Determinism in Sramanic Traditions

Preface THE human life and cosmic world are full of diversities. Every person tries to know these diversities. In this process of understanding these diversities, so many questions arise in the mind. One of the important questions is as how our life is regulated. Are we regulated by destiny (niyati or prärabdha)? Or are we regulated by our own free will (puruşartha)?

Fatalism, determinism and pre-determinism (Niyativāda) are the terms generally used interchangeably. Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine stressing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate. Determinism, in philosophy, implies that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes. Pre-determinism, a specific type of determinism, articulates that every single event or effect is caused by an uninterrupted chain of events that goes back to the origin of the universe.

**Contents and Sample Pages**