K v. P... What's It To Be? Pt 2

Hari OM

Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.

Last week we read the first half of a discussion by Gurudev on the matter of Karma versus Prarabdha. Today, the conclusion.

The mind is made up of a soft matter, as it were. As each thought passes through it, an ‘impression’ is left, on the mind-stuff like a scratch and when similar thoughts are repeated, it deepens into a canal. Every subsequent thought wave has got a tendency to flow through that ready-made thought-canal. Thus, if the impression or the canal made is of good thought-waves, then a good character is maintained and strengthened by the subsequent thought-waves flowing irresistibly in that direction.

Let us take an example and examine the working of the mind. If you have got a tendency to get angry and want to nut out that tendency you should first of all feel sorrowful or repentant about it. Then you will have already suppressed the anger to some extent. Of course, pent-up anger will burst forth at a later date if you merely suppress it. But, if you be intelligent, you should divert that anger-energy into some other profitable direction. You should not succumb to the anger-weakness, meekly saying, “It is my Prarabdha.”

Carve out a new canal in your mind with repeated good thought-waves. Repeat to yourself, ‘I love all - I am very, very tolerant.’ Go on repeating the self-suggestive thoughts, ‘I am kind, I will never get angry, I am tolerant,’ etc., and in a very short time, you will observe that you have no anger at all in your mental make-up. First of all, you should cognise things. Be aware of your weakness. Be fully aware of them. Man is his mind. He is the very composition of his mind. When one performs some actions, repeatedly, one’s mind gets fixed with certain impressions. It is in a world of reactions related to the outer world-of-objects that we live. The quality of one’s experiences depends upon the quality of the mind which one brings up to undergo the experience. The mind, being what it is, is ordered and set by the various impressions, it has gathered in its different transactions in Life. Thus, when we control and chasten the motives and thoughts in the mind, we purify it. Each moment of our life, we are not only living the fruits of past actions but also creating those for tomorrow. Each moment we are preparing ourselves for the lives yet to come. Prarabdha is caused by the actions done in the past. It is only the very self-effort of the past. So, if our Prarabdha be a sorrowful one now, let us do such acts today so that we can now determine or order a happier life for us in the future.

The Law of Destiny does not explain to us how, even while we live the preordained and Prarabdha-controlled pattern of circumstances, we can have in the immediate moments, a freedom to create afresh. This idea is not explained in the Law of Destiny. So it shatters our morale, and a soul-killing defeatist mentality comes to choke us. It takes away the fire, the enthusiasm, the grit in Man and makes him a dull, inactive individual, a mere dumb animal.

A happier morrow is built up only when we live today a Life Divine. Religion has been asking us to entertain and live such values of life so that while living them, we shall be creating an ordered life of fuller joys for the morrow. Not only in this life but also in the next life we shall be able to enjoy the fruits of our Divine actions. Use the main righteous path; avoid the by-lanes, the narrow, thorny, unrighteous path. We must start and constantly keep on to the right path, to reach the Supreme, our Goal. If our course is in the right direction, then we shall certainly reach in time, our destination, the Supreme.

Yet another way of looking at it and coming to the same conclusion is by reviewing life in the light of Time-flow, wherein the future, through the present, is ever becoming the past. Anything that is now in the future must in time arrive to become the present—and erelong should pass on to be the past.

We have already said that human intellect cannot rest without seeking the cause of things. This causation-hunting-urge in us is not generally investigated seriously and thoroughly. If we do so, we shall discover certain facts in it which shall reveal to us the inner meaning and the deeper significances of the Law of Karma.

From the seed the tree comes: the seed is the cause, and the tree is the effect. From cotton, the cloth is made: cotton is the cause, and cloth is the effect. Now, in all conceivable examples the cause is, like the father of a child, anterior, and the effect, like the child born, posterior, with reference to time: father was in existence before the son was born. Cause is thus that which was, and the effect is that which is. The past causes the present; the present will, therefore, cause the future!

