Karma - Part 12

Dear All,

To summarize Swami's saying that there is no free will except God's will in the light of the understanding bestowed by Lord in meditation, started with you yesterday, let us further summarize with  most clarity.

There is an old Tamil song which has these lines

Aandavane illaiye ( There is no God)...

Even while the listener  feels awkward on listening the above lines and wonders... what???? There is no God??????

The poet, without putting a full stop with the above line, makes a comma and then continues....

Aandavane illaiye, again repeats, aandavane illaiye, then a comma, then he writes- Aandavane illaye, Tillai Aandavanai pol.............

There is no God,............ like the God of tillai,  the Nataraja of Chidambaram

Thus, dear ones , it is and though our Lord Sai reveals to us

"There is no free will at all" ...., again a comma, then he completes (this completion part can come only in meditation of Lord's glory),

"There is no free will at all, except the one bestowed by me only to you which you have to use only and only to return to me and not for any thing else"

"Thus, Keep Moksha as the only goal and let Dharma, Artha, Kama- all be exercised ONLY for MOKSHA, freedom to be attained on annihilation of your ego so that you return, from where you started this journey, o child."- this seems to be what Lord has to convey that There is no free will given to you separately, other than Lord's will and Lord's will has been explained in so many posts under the label "Purpose of Human Birth"- TO TAKE YOU BACK TO HIM!


THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER WAY TO UNDERSTAND FREE WILL—SURRENDER--- DIVINE GRACE

• Sun’s illumination is same for all. But the same sun shine is taken by someone who faces the sunshine directly whereas, the same sunlight, reflecting in a pot with muddy water, gets reflected into many scattered/diluted spots of sun light. In both the cases, does the sun shine maintain any partiality towards one who faces sun direct and is prejudiced towards the pot of muddy water???? NO.
• Similarly, when we face lord and take His grace directly and fully, we get His grace fully. If we stand away from Him, far away, then we do not get His grace fully. This facing Him directly is exercising our purushartha or free will and standing away from Him is just carrying along life as per prarabdha and not exercising one's purushartha.
• Thus, from the above, it is clear that God is not choosy about showering His grace. You have every right to get His grace and the same is directly proportional to the extent of your purushartha!. 
• Taking the clue of "SHALL REACH THEE, WITH THY GRACE", WE HAVE TO EXERCISE PURUSHARTHA/FREE WILL, WHICH IS GIFT OF GOD TO HUMAN BEINGS ONLY, TO EARN DIVINE GRACE!!. 
• THE ALL MERCIFUL GOD, EVER READY TO SHOWER HIS GRACE ON US,  EQUIPS US WITH THE NECESSARY AID (FREE WILL, CHOICE OF NEW ARROWS) AND TELLS US, " I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE WISDOM TO EXERCISE PURUSHARTHA AND I AM WAITING FOR YOU TO EXERCISE THE SAME PROPERLY AND LOOK AT ME, I AM WAITING TO SHOWER MY GRACE ON YOU"!! HOW MERCIFUL HE IS!!!
• (In the path of wisdom, this is explained through Absolute and reflected consciousness, chidakasa and chidabhasa, which, hope fully we will deal with later on, after a long time)

Sri Ramana throws more light on this debate of free will v/s destiny v/s surrender with his answers to couple of questions

Question: What becomes then of man’s freedom and responsibility for his actions?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: The only freedom man has is to strive for and acquire the Jnana (knowledge) which will enable him not to identify himself with the body. The body will go through the actions rendered inevitable by Prarabdha and a man is free either to identify himself with the body and be attached to the fruits of its actions or to be detached from it and be a mere witness of its activities.

Question: So free will is a myth?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: Free will holds the field in association with individuality. As long as individuality lasts there is free will. All the scriptures are based on this fact and they advise directing the free will in the right channel.

Find out to whom free will or destiny matters. Find out where they come from, and abide in their source. If you do this, both of them are transcended. That is the only purpose of discussing these questions. To whom do these questions arise? Find out and be at peace.

Question: If what is destined to happen will happen, is there any use in prayer or effort or should we just remain idle?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: There are only two ways to conquer destiny or be independent of it. One is to enquire for whom is this destiny and discover that only the ego is bound by destiny and not the Self, and that the ego is non-existent. The other way is to kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, by realizing one’s helplessness and saying all the time, ‘Not I but Thou, O Lord’, giving up all sense of "I" and ‘mine’ and leaving it to the Lord to do what He likes with you. Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord. True surrender is love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of liberation. In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through self-enquiry or through Bhakti Marga (path of devotion).

