Sadhana Panchakam - Post 55

 

In ordinary existence, the actions we do now, get added to the bundle of Karmas which we have to pay off in our future. 

However, in the case of the saint who has realized his oneness with Brahman, whatever actions he does during the remainder of his life after realization, can bear no Karma in the future. 

Karmas are incurred by one who considers himself as their “Doer”. The saint has no trace of ‘doer-ship’. He holds the feeling that God alone is the doer of everything. His actions therefore cannot create any Karma. As there is no ego-sense in him, his actions cannot leave any trace of Karma. 

The “wisdom” referred to in this step is the wisdom of living and acting without any “doer-ship”, without any ego-sense. All actions are offered to the Divine; they are totally selfless; they have no power to bind the actor. That renders the man of realization exempt from incurring any further Karmas. Such a soul is freed from all past and future Karmas. 

Chitti Balam means “the strength of one’s pure mind.” These words appear significantly in the middle of the sentence, between the past Karmas and the future Karmas, and can therefore be taken to apply to both. Even as a light placed at the doorway between two rooms will light up both rooms, in the same way Chitti Balam applies equally to both the past and the future Karmas. 

When one uses intellect to reflect on the matter of creations of thoughts in Mind, it will be seen that even as earlier thoughts condition the latter thoughts, the later thoughts influence the influence the earlier thoughts, twisting and formatting the mind to a new mind.  

One cannot open one’s Mind to spiritual inputs without the inputs being presented in marks, symbols and words and experiences to which the Mind is familiar and receptive. Completely an unconditioned Mind is difficult for common masses, therefore, one should consider taking a leap to the spiritual from the temporal foundations. 

Therefore, Uddalaka Aruni prevails upon his son Shvetaketu “be receptive, well-disposed one to the temporal as well as the spiritual ones”. 

It is only a receptive one that can intelligently resolve to free him from the effect of subsequent actions, knowing the nature of the performance of his earlier actions, the result which such performances had on his mind and also the result which the performance of action in future would have on one’s mind and the samsara. 

The state of awareness comes when one realizes that a human Mind is an instrument for fulfilling the Divine Intent, and therefore one is obliged to keep it pure and auspicious by performing only such actions as are in accordance with that Divine Intent. As said in Isha Upanishad, having performed his duties in this manner, he strives to live for hundred (many) years.  

When a person becomes a Jivan Mukta, he stops identifying with the body, and his identity is established firmly as the Self. 

The scriptures say such a person – who no more has any sense of doership or enjoyership – does not acquire any Agami Karma, and Self-Knowledge also destroys his Sanchita Karma.  

For a Jivan Mukta, only Prarabdha remains. A Jnani (enlightened person) is like a ceiling fan whose electricity is cut off. But because of past momentum, the ceiling fan still revolves. 

This past momentum is Prarabdha, and since there is no electricity (no doership or enjoyership), there is no new momentum (Agami). 

So since Prarabdha remains, it will continue to give pleasurable and painful experiences. These experiences will only affect the body, because the Jnani being established as the Self is not affected. Therefore the Jnani is immune even to Prarabdha. 

And once Prarabdha is exhausted, Sanchita gone, and no new Agami, there is no Karma left. So there is no reason for the Jnani to acquire a new birth. This is called Videha Mukti, liberation after death. 

Agami Karma is the impact of those new actions, explained in the Karma session as the result of aiming new, fresh arrows available to a human being in every birth, which is pure, neutral, neither red (which would give bad results) nor white ( which would give him good results), where both these red and white were explained as results of  his past Karma, which he carries  as sanchita karma, to be converted to Prarabdha karma in the current birth and  it was also explained that  jiva has no control over the results which these arrows would fetch him as they are already  marked as red or white, bad karma or good karma. 

And, now, let us think of a Jnani in the back drop of so many sessions, so many blog posts where the state of a realized seer or a Jnani has been explained. 

His newer actions in the present life after He realizes SELF, have no trace of Ahankara, no trace of vasana. 

Apart from basic duties towards his family if he is a grahastha, all other actions of a Jivanmukhta are aimed at serving the humanity in whatever way God intuitively commands Him. 

A Jnani may serve explicitly by setting up institutions for education or health care etc, may spread Knowledge by expanding his ashram or even spread Love and peace in society in silence, without doing any service which is apparently seen by the world. 

He is Love, His existence is Love, His breathing is Love, His actions are (in) Love. 

If the readers can close their eyes and imagine such an existence, then the author need not convince them that such LOVE cannot fetch a Jnani any new Karma.

Love.

 

 

 

 

 

Live Session Tomorrow on Ashtavakra Gita - Chapter 2

 

https://youtu.be/0hxkXrcF1Ho

Sadhana Panchakam - Post 54

 

We learnt in Karma sessions about sanchita karma, thus:-  

Accumulated impressions: 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. 

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."  

Current karma = (Old samskaras) + (New samskaras added) – (Old samskaras that have played out)

Predispositions are awaiting opportunity: Along with the playing out of our current Karmas in flight, we also know that there are many predispositions, habit patterns, or Samskaras that are awaiting an opportunity to come into action. Though we may not know exactly what these are, by observing our actions we can infer some of these predispositions. 

