KARMA (3) from Mahabharata

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KARMA (3)

>From The Mahabharata,

Vana Parva, Sections CCVII & CCVIII

Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli

Abridged

 

Destiny is all-powerful and it is difficult to evade

the consequence of our past actions.

 

Addressing King Yudhishthira:

 

Markendeya continued: The pious fowler said to that Brahmana

(Brahmin), `Undoubtedly my deeds are very cruel, but, O Brahmana,

Destiny is all-powerful and it is difficult to evade the consequence

of our past actions. And this is the Karmic evil arising out of sin

committed in a former life. But, O Brahmana, I am always assiduous in

eradicating the evil. The Deity takes away life, the executioner acts

only as a secondary agent and we, O good Brahmana, are only such

agents in regard to our Karma. Those animals that are slain by me and

whose meat I sell, also acquire Karma; because (with their meat),

gods and guests and servants are regaled with dainty food and the

manes are propitiated. It is said authoritatively that herbs and

vegetables, deer, birds and wild animals constitute the food of all

creatures. And, O Brahmana, king Sivi, the son of Usinara, of great

forbearance attained to heaven, which is hard to reach, giving away

his own flesh.

 

And in the matter of animal food, this rule has been laid down by

Munis (sages): `Whoever partakes of animal food after having first

offered it duly and respectfully to the gods and the Manes

(ancestors), is not polluted by the act. And such a man is not at all

considered to have partaken of animal food, even, as a Brahmachari

(celibate) having intercourse with his wife during the menstrual

period, is nevertheless considered to be a good Brahmana. After

consideration of the propriety and impropriety of the matter, this

rule has been laid down'.

 

Evil Karma may be expiated in various ways.

 

And, O good Brahmana, knowing this to be the consequence of my own

actions, I obtain my livelihood from this profession. The forsaking

of one's own occupation is considered, O Brahmana, to be a sin, and

the act of sticking to one's own profession is without doubt a

meritorious act. The Karma of a former existence never forsakes any

creature. And in determining the various consequences of one's Karma,

this rule was not lost sight of by the Creator. A person having his

being under the influence of evil Karma, must always consider how he

can atone for his Karma, and extricate himself from an evil doom, and

the evil Karma may be expiated in various ways. Accordingly, O good

Brahmana, I am charitable, truthful, assiduous in attending on my

superior, full of respect towards regenerate Brahmanas, devoted to

and free from pride and (idle) excessive talk.

 

The commandment that people should not do harm to any creature was

ordained of old by men, who were ignorant of the true facts of the

case. For, O Brahmana, there is not a man on the face of this earth,

who is free from the sin of doing injury to creatures.

 

Agriculture is considered to be a praiseworthy occupation, but it is

well known that even there, great harm is done to animal life; and in

the operation of digging the earth with the plough, numberless

creatures lurking in the ground as also various other forms of animal

life are destroyed. Do you not think so? O good Brahmana, Vrihi and

other seeds of rice are all living organisms. What is your opinion on

this matter? Men, O Brahmana, hunt wild animals and kill them and

partake of their meat; they also cut up trees and herbs; but O

Brahmana, there are numberless organisms in trees, in fruits, as also

in water; do you not think so? This whole creation, O Brahmana, is

full of animal life, sustaining itself with food derived from living

organisms. Do you not mark that fish preys upon fish, and that

various species of animals prey upon other species, and there are

species the members of which prey upon each other?

 

Men, O Brahamana, while walking about here and there, kill numberless

creatures lurking in the ground by trampling on them, and even men of

wisdom and enlightenment destroy animal life in various ways, even

while sleeping or reposing themselves. What have you to say to this?

The earth and the air all swarm with living organisms, which are

unconsciously destroyed by men from mere ignorance. Is not this so?

The commandment that people should not do harm to any creature was

ordained of old by men, who were ignorant of the true facts of the

case. For, O Brahmana, there is not a man on the face of this earth,

who is free from the sin of doing injury to creatures. After full

consideration, the conclusion is irresistible that there is not a

single man who is free from the sin of doing injury to animal life.

