________________
134
Law of Karma
speaking, freedom does not mean "no-determination but ‘self-determination'. Man's karmas determine his nature but they are man's own karmas, He says that karma and freedom are only apparent. The soul, in fact, always remains free. It is merely a Lila in which the soul has become involved. When man finally wins over this delusion, he would be amused to find that he was, in fact, never in bondage. He is ever free.
Influenced by ancient philosophic thoughts Radhakrishnan believes that the soul has to pass through various embodied stages and that the tendencies of each stage are determined by the karmas performed in the past. From this it follows that the karmas performed in this life will determine the future life. One may raise a doubt here that the Law of Karma is the determining factor of life, and as such soul's states and tendencies are after all determined. Thus it may be pointed out that the belief in the Law of Karma is not compatible with the idea of freedom. To this, he has the traditional answer, Freedom does not mean absence of determining factors. Freedom means determination by nothing else but oneself. Being determined by one's own karma is nothing but selfdetermination. There are two aspects of karınas-retrospective, which has a connection with the past, and a progressive aspect, which has its influence in the future. Man is determined by his own past karmas but is free to create prospective karmas. *Choice is the assertion of freedom over necessity by which it converts necessity to its own use and thus frees itself from it.'
Departure from the Past
Indian Philosophy may be described as meditative. It is the result of a kind of meditation on the suprarational powers of the soul. It is described as spiritual also because it emphasises on the spiritual values. The contemporary Indian thinkers also have to a very great extent adopted the same method. But there is departure at some points from the past. The problem for them is the same but their attitude towards those problems differs.