In short, it is said that the future is not a mystery—an unknown miracle that man must wait for its stunning revelations. The past modified in the present alone is the future. The things to come are not ordered by a mere continuity of the past it can never be. This freedom to modify the past, and thereby create a future, for the better or worse, is Purushaartha: self-effort.

To illustrate: if down a river, running at 2 miles an hour, a log is floating, then it will also move at the same speed at which the river flows. But supposing, the log is fitted with a motor and manned by an intelligent driver; the log will have an independent movement of itself—no doubt, conditioned by the flow of the river. When the speedometer shows 10 miles an hour, the log will move 12 miles in an hour down the river, and only 8 miles an hour, if it is moving upstream. The flow of the river will always be there; but due to the machine and the intelligence of the driver, the log has developed a limited freedom’ of movement now. Similarly, the plant and the animal kingdoms move, directed and guided by their natural instincts and mere impulses. But on reaching the human level, man acquires his reasoning capacity and is a captain in his discriminative faculty. Using these two, he can steer the ship of his life safely to his destination—the Goal, the Ideal.

Viewed carefully, the present in itself has no existence; it is a mingling of the past and the future…the passage of the future to the past is the present. The living present is at once the tomb of the past and the womb of the future. This tomb-womb present has roots going deep into the past and branches spreading around everywhere into the future. To consider, therefore, that the present is but a product of the past is undignified. To think that the future is but a product of the present is unintelligent. There is no slavery; nor is there full freedom. There is limited freedom, which, if intelligently used, can redeem us from all entanglements.

Thus, the Law of Karma, when correctly understood, is the greatest force of vitality in Indian philosophy. It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant - God - who, it is believed, has created us weak, and fearful to lead our lives of limitations and pains. If we are weak or sorrowful, it is all because of our own willful actions. In our ignorance, we in the past had pursued certain negative values of life, and their fruits have come up now to give us the pattern of circumstances we are living today.

Never mind. Take heart. By living rightly today, the Divine values of love, kindness, tolerance, mercy, etc., we shall order a nobler pattern for our future. By careful self-policing, detect the wrong tendencies in us. Eliminate them through constant and willful effort. Develop Positivity and thus come to be the God of your own future life. Be a GOD!

TODAY WE MARK THE MAHASAMADHI OF 

HH PARAMAPUJYA GURUDEV SWAMI CHINMAYANDA-JI

HIS PRESENCE IS EVER WITH US!

ॐ  श्री  गुरुनात  महराजकि जै !!!

K v. P... What's It To Be? Pt 1

Hari OM

Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.

The first half of a lengthy piece is given today. Gurudev's words are always filled with colour and insights - sometimes so blindingly clear, we wonder how we missed the point ourselves!

The Law of Karma has been often misunderstood as the Law of Destiny. There is indeed a lot of difference between the Law of Karma and the Law of Destiny. Had our Law of Karma been equal to the Law of Destiny, the Hindu civilisation would have been long ago ended like the Roman or the Egyptian civilisation. The Law of Destiny has a corroding effect upon the human heart, and in a short time, it renders its followers to be mere ineffectual lotus-eaters. If a nation depends entirely upon the Law of Destiny to guide it, it shall fall and become a country of narrow-minded, inactive animals.

On the other hand, a people believing in the Law of Karma and who live up to it, become a generation of spiritual giants and dynamic citizens. The Law of Karma is based upon the final conclusion that this life is not an end in itself but is just one of the little incidents in the Eternal Existence of each of us. Among us, each one is a type and has a life different from the other. The destiny of one is obviously different from that of the other. Had this been the very first and the last of our births; we should have had a more uniform experience in life.

Let us suppose that we have just ‘fallen’ from Truth or Reality into this momentous and calamitous misunderstanding, then we should not have such a dissimilar scheme, of each Ego living its own life of unique joys and woes. When we enquire, with the causes of great differences among human beings we are driven to the conclusion that having risen from different ’causes’, each of us should manifest as a different ‘effect.’ Effects depend upon their causes. This life in which we are living is only one of our incarnations. We have had many incarnations in the past, and probably, many more shall come to our lot. From birth to death and from death to birth, the whirl goes on, but we do not appreciate it or understand it because we are viewing life from a very circumscribed point of view.

