Karma and Environment -Guruji's discourse part 1 of 5

[Guest guest]

Karma and the Environment [part 1 of 5]

A discourse by Guruji Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswathy [May 2006, at

Devipuram]

 

It is true that we pay for what we do; or, to put it another way, that

we reap what we sow. And the corollary commonly drawn from this rule

seems to be that we don't reap what we have not sown. That part of the

assumption, however, is wrong.

After all, someone else can perform an action – can "do a karma," so

to speak – for me, and I can benefit from it too. For example, farmers

sow their seeds in the fields, and the vegetables they grow come to my

table and I enjoy them. I did not sow those seeds, but I reaped their

benefits. The things we enjoy are rarely the result of our personal

actions alone, but are very much affected by the actions of the

environment around us – in fact, the environment has a 99.9 percent

role in what we say and do and we've got only a 0.1 percent role!

Really, the environment's karma is always acting on us and moving us

in certain directions. So if you say, "my karma alone determines my

future," that's not correct. If you want to affect your future – which

is 99.9 percent determined by the karma of others around you – then

you've got to work on the environment, not just yourself.

 

That's why a management expert like Peter Drucker says the performance

of a company is determined largely by forces outside the company. In

the same way, your karmic results do not depend solely upon your

efforts, but also on the environment around you. If your environment

is a supportive one, your progress will be excellent. If your

environment is working against you, you'll lose no matter how hard you

try.

And that's the crux of the matter. You alone cannot determine your

future. Everyone is creating it together. That's why Krishna says to

Arjuna:

 

|| karmani eva adhikarah te; ma phaleshu kadachana ||

 

It means essentially, "You have the right to act, but not to the

results of acting." Again, that's because the results will be

determined by the environment; they're not in Arjuna's control –

they're not in your control. If you want to affect that massive

portion of your destiny that is controlled by the environment, then

you must either become the environment or else tune in to its wishes

and visions so that it will support you and help amplify your efforts.

So that's how I look at karma: It's predetermined to a large extent –

yes, agreed – but in a non-personal sense. And that is what puts the

arrow on Time; that's what pins it down. Even so, I'm not so sure that

people really get this part of it. They are always saying, "I'm the

result of my karma alone." But if you think about that for even a

moment, it doesn't make sense – not even from the moment of your

birth! Your father and mother did some karma and as a result of that

karma you were born into this world. Yes, the parents' karma reflects

so very strongly on their children.

And that's the situation: The environment plays a large part in your

life. You're doing your work; you're doing your karma properly. And

yet, because of someone else's action, you suffer. What is to be done

about that?

There are two things to be done: (1) you can remove yourself from your

environment. If you were born in, say, Nicaragua, you can go to the

U.S.A., Land of Opportunity. Pack up, leave everything behind, move to

a new place; see if it helps. Or (2) you can help improve your present

environment by tuning in to it; by merging with it. You've got to lose

yourself. You've got to become your environment and work from there.

 

(to be continued)

 

Pranams

Devipuram Seva Group

 

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