JLJblh, yUAl^l^iL/AilUlNS .PUJX. ^xljuj. v &av^l^ ^.i-       —-
^Yes," said Vasishtha. «And the truth of it is this.
All the Past, the Present and the Future are contained
in the Being- of the Supreme Brahman. That content is
the only true all-determining Destiny. That inmost Being"
makes and is the causeness of the Cause, and the effectness
of the Effect.   It includes both ; not one only.   Effort
is included in it as much as the Result of effort. All
JTvas are embedded in that all-embracing, all-pervading", all-
containing Being". , None can stand apart from It and out of
It, and say, *This, which is something- separate from me,
compels me from without to do this thing-,' That which is the
Universal, and supports and gives existence to all possible acts,
and moods, and substances, cannot be appropriated exclusively
and misapplied for the urging- of one only of such moods
against another of them. It can be urg'ed in support of both
the opposing- moods equally. All Effects are immanent in that
Being. The Whole of It may be said to be the Cause of each
and everyone of these Effects. It is manifested by an effect,
and may be inferred from it, only after the effect has happened.
There is no other way open to Jivas of learning the whole of
that Totality of causes, before the happening- of an effect.
Hence Destiny can never be pleaded as prescribing a particular
course of action, but only as explaining it after it has been
adopted. For all the purposes of life, each particular course
of action must and can be determined with reference only to the
circumstances surrounding- it immediately and making- up the
situation, in that limited portion of Space and Time which is
within the purview of the individual concerned. The Self is
Self-impelled and Self-directed. None Other can compel it. For,
were it so, another would be wanted to compel the other, and
so on, endlessly. The true and full import of this will appear
when that Nature of the Being of the Supreme which constitutes
Destiny has. been fully understood. In the meanwhile, let every