Karma & How to Live life

 

సాయి గీత 3

Sai Gita 3

Baba continues to teach Karma theory to Nana:

Mukti (Emancipation, salvation) is true happiness.

To take birth and die is true sorrow.

Any other happiness or sorrow but for these, is a result of mere delusion.

Now I will tell you how to live in this world.

Listen to me with diligent care. We should happily experience whatever has been “ours” as the result of the prarabdha karma. We should not be envious of others who are in a better state (due to their prarabdha karma) and hanker after their riches etc.

The wife, children, the servants have all come to us by prarabdha. Be courteous and loving towards them. Never assume for a moment that they are your people. That will lead to further entanglement, further prarabdha karma and more births and deaths. We should try to experience and finish the prarabdha in this life only. We should try not to have anything left over to take with us when we die. Whatever we get is a result of prarabdha.

The friends, relatives, wife and children all are limited only to this particular life. Each person and his relationship to you are limited only to this life. Who knows who will be entangled with you in your forthcoming birth? It is our vasanas (proclivities) which keep us entangled forever without letting go of us."

Here Baba is teaching Garbopanishad and Karma theory:

A Jeeva in mother’s womb who has memory of prior births thinks like this:

O God, though you have granted me several human births, I have not availed even one of them to reach you I committed innumerable mistakes. Every time we are in mother’s womb, we say to our self that we must at least this time behave sensibly and make good of this birth to realize the self and attain salvation. But as soon as we get out of mother’s womb, we get entangled in the Worldly attractions. Jeeva continues to think like this: Once again I get into the routine of performing the most heinous acts with selfish ends. I performed all types of indiscreet acts for the sake of my parents, wife and children and other relations whose connection with me does not go beyond my body and who do not accompany me to the other world. I worked strenuously for acquiring wealth, houses and other earthly possessions, being aware that they do not go with me after death. I spent all my energies for the sake of my wife and children. I am really unfortunate that I strove very little for the attainment of Moksha which secures for me eternal bliss. As a result I had to pass through ignoble and despicable births of all types of mean creatures and animals, and experience immense sorrow. I shall not repeat the same mistakes in the present birth. After getting over the birth pangs safely and entering the world, I will sacrifice everything for not getting entangled into transient worldly pleasures and temptations. I will seek the guidance of a good religious preceptor and make my life a worthy one and a sacred one. O Almighty, have the grace to help me achieve my end. I will ever be grateful to you for your generous guidance. This is the gist of what is contained in Garbhopanishad.

"It is the vasanas which are the seed bed of the next birth. That is why, if one does not increase his infatuation with the own karma; one would gain immeasurably in the hereafter. One stays for a day or two in one Hotel (Choultry) and then moves on towards his destination without forming any association or infatuation with it. In the same manner, one should look upon this world as a Hotel (Choultry) and not form any attachments.

The destruction of the entanglements caused by happiness and sorrow is liberation (mukti).

What happens to us as a result of karma (action) is not happening by prarabdha. For example, some people commit theft. They are caught and punished. This punishment is a result of karma but not of prarabdha. One dies upon consuming poison. It is a result of karma. The servant may cheat his master of money and may become rich. This too is a result of karma. As the servant becomes rich, he may buy houses, carriages and horses and think that he is happy. But the resultant karma of cheating his master will follow him relentlessly. This is called the sanchita karma which he has to under go in the next life. Rebirth is inevitable when sanchita karma is prevailing. The wise understand this and model their behavior to avoid it. The foolish do not know and do not bother about it." "By the prarabdha he got the situation of a servant in this life. That has now become the cause for another birth. If we question as to what he has achieved in this life, he has only laid the seed or foundation for another life.

 How can we escape from this relentless march of births and deaths?

Some achieve high posts and use their power to dominate others. Some roam the world teaching spiritual truths. Some become yogis. Some become merchants and set up shops. Some become teachers and teach children in schools. Teacher, shopkeeper, yogi, spiritual teacher and official - all these are holders of posts and stations in life. Can you tell me how they have all got these different posts? All this is the result of prarabdha. They are not due to karma."