We think that life means the period spent by us between our birth and our death, and what we see and experience around during this interval is life. Supposing there hangs a picture painted on a canvas. To see the entire picture painted on it, we have to step back to some distance, and only then can we see the whole view, the rhythm of the colours, the beauty of the curves, etc. Similarly, when Life is viewed, in its nearer perspective, we find that it is illogical, unrhythmic, etc. In detachment, we will have to move away from our present Life to view the whole Life and understand it as such.

Some of us blame the Creator for our unfortunate lives, and despair by saying ‘it is all our FATE.’ You should understand that there is a Rhythm in the Universe, in that the planets ‘move’ regularly, the stars ‘ride their appointed paths, etc. Everywhere there is the Law of Rhythm, and everything conforms to that Law. Only when we come to the subject of Life, we say “there is no Rhythm and there is no logic or system in it.”

It is not so. We are the various ‘effects’ rising from different ’causes.’ The ’causes’ being different, the ‘effects’ are different. Thus, each of our actions of the past has its own reactions, and each of us must have a treasure-house of the entire-past-actions. This is called the Sanchita Karma. We all should understand that at the end of living, the ‘fruits’ allotted for the life are called Prarabdha; on departing, each should take the next form according to the pattern ordained by the ripened ones in our total Sanchita Karma.

Let me explain it more clearly. Suppose I have a piece of land divided into plots. In one, I plant coconut seedlings, in the second seeds of lady’s-finger and in the third, mango seeds. In order to germinate, grow and yield fruit, each seed would take its own time. This is very well known to us. Similarly, each of our actions has got its own time limit for its fruition. Every action has got its own reaction; certain actions give their reactions immediately, while others will provide their reactions only after an interval. To enjoy and suffer the reactions of the past actions, each of us needs certain joys and sorrows, and in order to bring forth these required experiences, each must have a definite ‘field’ of his own experiences. The word Loka does not merely indicate its generally accepted meaning: 'the world'. Loka means the special world in which I live my own inner experiences, the external world-of-objects remaining almost the same for all. Loka etymologically means a field of experience.

Again, people misunderstand the real meaning of Prarabdha when they take the word to mean all the failure, impotence and weakness in them. If we are to be guided by this delusion, the Prarabdha, in every act of ours, there is no room for self-improvement through self-effort (purushaartha). There are some who console themselves by saying that, ‘I have no faith or love in God, and it is my ‘Prarabdha.’ This is a defeatist mentality. So far as we entertain and live in a defeatist mentality, we cannot expect any progress. Without personal morale, we cannot work for our progress.

From where does this Purushartha come in if Prarabdha orders every action? That we have been given by the Divine Being a limited freedom is the truth. For example, we cannot bend a piece of rail as it is but supposing this rail-piece is beaten out and made into a chain, the rail-matter becomes very easily pliable. Similarly, when a cow is tied to a rope in the centre of pasture land, she is not free to graze the entire field but she can move freely within that circle drawn by that rope. Again, Man, though he has taken his body to live a fixed Prarabdha can reach the Supreme Goal of life by living the freedom allowed to him from moment to moment.

No doubt, we have come here into this world to enjoy and suffer for certain of our past Karmas, through the circumstances ordered by our Prarabdha, and there is provision for us to discriminate and act rightly. For example, is there not a certain amount of freedom in choosing whether we should go to a cinema or a Satsang? Every moment in our life there is a challenge posed by these lines: ‘Shall I do this or shall I do that.’ There are two ways to deal with each challenge. Two distinct paths are open to us – the Path of the Good (shreyas) and the Path of the Pleasant (preyas). We find ourselves from moment to moment, standing at the junction of these two paths. Often we are at a loss to decide which route to pursue. There is a tussle between Satan and God in us at such a moment of trial. By adopting the Path of the Pleasant, man cannot get, in the long run, his full satisfaction. This is the experience of all. One who has adopted the path of the Good gains peace of mind. Slowly, the former, under the impact of repeated disappointments, will come to think that he should go through the Path of the Good.

