Everything Happens for a Reason? The Gita Says: Not Always
Nidhi | Jun 27, 2025, 10:52 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau, Timeslife )
We’re told that everything happens for a reason — but the Bhagavad Gita disagrees. In this article, explore why the universe isn’t always fair, why not every event has a deeper meaning, and what the Gita actually teaches about karma, randomness, and conscious action. Sometimes, things don’t happen to us — they happen through us. And understanding that may be the first step to real clarity.
“Everything happens for a reason” — how often have you heard this phrase in the face of a tragedy, a heartbreak, a loss, or even an inconvenience? While this saying comforts many, the Bhagavad Gita presents a more nuanced and often startlingly different truth.
The Gita doesn’t promise a perfect cosmic script behind every event. Instead, it urges us to think deeper about cause and effect, human action, randomness, and the subtle interplay of karma, dharma, and conscious will. 
The Gita emphasizes karma as the governing principle of the universe. But karma is not a simple equation of "bad things happen because of bad actions" or "good things happen because of virtue."
The Gita warns us against thinking we can always trace the reason behind an event. Trying to decode cosmic causality like a detective chasing clues may be futile — because the laws of karma operate beyond our understanding of time and justice. 
In Chapter 18, Krishna speaks of the five causes of action — including the doer (agent), the instruments (body and senses), and the will (consciousness). This tells us:
Human beings are not passive recipients of divine plans. We choose, we act, we err. Sometimes, things don’t happen “for a reason” — they happen because people made poor decisions, overlooked consequences, or acted out of ignorance (avidya).
This means misfortune may not be destiny — it may be the outcome of misaligned choices, individually or collectively. The Gita doesn’t dismiss randomness; it asks us to take responsibility where it is ours. 
The Gita reveals that the material world (prakriti) operates through three gunas — sattva (harmony), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia/ignorance). These gunas constantly interact and create outcomes that are often unpredictable.
This means that not everything is part of a divine "lesson plan." Nature has cycles. Storms happen. Death is inevitable. Catastrophes occur. The Gita never says every flood, illness, or accident is karmic punishment or cosmic choreography. Sometimes, it's just the world being the world. 
When Arjuna asks why he must fight a war that will kill kin and gurus, Krishna does not say, “It’s all part of a plan.” He says, "Do your dharma."
This flips the modern idea on its head. The Gita does not invite us to soothe ourselves by imagining a hidden meaning in every event. It invites us to anchor ourselves in right action, even when the world makes no sense. Krishna repeatedly speaks of detachment, but not as indifference. He doesn’t say “accept everything” in the sense of passive resignation. He says — don’t be attached to the fruits of action.
When we say “everything happens for a reason,” we secretly mean “for my reason” — to teach me something, to reward me, to punish me, to grow me.
The Gita shatters this ego-centric worldview. The cosmos doesn’t revolve around our narratives. Sometimes, things happen — and we are not the protagonist. 
The ultimate promise of the Gita is moksha, liberation — not from suffering, but from ignorance and illusion. Krishna tells Arjuna:
This means: Don’t seek reasons. Seek understanding. Don’t seek explanations. Seek clarity.
What liberates us is not a tidy story of fate, but the profound realization that life is not always explainable — and yet, we are not powerless. Instead of saying “everything happens for a reason,” the Gita would nudge us to say:
The desire to assign meaning to every event is a deeply human one. But the Gita calls us to something greater: courage without certainty, faith without guarantees, and action without expectation.
When Arjuna finally understands this, he says:
He didn’t get all the answers. He got clarity.
And that, perhaps, is the truer form of peace — not believing that everything has a reason, but living as though your life still has meaning, regardless of whether it does.
The Gita doesn’t promise a perfect cosmic script behind every event. Instead, it urges us to think deeper about cause and effect, human action, randomness, and the subtle interplay of karma, dharma, and conscious will.
1. Karma Is Real — But It’s Not Linear
Karma, Image Credit: Times of India
The Gita warns us against thinking we can always trace the reason behind an event. Trying to decode cosmic causality like a detective chasing clues may be futile — because the laws of karma operate beyond our understanding of time and justice.
2. Free Will Exists — And So Does Human Error
Free will
( Image credit : Pexels )
Human beings are not passive recipients of divine plans. We choose, we act, we err. Sometimes, things don’t happen “for a reason” — they happen because people made poor decisions, overlooked consequences, or acted out of ignorance (avidya).
This means misfortune may not be destiny — it may be the outcome of misaligned choices, individually or collectively. The Gita doesn’t dismiss randomness; it asks us to take responsibility where it is ours.
3. Chaos Is a Part of the World — But Not Always Without Meaning
Chaos
( Image credit : Pexels )
This means that not everything is part of a divine "lesson plan." Nature has cycles. Storms happen. Death is inevitable. Catastrophes occur. The Gita never says every flood, illness, or accident is karmic punishment or cosmic choreography. Sometimes, it's just the world being the world.
4. Dharma Is Not About Outcomes — But About Alignment
Life.
( Image credit : Pexels )
This flips the modern idea on its head. The Gita does not invite us to soothe ourselves by imagining a hidden meaning in every event. It invites us to anchor ourselves in right action, even when the world makes no sense.
5. Detachment Doesn’t Mean Everything Is Fine — It Means Everything Isn’t You
When we say “everything happens for a reason,” we secretly mean “for my reason” — to teach me something, to reward me, to punish me, to grow me.
The Gita shatters this ego-centric worldview. The cosmos doesn’t revolve around our narratives. Sometimes, things happen — and we are not the protagonist.
6. Liberation Is Not the Result of Fate — But Clarity
Liberation
( Image credit : Pexels )
This means: Don’t seek reasons. Seek understanding. Don’t seek explanations. Seek clarity.
What liberates us is not a tidy story of fate, but the profound realization that life is not always explainable — and yet, we are not powerless.
So, What Should We Say Instead?
- “Everything that happens is part of a larger field of karma — not all of which I can see.”
- “Some things happen because of ignorance, error, or misalignment with dharma.”
- “I cannot always know the reason — but I can choose how I respond.”
- “Let me act without clinging to outcomes or needing perfect closure.”
Let Go of the Comfort of Explanation
When Arjuna finally understands this, he says:
He didn’t get all the answers. He got clarity.
And that, perhaps, is the truer form of peace — not believing that everything has a reason, but living as though your life still has meaning, regardless of whether it does.