Tattva Bodha - Post 33

PRARABDHA KARMA

Arrows in Flight (Prarabdha Karma)

  

Arrow already shot: The arrows in flight are the Karmas that have already started to play themselves out, either in our inner world or in the external world. These are the arrows that have already been shot. The arrows and our actions still in flight are called "Prarabhda Karma." 

They have to run their course: An arrow in flight cannot be called back. It must complete its journey.  Thoughts, speech, and actions that have been set in motion cannot be called back. They too will run their course, bringing consequences or fruits. (Some say that this Karma can be altered by grace.)

Experiencing Joy/Sorrow out of White/Red arrows: The white and red arrows were explained in sanchita karma. It is easy to understand that when the red arrows are in flight and are discharged, those arrows, tainted in red with our past sins, are bound to give us experience of Sorrow/ pain.

On the other hand, the discharge of white arrows gain us experience of peace and joy.

It is to be noted that the discharge of both these arrows are not in our control as we have brought them along with us and they are shot by us to fetch us experience accordingly.

One important thing to be understood here. Unlike the Profit and loss account of a business where the debit figures are subtracted from the credit figures and the net result is profit if it is positive and negative if it is minus, in life, such a thing does not hold true.

Suppose we brought 2000 arrows with us for shooting in this life to fetch us the result of our past deeds and out of the 2000, 1200 were white arrows and 800 were red ones, it is not that the 800 would be deducted from 1200 and we would enjoy pleasure due to the discharge of net 400 arrows.

In the theory of karma, one must suffer for 800 arrows and one must enjoy for the 1200 arrows and there is no netting off business.

This can be validated in our own life when we look back and realize that after all our life was neither a bed of roses nor the bed of arrows giving us blood. We have always had good moments and bad moments in our life and most often, we have been suffering as well as getting some good things in our life, side by side.

There are heaps and heaps of lofty mountain full of unripe Sanchita Karmas piled up amounting to billions and billions of millions i.e. innumerable Sanchita Karmas deposited in balance at the credit of each and every person, earned and accumulated by him during his past innumerable births since time immemorial. They do not become ripe to give fruits all at a time in one birth.

Only a very few of them out of this whole tremendous stock become ripe and ready to give fruits during one lifetime. They are called Prarabdha Karmas (readily destined to give fruits commonly known as fate, luck, fortune, destiny etc.).

Strictly according to these Prarabdha Karmas, a person gets a particular type of body, parents, wife, children, wealth, caste, creed, race, sex, environment, etc. just appropriate to enjoy, suffer and exhaust his Prarabdha Karmas destined during his present lifetime.

He cannot leave his present body till he has fully enjoyed, suffered and exhausted all these Prarabdha Karmas during his present life even though he is totally bed-ridden or suffering due to paralysis and other diseases and desperately craving for freedom from his crippled body and again gets a new body to enjoy other new Prarabdha Karmas, say about 20,000 which have become ripe by that time to give him fruits.

Unfortunately, while exhausting his predestined Prarabdha

Karmas during one lifetime, he creates and accumulates much more new Karma during the same lifetimes which are again deposited in the stock of his previous Sanchita Karmas and this situation is repeated in every birth.

Thus the vicious cycle goes on uninterruptedly increasing, instead of decreasing, the total balance of Sanchita Karmas at the end of each birth. The stock of Sanchita Karmas is increasing by leaps and bounds as the new accumulation is much more than the expenditure during each birth and there is no end to this process. Therefore, the cycle of birth and death goes on indefinitely and there does not appear to be any hope of chance for liberation of emancipation.

Due to the experience one gets when the sanchita karmas get converted to prarabdha karmas, it is often that one feels helpless as he sees that things are not in his control at all.

Accidents causing death, sudden diseases, the cause for which is not explained even by doctors, loss in career, in business due to reasons not in one’s control, not able to get child although doctors confirm that there is no deficiency in the couple, there is no disease which is the reason for the woman not able to conceive..., like this there are many such things which are experienced by human beings in the society/in their circle.

These are not caused by one’s own Body, Mind, Intellect, not due to carelessness on one’s part, not due to negligence, not due to deliberate measures, not even due to changing minds.

Only the past deeds, brought in present life, fetching experience either joyous or painful can provide any explanation to such things which happen in our life.

Love.

Tattva Bodha - Post 32

KARMA

“Karmaani kati vidhaani santi?” iti chet,

Aagaami, sanchita, praarabdha;

bhedena trividhaani santi.

Jnaana utpatti anantaram;

jnaani deha kritam;

punya-paapa roopam karma;

yad asti tad aagaami iti abhi-dheeyate.

