Hi Reader, I have already answered multiple answer on this topic, Do We have Free Will? If those answers are not enough , I will tell everything in this blogpost. After reading this post you will never never ask this question or confuse on this whole topic.
I will share my story. I was born into a poor family, and as a child, I witnessed the extreme r poverty. Those times, I used to ask God, why? Why God?
Even though My mother was a deeply religious woman, yet she suffered . I used to see my friends going for vacations, Buying new clothes, enjoying their life. That sense of missing stayed with me.
I’ve read many scriptures, books, listened to many saints. Basically, I tried my best to find the answer of these question.
Why The god has given us sufferings?
Do we have Free will?
What is Destiny?
These question hits me hard, every time. It’s been 25 years, and Now I can proudly say that i have found answers of all these questions through deep meditations and readings.
Short answer of this question : Do we have Free Will? Answer is Yes. We all have absolute free will. We have free will to work whatever we want, free will to eat whatever we want, free will to go into relationships whomsoever we want.
But there is a catch. Whatever you see around and you have control on things free will is limited to that only. Things beyond your control is not worthy of discussions or ponder because you can’t do anything. If you are born in an African tribe and one day you see aeroplane and dream to fly that plane.It will be nearly impossible for you because time, place, family and condition has already taken decision against you immensely. Yes with extraordinary hard work, luck can give you fruit but most likely its impossible. In this condition you might argue that ” I don’t have free will” but those conditions are beyond our control Right?
Free Will Example. Best in the world
I will tell you an example of a cow. Look at the image below
let’s Imagine a cow in the middle of a grassland, tied to a rope. That cow appears completely free—she can walk, sit, graze, play, or simply look up at the open sky. From cow perspective, there are no fences, no walls, no visible barriers. She moves about as she pleases, deciding what to do at every moment. In her experience, she is living in full freedom.
But there’s a catch: Since she is tied to a post with a long rope. The rope isn’t short or tight—it gives her room to move in a fairly large circle. She can walk in any direction, as long as it’s within the radius the rope allows. Beyond that invisible circle, she cannot go. But here’s the key: she isn’t aware of the rope. To her, the circle is just the whole world. She has never seen past it, so she never questions what lies beyond it.
Now imagine moving that same cow to a new field. You tie her to a different post in a different location. She begins again—grazing, walking, playing—still feeling entirely free, unaware that her range is limited. If you could speak to the cow and ask, “Do you have free will?” she might confidently respond, “Yes, I can do whatever I want!” And, in a way, she would be right. She has free will—but only within a boundary which she cannot see or understand.
This is a metaphor for the human condition.
Just like Cow, We Humans are also attached to a some conditioning. We are born into a certain place, a certain family, a certain culture, a certain religion, a certain language Right? We do not choose the country we are born in, the color of our skin, the socio-economic class we start with, or the belief systems we are surrounded by in our early years. These are our invisible boundaries—the rope we do not see.
For 80 or 90 years, we live our lives within these invisible walls. And within that space, yes—we have free will. We can choose what to study, what job to take, who to love, how to think, what to believe, how to react, how to live. We have absolute free will—but only within a predefined structure we rarely stop to question.
Most people live and die within the circle, unaware that the rope ever existed.
The boundaries include:
- Our parents — We did not choose them, yet they shape our earliest understanding of love, trust, fear, and discipline.
- Our birthplace — A single accident of birth determines what passport we hold, what rights we have, and often, the opportunities we can access.
- Our environment — The schools we attend, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the books we are (or aren’t) exposed to—all are products of where we were placed.
- Our culture — It defines what we find beautiful, what we fear, what we respect, and what we consider possible.
- Our religion or belief system — Often handed down by tradition rather than choice, it shapes our moral framework before we even learn to think critically.
These are the ropes that tie us—not always cruel or painful—but limiting nonetheless. And just like the cow, we live as if we are entirely free, because we can’t see the rope. We make thousands of choices within the boundaries of our environment, and those choices are real. That is free will—but conditioned, not absolute.
Yet here’s the profound part: within those boundaries, our will is powerful.
Whatever you can imagine right now, whatever is within your grasp to think, to do, to create—that is where your free will is most alive. Within the limits of your current awareness, you have immense power to decide the course of your life. You may not have chosen your birthplace, but you can choose your destination. You may not have chosen your upbringing, but you can choose your beliefs going forward. You may not control the rope—but you can explore every inch of the circle it allows, and perhaps even begin to stretch it.
Some people, through awareness, meditation, knowledge, or deep reflection, start to see the rope. And once they see it, they may begin to loosen it. Questioning inherited systems, breaking away from toxic norms, or even transcending cultural limitations—this is how human beings can expand their circle of freedom.
The ultimate insight is this:
You have free will, yes. But you also live within invisible constraints. And recognizing those constraints is the first step toward transcending them.
Just like the cow who believes the circle is the entire world, we ALSO must ask ourselves:
Where is the rope in my life?
What are the limits I’m not aware of?
And how far can I truly go, once I start to see them? We will explore more on this topic till then please subscribe to sciencxeandyoga.com
