The Gita according to Gandhi 156

The Gita according to Gandhi -Mahadev Desai

Karma and Free-will The criticism about the absence of free-will must be dealt with in some detail, though that too involves the orthodox Christian assumption we have just mentioned. Man's prakriti, the make-up with which he is born is, as we have seen, the result of the past and has to be reckoned with. There is no short-cut to the goal, it must be through the handicaps and hurdles that are a necessary condition of the race. But He who has determined the race and the conditions has also endowed man with the capacity to cope with them. A man born dumb and blind cannot obviously speak and see, but a Hellen Keller born dumb and blind can do better than speak and see infinitely better than millions who speak and see but who really don't speak and see. 'By thyself shall thou free thyself, for Self is the friend of self and Self is self's foe' (VI. 5-6). The material is given to us, we can use that and no other, but we have freedom in the manner of using it. Dr Radhakrishnan employs a happy simile: "Life is like a game of bridge. The cards in the game are given to us.