The following important points emerge from Ramana’s answers above :-

• As long as man lives with his ego, he has to exercise his free will or limited freedom to perform all his actions- Dharma, Artha and Kama , with the only aim- to attain Moksha.

• With proper understanding of purpose of Human birth or the ONLY purpose of human birth, man has to exercise all his free will or freedom to end the ego due to which he is exercising all free will, so as to end the ego and attain Moksha.

Interestingly, the essence of one statement given by chinamaya in his commentary on ashtavakra gita, applies here. Janaka says to ashtavakra- “The only purpose of meditation, in meditation, through meditation, is to end meditation where, the meditator reaches the supreme goal of meditation and then, there is no need for meditation specifically to attain the goal, as the goal has been attained”.

Similarly, the only purpose of free will, as per Ramana, is to end the EGO which says, I am this body and hence, there is need to use my free will to take up all such actions so as to kill my ego. The one who thinks, I am bound and hence I have to use my free will to get free, does not exist anymore, as he is already free (like in the ashtavakra gita statement, the meditator has already attained the goal/end of his meditation).

So, the ashtavakra Gita line applies here, in Ramana's explanation thus:-
" The only purpose of free will, through free will, is to end EGO so that, there is no more the egoistic individual  reaches the supreme goal of all  free will/ purushartha and then, there is no more need for free will or, in other words, there is no more individual with EGO, to even know that he is exercising purushartha."

Once my Ego is killed/surrendered totally to the supreme God/supreme consciousness, then I have attained the goal, all my purushartha has met its fulfillment, my sanchita karma arrows are burnt, let whatever prarabdha karma remains, remain, let whatever I have to undergo for the left over prarabdha karma, let my body experience the result of those left over prarabdha karma. I, the pure SELF, pure God, pure consciousness, have nothing to do with the I, the body which is still undergoing the experience of its prarabdha. I have nothing to do even with the new actions which my body is performing now, but mostly for the welfare of the humanity.

• So, one has to understand clearly and foresee the other side of samsara and know – “ Only as long as I identify myself with my ego as this human being, I am bound by my destiny and therefore, I have to exercise my freedom/free will/new arrows in hand/ purushartha- to  reduce all sins, evolve more and more spiritually so that I reach the other side of the samsara sagara where, I exist as Supreme God/Supreme Self, devoid of ego (Chidananda Roopaha Shivoham Shivoham).

• If the above path, rather difficult to work on our ego and to exercise purushartha in spite of facing acute prarabdha in our life, the other way shown by Ramana is, Cry out to the Lord and say "I am helpless in exercising purushartha and winning my ego. So I surrender to Thee fully, let my heart with ego melt like a candle melts in fire, let me re-affirm to myself daily, every moment, it is not me but HE, HE, the Lord only and with that surrender let me slip through the circle of samsara as i have reduced myself to such a tiny being with my ego melted, that how so ever trouble-some the samsara chakra may be, I am still able to slip through the cycle and reach you and merge in You, O Lord!  

Mera jeevan tere hawale Prabhu ise, pag pag tu hi sambhale!

Remember one thing clearly - total surrender is total realization. There is nothing left to achieve in spiritual path once you have surrendered yourself totally to Lord’s will, Lord’s existence.

As long as you keep on repeating the words “I surrender to you o Lord”, you have not surrendered because you are telling these words with your mind.

One who has truly surrendered, does not say that he has surrendered. He is silent, the world will then be aware that he has surrendered and merged with the Lord/ the Self!!

In one of the bhajan practice talks, one of the devotee told, “I surrender totally to swami”. The author asked, “Do you actually know what is true surrender?  If you have really known and surrendered, you will be silent and the world, seeing the radiance in you, would declare, o yes, she has surrendered.”

Hope the devotee who said this, reads these lines and smiles and realizes the truth.

When you have reached that state of surrender, it is not that there is no free will in you but since your mind is surrendered to Lord, Lord works through your mind for all further free will exercised by you and you are not able to even realize that you are exercising free will!!! 

This paves the path for our next theme in the coming week - THE PATH OF SURRENDER.

This brings an end to our learning on Karma, which has been dealt in as many as 12 long posts!!!. 

Kindly revert with your comments/ questions / learning from the posts/ things which you have decided to implement after these posts etc .!!!!!
Love

Karma - Part 11

Destiny or Freewill - the third option by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

A ruler of lines falls in line with the rules of the ruler.

