The proverb 'Man proposes and God disposes' can as well be rewritten as 'Man proposes and Life disposes', especially when Man tries to cross the limits set to him by Life.
One who arranges for a function like a wedding may have many things at his command especially in our modern days, but will be utterly helpless against a bundh or a cyclone. One is the handiwork of man and the other is the mischievous pleasure of Nature. On such occasions, Man is humbled and is shown the limits within which he can function.
What we understand as civilisation, the march of history, the progress of humanity, etc. is man's extending his domain by overpowering the determinisms of life. It is not only by the weather. Should man analyse his real position vis-à-vis life, he will quickly discover that he functions in a perimeter around his personality and he cannot travel far beyond his own centre in whichever direction he moves. The human self is too narrow a circle around his own organised centre and Life the not-self is the whole universe.
Man has made many inroads into the territory of life, but his greatest advances are no more than a trickle as against the vast stretch of life. Human determinism is steadily growing in its amplitude, though the truth of its insignificance remains intact. Our interest is not so much in the determinism of life or the human determinism that is bravely endeavouring to overcome its natural barriers as in discovering another Determinism which can effectively supersede them both. Is there one? If so, from where does it derive its power? Is that power available to us? Let us know its philosophy and practice.