If we rely on scriptures and not Bhakti traditions, free-will has some relevance. The romanticism of Bhakti traditions might have underplayed this. The question that arises is: to what extent does free-will alter destiny? Naturally, another logical confusion unfolds: destiny in this life or in subsequent lives as well?

What I write now will seem like stories to those who don’t have Sadhana experience. My request to them is to unconditionally accept this. These will seem like stories because we will be looking at the interplay of Sadhana and Astrology. Where Sadhana is purely experiential, astrology is highly dependent on mental rigour. Their interplay is extremely difficult to understand, expression notwithstanding.

For this, we have to understand Time (the prominent consideration in astrology) and Soul (the consideration of Sadhana).

For easy understanding, we may divide both time and soul into 3 categories. For Time, the three categories are:

1. As we humans feel time. It passes. It seems like a scale (100 years or 50 years or 1 hour or minutes). 
2. That time is a variable. When one is happy, time passes quickly. When one is unhappy or uncomfortable, time passes slowly. 
3. Time passes very fast (from the standpoint of humans). 1 day of the Devas is 1 year for humans, and one day of Bramha is many years for humans. Finally, a situation where there is no Time (where everything is instantaneous) from the standpoint of humans. 

Similarly, for the soul, the three conditions are:

1. We humans know that there is some energy inside us that gets us going. Consider that energy to be the soul. 
2. When one dies, the soul goes out of the material body. This soul is called the ‘PRETA’. 
3. A situation when the PRETA reaches the timeless state where everything for it is instantaneous. Or ATMA. This is a state almost similar to Godhood, beyond the bondage of Time. 

Tantra, as an aspect of Sadhana, is extremely important. Tantra is a scientific (para-scientific) mechanism of spirituality that administers the inner mechanisms of governance of creation. The Soul, Preta, and the Living are put into a mechanism using Tantra. This scientific mechanism administers all aspects, including physicality, mental faculty, and emotions.

Astrology is an attempt to understand the Tantric mechanism and how it affects the administration of the soul, preta, and the living. This gives astrology the scope to peep into the past, present, and future. The mental rigour aspect of astrology alone is not sufficient to delve into the past, present, and future. Sadhana is extremely crucial for this. Unless the working of the soul, preta, and the living is understood (this can be ensured through Sadhana), astrology remains only a truncated science.

In Sadhana, one experiences that our actions, thoughts, and emotions are actually being ordered by some force external to us.

Bhagavad Gita — 5.8–9
नैव किञ्चित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित् ।

“The knower of truth thinks, ‘I do nothing at all,’ even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing…”

The Gita lists bodily and mental functions and says the wise understand these are merely movements of the senses in the field of nature.

Yoga Vashista says:

स्वभावेनैव कार्याणि भवन्ति न तु कर्तृता ।

Translation:
“Actions occur by their own nature; there is no individual doer.”

This Yoga Vasistha line is probably the nearest:

अहं करोमीति मिथ्यैषा भावना बन्धकारिणी ।

“The idea ‘I am the doer’ is false imagination and the cause of bondage.”

From an astrological perspective, the following line is very relevant.

Katha Upanishad — 2.2.13

अशरीरं शरीरेष्वनवस्थेष्ववस्थितम् ।
“The bodiless dwells in bodies.”

This has to be properly explained. Asarira means that which doesn’t have a body. Many wrongly interpret this as God, Atma, or Nature in totality. It actually means that bodyless entities dwell in the body. The most prominent among them is the Preta (one entity of nature). By dwelling, it means that they order our body to act, including the mind and feelings.

The Preta is guided by Gunas. The most appropriate meaning of Guna is its literal meaning: strand. This can be compared to a string.

In the Odiya language, they say:

‘ଦଇବ ଦଉଡ଼ି, ମଣିଷ ଗାଈ, ଯେଣିକି ଟଣେଇ ତେଣିକି ଯାଇ ।’

Translated as: “As the string of Daiba (an approximation of God or Nature) pulls, so one moves.”

The Gunas are the string, and Daiba is the Asarira (Preta among other entities).

For astrological considerations, Sadhana establishes a connection with the Preta. It is the Preta that assists the astrologer in making correct decisions regarding a horoscope. This is very interesting. A relationship develops between the Preta and the astrologer. Depending on the Preta, or the type of Preta, the modalities of the relationship are decided. What is even more interesting is that the astrologer who is engaged in Sadhana may or may not know this.

Let’s look at a figure to understand further.

The Pretas influence living beings, the Atmas influence the Pretas, and the Atmas can also influence living beings.

Through Sadhana, when an astrologer establishes a connection with a Preta (sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly), the connection is conditional, almost like a give-and-take relationship. This give-and-take relationship has further ramifications. However, if the astrologer establishes a relationship with the Atma Loka, the relationship may not be conditional or based on give-and-take principles. This also has further ramifications.

Time is zipped in the realm of Pretas. This simply means that 100 years on Earth are like 3–4 days there. A Preta can see 100 years on Earth in 3–4 days in Preta Loka and therefore knows the past, present, and future of humans, which it tells the astrologer. The astrologer, in turn, tells the clients. The predictions are sometimes very accurate, including even names and locations.

But this has underlying conditions. The astrologer has to do things for the Preta. If the astrologer uses the information given by the Preta for spiritual purposes, it is a mutually beneficial outcome. The outcome becomes detrimental for both if it is used for material purposes. I have met many such astrologers and found only one who partially uses this for spiritual purposes. I repeat, astrology started for spiritual needs and not material ones.

We are analysing all this to understand free-will.

The scriptures very clearly say that we do nothing. It is our ego that prompts us to feel that we are the doers. We forget the gift given to us humans: to realise this. The only free-will that humans have is to realise that we do nothing. This indeed is a luxury.

In a luxurious life, one has a beautiful house, but the errands are done by others. One has an expensive car, but it is cleaned by others and driven by another person. The nature of luxury is simply this: others do the work for you, and you enjoy and benefit.

Once one realises that even thinking, feeling, speaking, and even desiring are not done by him, but are done for him by others, it is absolute luxury. The purpose of astrology is to help an individual realise this. An incredible gift by — call it God. And this is what we miss, and hence miss God.

Naturally, another question arises: do Preta or Atma have free-will? Because it seems that they are doing everything and we are acting on their orders. This we will explore subsequently.

Till then, relax and enjoy life.

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