Comment and answers to Anu’s Questions. Dear anu, thank you for posting your comments and pertinent questions. I will try to answer them according to my understanding.
I read both theories that you have mentioned. . When GOD has created, he has given us a Free will. How we use that free will is up to us. GOD has also created ethical, moral values which we may call them for practical purposes as 'GOD's laws.' If we do not follow his laws, we are committing a 'SIN'. What is a
SIN?
Bhagavad Gita says 'that a SIN is a mistake committed by an individual EGO against its own true nature. That means, that anything we do that is contrary to our true nature, is a SIN. In our true nature, we cannot make a mistake. Because, we identify with our EGO, (false nature), we commit mistakes. That means, we are misusing our free will.
It is our Delusion that is making us forget our true nature. That means, our true nature (SELF) is veiled. When our true nature is veiled, our false nature (lower nature or EGO) takes over and we commit all sorts of sins. Those sins will decide how much of suffering we have to go through in our multiple births. In other words, Lord Krishna's doctrine is, "you are punished by your SINS and not for your SINS.” That means, there is no one sitting some wherein heaven who is going to punish you for your SINS. You are punished for your sins by your own sins. GOD says, I created you in my likeness and gave you a free will. I love you totally, unconditionally. But, if you abuse your free will, and commit sins, then your sins will punish you.
That means, if I develop innumerable desires which will leave imprints on the shores of my mind, they are vasanas.I need to exhaust those vasanas.Untill I exhaust those vasanas, I will have birth, death and rebirth cycles. But, if I do 'NISHKAMA KARMA,' then I can purge those vasanas even in the present life and rise up in the SPIRITUAL LADDER.
That is what LORD KRISHNA says to Arjuna: O Arjuna, If you can fight this battle not for gaining kingdom, but for the sake of Righteousness, without anxiety for the fruit, then you will not only purge your present vasanas, you will not create new vasanas. That means, your mind becomes pure, serene and equipoised.With that steadfast mind and single pointed devotion, you can become aware of me as your true nature. Then you are me. At that time, there is no difference between you and me. You are Krishna of your life and times. That means, there is no fate or destiny. What we interpret as fate is our Prarabdha karma, or, Karma-phala.WE will discuss extensively about karma-phala or Karmic theory or theory of karma in chapter 3.called karma yoga.
Last week, we discussed about the qualities of
"ATMAN" or soul or SELF. One of the qualities we discussed was "All pervasiveness" of the ATMAN. The SELF is everywhere. If the self is everywhere, if there is no space infront, behind, above or below the self, how can the SELF move? Hence it is 'IMMOBILE’. If the SELF is everywhere, how can it have form. Hence, it is formless. Self is subtlest of the subtle. Nothing can pervade the self. But, self pervades everything. In the Self we are born, in the Self we exist and when we are decayed and destroyed, we merge back in the self. That is what I was trying to explain in our Satsang.
The Atman or Self is one and the same in all of us. It is the same Atman which is illumining your body and my body. Your analogy about rain drops may not be totally accurate. I will try to explain this way. I explained about the cause and effect theory. I don't know whether you rember it or not. One of the principles that I explained was that the cause is one and the same but the effects are multiple in nature. For example, cause is mud, but you can have mud pots of different sizes, shapes and colours.Similarly, cause is SELF, but we are all men,women,different sizes, shapes and colors and different mind and intellect equipments depending upon our vasanas in previous births. That is why we have names and forms. But the Atman is the same. That is, cause is the same in all of us.i.e; Atman is the same in all of us.
Regarding the last question, Atman is everywhere. It is all pervading. It is birthless and deathless.
WE discussed earlier that atman is everywhere. It is immobile. You are identifying with Jivatma or Ego-centricity. This Jiva or EGO leaves one embodiment to take a different Embodiment. This Jivatma carries with it in causal body all vasanas to a different body to eke out its remaining vasanas.
I hope, I have not confused. But, be patient. As we study more stanzas in Gita, these doubts will disappear.
Regards.
Eswara Dutt.
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Dear Dr. Dutt ji,
ReplyDeleteNamaste!
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Most of my questions have been answered. Some new questions have taken birth. However, I am not going to ask any more questions at this time. I am sure all of questions will be answered as we proceed further in Gita chapters.
I can not thank you enough for your proper guidance. I really appreciate it.
Thanks again,
Anu
Namaste everyone,
ReplyDeleteHere is an article that supports what Dr. Duttji said on the Blog.
Thanks!
Anu
"Fate and Free Will"
by Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi
http://jagadgurus.org/chapters/Fate-and-Free-Will
Fate is nothing but the sum total of the results of your past actions. By exercising your free will in the past, you brought on the resultant fate (i.e., present). By exercising your free will in the present wipe out the past record and work for a better future. Whether for acquiring more happiness or for reducing misery, you have to exercise your free will in the present.
You are responsible for what you are today. You are responsible for your pain and suffering and misery. You cannot escape your responsibility by blaming fate, for fate is of your own making, or by blaming God, for he is but the divine dispenser of fruits in accordance with the merits of your actions. You have none to blame but yourself for your present state of affairs.