Prof. Safaya himself narrated the powerful happenings of the morning. Swami had called him in for an interview. He entered the interview room and for the first few minutes, the interview went along the lines of the previous interviews. Swami asked him how things were going, how the students were and so on. Then, out of the blue, Swami told him,

"You seem to have great faith in the predictive sciences of your forefathers. That overpowers even your faith in God's strength! Do you believe that commensurate to your surrender, I will take care of everything for you?"

Swami continued to taunt,

"Professor, your sciences can only predict. Can they help you intervene if something is unfavourable?"

Swami now did something that he had never imagined. Calling him closer, He held both his hands. Slowly, Swami brushed His palms over the professor's upturned palms. Then He told him,

"Tell me, what does life hold for you?"

The professor looked down at his palms. Having seen them every day of his life, he actually had no need to do that. He knew the contours on his palm by heart. The lines were etched in his memory stronger than they were on his palm. It was only out of respect for Swami that he looked at his palms. He was in for a shock.

Amid tears, the professor told his philosophy class students,

"When I looked, I did not find a single line on my palms. They had been wiped clean - no trace of even the faintest etch!"

The power of surrender

As the class listened with bated breath, the professor continued his narrative. Swami stood smiling in front of him, apparently enjoying the professor's discomfiture and shock. Prof. Safaya just broke down and Swami lovingly patted him.

"Don't worry about anything. Once you surrender to me, I shall take care of everything."

The professor fell to his knees and touched Swami's feet. What he had thought as impossible had actually happened - his reverence for Swami had transformed into implicit faith in a moment!

"Yes Swami! Yes Swami! I believe that commensurate to our surrender, you take care. Complete surrender means a life completely taken care of!"

Swami smiled at him again and touched his palms again. The lines were all back again - to the last detail! The professor was overwhelmed at the presence of this Master who could wipe out and re-draw the lines on his palm at will.

"You have nothing to worry when I am shouldering your lives. Just surrender, that is enough."

Destiny or Freewill

"Dear students", he told them, "trust me, the science of astrology and palmistry are nothing compared to Swami's grace and power. I feel so redeemed today."

As I heard Sunam recounting the greatest philosophy lesson of the professor, I got my answer to the destiny and freewill debate. So, is it destiny of self-effort finally? My answer is - Who cares? I know for sure that Swami's grace is more powerful than my destiny, more effective than my efforts. And so, when presented with the choices, I go for the third option. As martial artist David Carradine says,

"There's always a third way, and it's not a combination of the other two ways. It's a different way."

“Some students today talk about Free Will. Only the Divine has free will.  Man is endowed with a will but not a free will. When the Divine free will moves, the human will also operates. There are myriad leaves in a tree but not a leaf will move in the absence of wind. The leaves have no free will, but they have a will which can be swayed when a breeze blows. In the tree of life, human beings are like leaves. When the Divine Will blows, the human will begins to move. Thus, there is need for the coming together of Divine Will and the human will. Then, there will be a blossoming of human nature.

Sathya Sai Speaks, vol 26, chapter 1. January 1, 1993

Dear Ones,

This declaration by Bhagawan has come in for a very strong criticism amongst the intellectual class of this modern world. It also appears to be contradictory to the essence of Karma theory which was learnt during the last several days and absolutely contrary to Swami Sivananda’s declaration that Man is the master of his own destiny.

But will the lord  declare any thing which is not true???? Impossible. Is it not??

Let us try and link 2 declarations of Swami surfacing in this post, in 2 different paragraph

1. “Some students today talk about Free Will. Only the Divine has free will.  Man is endowed with a will but not a free will. 
2. "You have nothing to worry when I am shouldering your lives. Just surrender, that is enough."

What Swami has to convey to us????? Let us contemplate……………

Swami conveys the secret in our contemplation thus:

O Man, till the time you believe in yourself and till the time Samskaras of several past birth is carried by you, it is impossible for you to surrender totally to Lord. Hence, you have to understand the theory of karma, take up purushartha, exercise your freewill/limited freedom to choose the right path and then, as Sivananda said, “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”.

The sweetest of all is the state of absolute surrender. Where, you are not there to exercise any free will with your own choice, your own intellect but you allow yourself to be ruled by Lord’s instructions moment to moment and His instructions, His prescriptions can never go wrong.

However, till the time you are able to reach that state of surrender, that too if your chosen path is path of devotion, you have to exercise the power of discrimination, free will or purushartha, which is also bestowed on you by none other than the Lord himself.!!

