Answer
Let us understand what is meant by destiny, because there is often much confusion about this subject.
What is actually destined is the amount of material happiness and distress that a living being is going to experience in a particular body as a result of past karma. This aspect is already fixed.
However, not every single event in our life is predetermined. The specific situations, choices, and circumstances that unfold in day-to-day life are not fully fixed in that way.
Destiny does not mean that every incident in life is already scripted. Rather, it refers to the overall quota of pleasure and pain that one must experience due to past activities.
For example, marriage is not something strictly destined in the sense that one has no choice. A person may choose to marry or choose not to marry. That decision is within the scope of free will.
Similarly, while death is certain for everyone, the exact manner, time, place, and circumstances of death are not fully fixed in detail. These are largely incidental and influenced by various factors.
Therefore, one should not misunderstand destiny to mean that everything in life is predetermined and that one has no control over anything. Such thinking is incorrect and leads to passivity.
The living being does have free will and the ability to make choices within the framework of karma. At the same time, the results of past actions will inevitably manifest in the form of happiness and distress.
More important than becoming absorbed in speculating about destiny is to focus on becoming Krishna conscious. By taking to Krishna consciousness, one gradually becomes detached from the complexities and entanglements of material life and becomes free from its disturbances and anxieties.
In this way, one can rise above both happiness and distress and move steadily toward spiritual liberation.
