Sri Aurobindo

Karma - Part 10

Essence of learning from all Karma Posts

Karma defined

• Any deed, any thought that causes an effect, is called a  karma. The law of karma means the law of causation. Wherever there is a cause, there an effect must be produced. A seed is a cause for the tree, which is the effect. The tree produces seeds and becomes the cause for the seeds.

Cycle of Karma

• We act (KARMA) because our mind tells us (VRITTI) to act, because that is how we will satisfy our desire (VASANA) which arose from the impression (SAMSKARA) made in the mind from an earlier action. And, Samskara came from our karma in previous birth.

• So, the vicious circle is - KARMA-SAMSKARA-VASANA-VRITTI-KARMA-SAMSKAR.. (For more clarity on these terms- refer to Karma- Part 3 post, dated 25/12/2016)

Three Kinds of Karma

• Sanchita, the vast storehouse of yet unseen impressions.In short, these are the seeds sowed in previous birth(s), ready to bear fruit in the present birth. We bring the seeds along with us when we are born in this life, to witness the same bearing fruits in present life. (In the quiver example, these are like Arrows in the quiver, ready to be shot).

• Prarabhda, consequences already playing themselves out. The sanchita, brought along with you as explained above which are going to make you act in such a way that you actually witness the fruits of the seeds brought along with you. (In the quiver example, these are arrows which have been released from the quiver, with no option/choice to aim at any correct direction and to bear fruits as per the target hit by the aimless arrows, i.e., these are the effect of our past karmas for which we have to undergo pleasure/pain, with no choice).

• Kriyamana, those currently in front of us to decide or act on. In short, this is all those actions which undertake in present life, which are not influenced by the prarabdha which we are suffering/enjoying in present life as a result of past deeds. (In quiver example, these are new arrows in hand, not taken out of the sanchi which we brought along with us when we are born, these can be aimed and shot properly, using our viveka/discrimination).

Sri Ramana’s assurance on the  sanchita/prarabdha

• “Individuals have to suffer their karma but Iswara manages to make the best of their karmas for His purpose. The subconscious of man is a warehouse of good and bad karma”.

• “Iswara chooses from this warehouse what he sees will best suit the spiritual evolution at the time of each man, whether pleasant or painful. Thus, there is nothing arbitrary”.

While we discharge those chosen arrows, red or white and we either suffer or enjoy as a result, the result is that, as a result of all those arrows discharged, no matter what we undergo, the lord ensures that we evolve spiritually as compared to our previous birth and we thus leave the world, to be born again, to be more spiritually evolved while we lead our life in next birth. The cycle goes on till we discharge all arrows and there are no more arrows to be shot.

Karma linked with Purpose of Human birth posts essence 

• When we were created divine in the first instance, in that first birth itself, if we had exercised our choice to aim and shoot these new arrows properly, without our desires/fear/attachment/hatred/impressions affecting our aim, we would have accumulated all white arrows in our quiver when we were born next time and in that manner, with all white arrows taking us to God’s path, satsangh, meditation etc. we would have reached Lord very soon, in one or very few births.

 Free will v/s Destiny

• At each moment of our life, we are not only living the fruits of our past actions, but also creating those for tomorrow. Similarly, at each moment we are preparing ourselves for the lives yet to come.

• A happier tomorrow is built only when we assert our will to live a divine life today. 

• The law of karma, when understood correctly, is the greatest force of vitality in Vedantic philosophy. It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant. If we are weak or sorrowful, it is solely because of our own willful actions. In our ignorance, we may have pursued certain negative values of life in the past and their fruits have reared up now to give us the pattern of circumstances we are living today.

• “The doctrine of Karma affords a most rational and scientific explanation of what is called fate. It gives a positive definite word of assurance that, although the present of which he himself is the creator or the author, is unalterable and irrevocable, he may better his future by changing his thoughts, habits, tendencies and mode of action. Herein lies great comfort, strength, encouragement and consolation to the desperate man. Herein lies a strong impetus for the man to struggle and exert for improving himself. Even a forlorn and helpless man is made cheerful when he understands this doctrine of Karma.

