The Spiritual Paradigm_4. The Cosmic Law of. Dr. P. Subbanna Bhat उद धर द त मन त म न...

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1 1 The Spiritual Paradigm_4 The Cosmic Law of Dr. P. Subbanna Bhat उद धर द त मन त म न... The onus for self-advancement or degeneration lies with one s own self. ---[Bhagavadgita, VI-5] 4.1 Introduction The term Karma approximately translated, implies action. But it is more than physical action. The physical action, is usually associated with motive and planning at the level of the mind. Sri Aurobindo defines Karma as combination of Action together with the Motive behind that action. Karma also means the impact of action upon the performer of that action the mental residue that remains with the doer which shapes his destiny. The Law of Karma the formation of this residue, and its operation called destiny though quoted in the scriptures often, is rather subtle and difficult to comprehend. Sri Aurobindo clarifies on what constitute Karma : All energy put into activity thought, speech, feeling, act go to constitute karma. These things help to develop the nature in one direction or another, and the nature and its actions and reactions produce their consequences inward and outward: they also act on others to create movements in the general sum of forces which can return upon oneself sooner or later. Thoughts unexpressed can also go out as forces and produce their effects. It is a mistake to think that a thought or will can effect only when it is expressed in speech or act: the unspoken thought, the unexpressed will are also active energies and can produce their own vibrations, effects or reactions [Sri Aurobindo, Fate and Free-will, pp.1-2] If Karma constitutes both action and motive, the experience the impact residue that remains with the performer, mostly remains at the mental level. To a pointed query by Arjuna Krishna Clarifies that it (impact residue) may accumulate in the inner equipment. इन द र य ण मन ब द धद धरस य ध ष ठ नम च यत I एत द धव म हयत य ष ज ञ नम व त य द हहनम II

2 2 The senses, mind and the intellect are the seat of this residue; it covers the Self with a veil of delusion (ignorance)! ---[Bhagavadgita, III-40] Evidently, the consequence of Karma that one carries forward, is in the form of karmic residue is mostly at the subtler levels of the ( and ) of the being. The cumulative effect of this karmic residue is said to form the destiny, propelling the being forward in Cosmic game called. 4.2 The karmic cycle Spiritual Paradigm (concept of Lila ) is based on the thesis that the nature of the Divine the spiritual substratum of Creation is Bliss (Sat-chit-Ananda); and that the entire Creation is only dimly aware of its essential nature (Ananda). And that all beings are involuntarily driven to seek the source of this Ananda. This search takes the form of karma. Normal Karma is usually is associated with some motive. The motive can be complex operating at different levels. Normally, the motive for karma is generated by the previous karmic residue, which creates and leaves behind fresh residue. Thus, the (living) being is trapped in relentless karmic cycle, which continues over several lifetimes. Why do people commit sin as if compelled by an invisible force? asks Arjuna. It is cumulative effect of one s past karma, which acts as an invisible force from within, replies Krishna. अथ क न प रय क त ऽय प प चरतत प र ष I अतनच छरन द धप व ष य बल हदव तनय न द त II A Krishna, why do people commit evil deeds, in spite of themselves, as if compelled by force? ---[Bhagavadgita, III-36] If Karma is performed with strong desires, anger, greed, infatuation etc. will only lead to strong residues, strengthening the ego. Which will ultimately compel one to perform such deeds again! Therefore, detach yourself from such fearful motives, says Krishna: क म एष क र एष र ग सम द भव I मह शन मह प प म द धवध य नममह व रर म II

3 3 Call it desire, call it anger,.. It is rajasik in content; it is man s greatest enemy; verily dangerous; it can lead to one s own downfall. Hence, handle it carefully! ---[Bhagavadgita, III-37] Krishna goes on further to classify the karmic residue into three categories : and types in the order of increasing stickiness; and consequently more difficult combat and control : म न द ध यत वन द नन यथ दश मल न च I यथ ल ब न व त गर स तथ त न दम व तम II The veil is of three types: like the smoke obscuring the flame ; dust covering the mirror; and like the mother s womb covering the baby! ---[Bhagavadgita, III-38] The implication of this classification is that, the karmic binding does not always form a hard destiny. The variety of karmic residue is like the smoke covering of the Flame; a little effort (a whiff of air) would clear it easily, and the flame will shine forth. In comparison, it takes considerable effort to clean a mirror of its deposit of dust. The variety is compared with baby in the womb of its mother; one needs to wait for it to mature; for any premature effort to abort the baby may prove to be counterproductive! 4.3 Karma : Purpose and Fruit Many of our activities are prompted by motives at the level of immediate purpose (objective outcome), and at the level of fruits resulting as a consequence of the karma. Fruits of karma implies the after effects accrued benefits, such as prestige, reputation, fame, popularity, networking, business development etc. which go beyond the defined purpose, and reverberate for a long time after the deed. A seedling is planted (in the form of karma; and the fruit results after a while when the plant has matured. The fruits of good karma are usually good things of life, but an attachment to those fruits are not necessarily uplifting from the karmic point of view. (There can also be karma where the two purpose and fruit are not separable). In either case, the karmic cycle operates us usual; if the purpose is dharmic (good) the karmic residue would be satwick (uplifting). The cycle will continue spiraling upwards (towards liberation), with increasingly greater freedom for the subject. If the purpose is adharmic, the residue would be accordingly daunting, and the performer would find himself in the middle of a harsher destiny. Therefore, the scriptures insist that karma is to be performed in the spirit of yajna, surrendering the fruits to God, so that one does not incur daunting karmic bondage.