Examining and attenuating karma: By a good job of preparation, balancing life, and learning to be a good archer, one can eventually examine the Samskaras in the quiver during Meditation. In this way, deeper habit patterns can be attenuated or eliminated through Meditation, provided one has become trained as a good Archer. 

Swami Sivananda roars,

 

“Tarkash (quiver), the case in which arrows are accumulated represents our Sanchita Karmas; the arrow that is ready for shooting represents our Agami Karma and the arrow which has left the bow, which cannot return and which must hit the target represents Prarabdha Karma. 

The store-room is the Sanchita. The articles that are put in the shop for sale are Prarabdha. The daily sale proceeds are the Agami. 

Sanchita Karmas are the accumulated works; Prarabdha Karmas are ripe of fructiferous actions; Kriyamana Agami Karmas are current works. 

The big storehouse for paddy represents Sanchita Karma. The paddy that has been taken out separately for the use of the current year corresponds to the Prarabdha; and the paddy that is growing in the fields in the current year represents Agami Karma or Kriyamana. 

Sanchita Karmas are destroyed by Brahma Jnana. One should enjoy the Prarabdha anyhow. (Vyavaharic Drishti only). 

Kriyamana Karmas are no actions as the Jnani has Akarta and Sakshi Bhava. God and Purushartha are synonymous terms. They are two names for one thing. 

In Mahabharata you will find that exertion (Purushartha) and Prarabdha combined bring about fruits. If you are ailing, you must do Purushartha. You must take medicine. You leave the results to Prarabdha. 

Throughout Yoga Vasishtha, Vasishthaji recommends Purushartha only to Sri Rama. Markandeya through Purushartha alone conquered death. Man is, doubtless, the master of his own destiny. 

Purushartha can do and undo things. Markandeya changed his destiny through his Tapas. Fatalism will produce abnormal inertia. God helps those who help themselves. Be up and doing. Man is the master of his destiny. Prarabdha is the result of your own thoughts and actions. Change your mode of thinking. Think: "I am the Immortal Self." The immortal Self you will become. As you think, you so become. This is the immutable law. 

You have now the habit of thinking "I am body. I am mind. I am Prana. I am Indriya or sense."Change your present habit of thinking and think, "I am Brahman. I am the all-pervading intelligence." You will conquer your destiny. If you are in the habit of writing in a slanting manner, you can change your habit and can write in a vertical manner. Even so you can change your habit of thinking. Conquest of habit is conquest of destiny. Fate or destiny is your own creation through your own Karmas. You are the master of your destiny. Change your mode of thinking. Instead of foolishly thinking "I am body," think "I am Atman, all-pervading." 

When the person attains the God-realized state, he becomes “dead” to worldly affairs. He no longer has the body and mind identity. He has risen to the absolute realm, from which standpoint Karmas do not even exist.  All the Sanchita Karmas become annulled at the moment of realization. It is said the fire of knowledge burns away all those Karmas, however big the bundle may have been.”

Karma is one of the fundamental realities which a human being cannot dispense with. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is firm on the principle of cause and consequences saying that as one acts, as one behaves, so does he become. The doer of good becomes good, the doer of evil becomes evil; this is an eternal law. One becomes virtuous by virtuous actions, bad by bad actions. 

Others say that Karma is the consequences of desires. As is his desire, so is his will; as is his will, so is the deed he does, whatever deed he does that becomes his consequence. 

Yajnavalkya tells Jaratkaru Arthabhaga that when the speech of the dead person enters fire, breath enters air, eyes into Sun, mind in moon, hearing in quarters self in space, etc then what remains of the person, it is the aggregate Karma that is carried forward. Verily one becomes good by good actions, bad by bad actions. 

Sankara says, since mind is the primary instrument of the subtle body, the quality of the mind is the quality of the subtle body. Therefore, when all the desires that dwell in the heart are cast away, then does the mortal become immortal and he attains Brahman here (in this life itself). 

One need not wait for the time when the body falls, it comes about the moment ignorance is eliminated. Krishna, therefore, recommends the performance of actions without desire and giving up the fruits of actions so that he may remain free from the good or bad consequences of the actions. 

Maitri Upanishad says that since it is the Mind which absorbs the effects of the performance of previous actions giving an appearance to the mental responses, the mind which should be investigated. By freeing Mind from sloth and distraction and making is well-established he becomes liberated from Mind. That is the supreme state. 

Only through sadhana and through no other means can one really work towards SELF REALIZATION, upon which, the sanchita karma, the quiver in store, yet to be discharged, are rendered useless. 

Like the potter wheel keeps rotating even after the potter has stopped making pot, for some time, like a car still keeps moving a few yards even after the driver has set the gear to neutral, the arrows which have been discharged from the quiver, the prarabdha karma, still are on play and even a jnani has to undergo the impact of such in flight arrows or the prarabdha karma. But in His God realized state, he is unaffected by the pleasure / pain that prarabdha karma brings to him and He verily abides in SELF and exists in undiluted bliss.

 

Love.