A boy was born in a family who had great faith in astrology for advice on important issues. However as the boy grew, he had mixed feelings about this practice.

After passing school, he got admission to prestigious medical college. Since this was a very important step in the boy’s life, astrological charts were consulted. The family discovered to its horror that it wasn’t an auspicious period for the boy to travel. However, the boy had exposure to people who were not so superstitious. He decided to go. His family was very apprehensive but couldn’t do much except pray for his well-being.

After the boys finished college for, his marriage some were shortlisted on the basis of their horoscopes. Again, there was a serious problem. The horoscope of the girl whom boy fancied did not match his horoscope. Despite stiff opposition from his family, he married the girl of his choice.

Immediately after the so-called mismatched marriage, trouble surfaced. The stars decreed that the newly married couple not have child till the fourth year of the marriage. But the couple decided otherwise and they were blessed with a boy after a year. Differences persisted and life went on, though the boy wasn’t any worse off due to the non-compliance to the dictates of his family.

What is the truth? Are things predestined? To understand this, one needs to understand the theory of ‘karmaphala’ (the result of our action). All our acts through mind, body and words bear fruit at their appointed time. The position of someone’s stars gives some idea about the deeds done by him or her in the pervious life. It also determines one’s nature, which determines one’s actions.

Are we then robots with our past being everything? No! One can change one’s destiny by changing his or her nature. This can be understood with the example of a bank deposit. The bank shall continue to pay interest at a fixed rate till we decide to reinvest our money some other way. That freedom we all possess. It is true that we are mostly predestined if we don’t make a serious efforts to change our respective natures. Stars give a fair idea, but we don’t have to be prisoners of such inertia. We can make a break from our past as the boy in our story did. Notwithstanding any fruits, both good and bad, which inevitably come, we can forge our own destiny.