God's Will, Individual Will and Jyotisha

[Guest guest]

Namaste Pramod ji and others,

 

My best wishes for a pleasant Rishi Panchami!

 

<<<I have few questions in mind which I am not able to find a satisfactory

answers from anyone.

There is saying in Sanskrit " Tena vina truanam api na chalati " means " A blade

of grass doesn't move without his will " . In purusha suktam also it mentions God

alone is Prabhu(lord) of bhoot(past) and bhavya(future)..

So with these statements in mind can't we conclude that everybody's destiny is

fixed by God according to his karmas? Now if my destiny is fixed why should I

bother if a particular day is auspicious or not, or the girl will be my perfect

match or no.

Can't I just concentrate on my Karmas and leave the rest to God? What is the

relevance of Jyotish Shastra in this point view? Why should I bother about

Jyotish at all?

I am convinced that you are the best person to answer these questions. Please

find for me some time in your busy schedule to answer this burning question of

mine.>>>

 

This is a good question. It is a loaded philosophical question and one that many

may have. Though I addressed such questions in the past, I sense that I may be

able to give an inspired answer on this auspicious day. I will hence spend a

little time trying to put my thoughts into elaborate words and cover various

aspects related to this question. At the end, I may not answer your question

fully or satisfactorily, but I will hopefully have penned some useful thoughts.

Hoping you won't mind, I am cc'ing this mail to a few related to

Jyotisha and spirituality.

 

This mail is a little long, as I will cover a few different things and try to

put them in perspective.

 

* * *

 

Brief Answer

 

First let me give the brief answer. If you can indeed concentrate on your Karmas

(actions) and leave the rest to God and if you can accept with an equal vision

any results (fruits) that your karmas may bring, then you are a liberated soul.

Jyotisha shastra is indeed irrelavent to you. But there are very few people who

are like that. For others, it is still relevant.

 

Now let me give the long-winded answer.

 

* * *

 

Nature of Self

 

When someone has a dream, one may experience many objects of various attributes

and qualities in the dream. Do those objects exist in reality? No. All those

objects and various interactions between those objects are unreal - they exist

fictionally within the mind. Only the mind exists in reality and no other

objects. Still, during the course of a dream, the mind is under the illusion

that all these objects exist outside of it. All those objects obey the rules

conjured by the mind that is dreaming.

 

This whole creation is basically like that. All beings are but Brahman.

Upanishads and vedanta teach that there is Brahman and nothing or nobody else in

this universe. There is no " self " and " other " . All is self. However, a part of

Brahman becomes deluded and forms a self-identity and entertains an illusion

that there is an " I " and the " other " . This first being is the supreme being

(known by various names such as Sadashiva, Narayana, Krishna, Mahaganapathi,

Savita etc).

 

When the supreme being imagines the existence of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva etc to

play various roles in this universe and imagines various beings that make this

universe up, all those beings come into being (just like the objects in

someone's dream). Just as the objects in a dream obey the rules conjured up by

the dreamer in his dream, the beings of this universe obey the rules of the game

imagined by the supreme being. Each being experiences various other beings and

other objects in this universe because of the spell of delusion that he/she is

under. When one realizes the delusionary nature of this spell, one can break

free from it.

 

But a normal person is not aware of all this. One's senses simply perceive so

many different objects and one entertains various notions with respect to those

objects. All these notions become very firmly established in one's consciousness

after many births and it is difficult to overcome those notions. Some objects

give pleasure and some give pain, some are found attractive and some are

repulsive, some are considered good and some bad. And so on. The field that is

experienced by one, i.e. the field in which all these objects of opposite

qualities exist, is known as the " field of duality " or " maayaa " (delusion).

 

* * *

 

Overcoming the Delusion

 

Overcoming this delusion and rising above the limited perception of the senses

and realizing that all the beings that seem to exist are like dream objects

imagined by the supreme being, i.e. that there is nothing but the supreme being

in this universe, is not easy.

 

Saying " all is Brahman and the objects we perceive are all Brahman only " is

easy. Even understanding it at an intellectual level may be easy. But a perfect

and unshakable understanding of it is not difficult.

 

Let us see an analogy. Suppose one goes to a movie. Some events unfold on the

movie screen and they seem to really happen. However, they are not real events.

It is just fake and manipulated. The characters in the movie are not real.

However, some people take the events on the screen seriously and react strongly.

Good happenings on the screen make them elated and scary moments on the screen

shake them up. There may be someone with an intellectual understanding that the

movie is not real and yet one specific scene that may get him/her. For example,

one may shiver with shock in a scene despite the intellectual understanding that

it is not real. Intellectual understanding does not give full control over

instincts.

