Tattva Bodha - Post 35

HOW KARMA IS DESTROYED 

Sanchitam karma “Brahma eva aham,” iti

Nishchayaatmaka jnaanena nashyati  api jnaanena nashyati.

Kincha aagaami karmanaam nalinee-dalagata-jalavat,

jnaaninaam sambandhah na asti.

Kincha, ye jnaaninam stuvanti, bhajanti, archayanti,

taan prati jnaani-kritam aagaami punyam gacchhati.

taan prati jnaani-kritam sarvam - aagaami kriyamaanam;

Ye jnaaninam nindanti, dvishanti, duhkha-pradaanam kurvanti, yat avaachyam karma, paapaatmakam tad gacchhati. suhridah punya-krityam, duhridah papa-krityam, grihnanti.

The Sanchita Karma, by holding the thought “I am Brahman alone” with firm, one-pointed knowledge, gets destroyed.

The Agami Karma is also destroyed by knowledge. Of Agama Karma it is said, they are as “a lotus leaf unaffected by water on it.”

The wise man has no relation with it.

Further, those who praise, serve and worship the wise man, to them, out of all the actions being done by the wise man, the good fruits accrue.

On the other hand, those who criticize, hate or cause pain to the wise man-to them, out of all the actions being done by the wise man, those which are not praiseworthy, i.e. the sinful fruits, accrue.

In short, friends take the meritorious results,

whilst enemies take the demeritorious ones.

 

First verse teaches that the single thought “I am Brahman”, also called as the Brahmakara Vritti, burns away all the stock of past sanchita Karmas. 

Next verse teaches us how the Agami Karma is handled by the saint. He is indifferent to them, since he has raised his consciousness above all worldly concerns. These Karmas do not have any effect on him. 

Then what happens to them?  Next verse gives the answer. The actions which the saint does for the welfare of humanity have to generate some Karmas. They are distributed in the manner explained in the verse – the good and the bad Karmas are distributed to those connected with his life in accordance with their assistance or hindrance to his work. 

Here Sankara explains how a person becomes free from the karmas. As we learned earlier, Karma is of three kinds, Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami. 

Sanchitha Karma is that Karma which is already accumulated through crores and crores of our birth, Prarabdha karma is that which is giving fruits in the current birth and agami karma is that which are the results of the actions done in the current birth left for the future birth. 

To perform any action there should be a kartha and the kartha here is the jiva who is ignorant of his own nature of Anandam. Jiva becomes the kartha when he has desires and does action to satisfy his desire. Kartha enjoys the results of the Karma. Thus as long as there is kartha, karma is there. 

Thus we have desire -> action -> result becoming never ending cycle, taking a jiva from birth to birth. The root cause of this Samsaara is avidya or ignorance of ones own nature of Self. 

Atma Ajnaana vanishes by Atma Jnaana that "I am Brahman". When the seeker gets the Atman Jnana that "I am the Sat-Chit-Ananda swarupa", then he realizes that Ananda is not outside, it is his own very nature only. 

Thus desire vanishes and hence the action also vanishes. Action vanishes because there is no kartha to perform the action as the Jivahood which is cause of ajnaana is not there. 

Since there is no karthrutvam (doer-ship) there is no bhogtrutvam or enjoyment as well. Sanchitha karma and agami  karma are only for the Jivas and when a seeker realizes his own nature of Brahman, no karma affect him. His sanchita karmas become ineffective like roasted seeds which cannot germinate and bear any fruit. 

Such a person crosses over the Samsara.

The Prarabdha karma is only for the body and hence it will be there for the Jnani till the fall of the body but the jnani will not be affected by it. Why? because the Jnani knows that he is not the body and the mind, but Brahman. Knowing that "I am Brahman and what exists is Brahman only", the jnani may live in the world just like any other person. 

He might even do all worldly things just like normal people knowing that everything is only illusion, Brahman alone is Real and thus always rejoices in Eternal Bliss.

As Sankara says in Bhaja govindam

"Yogaratova Bhogaratova

Sangaratova Sangaviheenah

yasyath Brahmani ramathe chittam

nandhati nandhati nandhathyeva"

"Let one revel in Yoga or let him revel in enjoyment or let him seek enjoyment in the crowd or let him revel in solitude away from the crowd. He whose mind revels in Brahman, he enjoys, verily he alone enjoys."

Since there is neither Punyam nor Papam for a Jnani,  he does not acquire a new birth. 

Thus Jnani as a result of Jnana enjoys Jīvan Mukti and Videha Mukti. 

Love

PS. Interested readers are requested to go through the following posts in karma to get clarity on the following:

1) Karma- Post no.8     for answers to some very  important questions that can arise in any one's mind after going through Karma theory.

2) Karma Post no. 9  to be clear on how, in all stages of life, one has to pursue the Purushartha (Dharma, Artha, Kama, moksha)  in life.

3) Karma Post no. 7, to get clarity on Free Will Vs. Destiny.

Love.