Fate is invisible. The past is past and is beyond our vision and unseen. Do not worry about fate or the past. The present is before you and by the exercise of your free will, you can shape the future and this is what you should do, instead of wasting your time or energy bothering about the past and fate. Fate places no obstacles in our path. All obstacles are of our own making and it is within our competence to overcome them.
Start with boundaries hope with the presumption that nothing is impossible for you, If you work with earnestness and persist in your efforts, you can accomplish anything. If we do not succeed in the first few attempts, it means that in the past we have exercised our free will just in opposite direction. So our present effort must be proportionate to that past activity to eliminate its effects. Thus the obstacles which we face in life are just the gauge by which we have to guide our present activities. If you do not succeed even after your best effort, do not despair, for fate being a product of you free will, can never be stronger than free will. Your failure only means that your present exercise of free will is not sufficient to counteract the result of the past exercise of it. But if you keep on trying you are bound to succeed.
When we see a nail on the wall we cannot see what exact length of the nail is embedded in the wall. How much effort is required to pull out the nail depends on how deeply the nail is embedded in the wall. We do not desist from the attempt to pull out the nail simply because we happen to be ignorant of the length of the nail in the wall or of the number and intensity of the strokes which drove it in. Rather we persist and persevere in pulling it out. If we do not succeed in the first few attempts, we increase the number and the intensity of our present efforts to pull it out. The nail in the wall represents the obstacles which arise in our present life due to the wrong use of our free will in the past. Just as we persevere to pull out the nail from the wall, we should make persistent efforts to counteract the ill effects of our past actions. We are bound to pull out the nail sooner or later. Similarly, we are bound to overcome all the obstacles which we face in our life, if we try hard enough.
Dear Anu, The article that you posted written by Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati is an excellent article. I enjoyed reading the article. It is very enlightening and informative. I hope every one will have a chance to read this article.
ReplyDeleteWe all believe in fate at one time or other in our lives.But, Fate or destiny must be distinguished from Karma-Phala.If we logically think,Karma- phala stands to reason rather than fate or destiny.
As I mentioned in my answers to you,'You are punished by your Sins and not for your Sins.' This sentence has far-reaching implications in our understanding of Fate or destiny and free will.
Karma-phala needs to be understood in a logical way. Imagine that I have committed a murder in flint, and moved to tampa and changed my name from Eswara Dutt to 'XYZ', can I escape from the crime detection and punishment? A good detective will ultimately catch me and I will be punished appropriately.
Similarly,any Sins that I have commited in previous lives in a different place,at a different time will be carried forward to my present life and God's laws will punish me.Similarly, any good deeds also will be carried forward and one reaps benefits of those good deeds.
Because we have a free will,Karma-phala stands to reason more than fate or Destiny.
Again thanks for posting excellent article which will enlighten all of us .
Regards,
Eswara Dutt.
Dear Anu,
ReplyDeleteI had the same question for many years, slightly in a different way. My question has been several years, when the God has written our fate, and everything goes according to that only, can people have the power to do things against that will or fate?
Later on I understood the concept of "free will" and we have to do things according to our own judgment or free will.
After some more time, I also understood that by proper understanding and doing things in the right way or in more austere way, one can even change one’s fate, not really strictly against the destined fate, but in a way different, in a better way, like if any work is done with its offering to God then it becomes worship-with that kind of attitude, leads to changing the vidhi vrata. Then, one may say that it was destined to go finally to be in that route.
Then one has to go through these three stages as described in Gita, for most people, karma, then bhakti, then only gnaana maargas to easily go in that direction, that is why Gita is structured in that way. For those who are kaaraNajanmus, their path is either bhakti or gnaana maargas directly. Most bhaktas we see these days are not sincere (of course exceptions are there in every group I mentioned)
This question has been in my mind for a long time. I still have other questions, but I finally realized, this is only my perspective only, that this concept appears easily understood but will not come to our experience no matter how well it is explained. It is all divine grace even to get a good comprehension of these explanations, and what we study, hear, practice and meditate. It will come to ones realization at one point, provided one continues to be in the right path and be sincere to their heart.
I read the small story written by Swamy Mukundananda, of an adopted child by a billionaire. I hope you have read that. Though that story was told to a child, there is a lot of meaning in that. It nicely explains how the God gave us the free will and if we are sincere we will inherit all his grace.
The study groups will definitely help us understand what our sastras are telling and by constant analysis over time things will come to our understanding in a better way. But to realize what atma is, may not be in this life at least to me.
Korabathina.
Dear Dr. Korabathina, your answers for Anu's questions are informative and enlightening.As you mentioned,we have many questions,but answers may not be readily available at our stage of spiritual evolution.But, we keep on trying and as we analyse,reflect and contemplate on those questions,I am sure we will succeed if not in this life ,in the next life.We all had good discussion on 'Fate,Destiny,Prarabdha karma,Karma-phala etc;
ReplyDeleteI am also anxious to hear the story written by Swamy Mukundananda as I do not know the story.
Regards ,
Eswar.