 

Similarly, one with only an intellectual understanding that all is Brahman does

not have full control over the mind. The instincts, sense organs and various

aspects of mind sometimes run like a mad monkey, away from the understanding

that " all is Brahman " . One may feel happy about some things, feel sad about some

things, become attracted to some things and become repelled by some things. A

perfect, permanent and unshakable understanding that all is Brahman is much more

difficult to obtain than a mere intellectual understanding.

 

It requires dismantling the formidable fort of delusion made of the walls of

mental conditioning formed by the bricks of sense experiences that are joined by

the cement of logic and analysis. These walls are fortified over many many lives

and make the fort quite formidable.

 

This is a long process involving many steps. There are different practices

designed to facilitate this in different religious/spiritual paths. There is no

foolproof algorithm to ensure this process. There are only guidelines.

 

All is Brahman and all the duality is arising from the Supreme Being. All of

one's actions are actually occurring due to the will of Supreme Being only. The

results/fruits (good or bad) of one's actions may be viewed as the reactions by

Nature to one's actions and they too are due to the will of Supreme Being. Thus,

everything that happens is due to the will of Supreme Being. If one person

remains in ignorance, keeps on taking a rebirth and keeps going through good and

terrible experiences, it is all the will of Supreme Being. If one says " it is

all the will of Supreme Being. I am doing nothing " just for the heck of it and

yet continues to have an egotism (self-identication with a body or name or

personality or some object), continues various actions through that ego and

continues to receive their fruits and becomes elated by some and depressed by

some, it is all through the will of Supreme Being. Though the person is saying

" Supreme Being does all " , he continues to think of an " I " and thinks deeply that

" I am doing " . That is why Supreme Being wills the persons to receive the

appropriate fruits of that action. If another person truly understands that

Supreme Being knows, wills and does all things, kills " I " completely at the

mental level, then that person may seem to engage in various actions, but he

does not really perform any actions. When there is no " I " , there is action and

no reaction. Despite moving in the material world and doing various actions,

that person's mind is always established in bliss. Again, this person has no

" I-ness " and hence Supreme Being wills the person to be in supreme bliss always.

 

The subtle lesson I am trying to drive at is: As long as there is an " I-ness " to

a person, actions take place and their reactions happen. " All is Brahman. I do

not do anything " is for one who has killed " I-ness " completely. It is not an

excuse to do anything and get away. Until one completely kills " I-ness " , one has

to watch one's actions to produce good reactions that are conducive to making

more progress.

 

* * *

 

Two Types of Knowledge

 

The teachings of maharshis in Veda and allied subjects like Vedangas and Vedanta

cover essentially two types of knowledge:

 

(1) Understanding the rules of engagement of the field of duality (maayaa)

(2) Understanding how the field of duality is delusionary and how all is Brahman

only

 

Knowledge of type (2) is essential because eventually the goal of each being is

to overcome the delusionary nature of the field of duality and see Brahman in

all. However, the problem with 2 is that this knowledge is only realized and not

imparted in a step-by-step process. One may read reams about how all is Brahman

and seemingly different objects of this universe are a delusion and one may even

understand and appreciate it to some extent intellectually. But it is of not

much use! Until the realization comes from within and experienced, one continues

to be deluded by duality. One may know all the theory, but the mind continues to

be deluded and swayed by duality. When somebody praises one, one may feel

elated. When somebody attacks one, one may feel unhappy. When one finds

something nice, one may be attracted. When one finds something disgusting, one

may be repelled. And so on. Please see my previous analogy of a movie.

 

While knowledge of type (2) elaborates why the above behavior is silly and

describes the thinking and approach of a liberated soul, it is very very

difficult to imbibe such thinking and attitude and become liberated. Even

reading works imparting knowledge of type 2 for a long time does not guarantee

liberation.

 

Vedangas such as Jyotisha belong to type (1). When one does not realize that the

field of duality is a delusion and is swayed by the opposites, then one needs

tools to navigate the ocean of opposites. Jyotish is one such tool. When one's

mind is deeply stuck in duality and has unsurmountable " I-ness " and " other-ness "

deeply imprinted on it, " all is Brahman. Parama Purusha knows, wills and does

all " is a useless concept. From the perspective of that person, one's " I-ness "

does all actions and begets the fruits of those actions based on order set by

Parama Purusha. This gives happiness and sadness of great proportions. This

cycle of actions and fruits may go on forever, until one's " I-ness " is killed

completely.

