Triveni Journal

1927 | 11,233,916 words

Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....

Karma

N. Visweswara Rao

Karmatc "Karma"

We, as ordinary mortals, are conscious of human endeavour and planning not only for a rainy day but also for a better day. We plan all those things so meticulously that we pat ourselves and fall comfortably to see them become a reality. In at least four cases out of ten things, do not turn out as expected or turn out unexpectedly in another fashion. Our planning is perfect, timing is correct and everything is worked out to the last detail. Yet, the undesirable and unpalatable has happened. Karma operates here. And what is Karma? Let us see.

No action whatever we do goes unnoticed, unrewarded or unretributed. Every action is appraised and allotted a value. These values either jointly or severally bear fruit in the same life or in succeeding lives. These are sublimated and acquire the shape of ‘vasanas’ and kept sealed and concealed in astral body. The accumulated ‘vasanas’ are called ‘Sanchita Karma’, the ‘vasanas’ giving result at the moment are called ‘Prarabda Karma’, and the vasanas waiting to fructify are called ‘Aagami Karma’.

The law of Karma presupposes the following:
a) that death (Mruthi) is only for the physical body
b) that Smruthi (memory) has no Mruthi
c) that the jeevi moves about in 
‘janmaparampara’ till cessation of Karma
d).and that he has a certain Freewill (RAM, if you like) which allows him to navigate through vasanas and charter the course of life in the present birth.

Jeevi has a freewill. He is free to act according to his will. He acts according to his will and accumulates Karma. This accumulation helps him continue the cycle of births. This part of his freewill is really free except when Prarabda Karma is about to yield some result, good, bad or indifferent. Otherwise it is totally free.

If Karma and it’s results are continued over innumberable births, when will the jeevi be free of it and attain salvation? And what is salvation? Let us see.

We have in the preceding paragraphs seen that all our actions generate some result or other. The simple deduction is positive actions yield good results and negative actions yield bad results.

Craving for good and positive results and fearing bad and negative results is germane to human nature. It causes passionate involvement of jeevi not only with actions but with the results which implies that the vicious circle of life, karma (action) and death goes on until stopped by Freewill. How can the Freewill achieve this? It cannot just wish the results away. Once the action was over, the results come way any which again become seed for further action. Now this Freewill has a slot for discretion. It’s discerning power should be able to see that the Kartha of all Karma is destiny (the Almighty). Then it follows that when someone else is the author of action, one should not have any claim on the results or cherish any hopes on them. This attitude shall induce NISHKAMA KARMA, practicing of which makes one a stoic i.e the one who takes the results as they come without any passionate involvement. As the results of Nishkama Karma are consigned to the Almighty, the residual results are not carried over to vasanas thus paving the way for cessation of Karma. Cessation leads to salvation. We shall see how.

As there is no Karma and consequently no vasanas to be worked out, the astral body has no use for a new upadhi to take on. To that extent salvation is achieved. The jeevi is spared of the agonies of residing in the womb, taking birth, growing up, eking out a livelihood, raising a family and doing all sorts of things in the process generating Karma and again being born to work out that Karma- all this is avoided. It is like reclining in an armchair comfortably in an A.C. room on a midsummer afternoon when the mercury is nearly 50 degrees C. while the poor mortals are toiling outside on various errands. The analogy is drawn from every day life just to emphasise the point that the jeevi who has attained salvation feels more ANANDA than others. This is not the mundane Ananda one feels on seeing the loved ones, on being blessed with a child, on getting a promotion etc. It is a bliss undisturbed by desire, the root cause of all creation. While it is ‘Samkalpa’ in the case of ‘Parabrahma’, it is desire in the case of jeevi. The ‘jeevi’ who sets himself free from the vicious circle of life and death using his discerning power is given salvation called Saalokya mukthi.

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