Cosmic Will, Personal Volition & Human Destiny—An Interfaith Perspective

Dr. A. K. Merchant*

Fri, Nov 7, 2025

Against the backdrop of gloom and doom, world leaders, both secular and religious, it seems to me to be at a loss regarding the operation of cosmic will and the future of life on the planet, as we know it. The followers of the Bahá’i Faith believe that human beings possess free will in moral and spiritual choices, while certain aspects of life are governed by cosmic will and destiny.

According to the Bahá’i Writings, individuals have the capacity to make moral decisions. Actions such as justice, kindness, or cruelty are within human control and responsibility. Spiritual growth depends on the choices an individual makes in his or her life’s journey. While Divine guidance is available, each person must choose whether to follow it or reject. Barring the human beings all of creation live out their allotted span of life strictly according to the laws of Nature. Therefore, the Creator or His Spiritual Luminaries cannot force human beings to accept the spiritual guidance, namely the cosmic will that they disclose  from Age to Age.

The duality of divine will and human volition allows for personal responsibility and spiritual development, while acknowledging life’s uncontrollable elements. Challenges that are part of destiny are often viewed as opportunities for spiritual growth and testing of character, but for those who are lost in material or physical aspects of existence may view them as suffering and punishment. Understandably, some events are beyond human control such illness, death, natural decline, misfortunes, natural disasters which are aspects of divine destiny. Humans are not held accountable for these experiences, as they are compelled to endure them.

Bahá’i teachings emphasize that although God knows all outcomes, this knowledge does not force human actions. Divine omniscience coexists with human volition. Free will operates within a framework of cosmic wisdom. Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’i Faith, described nature as “the embodiment of [God’s] Name, the Maker, the Creator…Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world.” Therefore, the act of creation, which as per dharmic shastras or religious scriptures is understood to be a miraculous event, operates via the agency of nature—and indicates that divine will is perennially creating. It is both subtle, active, and miraculous.

The above statements imply that in studying nature, humans can better understand God’s will and all occurrences such as natural calamities and are not fortuitous happenings. God does not play dice. Thus, while extremely anomalous events are highly unlikely, they are always possible. One might argue that the very operation of every physical  event represents a profound miracle.

Based on the explanation in Bahá’i Writings, one could say that nature as an expression of God’s will involves the operation of both the probabilistic (or unknowable) event and deterministic laws, and it is only through the operation of both that the observed order of the universe arises. Both the structure of the universe and the evolution of life on our planet are explainable by these processes. The diversity and complexity of life is due to seemingly random mutations coupled with laws of natural selection, which together evolution. No wonder, anyone who cares to reflect upon these processes—as expressions of Divine Will—would marvel at beauty and complexity and miracles of creation.

Famous physicist, John von Neumann, in his book: Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, explained two kinds of physics, which are described by quantum mechanics. The first involves a non-deterministic process caused by a “measurement” that he termed “non-causal”, and second, he termed “causal”, as it involves the deterministic and reversible physics that governs the evolution of the state function. Things can occur for no known physical reason, and one cannot point to any hidden physical variable that could remove the randomness or predict the behaviour. When one says something is random, he or she admits a lack or limit on one’s knowledge. A person of faith would argue that while there might not be a physical reason, there is divine reason, and the world’s major religions teach that nothing transpires without God’s permission. Bahá’u’lláh, wrote: “Everything that is hath come to be through His irresistible decree…” Hence, this understanding may apply to both processes expressed in nature, collectively expressing will in the same way that these agents manifest will in human consciousness.

In the light of what has been shared above now let me briefly share what other religions aka dharma has to say based on its particular theology. Hinduism explains free will as mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita as the power of choice and personal responsibility. Karma is shaped by one's actions. Destiny is influenced both by dharma and karma. While some life circumstances are fixed, spiritual liberation depends on conscious choices. Hinduism sees free will and destiny as intertwined—actions create karma, which shapes future experiences. Buddhism regards free will as essential for spiritual progress. Without free will, enlightenment (nibbana) would be impossible. Most people act out of conditioned responses (karma), but mindfulness and ethical practice increase freedom. Buddhism focuses less on metaphysical debates and more on cultivating freedom through awareness and discipline.

As for the Abrahamic religions—Judaism considers free will to be fundamental to Jewish ethics. Humans are seen as morally responsible and capable of choosing good or evil. God is involved in the unfolding history of humankind and may predetermine certain events, but this does not override human accountability. Judaism embraces the paradox as a sacred tension.  God’s sovereignty and human freedom coexist in a dynamic relationship. In Christianity, free will is central to many Christian doctrines, especially in Catholic and Armenian traditions. Humans are responsible for sin and salvation choices. In Calvinism, a denomination of Christianity, God has foreordained who will be saved (the elect), raising debates about the compatibility of free will with divine sovereignty. Christianity often views free will and predestination as two sides of the same coin—mysteriously coexisting in God’s Plan. Islam, too, accepts free will, and states that humans are accountable for their choices. It teaches that while Allah knows and wills all, humans still choose their actions. Everything is decreed by Allah, but this does not eliminate human responsibility. The balance lies in trusting Allah while acting morally.

In conclusion, followers of the Bahá’i Faith believe that as the masses awaken to the reality of the Age and embrace the truth that “the earth is but one country, and humankind its citizens,” the prophecies recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of all religions given the current catastrophic scenario prevailing on the planet there will be world engulfing calamities that would purge the human race of the dross of its age-long corruptions, perversity and waywardness. This would be followed by the release of forces of integration to weld the planet’s disparate and antagonistic component parts into a firmly knit world-embracing Fellowship. Such a vision of the unfoldment of cosmic will is beautifully summed in the Bahá’i Writings: “Mysteriously, slowly, and resistlessly God accomplishes His design, though the sight that meets our eyes in this day be the spectacle of a world hopelessly entangled in its own meshes, utterly careless of the Voice which, for [over] a century, has been calling it to God, and miserably subservient to the siren voices which are attempting to lure it into the vast abyss. God’s purpose is none other than to usher in, in ways He alone can bring about, and the full significance of which He alone can fathom, the Great, the Golden Age of a long-divided, a long-afflicted humanity. Its present state, indeed even its immediate future, is dark, distressingly dark. Its distant future, however, is radiant, gloriously radiant—so radiant that no eye can visualize it.”

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*The author is a social worker, independent researcher, & member of the Bahá’i Community of India. Views expressed are personal.