 

Some spiritual sadhana is necessary to kill the " I-ness " . This spiritual sadhana

is happening within the field of duality where the mind has a clear " I-ness " and

" other-ness " . Thus, the rules of engagement in the field duality apply. Subjects

like Jyotisha throw light on these rules and they can be helpful. For example,

one may start sadhana at a particular time and make swift progress. One may

start sadhana at a particular time and encounter many obstacles and stop the

sadhana without much progress. One may find the right sadhana based on previous

samskaras and vasanas from the horoscope. One may find out that impending

material problem (e.g. job loss or loss of a close relative or a divorce etc)

may derail one's sadhana and take some measures to stop it and reduce its

magnitude. Thus, Jyotisha can be used to manipulate the field of duality to

one's advantage, as one wades it trying to kill one's " I-ness " and individual

will.

 

* * *

 

One's Will vs Other's Will

 

When a scripture says that everything that happens is God's will, it is

essentially referring to the supreme being (Parama Purusha) mentioned earlier as

the God. This Being is the first Being arising from non-dual Brahman and the one

who conjures up the entire duality. Thus, we are at the border of non-duality

and duality.

 

Deities who operate completely within duality have their own wills which may

clash with each other and clash with our will. For example, the will of

Yamadharmaraja (yama=displicine, dharma = righteousness, raja = ruler) compelled

him to kill Markandeya and collided with the will of Markandeyaq who wanted to

remain alive and the will of Lord Shiva who wanted to save Markendeya. There are

many stories where the will of one deity/being clashed with another's.

 

Of course, all these deities are different forms of the same Brahman (or,

loosely speaking, of Parama purusha). The will of Parama Purusha is that one

deity's will should compel the deity to do X and another deity's will should

compel that deity to do Y and something should happen as a result. Everything is

indeed the leelaa (play) of the will of Parama Purusha. But we are not at the

stage of fathoming the play of Parama Purusha (and his Shakti). All we can say

is that Parama Purusha's will is a complex thing. It is in fact the sum total of

the individual wills of all beings of this universe!

 

As long as there is " I-ness " and individual self-identity left in the mind,

there is an individual will. As long as that is the case, one is not liberated.

One's individual will facilitates various actions that clash with the wills of

various other beings. It causes various probelms. Basically one acting based on

" individual will " is in tune with only a small subset of " God's will " . That

person is not in tune with the *entire* God's will.

 

Thus saying " all is God's will. I need to do nothing " is not conducive to

liberation. It continues bondage. Directed effort to kill " I-ness " makes one

truly understand that " all is God's will " and drop off one's individual will.

 

Only when " I-ness " is killed and " individual will " is completely evaporated can

one be in tune with the entire " God's will " (as opposed to a small subset). Then

alone can one remain in constant bliss, as an unbound observer of the play of

this universe without any individual agenda or will. THAT is liberation. Such a

liberated soul may seem to engage in various actions, but the mind is stable,

has no " I-ness " or individual will and is established in constant bliss. Like a

fan may continue to turn for a while after the electricity supply is stopped,

such a liberated soul may continue to engage in actions based on the previous

flow, but without any egotism (supply of electricity in the analogy).

 

* * *

 

I wanted to write a little bit, but ended up writing too much. I will sign off

for now. Again, a pleasant Rishi Panchami to all of you!

 

Best regards,

Narasimha

 

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-

Pramod Hombal

pvr

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 1:35 PM

Namaskara!

 

 

Dear PVR Narasimha Rao sir,

 

I recently came across your software which was shown to me by my maternal

uncle. I am completely ignorant of Jyotish Shastra.

But I am avid reader of spirituality and religion from very early age. I have

seen many a places like Ramayana, Mahabharata where God himself has made

references to Jyotish for auspicious day calculation.

 

I have few questions in mind which I am not able to find a satisfactory

answers from anyone.

 

There is saying in Sanskrit " Tena vina truanam api na chalati " means " A

blade of grass doesn't move without his will " . In purusha suktam also it

mentions God alone is Prabhu(lord) of bhoot(past) and bhavya(future)..

 

So with these statements in mind can't we conclude that everybody's destiny is

fixed by God according to his karmas? Now if my destiny is fixed why should I

bother if a particular day is auspicious or not, or the girl will be my perfect

match or no.

 

Can't I just concentrate on my Karmas and leave the rest to God? What is the

relevance of Jyotish Shastra in this point view? Why should I bother about

Jyotish at all?

 

I am convinced that you are the best person to answer these questions. Please

find for me some time in your busy schedule to answer this burning question of

mine.

 

 

Thanks.

 

Best Regards,

Pramod.