Tag Archive for: fate

How do you justify the concept of ‘prarabdha karma’ in Hinduism?

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We have no better explanation available than prarabdha karma for the skewed ways things happen in our lives, which do not seem to fit into any logical pattern. The oft repeated question “why good people suffer and evil ones seem to enjoy life and why life is so unfair ?” cannot be answered convincingly without bringing the concept of Karma and rebirth.

In fact, this question has not been tackled in Abrahamic religions. Only Hinduism (and its offshoots Buddhism and Jainism) Karma and rebirth theory has been evolved apparently out of very logical analysis and through the insights of rishis.

And Karma theory offers consolation and a fair degree of resignation to surrender and accept divine will. If I am suffering in my life currently for no apparent fault or mistake or blunders or evil acts that I ever committed in this life, then I can console myself “Okay! I must have done something really evil in my previous births; so, it is God’s wish that I suffer my prarabdha now. God knows when to end this this suffering. I can only pray to him to relieve me from this; let His will be done” Such a surrender brings in peace of mind considerably.

Also accepting karma theory helps a lot in being watchful of our actions. “If I am suffering now on account of my evil acts in previous births, it means I will definitely suffer for any evil acts that I commit now probably much later in this life when I least expect it or in my next births. Why create trouble for myself? Let me abstain from doing this”. We also tend to engage in good and unselfish acts because saints promise us that the punya we acquire this way can potentially lessen the impact of the evil karmas of the past.

Thus a faith in Karma and belief in God as a dispenser of Karma helps us in leading a more peaceful life.

Our Karma cycle will only end when all our actions are done without any expectation of fruits. That is Karma yoga. For a Jnyani, who has realized himself, there are no fetters of karma. But some scriptures say that even Jnyani will have to suffer because of his prarabdha (effects of karma done in previous births) since he has obtained this body basically to exhaust his prarabdha.

But Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi disputes this idea. he says that a Jnani is free from all the three karmas (Sanchita, prarabdha and agamya karmas) . A jnani is one who has annihilated his mind; he is free from the concept that he is the body. Any prarabdha can work on body-mind only and when the Jnani is free from association with them, where is the question of prarabdha working on him? Asks Ramana Maharshi.

So, the final answer is this: The purpose of human birth is to attain oneness with our Atman (or God). Once we succeed in it, we get freed from karma and rebirth. Till then, we are caught in the samsara and come back again and again in new bodies to enjoy and suffer our fruits of karma.

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If everything happens by God’s will, where does free will come? What is the need for punya and papa, heaven and hell?

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Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says that as long as we believe we have free will, we have to own up the consequences of actions done by us with our free will.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

But it is indeed true that at the exalted level of comprehension, everything is God’s will. A person who attains this conviction firmly is the one who has attained God realization or self realization. Only such a person becomes the perfect instrument of God. Sri Ramakrishna says that whatever that person does is simply the acts of God and it will only be perfect and right.

If ordinary people do whatever they want to do by saying that they are doing it as God’s instruments they are only deluding themselves.

Suppose a person, out of a very reasonable justification (in his own assessment) kills another with anger and vengeance. He may say, “I have delivered the right justice this fellow deserved for his actions. I have acted as God’s instrument . His ‘prarabdha’ is such that he gets killed by me in this birth. So, I have not committed any sin.”

If his argument is really true, what happens if police arrest him and the court orders a judgement that he should be hanged? Should he not accept that it is also by God’s will and the judge acted as God’ s instrument and punished him?

That’s why Sri Ramakrishna says that along with the ‘idea’ of free will, the concepts of punya and papa too shall coexist. If not, there will be total anarchy. Without fear of punishment based on papa, people will keep doing all sorts of atrocities.

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Understanding relationship between religion and health

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How can religion and health have a connection? You may wonder. Health is to do with the body (and mind) and religion is concerned with the soul. What is the link? Very surprisingly, one helps to understand the other in some deeper way.