LOVE.

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.

Karma - Part 9

PURUSHARTHA - DHARMA, ARTHA, KAMA, MOKSHA

Seers in the ancient Eastern tradition articulated the blueprint for the fulfillment of the objectives of human birth as was shown to them in the highest supreme levels of consciousness. The Supreme Self pervades and exists in all dimensions in all beings, sentient and insentient. It is that Supreme Self that exists inside each individual self, in each individual person. And therefore every individual person is none other than the Supreme Self, for how can the part be different from the whole.

In order for an individual to realize their supreme Self, they need to identify the reasons and objectives why they came into being on this earth plane and fulfill them. The ancient seers clearly articulated the objectives of humankind as "Purusharthas".

They articulated four Purusharthas as:

Dharma  : Righteousness, Duty

Artha       : Wealth

Kama      : Desire

Moksha   : Liberation

The four purusharthas are really the objectives of God, of the Supreme Self, the qualities of God. And since an individual person is a reflection of God, is a part of God, it is the rightful pursuit of a person to fulfill these four purusharthas.  In fact, it is both your individual and soul purpose. 

An individual can realize him or herself by balancing and fulfilling these four objectives. These four objectives are not independent of each other and should not be viewed in a stand-alone manner.

They define and refine the other objectives and allow the other objectives to define and refine itself. The activity of fulfilling one objective should also support the fulfillment of the other objectives. By maintaining a balance between the definition and fulfillment of the four purusharthas, a symbiotic evolution of the individual self takes place.

Exclusive pursuit of one purushartha creates an imbalance in a person's life and prevents the person from reaching the ultimate destination of their life. As a person progresses through the evolution of their soul, they find that some of the objectives eventually lose their place and importance to more predominant objectives. For example, the desire to earn wealth may diminish and disappear, or a person may come to the realization that there are no more material desires that they need to pursue and hence more room is created for the pursuit of the ultimate objective, Moksha.

ARTHA

The material needs of the body are a very important concern indeed.

Whatever be your spiritual aspiration, you cannot ignore that you have a body. As long as you feel that you have a body and cannot ignore its presence or forget that it is there, then you cannot also forget its requirements.

Everyone, even an advanced spiritual seeker, has certain needs concerning the physical body, like protection against heat and cold, hunger and thirst, sun and rain, etc. If you ignore these essentials, the body may perish, even though you may have an innocent spiritual aspiration.

There is what is known as a total of material requirement, material need. Its importance is well known, and is known as artha, the material unavoidable.

KAMA

Then, there is another thing: the aesthetic longings of the human personality.

One cannot be happy merely by eating, drinking, putting on clothes, and having a house in which to stay. Even such a person will not be a complete person; there are other requirements  which are of a vital nature – the desire-filled nature of the individual.

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

Then, together with all these, there is also the aspiration for moksha, attainment of God, which is a fulfilment, finally, of the whole complex of desires, physical as well as vital. That also is to be taken care of with great caution, as the one conditioning everything else. The method by which you can hook together these three types of impulse and the final aspiration harmoniously, that procedure of the cementing of all these sides of human nature is called dharma, or the law of harmonization of the aspects of the whole of life, with all its relations in human society.

DHARMA

Dharma is sometimes translated as religion: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and others. Dharma is not denominational religion, necessarily.

Please forget the old definition of dharma as some religion. It is not any kind of ism. 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.

All these four facets of life have to be brought together into a focus of attention at the same time. These are known as the purusharthas, or aims of existence, the final objectives of life known popularly as dharma, artha, kama and moksha, i.e., moral value, economic value, vital value and eternal value.

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

As 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.

Hindu religion and its scriptures are not against having Artha (wealth) and Kama (enjoyment of wealth). A man is supposed to be and should be wealthy enough but that wealth must be earned and accumulated only and only through the medium of Dharma-ethics, through pious deeds and not by unethical crooked means and sins. That is why

•       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. This permission is given not to fall into the pit of passion and to indulge and stoop into the enjoyment for sense gratification; but just to make him realize that it is insatiable and therefore he should try to overcome it.

•      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.

This is how we have to consider the ways of bringing together the aspirations which are dharma, artha, kama and moksha in our practical life.

In a way this is, to put it differently, the bringing together of the aspirations of a brahmacharin, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasin into a single fold. You will be wondering how all the four can be together. It is because these four stages of life are four kinds of preparation for a single attainment of totality of the person. The sanyasin is not isolated from the brahmacharin, grihastha, or the vanaprastha.

