Do human beings have genuine free will or is everything predetermined by destiny?

In the Vedic literature, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses "Do human beings have genuine free will or is everything predetermined by destiny?" with profound philosophical clarity. As declared in BG 3.27, "The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature." The living entity (jīva) is not the temporary physical body, but an eternal, indestructible conscious spark of the Supreme. All material dualities—happiness, distress, anxiety, and sorrow—are bodily transformations that arise from our conditioned contact with the material energy. As Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in the Bhaktivedanta purports, attempting to solve material distress through physical means or self-destruction is an illusion, because the subtle mind and unfulfilled desires accompany the soul into its next state. Rather, as instructed in BG 18.61, one must use the mind to elevate oneself through spiritual intelligence. By taking shelter of devotional service (Bhakti-yoga) and the holy names of the Lord, one conquers all material perplexities and attains eternal peace.