...tbc...

Act or Surrender; Decide!

Hari Om

Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality and become more congruent within our personality.

Guru-ji, Swami Tejomayananda tells us about praarabdha and purushaartha and their effects upon our choices. This article appeared on Speaking Tree a couple of years ago.

Vasanas, or our tendencies, drive us to karma, action, which in turn leads to phala, results. These results are called our praarabdah - destiny. However, purushaartha - free will - is not a product of vasanas. It is a human right, a special quality exclusive to human beings. How we use free will may be influenced by our vasanas. So we can use our free will well or otherwise. At the end of the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna, “Yathecchasi tatha kuru — Do as you think fit.”

If we feel we cannot be sure that we may use our free will well, surrender it to God, as Arjuna did. He said, “Karisye vachanam tava — I shall do as you say.” Since God has said, “Tesam aham samuddharta — I redeem those who surrender,” tell God, “Please guide my life.”

However, we must also keep in mind the fact that this kind of total surrender is the greatest use of our purushaartha, self-effort, and it is very difficult….

If we are convinced that destiny is more important, then we should accept that every success or failure that comes our way is because of our destiny. On the other hand, if we believe that self-effort alone is important, then too there is no problem, because we will accept responsibility for all our failures and successes. But if we believe that both are important, a problem arises because we will not be able to say with certainty how much of our success or failure is due to self-effort and how much of it is due to destiny. Probably we would then end up saying that everything that happened over which we had no control happened because of destiny and the rest was due to self-effort. However, the best thing is to know that in a given situation we are only required to act to the best of our ability and knowledge and leave the rest. If the result is preordained, then the question that comes up is, preordained by whom? If it is by us, then try to change it. If we cannot change the result, then try to change the state of mind.

When we know our true Self, then there is no question of self-effort or destiny because we would then have realised that the entity that does actions and reaps the results — the jiva — itself is illusory….

What we get in the present is our destiny. What we do with what we get is our self-effort. Each moment in life we find that we are faced with one situation or the other. We do not know how it comes, why or from where. We do not know exactly how much we have contributed to bring about this situation before us. The fact that there is a situation, leads to the conclusion that it must have one or more causes. The important thing is that we must know how to deal with it with a cool mind, in a way which uplifts us, and is beneficial to all concerned. Even though we have no control over the situation, we decide how to deal with it. We may do it in one way or the other or decide not to do anything at all. Sant Ekanatha had a supportive wife; so he thanked God for her. Sant Tukarama had a cantankerous wife who opposed him all the time. He too thanked God for a wife like that as it prevented him from getting attached to her. Each of them dealt with their destiny in a positive way. Some say that even our responses to situations are not self-effort, but destined. That belief too should not cause problems, because then we would have no complaints. We would accept things as they come, cheerfully.

Some say that there is no destiny or self-effort. It is all the will of God. Then also it is fine as we accept all situations as gifts of God. Some others feel — we create the situation and we respond to it; we are totally responsible. This attitude also can lead us to a positive response to situations as we would not blame anyone else, learn to be responsible and become careful in our responses. 

A Life Guided

Hari OM

Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!

The Narada Bhakti Sutra is our guide for a while… the nature of Love (with the capital 'ell') and a full exploration of it. As always, you are encouraged to seek out the full text from Chinmaya Publications (links in side-bar); but for those who prefer e-readers, this version is recommended. Whilst awareness and interest can be raised by these posts on AV-blog, they cannot substitute for a thorough reading and contemplation...and practice!
 