BRAHMACHARI

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.

HOUSE HOLDER

You have to keep good company always. 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. Keep good company, as far as it is possible. If you can live socially, it is wonderful for you to choose your company and be in the midst of those people only.

Gradually, bear in mind that your householder-life is a preparation for a retirement from the occupations of a householder. It is not a retirement from work, necessarily. The occupation is inclusive of certain mental entanglements. A householder actually is not a person doing many things, but thinking in many ways. The entanglement is not necessarily physical, but mostly psychological. The psychological detachment should mature gradually in a family. You do your duty to take care of your family, but don't be attached to the family.

You may be wondering how it is possible to take care of the family with detachment. This is the difference between duty and work with desire. A duty is a necessity, an obligation,  that arises from your very being in the circumstance of your life; it has to be done for the welfare of the whole circumstance of your life, including the society outside.

Your obligation is not to be associated with a desire full action. Here it is that the Bhagavad Gita comes before you as a guideline. 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. In the beginning  it is all entanglement. Then, later on, it is only an apparent entanglement through social relations; mentally it is not so connected.

Slowly begin to feel that your mind is a little different from the body and social relations. Then afterwards you will find that you can live a life in the mind only, and let the social relations be anywhere. You are a mind, rather than a social unit. You are a mind thinking, rather than a physical individual associated with the mind. Thought is the human being, so let this thought be your final concern, and live in your ideas.

VANAPRASHTHA

Ideas rule the world. Every action is preceded by a thought. The world is not governed by the actions of people, but by the thoughts of people, by the ideas of the leaders of mankind. The ideas manifest themselves as activities or performances. The idea is the ultimate reality; thought is the final principle in the cosmos. Thus, you live in your mind, in your idea of total comprehension and satisfaction.

Then, 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.

Mostly, what people do is that they go away to some holy places for some time, though they have not left the family. For three months in a year, the family man goes out on a pilgrimage, lives in a holy place, and entrusts the enterprise of taking care of the family to his grown-up children. Whether you are a businessman, or whatever you are, this is the first step that you have to take to detach yourself.

For three months you are not in the house. After that, you come back to the house and stay there for nine months, so that you may feel no uneasiness that you are without any contact with your family members. Gradually, if this process continues for some years, you will find that you are in a position to live unconnected with family life, because the members of the family are taken care of by the children, who are well placed.

Then, you may increase your detached life into six months, nine months, then occasional visits to the family, only. Somewhere in a sacred place you live such a life; then your life and your idea that you have chosen takes possession of you completely. You become an ideal being, not a physical individual.

Your meditation is thought thinking itself, as they say, idea operating on idea, the Cosmic Mind dancing in the centre of your own idea, whereby your idea becomes a focusing point of the Cosmic Mind, and you are a sanyasin at that time.

SANYASI

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.

These are some of the traditional features of a spiritual life – the methods of the harmonizing of the principles of dharma, artha, kama and moksha connected with the principles involved in the stages of the brahmacharin, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasin, all which commingle in a sea of comprehension which is the maintenance of God-consciousness. Such a person alone can be called a sanyasin.

 In one of the  discourses on Ugadi day, Swami  said,

"Embodiment of love: You cannot find in the entire Cosmos any place or object in which God is not present. The divine is present on the mountains. The divine dwells in villages and cities. The Divine is Omnipresent. Only those who recognize this truth can redeem their lives; they alone can achieve the goal of human existence. The powers of the Divine are limitless. Every living being in the world is governed by some limitations. Birds, beasts and insects are all taken care of by the Divine in respect of their essential needs like food and drink.

People aspire for liberation (Mukti). They have no idea what constitutes liberation. Man seeks liberation from the ills of the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the Anthakarana (internal motivator). All these are no doubt necessary. But liberation in the ultimate sense consists in liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

This means that one should redeem one's present life so that one is free from rebirth. Men should pray to God for freedom from rebirth so that they will not have bodies which are bound to be afflicted with diseases. People have no clear idea of what Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (the four goals) mean.

They think that Moksha (liberation) is something, which you attain after death. But, in fact, liberation can be attained here and now. Moksha means "Moha-Kshayam" the elimination of "Moha" (or attachment). People are not ready to give up attachment to wife, children, property etc., you have a duty to protect your family. But you must not be immersed in concerns about them. Realise that love is the most important quality in human life. It is not love for kith and kin that is precious. It is love for God that is more valuable".

(Extracts taken from Sanathana Sarathi, April 1998)