I want to know what you think about the existence of free will on earth.

[Respected Dattaji, I want to know what you think about the existence of free will on earth. Can we humans change some things in our lives with our effort and work or everything is predetermined and its just an illusion that we have free will? Rather i would say everything is as per Gods will?! Best regards, - By Monika Varma]

Swami rerplied: This world is called as karma loka, which means that nothing is predetermined and you have free will in complete reality. You can change your destiny by your will and effort as said by Swami Vivekananda. The Gita also says that God does not interfere in any activity or fruit of the deeds of any human being and some people think otherwise due to their ignorance (Naadatte ...). The upper worlds are called as bhoga lokas in which you enjoy the deeds of your fruits and you will not have any freedom there. When you come back to this earth, you take birth in a specific family with certain set of conditions and your such birth is the end of bhoga loka or the last fruit enjoyed by you in the name 'Prarabdha'. Of course, the balance of your deeds in the form of a set of qualities (samskara or vasana) accompanies you in the name 'Sanchita' from the upper world and influences you in the activities of your life here. Such sanchita is not the will of God, but the balance of your will only after coming from upper world. All the deeds done by you on this earth, influenced by your own set of qualities (Sanchita), form the basis for the future fruits in the upper world in the name 'Aagami'. Thus, you are determined by your own inner qualities, which are called as destiny. These qualities are in the phase of knowledge only and hence, can be rectified by the right knowledge received from a right preacher. Thus, you can change your destiny with the help of the right knowledge and hence, you have the full freedom here.