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Some Answered Questions
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Pages 243-244
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68: FATE
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Question.--Is the predestination which is mentioned in the
Holy Books a decreed thing? If so, is not the effort to avoid
it useless?
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Answer.--Fate is of two kinds: one is decreed, and the
other is conditional or impending. The decreed fate is that
which cannot change or be altered, and conditional fate is
that which may occur. So, for this lamp, the decreed fate
is that the oil burns and will be consumed; therefore, its
eventual extinction is a decree which it is impossible to
alter or to change because it is a decreed fate. In the same
way, in the body of man a power of life has been created,
and as soon as it is destroyed and ended, the body will
certainly be decomposed, so when the oil in this lamp is
burnt and finished, the lamp will undoubtedly become
extinguished.
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But conditional fate may be likened to this: while there
is still oil, a violent wind blows on the lamp, which extinguishes
it. This is a conditional fate. It is wise to avoid it,
to protect oneself from it, to be cautious and circumspect.
But the decreed fate, which is like the finishing of the oil in
the lamp, cannot be altered, changed nor delayed. It must
happen; it is inevitable that the lamp will become extinguished.
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