[inhitoemits]

Long back I used to read positivity and self help books. I used to come across people who used to read these books non-stop. Then I came across someone who said that these books are thoroughly useless and more so the attitude of people who read them non-stop as apparently in spite of reading so many of these books they still find something lacking in themselves that they seek more such books. That time I understood that these books are another tool for the writers to make money. The gist of these books is there is nothing like karma or destiny, that destiny is in your hands and take charge of it. I half agree with it but then the same point was driven across in millions of books in a variety or ways and techniques. Then I came across this beautiful couplet from our Upanishads which summarize what all these books say. I am giving the translation below and would like to know the name of the specific Upanishad in which it appeared, if someone knowledgeable can let me know.

"You are what your deepest desire is;
As you desire, so is your intention;
As your intention, so is your will;
As is your will so is your deed;
As is your deed, so is your destiny"

My take on this is the effects of karma cannot be ruled out. So the past deeds definitely determine your future life. But today's present also determine's tomorrow's future. Gracefully accepting the effect of one's past actions, we should probably concentrate on accumulating good karma for the future.