We read that the siddha is one who has totally immersed their self into the Divine Love. As Bhakti is the path, the form of That One is called here as Naaryaayana. Living in such a high state of bliss, the siddha may appear to others to have lost all wits. On the other hand, majority devotees who have yet to raise themselves to that exalted state are advised to 'stick to map', use the shaastra for the signposts and Gurus as guides, where the signs are not clear or language too obscure. However, not unsurprisingly, given Mankind's tendency to want the 'quick fix' and desire to live the Life Divine without necessarily putting in effort, the question may arise as to why in fact one cannot simply go around dancing and singing the Lord's virtues without a care for else in life? Having stated the necessity for following the injunctions of scripture, Sri Narada anticipates this question and quickly says;

अन्यथा पतित्याशाङ्कया ||13|| 

Anyathaa paatityaashaangkayaa ||13||

Or else there is the fear of a fall (from spiritual virtue).

There is no beating around the bush with this one! Those who desire strongly to swim like their Olympic heroes are advised, "no diving in the deep end, first learn how to float - or you run the risk of drowning."

The world is ever present, pulling and sucking at our various senses, appealing to our baser natures and deep-rooted vaasanas. It wants us back with it. To rise above the level the world balances out at, to keep spirits above the 'water line' and be able to breath the air of Divinity, we must practice a number of different strokes. We may be able to act the part, to pose as one mad with the Love Divine, but we will be caught out when we cannot deny our various weaknesses. The deception does little harm to those around us - but if we are truly in search of that connection, we are deceiving ourselves. Acting the part does not give us the desired result. Posing in swimming costume and traipsing around the edges of the pool makes no Olympian of us!

True bhakti always fills the devotee with poise, peace, fulfilment, a generally balanced disposition. One who puts on the appearance of these soon gets pinched and punched and any semblance of tranquillity evaporates.  For as long as we are not truly living the Divine Life, we must follow the markers and carry out the exercises which build our spiritual muscle. The way of the spiritual traveller is fraught with pitfalls - the teacher and the teachings are our 'water-wings'.

In the event of reaching the Divine Union, are there still things of the world of objects which must be attended?

 लोको-पि  तावदेव किन्तु भोजनादि-व्यापारस्त्वाशरीरधारणावधि ||14||

Loko.api taavadeva kintu bhojanaadi-vyaapaarastvaashariiradhaaraNaavadhi||14||

The worldly duties in the various social contacts are also to be performed, only to that extent (that there is still perception of the world); but activities such as eating etc., indeed will continue as long as the body exists.

It is a matter of praarabdha that we have manifested the physical form. Until such time as that destiny is exhausted in this life, even for one who has attained the Divine Life, the body must be serviced as the vehicle of the spirit. Therefore, food and water will still be necessary - cannot be avoided indeed. However, the higher one's spirit soars, the less interaction is required with things and events of the world; that said, there will still be certain circumstances where interaction is required. These are most likely to be of the nature of devotional services, yaatras (pilgrimages).

All activity, though, when undertaken in the Divine state, is merely to see out the duration of karmic debt and setting aright the balance of praarabdha. The bhakta understands this and has no attachment to the body or events which carry him or her through to the completion of this life.

Thus ends section two of chapter one of the Narada Bhakti Sutra.

The End in Sight

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

TATTVABODHAH.

[You are reminded that reviewing the previous week's posts will become essential as the meanings of the Sanskrit terms may not be repeated. There may come additional or alternative meanings, but all should be noted. As study progresses, the technical terms must necessarily become 'second nature' to the student. When the Sanskrit is used, the translation will fall easily into place - or likewise, if the English is used, the Sanskrit term must easily come forwards.]

Please revisit THIS post and chant the mangala-charana. Please use the TattvabodhaH label to access all posts relevant to this text.

We have seen that karma is not just 'you hit me and you'll get hit back' thing; thought that is certainly the essence of it. There is more complexity insofar as there being a past, present and future to it. Future is determined by our aagaami karma. All actions have a 'fee' in the karma bank and we may not know what that fee will be in this life. It may take many lives to pay off the debt. Past karmas, the ones accrued via aagaami, are called sanchita. At any time, the sanchita may send out the 'interest balance'. This results in the jiiva having to enter the world. This brings it into the present of that jiiva - the praarabdha karma now takes over, determining the where, how, when and so forth of the birth.