Sanchitam karma kim?

Ananta-koti-janmanaam, beeja-bhootam sat,

yat karma-jaatam, poorva-arjitam tishthati

tat sanchitam jneyam.

“Prarabdham karma kim?” Iti chet.

Idam shareera utpaadya,

iha loke eva, sukha-duhkha-aadi pradam,

yat karma tat praarabdham;

bhogena nashtam bhavati praarabdha karmanaam ; bhogaat eva kshayah iti.

“How many kinds of Karmas are there?” – if thus asked, (the answer given is):

these are the three different kinds.

Agami, Sanchita and Prarabdha Karmas

After the dawn of knowledge and performed by the body of a realized soul, such Karmas, whether good or bad, of whatever kind they may be, are known as Agami Karmas.

What are Sanchita Karmas?

Having arisen in endless crores of births, and remaining in seed form,

those results of actions gained from the past, which still remains –

that should be known as Sanchita Karma.

“What is Prarabdha Karma?”

If asked this, here is the reply:

Having given birth to this body, then,

in this very world,

resulting in happiness or sorrow, and so on,

those results of actions are called Prarabdha.

Destroyable only by being enjoyed, are such Prarabdha Karmas. Enjoyment alone exhausts them.

In the above section, three types of Karmas are detailed. They are Sanchita, Agami and Prarabdha. Only their general definitions have been given. 

All these have been elaborately covered in the blog posts under the theme “Karma”.

We will again refresh ourselves with the relevant portions from Karma theme posts related to these 3 karma.

All the three karmas are dealt with the example of quiver and arrow.

Arrows in the Quiver (Sanchita karma)

Accumulated impressions: Imagine, similar to the example given by Swami where He says, you bring along with you, a kanta mala, which is the effect of all your past, we bring along with us, when we are born, a sanchi or a bag in which we are carrying few karma arrows.

The karmas in the quiver are the accumulated deep impressions (Samskaras) that have been collected over our entire history. Some arrows have been added to the quiver (new Karmas) and others have already been shot (old Karmas), and are no longer in the quiver. 

Red and White arrows: There is a combination of red or tainted arrows and white or pure arrows. The red ones, let us take as the arrows pertaining to the wrong deeds of past as Red arrows and the arrows pertaining to our pure/ noble action as White or pure arrows.

The formula of karma: The total of the arrows (Samskaras) in our quiver today is the net of the new arrows added, minus the old ones that have been shot. These arrows and deep driving habits in the quiver are called "Sanchita Karma." 

It takes time: Because of the process of playing out old Samskaras while new, more useful ones are added, it takes time for one's balance of karma to improve. In other words, it doesn't happen overnight (recognizing that God, grace, or Guru might help).

Taking example from Ramayan, Dasaratha (father of Rama) in his young age killed one innocent Brahmin boy named Sravana and hence his old blind parents cursed Dasaratha that he shall also have to die due to the separation of his son.

At the time of this curse, Dasaratha was not married and hence that curse could not be effective immediately.

His action (Karma) was therefore kept in abeyance pending as Sanchita Karma waiting for the opportune time to come. Subsequently, in due course of time, when Dasaratha got married, also got Rama as his son and then precisely just on the auspicious coronation day of Rama, the unholy sinful past action of King Dasaratha immediately cropped up and he had to die because of the curse compelling the separation of his son Rama. And curiously enough, even Sri Rama (the omnipotent God incarnate), in due respect to the immutable law of Karma, chose not to interfere by showing any favoritism to His own father in giving him extension for at least 14 years till He would return from the forest.

Taking one more example from the epic Mahabharata, King Dhritarashtra, when he lost all his 100 sons in the battle field,

inquired of Lord Krishna as to why he met with such a disastrous loss even though he did not remember to have committed any such horrible sin during his present lifetime. Lord Krishna, out of respect and sympathy for him gracefully bestowed upon him divine vision so that he could visualize for himself the heinous act perpetrated by him in any of his previous births which was responsible for his current misery.

Thus aided, Dhritarashtra discovered that fifty births back when he was a hunter of birds he once threw his burning net on a tree causing hundred small baby birds to be entrapped and burnt to ashes, while the remaining big birds flew away but they became blind due to the scorching heat of the burning net.

The effect of this horrible sinful deed was that Sri Dhritarashtra became and remained blind all throughout his present life and also lost his 100 sons. Sri Dhritarashtra wondered and further inquired from Lord Krishna as to why that wanton and sinful act did not immediately rebound on him to punish him in the same birth or even during his immediately next birth, and why it remained dormant as Sanchita Karma for such a long period of fifty lifetimes.