• There are four categories of Prarabdha:
• (1) Very acute Prarabdha;
• (2) Acute Prarabdha;
• (3) Mild  Prarabdha;
• (4) Very mild Prarabdha.

• Very acute Prarabdha- cannot be changed even with intense purushartha

• God is not so whimsical as to throw you anywhere in any way he likes. It is the result of your very acute Prarabdha which is completely unchangeable.

•  Acute Prarabdha - cannot be completely wiped off, but at least you can make it mild or diluted by your very acute efforts (Purushartha) in this birth.

• If it is destined for you to suffer a severe blow of a stone-throw to hit your forehead, you cannot completely escape it but you can, by your very acute effort (Purushartha) break its velocity and thereby reduce the intensity and quantum of injuries.

• Mild Prarabdha - you can completely wipe it out by acute Purushartha just as you can completely abolish dirty yellow patches on the tiles of your bath room by using acid or strong detergent chemicals.

• Very mild Prarabdha can be wiped off even by ordinary Purushartha just as it is possible to wipe off ink drops on your room floor by a simple brush only.

• It is only in the stage of mild or very mild prarabdha that you really get the inclination to evolve spiritually, to bow to a master to be guided by him, to pursue spiritual path sincerely!!

 DHARMA, ARTHA, KAMA, MOKSHA- 4 PURUSHARTHAS

• ARTHA - Total of material requirement, material need. Its importance is well known, and is known as artha, the material unavoidable.

• KAMA - There are other insistent desires called kama, or vital wishes to be fulfilled, which are other pressures exerted by the biological personality, which, too, cannot be ignored, as they are part of oneself.

• MOKSHA - Aspiration for  attainment of God, which is a fulfilment, finally, of the whole complex of desires, physical as well as vital.

• DHARMA - It is an ultimate law that keeps the universe in balance, keeps the body, the mind, your reasoning, society and everything in a state of perfect integration so that you feel that you are existing as a total individual and do not feel that you are a mix-up of several parts heaped together in a confused manner.

• For  DHARMA and  MOKSHA, a man should always constantly do Purushartha (efforts) and should never leave it to Prarabdha.

• For ARTHA and KAMA he should totally leave them to Prarabdha as he is going to get only that much of wealth (ARTHA) and enjoyment (KAMA) which is destined in his Prarabdha (luck, fate, fortune) and nothing more in spite of all his Purushartha (efforts).

• But unfortunately due to the ignorance of this law of Karma he goes in the wrong direction and ultimately he has to lose everything at the end of his life.Instead of making any Purushartha (efforts) for (1) Dharma and (4) Moksha, he totally neglects it or leaves it to Praradbha only. While for (2) Artha (wealth) and (3) Kama (enjoyment), he strives all his nerves and makes strenuous efforts (Purushartha) all throughout his life day and night and crazily hankers after them even when he is not going to get anything more than that is destined in his Prarabdha. Thus he fails in both the ways in life by making efforts in opposite and wrong directions.

Human body is given to acquire all these four : (1) Dharma, (2) Artha, (3) Kama and (4) Moksha, in proper sequence.

• Dharma is given number 1 (one) in the sequence and wealth comes second. Wealth (ARTHA) earned through the medium of Dharma (ethics and pious deeds) will lead you to worship and wisdom. While the wealth earned by unethical means and sins through crooked ways would lead you to wine and women.
• With the wealth acquired through the medium of Dharma he is permitted to enjoy all the amenities of life and satisfy his KAMA, of course. within the limits of Dharma.
• Ultimately when he will realize the fruitlessness of enjoyment for sense gratification which is insatiable immediately he will realize the fruitfulness of Moksha.
• Consequently and subsequently he will renounce and will turn his face for self-realization and liberation from the cycle of birth and death i.e. MOKSHA which is the final target, the ultimate goal and also the main purpose for which he is gracefully given the human body by God.

The ways of bringing together the aspirations which are dharma, artha, kama and moksha in our practical life.

