Do We Choose Our Birth? What Hindu Philosophy Says
Riya Kumari | Mar 03, 2025, 23:58 IST
Hinduism has a thing for sequels. Unlike the one-life-only model some belief systems swear by, Hindu philosophy sees life as an ongoing series—like a show that keeps getting renewed whether you like it or not. Enter karma and samsara—the twin forces that determine whether your next season is an upgrade (Billionaire Philanthropist with a Yacht) or a rerun (Struggling Barista with Student Debt).
Have you ever looked at your life—your family, your circumstances, the things you struggle with—and wondered, Did I sign up for this? Was there a moment, before birth, where we nodded in agreement to a life plan we now have no memory of? Hindu philosophy has an answer that is both unsettling and liberating: Yes, you chose this life. Not consciously, not in the way you choose what to eat for dinner, but in the way a seed "chooses" to grow into a tree—it follows the path set by its nature. And that nature? It’s shaped by past actions, past thoughts, past lives. The life you're living isn’t random. It’s a continuation of something—an unfinished story you stepped back into, a consequence of choices made before you even knew you were making them.
In Hindu thought, birth isn’t a beginning; it’s a continuation. What we call janma—our arrival into this world—isn’t a fresh start but a chapter in a much larger narrative. The Bhagavad Gita puts it simply: As a person discards old clothes and wears new ones, so does the soul discard an old body and take on a new one. But unlike picking out a new outfit, the body, mind, and circumstances we are born into aren’t chosen at random. They are determined by karma—the law of cause and effect that moves beyond this one lifetime.
Not as punishment. Not as reward. But as a natural unfolding. The wealth you are born into or the struggles you face aren’t cosmic favoritism or cruelty. They are echoes of past deeds—yours, not someone else’s. Just as a student’s grades determine the kind of college they get into, our past determines the conditions we are born into. And much like college, some enter prepared, while others find themselves struggling, wondering why they ended up here.
If our birth is dictated by past choices, does that mean everything is predetermined? Are we just playing out a script we wrote in another lifetime? No. Hindu philosophy allows for something more nuanced. The past sets the stage, but the choices we make now decide the future.
Think of life like a river. You didn’t choose where it starts, and you can’t control every turn it takes. But you can decide how to navigate it—whether you fight the current, move with it, or try to change its course. Your circumstances may be inherited, but your response to them is entirely your own. This is why karma is not fate. Fate is fixed. Karma is fluid. It accumulates, shifts, and evolves with every thought, action, and intention. If fate were absolute, nothing could ever change. But the very fact that life moves, that people grow, that we see transformation in ourselves and others—that proves otherwise.
Because it means you are not a victim of life. The struggles you face are not meaningless suffering. They are unresolved lessons, unfinished business, consequences unfolding from choices long forgotten. And the choices you make now? They are writing the next chapter, shaping the conditions of what comes next—whether in this life or beyond it.
If we see our birth as random, life can feel like an unfair game, full of inequality and chaos. But if we see it as the result of a deeper continuity, a thread running through time, then even our hardships gain meaning. They are not punishments. They are invitations—to grow, to correct, to understand, to evolve. And perhaps, when we do, we won’t have to return to finish what we left incomplete. Perhaps that is what moksha truly is—not an escape from life, but the completion of it. So, did you choose this life? Maybe not in the way you think. But maybe, in a way that matters even more.
1. Rebirth: A Life Shaped by Memory You Can’t Access
Birth
( Image credit : Pexels )
In Hindu thought, birth isn’t a beginning; it’s a continuation. What we call janma—our arrival into this world—isn’t a fresh start but a chapter in a much larger narrative. The Bhagavad Gita puts it simply: As a person discards old clothes and wears new ones, so does the soul discard an old body and take on a new one. But unlike picking out a new outfit, the body, mind, and circumstances we are born into aren’t chosen at random. They are determined by karma—the law of cause and effect that moves beyond this one lifetime.
Not as punishment. Not as reward. But as a natural unfolding. The wealth you are born into or the struggles you face aren’t cosmic favoritism or cruelty. They are echoes of past deeds—yours, not someone else’s. Just as a student’s grades determine the kind of college they get into, our past determines the conditions we are born into. And much like college, some enter prepared, while others find themselves struggling, wondering why they ended up here.
2. Free Will or Destiny? The Truth is More Complicated
Choice
( Image credit : Pexels )
If our birth is dictated by past choices, does that mean everything is predetermined? Are we just playing out a script we wrote in another lifetime? No. Hindu philosophy allows for something more nuanced. The past sets the stage, but the choices we make now decide the future.
Think of life like a river. You didn’t choose where it starts, and you can’t control every turn it takes. But you can decide how to navigate it—whether you fight the current, move with it, or try to change its course. Your circumstances may be inherited, but your response to them is entirely your own. This is why karma is not fate. Fate is fixed. Karma is fluid. It accumulates, shifts, and evolves with every thought, action, and intention. If fate were absolute, nothing could ever change. But the very fact that life moves, that people grow, that we see transformation in ourselves and others—that proves otherwise.
3. Why Does This Matter?
Lesson
( Image credit : Pexels )
Because it means you are not a victim of life. The struggles you face are not meaningless suffering. They are unresolved lessons, unfinished business, consequences unfolding from choices long forgotten. And the choices you make now? They are writing the next chapter, shaping the conditions of what comes next—whether in this life or beyond it.
If we see our birth as random, life can feel like an unfair game, full of inequality and chaos. But if we see it as the result of a deeper continuity, a thread running through time, then even our hardships gain meaning. They are not punishments. They are invitations—to grow, to correct, to understand, to evolve. And perhaps, when we do, we won’t have to return to finish what we left incomplete. Perhaps that is what moksha truly is—not an escape from life, but the completion of it. So, did you choose this life? Maybe not in the way you think. But maybe, in a way that matters even more.