Something to bear in mind, though not specifically mentioned in this text, is that all actions arise from thought. No action can take place without mind ordering it. Therefore, thoughts add to our aagaami as much as anything our body does.

Having taken birth, each jiiva must live out the life praarabdha has sketched… however, if we are blessed to have taken human birth, we have the facility to alter that sketch and improve our lot. For a truly blessed few of the already blessed, there may the opportunity to rise to the highest philosophical understanding which results in returning to True Self, even within this life itself. In such an event…

सञ्चितम् कर्म ब्रह्मैवाहमिति निस्चयात्मकज्ञनेन नश्यति।

sa~ncitam karma brahmaivaahamiti niscayaatmakaGYanena nashyati.

"Sanchita karma is destroyed by the firm knowledge 'I am Brahman alone'".

आगामि कर्म अपि ज्ञानेने नश्यति किञ्च आगामिकर्मणां निलजीदलगतजलवत् ज्ञानिनां सम्बन्धो नास्ति।

aagaami karma api GYaanene nashyati ki~nca aagaamikarmaNaaM nilajiidalagatajalavat GYaaninaaM sambandho naasti.

"The aagaami karma is also destroyed by Knowledge and the wise man is not affected by it, as a lotus leaf is not affected by the water on it."

On Realisation, our debts are nullified. The slate is cleaned. The gross body of the ignorant and of the wise at death disintegrate and merge with the elements. The subtle body of the ignorant, propelled by the causal body (ie force of previous actions) leaves the body to take up another at some point in the future according to the results of the karma which have fructified. The subtle body of the wise man merges with the five subtle elements and there is no more a propelling force. The causal body is destroyed by the Knowledge of Self. There is no more birth for him. It is like the space in the pot which is broken; it merges fully with the totality of space - never having been anything by space, albeit 'conditioned' by the pot.

Likewise, whilst the body of the wise man must play out the remainder of the praarabdha which brought him to this point, any actions now  (aagaami)  no longer accrue to sanchita. They just float, like the droplet of water on the leaf of the lotus. Have you seen that? No?... Perhaps nasturtium then…

The point being, there can be no more effect upon the one who has crossed the boundary between individual and total; jiivanmukta.

What then of the results of the remaining actions performed by the physical form of the jiivanmukta?

NB; the chants above will be on the clip provided next week.

Such is Destiny

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

TATTVABODHAH.

[You are reminded that reviewing the previous week's posts will become essential as the meanings of the Sanskrit terms may not be repeated. There may come additional or alternative meanings, but all should be noted. As study progresses, the technical terms must necessarily become 'second nature' to the student. When the Sanskrit is used, the translation will fall easily into place - or likewise, if the English is used, the Sanskrit term must easily come forwards.]

Please revisit THIS post and chant the mangala-charana. Please use the TattvabodhaH label to access all posts relevant to this text.

When watching a swami at times other than when giving discourse or satsang, it can be noted that there is little, if any, superfluous movement. The most alive part of such a sage is the eyes. They are all-seeing. To be blessed with even the most sideways glance from a Master is to know true blessing. Such an experience is never forgotten. The stillness of the physical container of the Master is a lesson in tranquillity. Every movement is economical and even the placing of a book or a pen is with repose.

If one attends satsang with such a Master, the atmosphere cannot be denied. This is not mere 'charisma'; it is something far greater. When a Master speaks, not one word is out of place… and every word is for the listener and only the listener. The fact that there might be a hundred other listeners sharing the room matters not; the Satguru is speaking only to the "I", which is Himself, and for a brief moment the individual is brought out of his or her condition and into that union.

Whether the jnaani serves by sharing the teaching this way, or remains at the work of their lifetime… or retreats to the forests or mountains… every action is merely burning up of the wick of destiny. Life, having been given, must run its course. This is destiny.