 “After all, this body itself is a sickness that inflicted the soul”.     – Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi

Assume that you are too critically sick, all the efforts of doctors and specialists become no avail, but you are too desperate to live. Will you not, even if you are a non-believer right now, attempt to pray to a higher force that many call God, to extend you a helping hand?

In the histories if great spiritual masters, there are umpteen incidences where people suffering from incurable diseases get cured miraculously, through intense prayers and by the divine grace manifesting through the spiritual masters. Let us assume that after your sincere and heartfelt prayers, you start recovering; will you not begin to turn to religion (or develop faith in God), keeping aside your past misgivings about religion, God and spirituality?

If you deeply think of health and ailments, you can easily grasp the fact that medical science tries to attempt getting solutions to ailments, but they never succeed 100%. If medical science is omni-potent, the phenomenon of death should have been eradicated long back! Is it not common knowledge that when people want to inquire deeper into the phenomenon called death, they do not delve into medical books, but into religious scripture for enlightenment!

Think of this: Many times, a medicine found suitable and effective in a particular patient does not produce an equally effective cure on another patient. The serious and negative side effects caused by a medicine in one person is not found to be so damning in another person. Why? Is there a divine dispensation behind these?

One of my relatives got a serious ailment in his liver and the doctors predicted that he would at the best live for 2 more years. But he lived for 9 years more.

A contagious decease cause by a virus affects several members in a family; but a mother who nurses them all at the family is not affected by it. Why? Is there a divine dispensation behind these?

Hinduism explains all these through its Karma theory. Suffering due to illness or any other unexpected and inexplicable loss of health in a person may have nothing to do with his omissions and commissions in the recent past, but it could be due to his Karma done in his previous births.

Thus questions about health lead one to think more about religion.

If you probe deeply and sincerely into religion, you will get lots of exposure to what Bible says or what other scripture/ great masters say about health.

Health is not just related to your physical health, but mental, intellectual and spiritual health too. The more spiritually one evolves, the more he understands that he is not the body, he is not the mind, not the intellect, not the ego, but his true existence is somewhere still deeper.

Assume you are suffering from severe pains on account of your sickness. When you fall into deep sleep, what happens? Do you feel the pain then? No. In deep sleep state (which Hinduism calls “sushupti”), you don’t even get dreams. Dreams are nothing but the machinations of your mind. So in deep sleep, you are not the body (because you have no body consciousness) and you are not the mind (because mind is not working – you have no thoughts as you have in wakeful state, or as in dream state).

Since we perceive most of the things with body and mind only, were you then dead at deep sleep state? Were you totally unconscious? No. Why? Because, when you wake up, you express satisfaction that you enjoyed a very refreshing and peaceful sleep! Who was that enjoyer of that peaceful sleep? Find it out – says a great Hindu Spiritual Master Ramana Maharishi.

So religion makes you to think deeply about your health. When Jesus was crucified, was he feeling healthy? What made him to undergo all the suffering and still not think ill of those who committed the heinous crimes against him? Doesn’t it show that Jesus did not think of him as body? If he had thought of him as a body, would he not have got very concerned about his health?

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a great spiritual master of Hinduism was afflicted by throat cancer. He was treated by several doctors, but to no avail. But, till his death, he was talking and giving spiritual instructions to his disciples; he transmitted spiritual power to his disciple Vivekananda despite his severe throat pain and a near impossibility of swallowing any food.

Ramana Maharishi too got cancer in his arm. He allowed different schools of medical practitioners to treat the cancerous growth, and he was simply behaving like an uninterested witness to all the pain and suffering they inflicted upon him through their modes of treatments. He was operated upon thrice and at one time, he did not allow use of any tranquilizers too!

When his devotees wept seeing the sufferings that he underwent, he used to say, “After all, this body itself is a sickness that inflicted the soul”.

In a nutshell, the more you are concerned about your bodily health, the less religious and spiritual you are. The more you are oblivious to the health of the body but concerned about the health of your soul, the more spiritually evolved you are.

Unless one learns the intricacies of a religion by the right knowledge of spirituality, one cannot easily grasp this secret.

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