoeuvre. Yet, you are still clueless between the ropes. To conclude, I strongly feel there is a free will that makes us accountable for our actions, but the larger context in which we live is determined.