Is everything pre-ordained or are we what we are because of exercise of free will? Ramakrishna narrated the story of a cow tethered to a pole with a long rope. The cow feels she is free to roam anywhere but the perimeter of the area in which she can move is fixed. Ramakrishna said that similarly every human being has a free will but the length of rope is governed by God.
Chaos theory in science shows how life evolves from a seemingly chaotic situation. What happens when there are convection currents in water when it is heated in a utensil? Heat provides energy to each water molecule, which darts around at random chaotically inside the utensil. However, after a certain time a band of convection currents develop in which the heated water molecules rise up and are replaced by cold water molecules. This band is like a tube or a structure through which the water flows. Thus the seemingly chaotic behaviour of water molecules is converted into an orderly structure. If the heat is removed, this structure collapses.
Similarly, life which is an ordered structure evolves from seemingly chaotic molecules inhabiting our world. Each one of us, too, lead separate lives, darting about randomly, depending on the forces acting upon us. Yet, collectively, we go forward in a band which is called human evolution. Thus we have our free will, but are tethered to this band of evolution similar to the cow in Ramakrishna’s example.
Does this mean that whatever we do is meaningless since we will always have to act within this band of evolution which will occur regardless? The answer is ‘no’ and again the example of water convection will help.
The convection currents are dependent on both the quantity of heat and the speed at which it is transferred to the water.
The convection currents do eventually form in heated water but are speeded up by the amount and velocity of heat transfer. Thus the evolution of mankind will take place anyway. However by proper actions we can speed it up.
The earth, our home, could be our hell or heaven. Unless we master the technology to leave this planet’s gravitational field on a large scale, this will be home for generations to come. The sooner we make it sustainable and environmentally pleasing, where everybody is happy and lives a meaningful life, the better it will be for us and future generations. Our free will can speed up this process.
Life and evolution on earth (just like convection currents in water) is governed by energy. All our energies in past, present or future have and will come from the sun. All the biota, and fossil fuels, are solar-derived. Our
fossil fuels are solar energy embedded millions of years ago whereas our green trees and plants are present solar energy.
Hence our evolution is governed by the amount and intensity of sun’s energy. We get about 16,000 times more
energy from the sun than what we presently use. This energy therefore sets the limit on our evolution. The ultimate evolution of mankind will therefore be based on how best we use free will — despite the constraints — to create wonder from chaos; to establish sustainable living for the common good.