[Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] Enigma of Prarabdha.

[Guest guest]

This is such a wonderful article.

It beautifully emphasizes how many calamities that are

due to our own karmas can be diluted by invoking the

name of the LORD and submitting the fruits to his

lotus feet, before we start any activity.

 

 

--- GANAPATHY RAMAN <agraman62 wrote:

 

> 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

> agraman

>

>

>

> Free antispam, antivirus and 1GB to save all your

> messages

> Only in Mail: http://in.mail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Very good post. Has any one dealt with this question ?

 

"Why does one choose to do good and bad ? " If we say it is the nature acquired due to past karma, the question that still remains is why in the past did one choose to act in a particular way - doing good / bad ?

 

Any answer is greatly appreciated. GANAPATHY RAMAN <agraman62 wrote:

 

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

agraman

 

 

Free antispam, antivirus and 1GB to save all your messagesOnly in Mail: http://in.mail. Om Namo Narayanaya:

[Guest guest]

Om Namo Naraynaya

 

In Bagvat Geetha Bhagawan says " even a blade of grass will not move without my will". In that case, why we have to suffer for the past Karmas which we might have done with the will of God"

 

Gopi

 

 

Rajaram Venkataramani <v_raja_ram wrote:

 

Very good post. Has any one dealt with this question ?

 

"Why does one choose to do good and bad ? " If we say it is the nature acquired due to past karma, the question that still remains is why in the past did one choose to act in a particular way - doing good / bad ?

 

Any answer is greatly appreciated. GANAPATHY RAMAN <agraman62 wrote:

 

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

agraman

 

 

Free antispam, antivirus and 1GB to save all your messagesOnly in Mail: http://in.mail. Om Namo Narayanaya:

Om Namo Narayanaya:

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[Guest guest]

Though, I am not an expert in this field, this is what I believe.

The LORD also gives us free will. So we have a choice of either associating with the LORD or with Maya. Our Karmas are determined by what we associate with. Even if we have bad karmas due to the bad deeds which we have done earlier, if we seek refuge at the lotus feet of GOD, he redeems us of our sins. For example, during Draupati vatra haran, GOD did not will for the the act of Duryodhana. But when Draupati calls out for Krishna, he is ever ready to protect her.

The bad karmas we do are due to the veil of Maya. When we call out the Lord during distress, out of his compassion he helps us get rid of the veil and see him. gopi krishnan <gopick09 wrote:

 

Om Namo Naraynaya

 

In Bagvat Geetha Bhagawan says " even a blade of grass will not move without my will". In that case, why we have to suffer for the past Karmas which we might have done with the will of God"

 

Gopi

 

 

Rajaram Venkataramani <v_raja_ram wrote:

 

Very good post. Has any one dealt with this question ?

 

"Why does one choose to do good and bad ? " If we say it is the nature acquired due to past karma, the question that still remains is why in the past did one choose to act in a particular way - doing good / bad ?

 

Any answer is greatly appreciated. GANAPATHY RAMAN <agraman62 wrote:

 

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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[Guest guest]

Dear Rajaram,

Your question has a gud impact.Inscrutable are the ways of the Creator who while creating the Cosmos at His will must hv defined certain Laws of Nature out of His knowledge,wisdom,intelligence par excellence,motive,purpose which are beyond our comprehensive powers.He created dualism in the sense that for every aspect of creation there is an opposite aspect for eg.light and darkness,man and woman,positive and negative,knowledge and ignorance etc and in the same way He has done the job of creating good and evil.This has started from the origin of humanity thousands of years ago and covers all the Yugas till day.All these forces were present from the beginning and humanity also had Devas and asuras,devotees and non devotees,believers and non believers,jealousy,anger,lust etc on the negative side and kindness ,

compassion,devotion,humility etc on the positive side.These things cant be denied.This has been in vogue over the time of all the Yugas and our Puranas ,hv plenty of incidents on this and I am not going to that in detail.

 

When a child is born anywhere it never has the evil and good qualities till it attains the age of 3 or 4.Till that time it absolutely follows the laws of nature.As the child grows because of circumstances,environment and other factors it develops good or evil things in mind by seeing the happenings around.The good atmosphere in which it is brought creates in its mind things that are good and evil things create it bad.All depends on the atmosphere in which it is grown.This also can't be disputed.This develops into the making of the growing child to become gud or bad in due course.

Coming to our Karmas it is an unassailable fact that we hv no idea of how many births we hv taken earlier or how many more are in store in future.It is beyond our knowledge.So when we say that what we suffer or enjoy in this birth is due to the previous karma that does not mean the immediate previous birth as it is a continuous process of births and deaths and whatever we hv done in everso many earlier births the balance of good or bad deeds effect will reflect upon us,It is something like putting money in our bank account and drawing in each birth.Whatever good deeds we hv done the effects of which will go to the credit of our account and the bad deeds mean withdrawing the money we hv put without putting any in the account.So long as this process continues if we hv surplus money in the account due to the meritorious deeds we hv done in earlier births our cheques will be honoured we hv a complete life in this or earlier births.When that money is liquidated then starts the

misery creeping in our life.This is the way karmic effects also works.So when we say our difficulties in this birth is due to our poorvajanma bala it doesnot mean the immediate previous birth but over several births.In between we must hv done some good deeds also in some birth and to that extent the balance goes up and subsequent birth when we do ill deeds the balance will come down.So there is no point in saying if we hv done good deeds why shuld we suffer as there is no balance left and the benefits of gud deeds done will reflect in the next births.It is a vicious circle from which we can't escape.It is to be believed blindly and cant be tested in a laboratory.Otherwise there is no reason why one shuld born as a rich person ,another a poor,diseased,blind and with so many illnesses for all these things we don't hv proper explanation nor the great sages and saints hv given any comment on that aspect,I presume.

 

Hence all say to do gud deeds at least in this birth by having great devotion towards the Lord and harm nobody,shun jealousy,greed,anger,lust etc so that the Creator out of His infinite mercy will take care that we suffer the least.Just by dedication alone one's karmic effects cannot be erased overnight but the Creator of Laws of Nature has also the power to dilute the misery to a lesser extent so as to make one a wise person which if taken in right earnest may show him the right path towards Him and over a period of time and after several births may allow him to merge with Him.So all depends on the mind set up.The Creator has given free will to all to do whatever they want and enjoy or suffer according to the laws of nature.If utilised well it will lead one to glory and wasted will lead one to hell.This is the accepted fact and cant be disputed.

 

Hare Krishna.

 

Rajaram Venkataramani <v_raja_ram wrote:

 

Very good post. Has any one dealt with this question ?

 

"Why does one choose to do good and bad ? " If we say it is the nature acquired due to past karma, the question that still remains is why in the past did one choose to act in a particular way - doing good / bad ?

 

Any answer is greatly appreciated. GANAPATHY RAMAN <agraman62 wrote:

 

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

agraman

 

 

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