4 4 The Creation is governed by the law the Law of Karma. Nobody is free from the spell of this Law, which grinds inexorably. One is free from the Law only when one liberates oneself and rises above the Creation. Only he who is completely absorbed in the Atman, who has no interest in the affairs of the world, he alone is free from the spell of karma, says Krishna : यस त व त मरततर व स य द त मत र प तश च म नव I आत मरय वच सरत ष टस तस य क य न द धवध यत II He who always revels in the Self, who is happy and content in the Self, he alone is free from the compulsions of karma. न व तस य क त न थ न क त न ह कश चन I न च स य सव र त ष कन द श चदथ व यप श रय II By performing karma he (realized soul) does not gain anything; by not performing karma he does not lose anything; he has no give and take relationship with the world. He alone is free from karma. ---[Bhagavadgita, III-17,18] However, in certain cases, even a liberated soul, may chose to function within the Law. Look at me says Krishna. I revel in that state, but yet, I am ceaselessly engaged in Karma for the benefit of the world : न म प थ न द स त कत व य त रत रष ल क ष ककरचन I न नव प तमव प तव य वत एवच कम ण II As for myself, I am under no compulsion to do karma in all the three worlds; there is nothing that I have not achieved (but would achieve through karma); but yet, I am ceaselessly engaged in karma all the time. ---[Bhagavadgita, III-22] Why so?

5 5 यहद नयह न वत य त कम ण यतन द र त I ममवत म न वत रत मन ष य प थ सव श II If I do not set a model of a diligent karma yogi, all mankind will be tempted to emulate my example!! 4.4 Karma Yoga उत स द य ररम ल क न क य कम च दहम I स करस य च कत स य म प अरयममम प र II If that happens, there will be confusion all round, and he world will collapse, leading to all round destruction! ----[Bhagavadgita, III-23,24] How to liberate oneself from the karmic cycle and realize ultimate goal of Moksha is a recurring theme in the Bhagavadgita. One way to achieve this, is by sublimating the motive behind the karma. Sri Krishna terms it as yajna : यज ञ थ त कम न रयत र ल क ऽय कम बर न I तदथ कम क रत य म क त स ग सम चर II Except those performed in the sublime spirit of yajna, all other karma lead to bondage. Therefore, Arjuna, perform karma in the spirit of yajna without attachment (to the fruits). ---[Bhagavadgita, III-9] Sri Krishna, urges that one should always perform karma with diligence to meet its defined purpose ( BG, II.50), but insists that yoga implies detachment from the fruits of karma (but not from the purpose of karma).

6 6 तस म दसक त सतत क य कम सम चर I असक त नय चरन कम परम प न तत प र ष II Therefore Arjuna, if you perform the relevant ( ) karma ceaselessly, without attachment to the fruits of karma eventually you will attain the Ultimate state. ---[Bhagavadgita, III-19] The fruits of karma are to be surrendered to the divine; that way leads to liberation. However, detachment to the fruits is not to be construed as detachment to the purpose of karma, warns Sri Krishna: कम ण य व ध क रस त म फल ष कद चन I म कम फलह त र म त स ग स त व कम ण II Claim (exercise) your right to perform karma; do it diligently, without attachment to the fruits. May this detachment to the fruits of karma, not lead to detachment to the karma itself! 4.5 Karma the fundamental Yoga ---[Bhagavadgita, II-47] The Bhagavadgita discusses several paths of Yoga Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Raja yoga to realize the ultimate reality. They can be practiced singly or together, depending upon one s own nature and choice. Even so, karma seems to play a fundamental role as nobody in this world is free from karma; And karmendriyas are the grossest of our faculties and therefore easiest to control. A sadhaka (practitioner) taking to the yogic path, should be wary of his own karmic residue which forms the tendencies and temptations of his own mind. The inevitable first step in yoga is to gain self mastery; and the easiest path to self mastery, happens to be through karma. Therefore, without karma (yoga), a sadhaka taking to the path of pure jnana, is unlikely to move afar, warns Sri Krishna. : न कम मन र र रन ष कर म य प र ष श न त I न च स यसन द व मसद धद ध समध गच छतत II