प्रारब्धं कर्म किमिति चेत्।

इदं शरीरमुत्पाद्य इह लोके एव सुखदुःखादिप्रदं

यत्कर्म तत्प्रारब्धं भोगेन नष्टं भवति

प्रारब्धकर्मणां भोगदेव क्षय इति।

praarabdhaM karma kimiti cet.

idaM shariiramutpaadya iha loke eva sukhaduHkhaadipradaM

yatkarma tatpraarabdhaM bhogena naSTaM bhavati

praarabdhakarmaNaaM bhogadeva xaya iti.

"Having given birth to this body, the actions which give result in this very world in the form of happiness or miser and which can be destroyed only by enjoying or suffering them, is called praarabdha karma."

Interestingly, the word praarabdha can be broken down to bring out "that which began well"… which sums it up rather nicely! We are born as children so innocent in at the beginning, but instantly the egg-timer starts running and it can only run according to the sanchita sands. In praarabdha, we face karma phala… the fruits of our actions.

How often have you said 'what have I done to deserve this?'; or heard another say 'oh he didn't deserve that!' Even if we are not of the tradition of Sanatana Dharma, we have some concept of having to pay a debt of some sort for our actions. Mostly we resent this! Properly understood, the karmic cycle can be a powerful influence upon us, for we start to act more consciously and conscientiously. However, a life of good acts does not necessarily preserve us from having to pay serious debts and if there is murder and mayhem several lives back, we will have to redress the balance sometime - and it may be in the current life. Further, within this life itself, we can experience the fullness of karma. It is what our reward and justice system is about. Good deeds can certainly yield reward this life itself and sour deeds may result in, for example, fines.

It is the praarabdha karma which determines the time and place of our birth, the environment, the lifespan. Do not consider praarabdha as 'set in stone' fate, something in which we are helpless. To be fatalistic, "oh there is nothing to be done, it is written in the stars", is of itself a negative karma. In fact, everything provides a learning, if we are alert, and by understanding that everything in life is a result of past action, in this life itself we can take responsibility, adjust our actions for the future, and fund a will to rise from the traps set by Maya. 

We must have the attitude that, whilst we may not have a choice in what is served to us, we do have a choice in how we 'eat' it. Adjustment of attitude from 'woe is me' to 'how can I use this' is what is required.

An arrow that has been shot from the bow reaches its target to exhaust its momentum. It cannot be withdrawn halfway. Similarly, those actions which have started fructifying can only be exhausted by giving their results. One must bear these results and the depth of their effect will be much determined by our attitude.

The jnaani, about whom this part of the text is talking, must also serve out 'time' in praarabdha, simply by virtue of having been born. However, as far as he is concerned there is no doing or enjoying or suffering. Eventually, his body, like the rest of us, must pass. The jiiva that found its freedom in mukta state (samaadhi) will now finally rest forever.

You Get What You Pays For...

Hari Om 

Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality and become more congruent within our personality.

KINDLE LIFE. We continue exploring points raised by HH Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda-ji in the publication of this name. Remember, you can purchase, (very economically!), the book from  Chinmaya Mission Publications or if you prefer, the Amazon Link. Thus you can read Gurudev's words directly and bring your own voice to the discussion.

Chapter Eleven comes to a subject which many think they know, but few actually properly understand.  THE LAW OF KARMA.

In many respects it is as simple as 'what goes around comes around'. Accepting the fact that action executed, every decision taken, must undergo its consequences whether expected or not, is a little more difficult.  Firstly we have to absorb the concept of vaasana-s. These are the 'programming' of our individual computers, if you will. For as long as we work on our vaasana instructions, so long we will be caught up in desires, agitations and the actions resulting from seeking to quell them. The actions will 'imprint' according to the result obtained, which in turn leads to affirming existing vaasana-s or creating new ones which will bring on further action.