• The brahmacharin is the seed that develops into the practical experience of a grihastha in life, which again matures into the detached existence of a vanaprastha, which again matures into the total comprehension of the spirit in sanyasa.

GRAHASTHA

• Even if you are a householder looking like a bound person, you can be a good person, an ideal individual, by living in the midst of a good community in a village, or even a little township of friends and cooperative individuals.
• Gradually, bear in mind that your householder-life is a preparation for a retirement from the occupations of a householder. You do your duty to take care of your family, but don't be attached to the family.
• The gradual detachment, even in a householder, is a maturity of thought arising after the experience of the whole of life as an entangled individual in society.

VANAPRASHTHA

• Gradually, you will find that you are capable of living independently without bodily associations. Such a life is called the vanaprastha stage, which does not mean running away from the family. It is a kind of family life only, without the agonies and the emotional pressures caused by relations with people.

SANYASA

• A sanyasin is not necessarily someone who has put on any particular cloth. The cloth is just an indication that he has achieved that state. It is a social insignia to distinguish the person from other people. The essential thing is what you think in your mind, so live in your mind only, afterwards. Your ideas are the seeds of the universal idea of God. A person who lives such a kind of life in his ideas only is a sanyasin. He has renounced truly.
• You have not thrown away anything in your renunciation through sanyasa. You have attained a perfect, total, developed maturity of spiritual comprehension. That kind of living of an ideal existence, free in every sense of the term, happy always, happy with anything and everything – such a person is a sanyasin.

SUMMING UP

Sivananda’s words

• The doctrine of Karma brings hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless, joy to the cheerless and new strength to the weak. It braces up a sunken man. It is an ideal "pick-me-up" for the depressed and gloomy. The doctrine of Karma teaches: "Do not blame anybody when you suffer. Do not accuse God. Blame yourself first. You will have to reap what you have sown in your previous birth. Your present sufferings are due to your own bad Karma in your past life. You are yourself the author of the present state. The present is unchangeable.

• Do not weep. Do not cry over spilt milk. There is no use. You will not gain anything by so doing. Instead of weeping over the failure of crops during last year, go on ploughing this year. You will get abundant rain this year and rich harvest. Do virtuous actions now. Think rightly. Act rightly. You will have a brilliant and a glorious future." How beautiful and soul-stirring is this magnanimous doctrine of Karma! The doctrine of Karma develops faith and supports ethics. It says: "If you hurt another man, you hurt yourself."

• THUS, WHILE, FOR COUNT LESS BIRTHS, WE HAVE ACCUMULATED KARMAS DUE TO OUR OWN DEEDS AND TO CLEAR THE EFFECT OF OUR OWN KARMAS WE ARE BORN AND WE DIE AND ARE REBORN. A TIME HAS TO COME IN EVERY ONE’S LIFE WHEN ONE MUST REALIZE THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN JOY/SUFFERING. OUR OWN DEEDS IN PAST LIFE GETS US THE GOOD/BAD EFFECT IN PRESENT LIFE AND HENCE, AS PER SWAMI’S WORDS (GIVEN MOMENT IS NOW), ONE MUST TAKE TO SPIRITUAL PATH, ONE MUST LEAD LIFE AS PER THE PATH GIVEN BY OUR SCRIPTURES/OUR GOD/OUR CHOSEN MASTER. THUS, ONE MUST TRANSFORM ONESELF, SANCTIFY ALL HIS ACTIONS, EVOLVE INTO GOOD MAN TO ULTIMATELY BECOME GOD MAN/ DIVINE SOUL.

While we have almost concluded our learning on KARMA, we will touch upon the most important part of Karma, Swami’s words on Karma/Free will and try and  gather what Swami means through His words. Needless to say, our gathering/understanding/Absorbing His words can happen only with HIS GRACE.

AN OFTEN REPEATED LINE IN EVERY SPIRITUAL TALK POURED INTO THE AUTHOR’S WORDS BY THE DIVINE LORD IS – “UN ARULAAL UNNAI ARIVEN”, “ SHALL REACH THEE, BY THY GRACE”!

Hari Aum Tatsat.