Chandorkar was puzzled. He said, "Baba, you say that the person committed theft and becomes a thief. You say that it is due to karma. You again say that the rest in the result of prarabdha. I am at a loss to understand your meaning. Could you please elucidate further the distinction between these?"

Baba, the kindness incarnate, heard the question of his beloved Nana. Now hear with all your attention to how Baba answered him. Do not waste time. Baba said, "Narayana! Rein in your mind from wandering and then question. Some commit theft and cleverly escape from justice. Some are adjudged guilty and imprisoned. Some escape altogether and roam about as if they were gentlemen of means. You let me know where you can see the result of karma in all this. It is all the result of prarabdha. Both have committed theft. One is caught and jailed, the other escapes. The prarabdha is beyond karma. The thief who escaped imprisonment has not got away scot-free. His karma will make him take the next birth. That is why I say that one should be vigilant to follow the canons of dharma when one is undergoing the effects of prarabdha.

This means that one should cultivate the company of the good and spend time with them.

One should avoid even the shadow of the bad, the wicked and the atheists in the society.

Do not eat forbidden foods.

Do not give room to arguments and rivalry.

Always stick to the truth.

God will be happy with you. If you give your word to any one; back it up. God is distanced from those who give their word and fail to back it up."

One should do one's duty and present the result as well as the feeling of being the doer to the almighty and be untouched by it all.

(Example: He is the one who causes one's son and another's son to be born. But the responsibility of looking after one's son is one's own. It is necessary to earn money and keep it for the sake of looking after one's own. But one should never have the feeling, 'I am saving money, I am keeping it for them, I am looking after them'.)

One should use ones knowledge to seek to know the good and bad about everything. One should be able to accept the good and leave the bad. Try to do good works and complete them ably with determination. One should live in such a manner that one's fame lives on in this world even after one's death.

One should perform one's duty without harboring the feeling 'I am the doer. This is purushartha.

 Follow my teachings to reach that state of liberation. When you are afflicted by prarabdha you should be ever vigilant to inquire in to its nature by the right thought. One should not relax this vigilance at any cost. Whatever happens to us in our natural state occurs as a result of prarabdha. Thus, one should continue to do one's duty and recognize and revere the almighty that is the form of satchidananda (existence, knowledge and bliss).

Let us understand what Baba is saying and how we can relate this to our scriptures:

Esavasyopanishat says:

Kurvanneveha Karmani Jijeevishet Chchatagum samah

Evam Twayi Nanyathetosti Sakarma lipyate nare.

One has to keep on doing karmas and live for hundred years in this world, there is no other way. Actions by themselves do not fetch disgrace to man. One must continue to perform acts until they are alive in this body.

How to choose the method of doing actions by which we are not bound by their results:

1) While performing Agami Karmas, we must choose such deeds which yield immediate fruits and avoid those which give results on a future date. This process will avert the scope of fresh fruits being generated by our acts. And since the fruits yielded by our actions are enjoyed immediately there is no accumulation of fruits.

2) In the case of Prarabdha Karmas we have to wipe them out by enjoying them exhaustively, without getting effected.

3) But the real trouble is with Sanchita Karmas. When they are not ripe we cannot enjoy them and remove them. We need to pass through innumerable number of births for their total extinction. So the only way of rescuing ourselves from these accumulated karmas is to burn them all at one time.

Bhagavadgita gives a solution to this problem:

1) We have to perform current actions (Agami Karmas) through Karma Yoga. Baba always used to say Allah Malik! which teaches us Karma Yoga by thinking that God is with you all the time and surrendering our actions to Sai. 

2) We have to enjoy the Prarabdha Karmas by following Bhakti Yoga.

3) We have to annihilate all the accumulated karmas, by burning them through Jnana yoga. Here Guru helps with his grace and burn our Sanchita karmas.