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Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo
lower to higher upon the earth. This is the physical basis. Here a question may be raised, whether human form once attained in this course of rebirth, still continues? In other words, the soul once arrived at humanity, can go back to the animal life? For Sri Aurobindo, it is possible only for the human soul to exist. The conversion is not as decisive as from matter to life.
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The Law of Karma and rebirth is intimately related to one another. One is incomplete without the other. As the fruits of our accumulated actions are provided in the other life, rebirth is necessary. In this sense also, rebirth is the field for the Law of Karma. By means of man's own moral efforts and good actions, he can wipe out his evil tendencies and can become brighter and nobler in his subsequent lives. Man is the maker of his own life. But often we see certain noble men going down like a stone into the sea of miseries while the wicked ones are flourishing like a green tree. And it is only at this very point, one is compelled to think about one's destiny.
Human Destiny and the Law of Karma
So far we have seen that a human being finds himself to be a miserable creature in the hands of his destiny. The word 'destiny' has been interpreted variously. Sometimes it is used as a synonym of fate and sometimes destination. If it is used as luck or fate i.e., in the sense of determined from before, then in this connection there are two kinds of view: (a) Determinism and (b) Libertarianism.
According to Determinism, there is no control of man over anything. Man acts according to predetermined mode of action. Man has to perform his actions according to predetermined factors. There is no place of freedom for man. On the other hand, 'Libertarianism' refers to freedom to man. According to this theory man possesses freedom of will and he enjoys it also. Man acts according to his own will. There is no any compulsion or restriction for him. He acts as he likes. There is choice for him. He chooses one of the various alternatives and
