When engaged in an enquiry into the nature of the truth concerning the world, oneself, relationship and why the relationship exists, where does the answer come from? In olden days especially, it was usual to insist upon revelation. The truth was always revealed through a divine mystery, a divine dispensation, divine grace. Vasishtha has one of the most brilliant responses to this.

He says: "What do you know about grace? Nothing. Do you believe in the existence of God who whispers into your ears? Nonsense! Drop it. Did some God serve you dinner, or did your wife or somebody else prepare it and give it you? Self-effort-that is what counts, nothing else counts. Dismiss all these speculations and enquire into it afresh." Why does one look for right effort? Because one knows that from right effort, right results will arise.

So, even here, the doctrine of Vasishtha is not terribly cut and dried. I love to call it 'neither-nor' philosophy. Does everything happen accidentally? No. Is there a causal connection between A and B? No. Neither this nor that. Be watchful, be vigilant, then it is possible you will understand when this is applicable and when that is applicable.

That which is neither-nor is the famous 'middle path', the middle being neither this nor that. But at the same time it should become clear that the middle is both this and that. It is neither this exclusively nor that exclusively, but this middle path takes on the characteristics of both sides. Although the wonderful sage Vasishtha insists upon self-effort, there is always the question of freedom of choice: self-effort versus predestination, destiny, karma.

How does Vasishtha solve this, how does he reconcile it? If you study the scripture carefully, you will be puzzled. A few chapters are devoted entirely to self-effort. Vasishtha says: "What is called God and what is called destiny is nonsense.

There is nothing called destiny, self-effort is the most important thing." Then let us roll up our sleeves and fight the battle of life-Vasistha says: "No, that is not it. What can you, a puny little human being, do? Everything is pre-determined, everything is destiny." Then you are tempted to turn around to the sage and say:

"Please, make up your mind-am I free to act or am I destined to act?" And Vasishtha says: "You are destined to feel you are free, and what is called destiny is a choice which you exercised earlier on! You are free, but not free to change your color, change your shape, change your sex, change your genes. You have already exercised that choice.

And so, what you call destiny is nothing but the fruition of your own free will exercised earlier on. All right, now start a new chain-reaction. Plant a seed now which will germinate in its own time, which will bring up its shoot in its own good time." Thus, these two are reconciled.

There is another problem with most of us: am I a free agent or is my life pre-destined absolutely-in which case, what part does divine grace play in it? If divine grace can do nothing, then why should I pray? If divine grace can do nothing then I do not have to pray, I do not have to meditate, what has to happen will happen.

Or, can grace veto destiny? How does that work? Can I do something about it? Vasishtha says again: "Yes, of course you can do something about it. Grace itself demands that you should do something about it and change your destiny." Thus all the so-called irreconcilables are beautifully, reconciled in this scripture.

At one point something is emphasized and at another point the direct opposite is emphasized. Then it is pointed out that the two are not opposites, one is the continuation of the other. For instance, you plant a seed and a shoot comes out of it.

These are not two unrelated events; the shoot and the whole tree were already contained in that seed, but not as cause and effect. Did we not start off saying that we must find out if the self exists and what its nature is? Yes, even that can be understood only through self-effort.

The discovery must be yours. When it becomes yours, it is then time to wonder whether that self which made the discovery is real or not. Otherwise one lives in a funny sort of fool's paradise where everything seems to be clear when nothing is clear, where we depend upon words without having exerted ourselves to see if what we are listening to or what we are hearing is correct or incorrect. Therefore, Vasishtha insists upon self-effort.