7 7 By eschewing (without performing) karma one cannot attain the Ultimate state of no work ); even the samkhya sadhakas cannot reach the final goal. ---[Bhagavadgita, III-4] Why so? Compelled by his karmic residue, his mind is unlikely to cooperate, turning him into a hypocrite.: कम न द र य ण स यर म य य आस त मनस स मरन I इन द र य थ न द धवम ढ त म ममथ य च र स उच यत II One who refrains from action, with his mind wallowing in base thoughts, is verily a fool and a hypocrite. ---[Bhagavadgita, III-6] Therefore, Karma yoga plays a special role aiding and augmenting the other yogic efforts.. It is karma that will inaugurate all other yogic paths : यन द स त वह य ण मनस तनयर म य रर त न I कम न द र य कम य गमसक त स द धवमशष यत II One who withdraws his mind from the senses and indulges in karma yoga using his karmendriyas is special indeed ---[Bhagavadgita, III-7] Whether Karma Yoga alone will suffice? Yes, says Sri Krishna: कम वहह स मसद धद धम न द स थत नक दय I ल कस ग रहम व द धप स पश यरकत मह मस II

8 8 Following the path of karma yoga (alone), Janaka and others have realized the ultimate Truth. Therefore, you too may pursue the path of karma yoga achieve the welfare of mankind and reach the final goal. ---[Bhagavadgita, III-20] Several paths can lead to the same goal. When one reaches the final destination all distinctions vanish; all karmic residue is burnt, and only the blazing fire of realization remains: यथ मस समम न द नन र स मस त क र त न I ज ञ न न द नन सव कम ण र स मस त क र त यथ II Like the blazing fire consumes the firewood and reducing it to ashes, the fire of knowledge ( ) consumes all karmic residues ( ). ---[Bhagavadgita, IV-37] Sri Krishna makes an emphatic assertion on the value and utility of the path of karma for spiritual growth at least in the initial stages. Karma is superior to karma sanyasaif detachment to the fruits of karma is beyond one s capacity, even so, one should indulge in karma with attachment (to the fruits of karma) which is better than karma sanyasa ( eschewing karma altogether). न ब द धद ध र द नय दज ञ न कम सङ धगन म I षय त सव कम ण द धवद व रय क त सम चरन II Do not create confusion among those who are attached to the fruits of karma. The learned should enthuse them to involve with greater vigor, gradually reforming their attitude (towards higher ideal). ---[Bhagavadgita, III-26] Either way, when one involves oneself in karma, he starts his journey is in the right direction spiraling upwards and eventually loosening the karmic bonds. (On the other hand, if one consciously refrains from karma, one will stagnate, possibly turning into a hypocrite). Therefore, says Krishna, karma is certainly superior to karma sanyasa..[ -- BG III-8.]

9 9 4.6 Fate and Freewill The concept of karma (karmic residue) presents the most knotty of all metaphysical questions (Sri Aurobindo) regarding the relation between Fate and Freewill. Evidently, it is not possible to address this question at the level of ordinary reasoning. Below we shall see a compilation of viewpoints of some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our times. Our past karma (karmic residue) determines our present status the circumstances and environment in which we find ourselves today, says Paramahansa Yogananda. No one other than ourselves is responsible for our present condition : It is mere subterfuge on the ego s part to plead helplessness in the face of difficulties. The root cause of our problems grow out of sight in the subconscious. We put down those roots (plant the seeds) ourselves, originally, by wrong deeds that we performed in the past. Today if anyone behaves badly towards us, it is him we blame for our hurt..... If our luck turns against us, we blame anything and anyone but ourselves. Yet it is we, by the magnetism projected by our own karma, who drew that hurtful behavior, or that rotten luck to ourselves --- [Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Reincarnation, p.32,33] Evidently, our future will be shaped by our past karma as well as our present karmic response to the circumstances that we face. In that sense, our free will has a role to play in determining our future. Says Sri Aurobindo: This question of free-will or determination is the most knotty of all metaphysical questions and nobody has been able to solve it for a good reason that both destiny and will exist and even a free-will exists somewhere; the difficulty is only how to get at it and make it effective.... A man is what his nature has made him and cannot do otherwise as his nature compels him. It is true in a sense, but not in the sense... that the ego-self can claim irresponsibility and impunity for itself in its works; for it has will and it has desire; and so long as it acts according to its will and desire, it must bear the reactions of its karma [Sri Aurobindo, Fate and Free-will, p.1] Associated with the concept of destiny, is the study of Astrology. Do the stars at the time of birth determine our future? Or at least, do they in the form of a chart indicate our future? To some extent the latter is true, says Sri Aurobindo. The constellation of stars is an indicator a pictograph