Lord Krishna smiled and replied that his past sinful deed had to wait for an opportune time up to 50 births during which time he could earn and accumulate enough pious deeds to merit him to be eligible to get a hundred sons in one lifetime so that his previous sinful Sanchita Karma could instantaneously confront him with the effects of his evil action.

Love.

Tattva Bodha - Post 31

JIVAN MUKHTI 

(Contd...)

Nanu jeevan muktah kah?

Yathaa dehah aham (asmi),

purushah aham (asmi),

brahmana aham (asmi),

shoodrah aham asmi,

iti dridha-nishchaya;

tathaa,

na aham braahmanah (asmi),

na shoodrah (asmi),

na purushah (asmi),

Then who is a Jivanmukta?

Just as, “I am the body,

I am a man,

I am a Brahmana;

or I am a Shudra”, 

one has a firm belief that he is such;

So also,

“I am not a Brahmana,

I am not a Shudra,

I am not a man”,

kintu asanghah (asmi),

satchidananda svaroopah (asmi),

prakaasha-roopah (asmi),

sarvaantaryaami (asmi),

chid-aakaasha roopah asmi,

iti dridha-nishchaya,

apaaroksha-jnaanavaan,

jeevan-muktah.

And in its place, “I am unattached,

I am Existence-Knowledge-Bliss absolute,

I am of the form of Effulgence,

I am the Indweller of all,

I am the formless Awareness”,

One has a firm belief that he is such,

such a one having this direct experience, is called a JIVANMUKHTA.

            

It is said, “Language maps Reality”. The words we use are an indication of our reality. The words quoted in the verse are typical of what is reality to most of us. “I am body, I am man or woman, I am of this caste, etc.” 

This tells us what we hold dear in our life. As dearly as we hold on to these convictions in our state of ignorance, just so dearly are we asked to hold on to their opposites, “I am NOT these things", to attain enlightenment. 

When these opposite thoughts become firm and effortless, we would have reached the state of the Jivanmukhta or liberated soul. The crux of the matter is to become unattached. By consistently asserting our identity as being unlimited to these narrow barriers, we grow beyond them and enter the realm where we can honestly behold God in all beings. 

There are no barriers any more. Being free from human limitations, we reach great heights in the spiritual realm. 

“Dridha Nishchaya” tells us how firmly we must resolve to overcome all these false limitations which we impose upon ourselves. If we do not feel this urgency we will never rise beyond our limitations. We should feel these false notions as burning charcoal on our body! Then we will make the effort to get rid of them once and for all. 

Swami Sivananda writes on Jivanmukhta thus:-

"A JIVANMUKHTA is a liberated sage. He is released even while living. He lives in the world but He is not of the world. He always revels in the eternal bliss of the Supreme Self. 

He has no identification with the body and senses. Hence He has no idea of enjoyment or enjoyer when He exhausts the residue of His Prarabdha. He has no idea of action or agent. He roams about happily without attachment and egoism, with a balanced mind and equal vision. His state is indescribable. He is Brahman Himself.

The Sage, who has realized that there is no other reality in the universe than Brahman, that He is Brahman Himself and that everything is Brahman, is freed from the round of births and deaths. He has attained freedom, perfection and immortality. He is a Jivanmukhta (One who has attained liberation while living).

A Jivanmukhta or liberated sage is absolutely free from egoism, doubt, fear and grief. 

For a Jivanmukhta, there is no distinction between a rogue and a saint, gold and stones, high and low, man and woman, man and animal, censure and praise, honor and dishonor. 

He beholds the One Self everywhere. He sees divinity in everyone. 

As He is mindless, all differences and barriers have vanished for Him.

A Jivanmukhta is a great spiritual hero. He is an enlightened sage who has knowledge of the Self. He is pre-eminent amongst men. He is the conqueror of mind. He is absolutely free from desires, craving, fear, delusion, pride, egoism, etc. 

He is a powerhouse of spiritual energy. He radiates His spiritual currents to the different corners of the world. Sit before Him. Your doubts will be cleared by themselves. You will feel a peculiar thrill of joy and peace in His presence.

The whole world is His home. All hands are His hands. All eyes are His eyes. All mouths are His mouths. 

His eyes are steady. His actions are perfect. His speeches are sweet, short, inspiring, forcible and impressive. His gait is magnanimous. His look is merciful.

His gestures are illuminating. He explains spiritual subjects in a lucid manner with deep philosophical significance. He has clear insight and intuitive transcendental knowledge.

Love.