A member of an ancient Indian religious sect that taught determinism and denied the effectiveness of individual actions to change fate.
From Sanskrit 'ajīvikā,' possibly from 'ajīva' (non-life) or from a root meaning 'livelihood.' The sect flourished in the 6th-2nd centuries BCE, contemporaneous with early Buddhism and Jainism.
Ajivikas were so committed to fatalism that they rejected both religious rituals AND moral responsibility—imagine being part of a religion that said your good deeds literally cannot change your destiny, making them one of history's boldest philosophical experiments.
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