Ajivika thought of niyati as the ultimate director calling all the shots. Everything that has happened, is happening or will happen in the universe was already written in this cosmic script—no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Every soul’s journey, every act of kindness or cruelty, even the rise and fall of empires, followed an unbreakable, predestined chain. In this worldview, moral effort or ritual performance couldn’t tip the scales: free will simply didn’t make the cut.

This ironclad fate set Ajivika apart from contemporaries like Buddhism and Jainism, where karma and intentional action play starring roles. Buddhists stressed ethical choices shaping future experiences; Jainism upheld self-driven purification. Ajivikas, on the other hand, saw ascetic practices not as tools to rewrite destiny but as means to align more comfortably with what was already decreed. Even the intense solitude and mortification of their wandering mendicants became a way to keep pace with niyati’s pre-ordained rhythm, rather than an attempt to change it.

Today’s debates about genetic determinism or algorithm-driven recommendation engines echo that ancient dilemma. Much like a streaming service that predicts what happens next in a favorite series, Ajivika niyati removed mystery from moral life. Modern science often insists on a balance—genes and environment dancing together—whereas Ajivika philosophy pitched a solo performance by fate itself.

Ultimately, niyati in Ajivika thought painted the universe as a perfectly wound clock, ticking out every event with mechanical precision. Liberation, if any, lay in recognizing one’s role in the grand design—no rewrites allowed, only acceptance.