Monday Morning Greetings 2026 #3 – Can Destiny Be Changed?

Can Destiny Be Changed?

First, a story from the Jain tradition that sheds some initial light on our inquiry.

Five friends walk into a forest of mango trees to eat. In a very crass tone the first friend advises, “Cut down the tree!” “Why cut down the tree?” the next friend counters, “Just break off one branch.” “Why saw off the whole branch?” the third one protests, “Just break off the part where the mangos are.” The fourth suggests something more sensitive: “Why not just pick the mangos?” The fifth friend is even more considerate: “Why do we have to pick the mangos at all? Why not just take the ripe ones that have fallen on the ground?”[1]

The reactions of the different friends who desire the mangos from the tree represent different degrees of selfishness, with each requiring a commensurate level of atonement to nullify the offense.

For example, the person who wants to cut the whole tree is the most selfish and requires the strongest reaction to learn the lesson. No atonement would suffice, and only the full brunt of a karmic reaction could rectify the offense.

The person who just takes the ripe mangos that have fallen on the ground, but does not offer them to God, represents the least selfish alternative. To counteract the offense, simple sincere regret for the offense may be sufficient atonement.

The Jain text below commenting on our story sums up the science of atonement (nullifying egocentric acts):

If one unwittingly makes an imperceptible and minor mistake in dealing with someone, simply regretting one’s mistake may be sufficient to mitigate the reaction. For a more serious mistake an apology may do. An even more severe offense may require atonement. For the most egregious offenses, however, only by suffering a commensurate reaction to the offense can one be purified of that transgression. In such a case one’s destiny is certainly set in stone.

As one advances spiritually, however, one’s approach to altering destiny is not limited to atonement, especially as most of the karmic reactions we receive are connected to past acts that we are no longer even aware of. In other words, rather than merely putting one’s effort into preventing the ill fruits of one’s action, one counters one’s fate by the appropriate response to it.

After all, the real fruit of karma is the happiness and distress we feel, meted out by destiny. That certainly can be altered by understanding what is happening to us and appropriately responding to it. Socrates’ reaction to being condemned to death is a perfect example of this.

Socrates was sentenced to death by the Senate of Athens for the trumped-up charge of contaminating the youth with his teachings. He accepted his fate peacefully and made the simple request of being allowed to address his accusers.

His powerful words, recorded by Plato in “The Apology,” are worth pondering: “If you think you will harm me, you cannot harm me. You only will harm yourself.”

Socrates understood that we are eternal and that the real harm to us is acting against the interest of our soul. His thoughtful response therefore elevated his consciousness, while his accusers were karmically digging their own graves.

Was not Socrates’ fate changed by his enlightened perspective? Imagine the fate of a person in a similar situation but without his realization of the eternality of the soul. Would not that person’s fate be quite different? Therefore the best way to change our fate is by responding to our destiny with dharma or righteousness.

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is filled with many such examples in which a deeper perspective on life alters the distress meted out by the mace of destiny, such as King Parīkṣit’s response to being cursed to die, or Vidura’s reaction to being banned from his kingdom by his evil nephew.

For this article I will just share Bhīṣmadeva’s advice to his grandson Yudhiṣṭhira, who inquired from him about how to digest his terrible fate in life. He suggested a way to gives us the realizations that ultimately elevates our consciousness and brings us true happiness:

There is no cause for despondency in life, no matter how trying circumstances get, if one, through understanding destiny as God’s beneficent and absolute will, does three things. One should bow one’s head in gratitude, respond in righteousness, and do so under one’s qualified mentors, thus extracting the fruit of destiny, a personal realization elevating one to a better life. [2]

To sum up: We can best counter destiny, which is ultimately our distress and happiness, by appropriately responding to destiny rather than changing it. In this way, by extracting the fruit of destiny, which is the realization meant to elevate our consciousness, we remain free from despondency. And in that sense we can change the essence of our destiny, which ultimately is our happiness and distress.

Although I am approaching my preferred word count, I think it will be very helpful in negotiating this challenging concept to add two analogies. They demonstrate that while the broad parameters of our destiny are mostly fixed, within those parameters our destiny can still be changed by how we view and experience it.

Example 1

Destiny is like being on a rocky road to a particular destination that we have no choice but to follow. In that sense destiny is fixed. One can, however, pave that road to make the journey smooth. In other words, within the parameters of our fate we can certainly mitigate our karmic reactions, and in that way change our fate.

Example 2

Destiny is like being dealt a bad hand in poker. Your cards are fixed. Still, if you play your cards properly you can minimize your losses or even win. This is a nice analogy to show both the fixed nature of destiny and the ability to change it by how we play our hand.

Can destiny be changed? In the most important way, yes! I will leave you with Rumi:

“When providence seems to be digging a hole to throw us in, it is actually planning to quench our thirst by drawing water from the ground.”

[1] This story is from a Jain treatise on karma that a friend shared with me many years ago when I was preparing a seminar on karma.

[2] This is my summary of Bhīṣmadeva’s instructions from Bhāgavatam 1.9.12-15.