Destiny or Action?

My friend Hasit is a wise man with knowledge about a wide range of topics. He is always ready to engage in intelligent discussion at the drop of a hat. People meeting him for the first time get really impressed with his thinking.

One day, we started chatting on the controversial topic of karma and destiny. I triggered the discussion with a loaded question, "Hasit, what plays more important role in our life - luck, prayer or efforts?"

Hasit seemed to be ready for a long chat, "Actions sure play a vital role in your success. Nothing is ever gained without making efforts."

"But not all efforts bear success", I countered, "So, may be luck is the determining factor."

Hasit replied with a question, "Is everything in life pre-destined like a script? We can influence our life with our actions, isn't it?"

We went on and on and during next few minutes, explored different arguments and examples in favor of different opinions; the discussion warmed up and became engaging.

Suddenly Hasit's face lit up and he said,"The answer to this puzzle can be found in the way a bank locker works.”

I responded with a question mark on my face.

Hasit smiled and continued, "As you know, a bank locker has two keys. One key is kept with the bank, and second key is given to the customer. When you want to open the locker, you insert your key in the locker, and the bank manager puts his key in. Either of the keys is not sufficient to open the locker on its own. You need to have both the keys”

"In the same way, efforts and destiny are two keys of the locker. If you want to open it, you need to have both the keys."

This thought got me excited, "You are right. We get the desired results when we put in the efforts and the time is right. i.e. both the keys are there. At times, we put in efforts, but do not succeed because the other "key" is missing. There are also times when we fail to take advantage of an opportunity that fate has given us by not taking the proper step from our side." 

"But who if the bank manager in this case?", I asked, getting further interested in the chat.

Hasit replied, "It has to be God. He holds the bank's key. we don’t know when the Almighty puts his key in, so our best strategy is to keep our key always handy. Keep doing efforts on all the time, so that you are ready when God brings in His key, i.e. fortune favors you.”

This made a lot of sense to me. But I wanted to discuss it further, "That's right, but where does prayer fit in this picture? How do we get desired results by praying?"

By this time Hasit was fully clear about it. He replied,"Let us see.. when we go to the bank to operate the locker, we request the manager to come and put in his key. Prayer is like that request to God. When the prayers are granted, God puts in his key."

We did not stop at this, and continued our lively discussion on this interesting subject.

Both of us were feeling great on coming up with such a beautiful interpretation of the relationship between karma and destiny.