In the previous episode, we had witnessed yet another important point from Sage Kapilaachaarya that in order to obtain total liberation from the cycle of birth and death, we need to surrender to Bhagawan completely with all our heart and mind. This point is driven home by Sage Kapilaachaarya by explaining the entire cycle of human birth, right from taking shape inside the womb of the mother till the child takes birth in the world. We’ve witnessed the various hardships that a child has to go through inside the womb of the mother at various stages of the birth process. In the middle of everything, the child cries to Bhagawan and pleads for mercy! Bhagawan answers to the child’s relentless plea, but He is firm on one point that whatever might be the suffering, we have no choice but to undergo it! The moment we read through all of these, I’m sure many of us would have got terrified! But is there no solution to come out of these things at any point in our lifetime? Here is where Sage Kapilaachaarya sends out the important message that by surrendering ourselves completely to Bhagawan’s or the Guru’s (Spiritual Master) feet, we can liberate ourselves from this vicious cycle of birth and death! Many of us might wonder if this is really possible, but as per various incidences that are described in our Sanaathana Dharma literature prove that this is possible, but we need to put in our effort in a sincere and a conscious way.
Saying thus, Sage Kapilaachaarya concludes his long discourse to his mother and after hearing all of this from her son, she finally attains Moksha with the divine grace of her son. In the previous episode, we had left at a point wherein we said that there is a very similar instance in the Valmiki Ramayana that explains a similar point. It was during the time when Bhagawan Rama kills the demoness Thaataka. Along with that, Bhagawan Rama does two important things as well – He kills one of Thaataka’s sons, Shubaahu, but chases away the other son Maareecha to a far-off place amidst the vast ocean waters! Firstly, Bhagawan destroys the mother (Thaataka) and then takes the sons to task. Why does he do so? It is because, in this context, the mother signifies “Avidhya” (Ignorance). Only if the ignorance is destroyed, can the other Karma be destroyed too! Therefore, Bhagawan Rama kills the mother Thaataka first, before dealing with the two sons.
If we look at this part of the Ramayana story closely, ideally, Bhagawan Rama should have killed both since both were trying to destroy the “Yagna” (Spiritual Offering) performed by Sage Vishwamithra. But why did he kill one and let the other one escape? Ideally if Bhagawan Rama would have killed Maareecha then and there, the entire Ramayana story after Mother Sita being abducted by Ravana wouldn’t have taken place at all! 😊 Readers might accept this point with ease! But still, why did Bhagawan Rama let Maareecha escape at that point?
Now here comes an important discussion – Why did Rama kill one “Raakshasa” and chase away the other one? This traces back to our “Karma Theory” again! These two Raakshasas signify the two types of Karma that we accumulate – Sanchita Karma and the Praarabdha Karma. If we’ve to talk about it in a nutshell, Sanchita Karma is the truckloads of Karma that we’ve accumulated over and over various births, through the vicious cycle of birth and death! Praarabdha Karma is one such load from the huge truckload, that we pull out and experience the after-effects of it in one birth! Once this load is over, we take the next load and again start experiencing the after-effects of it in the subsequent births! But that’s not the end of it. As Sage Kapilaachaarya here narrates, we would still be doing many Karmas in this present birth too, that would keep going into the truckloads of our Sanchita Karma. This is where we raise the question that whether there is going to be no end for this! Now, if we go and stand in front of Bhagawan, seeking mercy and surrender, Bhagawan helps us getting rid of all these things in two ways – Firstly, He burns away all our Sanchita Karma (previously accumulated Karma) just like a cotton ball is burnt when it is thrown into a fire! However, the Praarabdha Karma that we keep experiencing and accumulating during this birth would still remain, isn’t it? Unless and until we are bound by the “Samsaara” (Family bonding and worldly pleasures) we would invariably keep accumulating Karma more and more! This is where Bhagawan plays the game – For these kinds of Karma that still stick on to us after surrender, Bhagawan makes sure that he “washes” them away from us through His divine “Sankalpa” (Will). We should be careful in understanding here – When does Bhagawan take this initiative? Only if we surrender to him completely! It is only when Bhagawan’s heart melts with our cries and persistent prayers, will Bhagawan do this.
Thus we can see clearly that Bhagawan doesn’t destroy both the Sanchita Karma and Praarabdha Karma in the similar fashion. The former one is getting burnt away and the latter is getting washed away due to the divine “Sankalpa”. Hence it is only to illustrate this difference to us, is Bhagawan Rama killing Shubaahu and chasing away Maareecha! Here, Shubaahu is equivalent to the Sanchita Karma. Just like how Bhagawan kills Shubaahu, He burns away our Sanchita Karma. Similarly, just like how Bhagawan chases away Maareecha and giving him a breather, He is washing away our Praarabdha Karma and ultimately giving us the liberation!
This is exactly what Sage Kapilaachaarya is also trying to convey here. So for today, let us understand this point in a much deeper sense and let us try to invoke this unconditional surrender towards Bhagawan as we read through this important episode. We shall wait till the next episode to continue with the next important point. Stay tuned! 😊
The Indian Dharma 