 

Even the sage, O good Brahmana, whose vow is to do harm to no

creature, does inflict injury to animal life. Only, on account of

greater heedfulness, the harm is less. Men of noble birth and great

qualities perpetrate wicked acts in defiance of all, of which they

are not at all ashamed. Good men acting in an exemplary way are not

commended by other good men; nor are bad men acting in a contrary way

praised by their wicked compeers; and friends are not agreeable to

friends, albeit endowed with high qualities; and foolish pedantic men

cry down the virtues of their preceptors. This reversal of the

natural order of things, O good Brahmana, is seen everywhere in this

world. What is your opinion as to the virtuousness or otherwise of

this state of things? There is much that can be said of the goodness

or badness of our actions. But whoever is addicted to his own proper

occupation surely acquires great reputation.

 

Markendeya Continued: O Yudhishthira, the virtuous fowler, eminent in

pity, then skillfully addressed himself again to that foremost of

Brahmanas, saying:

It is the dictum of the aged that the ways of righteousness are

subtle, diverse and infinite. When life is at stake and in the matter

of marriage, it is proper to tell an untruth. Untruth sometimes leads

to the triumph of truth, and the latter dwindles into untruth.

Whatever conduces most to the good of all creatures is considered to

be truth. Virtue is thus perverted; mark you its subtle ways. O best

of virtuous men, man's actions are either good or bad, and he

undoubtedly reaps their fruits. The ignorant man having attained to

an abject state grossly abuses the gods, not knowing that it is the

consequence of his own evil Karma. The foolish, the designing and the

fickle, O good Brahmana, always attain the very reverse of happiness

or misery. Neither learning nor good morals, nor personal exertion

can save them. And if the fruits of our exertion were not dependent

on anything else, people would attain the object of their desire, by

simply striving to attain it.

 

It is seen that able, intelligent and diligent persons are baffled in

their efforts, and do not attain the fruits of their actions. On the

other hand, persons who are always active in injuring others and in

practicing deception on the world, lead a happy life. There are some

that attain prosperity without any exertion. And there are others,

who with the utmost exertion are unable to achieve their dues.

Miserly persons with the object of having sons born to them worship

the gods, and practice severe austerities, and those sons having

remained in the womb for ten months at length turn out to be very

infamous issue of their race; and others begotten under the same

auspices, decently pass their lives in luxury with heaps of riches

and grain accumulated by their ancestors.

 

The diseases, from which men suffer, are undoubtedly the result of

their own Karma. They then behave like small deer at the hand of

hunters and they are racked with mental troubles. And, O Brahmana, as

hunters intercept the flight of their game, the progress of those

diseases is checked by able and skillful physicians with their

collection of drugs. And, the best of the cherishers of religion, you

have observed that those who have it in their power to enjoy (the

good things of this earth), are prevented from doing so from the fact

of their suffering from chronic bowel complaints, and that many

others that are strong and powerful, suffer from misery, and are

enabled with great difficulty to obtain a livelihood; and that every

man is thus helpless, overcome by misery and illusion, and again and

again tossed and overpowered by the powerful current of his own

actions (Karma). If there were absolute freedom of action, no

creature would die, none would be subject to decay, or await his evil

doom, and everybody would attain the object of his desire. All

persons desire to out distance their neighbours (in the race of

life), and they strive to do so to the utmost of their power; but the

result turns out otherwise.

 

Many are persons born under the influence of the same star and the

same auspices of good luck; but a great diversity is observable in

the maturity of their actions. No person, O good Brahmana, can be the

dispenser of his own lot. The actions done in the previous existence

are seen to fructify in our present life. It is the immemorial

tradition that the soul is eternal and everlasting, but the corporeal

frame of all creatures is subject to destruction here. When therefore

life is extinguished, the body only is destroyed, but the spirit,

wedded to its actions, travels elsewhere.

 

The Brahmana replied: O best of those versed in the doctrine of

Karma, and in the delivery of discourses, I long to know accurately

how the soul becomes eternal.

