Philosophy of Ramanuja made easy-chapter2-section2

July 18, 2007

Chapter2-Section2

Brahman as the ruler and redeemer

The cause of samsara is the karma which presupposes a free agent. Isvara is the karmaphaladhAthA, apportioning the fruit of karma. His proclamation that He manifests Himself in every yuga in order to protect the good and punish the wicked , and to establish dharma 'parithrANAya sAdhoonAm vinASAya cha dhushkrthAM dharmasamsTHApanArTHAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge shows Him the ruler who punishes the evildoer and rewards the good. But the judgement is based not on the deed but on the doer. This means the same as in the worldly sense of the term. When a person commits a crime the judge decides about the punishment based on the motive of the person rather than on the act itself. Similarly the Lord acts as the karmaphaladhatha.

But the role of karmaphaladhatha does not rule out compassion because the retribution is for redemption. It is like the attitude of a parent in punishing the child out of love in order to prevent him from further wrong acts. It is usually thought that a person steeped in sin is not punished and flourishes on the other hand. In the world whereas a good person suffers even for the smallest sin committed by him. It is true. But it only signifies the mercy of God that He would not allow His devotees to transgress even a little from the path of virtue. This again is not partiality. A child who strays away from its home has many falls and mishaps till finally he decides to seek the protection of his parents and comes home. But the one who stays close are always watched by the parents and is not allowed to do anything wrong.

Another question often asked is that why should the Lord allow one to stray away and accumulate karma? Isn't it true that everything happens according to God"s will? The answer is that an individual soul has certain amount of freewill to act as he wants. It is he who chooses whether to stay close to the Lord or to go away from him. Bhagavan is the Supreme self. Inner ruler and the witness self. That is why He is termed as upadhrshta and anumantha, one who supervises and gives His permission to act. But the how and what of the action is decided by the individual self, who is possessed of an intellect which discriminates and decides.

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