Enigma of Prarabdha.

June 23, 2005

It is the general belief that what we are in this world today is the carry forward of good and bad deeds of previous births and this theory is not disputed even by scriptures.Present is nothing but an awareness of a presence.He who lives in the past is dead even as he who lives in the future is never born.A serious reckoning of the present (the prarabdha) therefore is the sign of sanity.

..Prarabdha can be classified under three categories.What is produced by desire to enjoy,What is produced unexpectedly and What is produced through the desire of another.In this God has no role to play. It is beyond His concern becoz if a person intentionally harms himself whatlaw can prevent him?As we are our best friends so we can also be our worst enemies.Our day dreaming,building castles in the air,unquenchable thirst for enjoyment all these fall under the first category.It seems to be relentless and hence inexhorable.Sometimes we get things or some events happen unexpectedly of which we would not hv dreamt of all these fall under the second category.In the third category we enjoy or suffer for others as a consequence of our feelings for others or out of social or personal obligations and responsibilities.We don't like to withdraw from such things becoz of our commitments and hence no way out of this prarabdha.As Swamy Vivekananda says 'they alone live who lives for

others'.It is so in a noble sense.Such people actually do not bother abt living for themselves and are happy to be of service to others and in consequence invite the prarabdha of those they serve.As we do not want to and cannot shake off the doership the

choice between bondage and liberation is ours and not God's.So if we want to end this prarabdha consequences we hv to make a move in the right direction by surrendering to God and then only the intervention of God comes,otherwise

not.

There are four well devised ways to reach the spiritual goal which we know as the four yogas.Doubt's creep in one's mind always if one confuses one path with another.Sometimes the doubt is responsible for creating untold misery.Sri Krishna says "samshayatma vinashyati"- a doubting man perishes.

It is therefore prudent for an aspirant to read such scriptures that are conducive to his or her chosen path only and stop speaking other words(those which are not connected with his ideal).It is called ishta-nishta, unflinching devotion to ones chosen ideal.Adi Sankara also warns us of the adverse effect

of reading many books aimlessly, a net work of words is like a dense forest which causes the mind to wander hither-thither.

Even in one and the same scripture many different topics may be discussed and ways prescribed to suit the temperements of different aspirants.One shuld listen to those injunctions which are essential and efficacious for one's own chosen path.The yogis hv come to follow the path of yoga, sanyasins to practice austerity and the devotees call on God Hari or a Deity of his choice.

One must take a definite attitude towards God.So devotees do not discriminate in the way of jnanis do.They surrender everything to the will of the Lord.They do not care for the law of Karma.As a result they do not unnecessarily strain themselves with considerations of even their own prarabdha, then what to speak of others.This does not mean that the Law of Karma does not work for them but an ardent devotee who clings to the Lord with utmost dedication gets his prarabdha diluted to a great extent by the Grace of the Lord.As he has surrendered even the fruits of his actions good or bad to Iswara he gets the protection of the Cosmic Source.In the Gita the Lord having imparted the most secret knowledge for the benefit of His devotees ,leaves the choice to Arjuna saying 'do as you like '.However He does not leave His devotees in the lurch.So He discloses the secret to Arjuna

inspiring him to take refuge in Him alone with his whole being(with his mind,word and deed).He assures arjuna by this that His grace will give him Supreme Peace (the cessation of nescience together with its effects) and eternal state.The duty of expiating the karma of devotees who hv surrendered their everything to the Lord passes on to Him.

Sankara the high priest of Monism admits that liberation is achieved by the Grace of God.In the case of jnanis their prarabdha with all the stored-up karma is destroyed at the dawn of knowledge.However Ramakrishna Paramahansa's answer to this quells all qualms abt God's intervention in the scheme of Prarabdha.He says it is true that man experiences a little effect of the prarabdha but much of it is cancelled by the power of God.A man was born blind of one eye.This was his punishment for certain misdeeds he had committed in his earlier birth and the punishment was to remain with him for six more births.He however took bath in Ganga which gives one liberation.This meritorious action could not cure his blindness but it saved him from his future births.It is like burning the candle at both ends.By God's grace the intensity of prarabdha will be minimised.

However for some the idea of minimising the intensity of prarabdha is debatable.On the authority of scriptures and of Acharyas Sankara and Ramanuja one may plead this point.This has been dealt with by both in their commentaries of the Brahmasutras.Both of them hv quoted the Upanishadic texts to tell us that when liberation or knowledge is achieved the aspirant is relieved of the effects of good and bad of his or her karmas.It may be noted that in the case of an individual this idea of prarabdha may sound logical but what abt a collective prarabdha?So many people die at a time in accidents,wars and natural calamities and God does not stop them in any way.How to account for it?Can it be argued that such mass destructions came to pass due to a collective prarabdha?For this Sri Ramakrishna said"Can a man ever understand God's ways?He has kept us deluded by His great illusion.Is it possible to understand God's action and His motive?He creates,preserves and destroys.Can we ever

understand why He destroys?

Following this view as one diagnoses the question itself ,one finds that its inspiration stems from utter irrationality.A collective presence of so many people or their collective enjoyment does not suggest any incongruity in God's deed., neither the prarabdha of those who were absent at the fatal moments evoke in the doubter's mind a sensitive admiration.The doubter is therefore disqualified from pointing his finger at the prarabdha of the dead.Then again one must remember the destructive power of cyclone etc which are called natural calamities is a truth .They happen as a part of natural laws.We hv to bear with them as we bear the cold of winter or the heat of summer.On the other hand a perfect devotee who has given everything to God and surrendered to Him never bothers abt whether his body falls of naturally or due to natural calamities.As He creates,preserves ,so He destroys.There is a very gud logic in this though difficult to digest.Then the problem comes in the case of a

nuclear war the whole of humanity is wiped out.What will be God's reaction if His creation is annihilated by unscruplous people?As to that one can surmise this much.It is an absolute collective prarabdha only.So the answer is same.

So the creation of prarabdha is in man's hands only.If good deeds are done naturally good things will come to him just like the theory of cause and effect.What you sow so you reap.God has no role in man's avariciousness as He is only a Witness of the going on and never affected by any changes as Lord Krishna has beautifully described in the Vibhuti Yoga He is everything and nothing is outside Him.All the karmic deeds are man made and for that he has to suffer or enjoy accordingly and there is no escape route.The only route he can take is towards Him,loving Him,surrendering to His will always remebering Him and that alone will lead to his salvation.That is the only way to escape the effect of prarabdha.

Hare Krishna

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