It is the law of cause and effect which governs karma; as scientific as it gets! Let us look a little closer. Each person is who they are based upon the yield of past actions. From birth, through to end of life, if actions are of noble and pure intent that person might be said to be one of dignity or goodness. Equally, we see others who live with viciousness and immorality and we mark these down as 'bad eggs'. Everyone has a concept of what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. What drives this is not only the circumstances around them (which can be seen and easily 'accused'), but also the very nature of each individual, the personality with which they are born. Hence we can find 'bad eggs' arising from otherwise agreeable roots and conversely we see giants of virtue coming out of the worst of circumstances.

Thus we can conclude that what drives a person's life is not so much the environment, but how they respond to it - and this is ascribed to karma. We can look at this and say, 'well that was their destiny' and leave it at that. How lacking in curiosity would that make us?!

Karma is not simply destiny (which has the sense of being written in stone and therefore nothing can be done about it). It is much more dynamic than this. To fully understand karma is essential in Vedanta, for it clarifies how it is we even have come to be reading the philosophy itself. The 'destiny' part of karmic law is that which is called प्रारब्ध/praarabdha. It is the the 'effect' of the causative past not just in current life but in all previous existences. It can be seen that balance has to be brought to bear, deeds answered for, and to this extent at least, we do have to live out destiny. However, along the way each jiva (the individualised soul is called this remember!) has the capacity to climb the spiritual ladder, cancelling out the karmic account and developing ever greater strength to correct the course of praarabdha.  This self-effort is called as  पुरुषार्थ/purushaartha (wealth of cosmic man) and this is the seed of the phrase "Lord helps those who help themselves". Thus it can be said that the present praarabdha is a result of past purushaartha. Equally, every action from this moment of understanding can have purushaartha behind it with the intention of ensuring an improved praarabdha as we go forward, leading to final liberation (moksha) from the whole cycle.

In short; what one meets in life is praarabdha...how one meets it is purushaartha.

We have the power of our future within ourselves. Through our purushaartha we really can make a difference to our soul's journey. Whether we choose between preyas or shreyas [this is where your little workbooks come in handy folks - remember these are the paths of pleasure or good…] may be written at birth according to praarabdha, but if we have earned enough karmic brownie points, we will come to understand that choices can be made to change or improve our paths. It is not that we can completely wipe praarabdha's slate, but it can be said that the future is a continuity of the past, modified with purushartha in the present.

Now the mix gets a little more complex. Yes we have freedom of choice between positive or negative actions in terms of our purushaartha; however, those choices are still, to a large extent, coloured by the depth of our praarabdha.  Gurudev gives the excellent example of a boat on a river. Without an engine (no choice), it must only flow as the river flows; if we add an engine (purushaartha) we can certainly give the boat an independence of the river...but for as long as it remains on the river, despite being more steerable, it is still to some extent governed by the current already in place; thus if going down river the boat is actually going faster than it's engine is driving it, but if it is going upriver, it may be battling to maintain speed.  This is what explains how, even when we have a basically good and well-planned life, we can hit heavy 'back-currents' and we wonder what we did to deserve the strife!  We may never know the source of the eddy or the whirlpool. All we can do is seek to regain balance through purushaartha, titiksha, shraddha and so on.

We are, then, a product of our past, but have the ability to be producer for the future. Praarabdha (law of destiny) applies only to past action and makes of us victims. Karma (law of consequential action) though, ensures the ability to create, with a view to quelling praarabdha. The logic behind this is well seen in present life with things such as education (the more effort put the better the qualification) and such like; what can take a little more to absorb is that there are many, many, many lives which contributed to praarabdha and there may be many more to endure until purushaartha can yield the most positive result of all - the balancing of our karmic debt and we can sign off the cosmic account.

Further to the individual karma, there is community karma. We will only touch upon this here because the subject will arise in various forms throughout Vedantic study. It is important to note, though, that part of karma is that we are born wherever it is our praarabdha can best play out in present life… and this means that very often those with similar cosmic balances will be born in similar places. This is what gives character to culture and variance in etiquettes and so on.  This is a big concept. Just take note of it for now.