Within the Ajivika tradition, fate—niyati—is understood as an absolute and all-encompassing principle that governs the entire cosmos. Every event, from the grand movements of the universe to the most intimate thoughts and actions of an individual, is held to be predetermined. Nothing truly arises from personal initiative, chance, or moral striving; what appears as choice is, in this view, simply the unfolding of an already fixed order. Fate functions as an immutable cosmic law, not subject to alteration by deities, rituals, or ascetic practices.

This deterministic vision extends even to spiritual destiny. Liberation is not something to be attained through ethical conduct, meditation, or austerity, but is instead regarded as a destined event that occurs only when its appointed time arrives. Human effort, however sincere or intense, cannot hasten or delay that moment. The Ajivika stance thus renders free will effectively illusory, for all inner resolutions and outer deeds are themselves expressions of niyati rather than independent causes of spiritual progress.

In this framework, karma loses the central, causative role it holds in many other Indian systems. While actions and their results may still be spoken of, they are ultimately subordinated to fate, which determines when and how any karmic consequence will manifest. Moral causation, therefore, does not shape the final outcome of a being’s journey; it is fate that charts the course from beginning to end. What distinguishes this outlook is its radical confidence that everything that can happen is already inscribed in the very structure of reality, leaving no genuine scope for altering one’s destined path.