Not everything is Karma - there is also free will

[Guest guest]

> That sounds a bit fatalistic, isn´t it? Why is it then, that Krsna has

> given e.g. Manu-samhita, the "lawbook of mankind" for the general

> populace? Is it just meant as a joke, since there is no free will anyway?

> Or why Yamaraja is punishing people after death when they are actually not

> the causes for their sinful activities?

> This is actually one main blame from the e.g. the Christians towards

> Hindus at large: they often display an apparent indifference towards life

> in this world, especially when it comes to judging or helping

> underpriviledged people like the "untouchables". Some of them even say

> (which is funny to hear for us, of course): "Yes, if Krsna wants, I will

> surrender to Him...".

> My Guru Maharaja once said that if you see somebody in an emergency

> situation - which was obviously caused by his or her bad karma - and you

> don´t help this person even though you could, then this becomes also your

> karma!

> According to your philosophy, we can close down right now all of our

> conferences, because the outcome is already predestined. Or do you think

> that we are discussing on the transcendental plane? - I for myself have my

> doubts in this regard. Prabhupada was pointing out that we have a free

> will, even though it may be minute (I can´t give you a quote right now,

> maybe later, sorry).

 

Dear Vedanta-krt prabhu, please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

Thank you very much for your thoughtful letter as well as for an excellent

quote from your Guru Maharaja. I am posting here edited part of the letter

which I send recently to M. Madhusudani Radha. Hope some may find it useful.

 

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I had to leave the temple room when I heard [from "a sannyasi authority"]

that "actually everything is perfect and only on the surface there seems to

be problems; even if your temple president beats you every day and you can

tolerate it, then it is OK with you because you know that everything is

Krsna's will.." I am not kidding. This people have a serious problem. For

them every nonsense they do and sanction is Krsna's will but if one points

out their misconceptions, suddenly this is not Krsna's will according to

them, and they start to harass. They are avoiding the point that free will

is the most important factor, although usually they know it. Some still

believe that gurukula abuses had to happen and couldn't be avoided. They

probably don't understand that although everyone of us has some amount of

karma to suffer, *karma does not have to appear in the form of horrible

abuses from "devotees"*. Every devotee can and should practise morality and

Vaisnava principles and not cause harm to others. If everything would be

predestined, then why would we have any Vaisnava and moral principles? Srila

Prabhupada says in SOS that by real spiritual life even our material karma

can change. It is so wonderful. But even if I have to suffer a lot of my

karma, I prefer to break my hands and legs then to be abused by certain

ISKCON (or ritvik, Gaudiya or whatever) so called leaders and their

sycophants because such abuses are killing faith in ISKCON and devotees, and

they can slow down the comeback to Godhead significantly. I consider this

one of the crucial points of ISKCON failures. Devotees are often still like

sheep and, being brainwashed, they repeat "without Krsna's *will* even blade

of grass doesn't move". They don't understand that His sanctioning, or

*willing* certain things to happen, means that He is allowing us to act

according to our free will, and our actions are not necessarily His desire.

As if Krsna was some pervert and desired gurukula children to be sexually

molested and thousands of devotees being driven from ISKCON. Paramatma

allows an evil characters to harm but it also gives us inspiration how to

protect.

 

P.S. I agree that if in spite of all precautions something happens, then it

is fate. Point is that ISKCON was and partially still is not willing to

make precautions, although Krsna expects them.

 

--------------------

 

Bottom line for everyone of us: never do harm to others. If they have to

suffer because of karma (and everyone has to suffer a lot), material nature

will take care of it in different ways. It is not our job. The major

cleansing process starts all over the world including our ISKCON. It is the

time to choose if we want to go against our conscience, Paramatma, or if we

want to help ourselves and others while we are entering the age of higher

consciousness. Ys JGd

[Guest guest]

"COM: Harsi (das) HKS (Timisoara - RO)" wrote:

 

> [Text 2448725 from COM]

>

>

> We still have the independence or free will, acording to our

> conditioning by the modes of nature to act piously or sinfully, or serve the

> Lord and try to act from the transcendental plane. But I dont think

> devotees are above the varnasrama dharma society rather shoud try to become

> a integrated part of it, for their own benefit. After all we are living in

> this material world, in a material body and will remain here until the end

> of our days, when we may return Home back to Godhead.

>

> Why should we be transcendental to daiva varnasrama dharma?

>

> Your servant

> Harsi das

 

Very good point. Srila Prabhupada carried a danda and acted the role of the

perfect brahmana sannyasi. He -- of all people -- could certainly have said

that he was above varnasrama. Since I am below Srila Prabhupada, how can I say

that I am above varnasrama. Certainly we do not want to attempt to surpass our

founder-acarya.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

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Prabhupada's Lectures Srimad-Bhagavatam 1974 741021SB.MAY

 

Actually, a Vaisnava is above this varnasrama-dharma. But we don't claim that

we

have become perfect Vaisnava. We are not so impudent.

 

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