are we puppets in the hands of God?
The concept of humans being like puppets in the hands of the divine, or under the influence of higher powers, is echoed in the *Bhagavad Gita* in several places. Although the text doesn't explicitly use the term "puppet," it does describe how living beings are controlled by higher forces, particularly the modes of material nature (gunas) and the divine will of God. Here are some relevant verses: ### 1. **Bhagavad Gita 3.27** ``` प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः। अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताऽहमिति मन्यते।। ``` **"Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate."** Translation: "All activities are performed by the modes of material nature. But the soul, bewildered by false ego, thinks itself to be the doer." This verse implies that individuals are like puppets being moved by the modes of nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance), yet due to ego, they mistakenly believe they are in