The fowler replied: The spirit dies not, there being simply a change

of tenement. They are mistaken, who foolishly say that all creatures

die. The soul betakes itself to another frame, and its change of

habitation is called its death. In the world of men, no man reaps the

consequences of other man's Karma. Whatever one does, he is sure to

reap the consequences thereof; for the consequences of the Karma that

is once done, can never be obviated. The virtuous become endowed with

great virtues, and sinful men become the perpetrators of wicked

deeds. Men's actions follow them; and influenced by these, they are

born again.

 

Why does the spirit take its birth, and why

does its nativity become sinful or virtuous?

 

The Brahmana enquired: Why does the spirit take its birth, and why

does its nativity become sinful or virtuous, and how, O good man,

does it come to belong to a sinful or virtuous race?

 

The fowler replied: This mystery seems to belong to the subject of

procreation, but I shall briefly describe to you, O good Brahmana,

how the spirit is born again with its accumulated load of Karma, the

righteous in a virtuous, and the wicked in a sinful nativity. By the

performance of virtuous actions it attains to the state of the gods,

and by a combination of good and evil, it acquires the human state;

by indulgence in sensuality and similar demoralising practices it is

born in the lower species of animals, and by sinful acts, it goes to

the infernal regions. Afflicted with the miseries of birth and

dotage, man is fated to rot here below from the evil consequences of

his own actions.

 

Passing through thousands of births as also the infernal regions, our

spirits wander about, secured by the fetters of their own Karma.

Animate beings become miserable in the next world on account of these

actions done by themselves and from the reaction of those miseries,

they assume lower births and then they accumulate a new series of

actions, and they consequently suffer misery over again, like sickly

men partaking of unwholesome food; and although they are thus

afflicted, they consider themselves to be happy and at ease and

consequently their fetters are not loosened and new Karma arises; and

suffering from diverse miseries they turn about in this world like a

wheel. If casting off their fetters they purify themselves by their

actions and practice austerities and religious meditations, then, O

best of Brahmanas, they attain to Elysian regions by these numerous

acts and by casting off their fetters and by the purification of

Karma, men attain those blissful regions where misery is unknown to

those who go there.

The sinful man, who is addicted to vices, never comes to the end of

his course of iniquities. Therefore must we strive to do what is

virtuous and forbear from doing what is unrighteous. Whoever with a

heart full of gratefulness and free from malice strives to do what is

good, attains wealth, virtue, happiness and heaven (hereafter). Those

who are purified of sins, wise, forbearing, constant in

righteousness, and self-restrained enjoy continuous felicity in this

as well in the next world. Man must follow the standard of virtue of

the good and in his acts imitate the example of the righteous. There

are virtuous men, versed in holy writ and learned in all departments

of knowledge. Man's proper duty consists in following his own proper

avocation and this being the case these latter do not become confused

and mixed up.

 

The wise man delights in virtue and lives by righteousness. And. O

good Brahmana, such a man with the wealth of righteousness, which he

hereby acquires, waters the root of the plant in which he finds most

virtue. The virtuous man acts thus and his mind is calmed. He is

pleased with his friends in this world and he also attains happiness

hereafter. Virtuous people, O good man, acquire dominion over all and

the pleasure of beauty, flavour, sound and touch according to their

desire. These are known to be the rewards of virtue. But the man of

enlightened vision, O great Brahmana, is not satisfied with reaping

the fruits of righteousness. Not content with that, he with the light

of spiritual wisdom that is in him, becomes indifferent to pain and

pleasure and the vice of the world influences him not. Of his own

free will he becomes indifferent to worldly pursuits but he forsakes

not virtue. Observing that everything worldly is evanescent, he tries

to renounce everything and counting on more chance he devices means

for the attainment of salvation. Thus does he renounce the pursuits

of the world, shuns the ways of sin, becomes virtuous and at last

attains salvation. Spiritual wisdom is the prime requisite of men of

salvation, resignation and forbearance are its roots. By this means

he attains all the objects of his desire. But subduing the senses and

by means of truthfulness and forbearance, he attains, O good

Brahmana, the supreme asylum of Brahman (God).