In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Maarkandeya’s description about the “Karma Theory” and how there is an uncertainty with regards to the time taken between one action and its equal and opposite reaction that has to come for it. Sage Maarkandeya clearly outlines how some actions might have immediate reactions, while some others might even elicit reactions after fifty births! Thus, he also drives home the important point that our “Karma” cannot be washed off in just this birth alone! We’ll be taking huge backlogs of it into our subsequent births! In fact, this current birth itself is a resultant of the backlogs of “Karma” that we’ve carried forward from our previous births – The number of which only Bhagawan knows! 🙂 Moreover, Sage Maarkandeya also outlines how “Dharma” was at its peak during the “Krita Yuga”, and how it subsequently started diminishing as “Yugas” progressed. This is also an important point and we’ve witnessed this earlier as well during our “Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana” project!
As we move on with this point, we should understand one more important aspect of “Karma Theory” here. Of course, we’ve discussed this earlier as well, but it is still worth revisiting in this context. Our “Karma” can be classified into two types basically – “Sanchita Karma” and the “Praarabdha Karma”. “Sanchita Karma” is the one that we accumulate over time, with various births. The “Praarabdha Karma” is the one wherein we start taking out one bundle of our “Sanchita Karma” and start experiencing the resultant of it in our current birth. The phrase “Aarabdha” in Sanskrit means “To begin”. “Praarabdha” means “To begin experiencing something”. As we understand this important difference, now the problem here is that we will never know what is the size of the “Sanchita Karma” bundle that Bhagawan is letting us experience the resultant of! Sometimes, the bundle might be of a smaller size, and we might finish it within just a few days also! Sometimes, the bundle might be bigger in size and we might have to experience the resultant for months and years together! Sometimes, the bundle might never even be opened, and we might have to wait for births for them to get opened in the first place! This is the problem here – The time lag between our actions and reactions are extremely uncertain, as our actions keep getting accumulated into our “Sanchita Karma” bundles! Even fresh bundles might keep getting formed as well, due to the actions that we keep performing now, every passing day! For these bundles to get cleared off, we might not know how many days or months or years or births we need to wait! By talking about all this, I’m not trying to scare readers here. But all I’m saying here is that, the “Karma Theory” exists, and there is definitely a repercussion for every action that we perform.
We might now have a question here – Is there no solution for this at all? Should we keep on revolving around this cycle of birth and death? What is the way out of this? What is the role of Bhagawan here? This is where I always keep saying – Bhagawan is like the CEO of a company. If for instance, there is an extraordinary problem which cannot be resolved by any other employee in the organization, or if the problem is urgent and serious enough, the CEO or the head of the organization will intervene at some point in time to put an end to the problem isn’t it? Similarly here also, if we’re exhibiting “Sharanagati” and “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan and if we ardently pray to Him to intervene in this cycle, definitely Bhagawan will intervene! The moment our prayers and “Sharanagati” are genuine and true from our heart, Bhagawan makes sure that He takes us out of this vicious cycle! In fact, Bhagawan Krishna Himself is going to explain this point in detail during the Bhagawad Gita, which we will be discussing in great detail later on. But the point here is simple – Of course, the cycle of birth and death is vicious, and it is not possible for us to voluntarily get out of it. However, with Bhagawan’s divine intervention, we can still get out of it. But, just like how the CEO should be apprised of the situation before he / she intervenes in an organization, Bhagawan has to be apprised of our situation. We’ve to come forward and take the initiative to exhibit Bhakti and Sharanagati towards Him, for Him to intervene isn’t it? This is what we’ve to understand here very clearly – If we do not approach Bhagawan, He will not intervene. He will only be a mute spectator to whatever we’re undergoing in our life. Whereas, if we take one step towards Bhagawan, we can be rest assured that Bhagawan will come running towards us by taking ten steps forward! In fact, we’ve to understand that Bhagawan is waiting to intervene, provided we approach Him!
This might be a heart-touching point for many of us, but we should think in these lines and ponder over what we should do. We shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 