10 10 not a source of power that shapes our future. This implies that Astrology is not entirely deterministic; the future can be different from what it (astrological chart) indicates: Astrology? Many astrological predictions come true, quite a mass of them... But it does not follow that the stars rule our destiny; the stars merely record a destiny that has been already formed, they are a hieroglyph (pictograph), not a Force or... It is transmitting energy, not an originating Power... The stars are only indicators. The astrologers themselves say that there are two forces, Daiva and Purushakara, fate and individual energy; and individual energy can modify and even frustrate fate. Moreover, the stars often indicate several fate-possibilities; for example, one may die in mid-age, but if that determination can be overcome, one can live to be a predictable old age. Finally, cases are seen in which predictions of the horoscope fulfill themselves with great accuracy up to a certain age, then apply no more.. This often happens when the subject turns away from the ordinary to the spiritual life. ----[Sri Aurobindo, Fate and Free-will, p.18] Sri Paramahansa Yogananda endorses this viewpoint; says that one should do his best in the available circumstances and then surrender the fruits to God: Every circumstance in our lives, every characteristic, every habit, however much we now repudiate it, was something we ourselves created, whether recently or in the distant past. Each one is due to our use or misuse of the free choice God first bestowed on us. Blame no one for the evils that beset you. Accept responsibility to your own life, and whatever misfortunes you encounter. Do your best, with firm resolution, to eliminate the harmful tendencies in your own nature. Above all, go back to God. --- [Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Reincarnation, p.33 Karmic seeds fried in the fire of knowledge do not sprout, said Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the great sage of Dakshineshwar. Destiny is not mandatory; karma (karmic residue) is not inevitable, says Sri Paramahansa Yogananda. Make contact with God in meditation through any form of Yoga. Contact with God can destroy all seeds of karma: Immortal souls can only expect to find freedom by utterly destroying all seeds of earthly desires, through contact with God in meditation. Meditation reminds the

11 11 soul of the unending fulfillment in the immortal inheritance of bliss, and makes all desires for earthly ways unnecessary and, indeed, ridiculous [ Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Reincarnation, p.104] By contacting God through meditation, one can wash away all karmic residue. Even if one does not make effort (through Yoga) and choses to pass through the karmic cycle the law of Karma will only spiral him upwards towards God. This Law of Karma is a just law; its aim is reformation of the being, not punishment, says Sri Paramahansa Yogananda: One can escape the law of karma by identifying himself with God. Once he is able to do that,... he should remain divine by continuously forgiving and loving as God does. According to the law...a judge may sentence a young criminal to three years in reformatory school. But the judge also has the privilege to pardon the young offender if the youth repents... So according to the law of karma, a person who acts evilly must reap the consequences of his actions. But if that evil doer appeals to God for pardon by intense prayer and meditation, then God,,... can grant him amnesty from punishment. ----[ Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and reincarnation, p.34] The individual has the potential power to raise oneself above the karmic cycle, says Sri Krishna in the Bhagavadgita. In a resounding statement, Krishna urges Arjuna to take charge of his own destiny : उद धर द त मन त म न न त म नमवस दय त I आत म व नय त मन बर र त म व ररप र त मन II The onus for self-advancement or degeneration lies with one s own self. No external source is responsible. Therefore, you yourself are your best friend; and if you do not take responsibility for your rise you are your worst enemy! ---[Bhagavadgita, VI-5]

12 Divine Grace The Divine Grace is above the Law of Karma, says Sri Aurobindo. Grace is God s intervention in Creation: There are these three powers: (i) The Cosmic Law, of Karma. (ii) The Divine Compassion acting on as many as it can reach through the nets of the Law and giving them their chance (iii) The Divine Grace which acts more incalculably and also more irresistibly than the others. The Divine Grace it is not a universal Divine Compassion either, acting impartially on all who approach it and acceding to all prayers... It is a power that is superior to any rule, even to the Cosmic Law for all spiritual seers have distinguished between the Law and the Grace. Yet it is not indiscriminate only it has a discrimination of its own which sees things and persons and the right times and seasons with another vision... A state of Grace is prepared in the individual often behind thick veils by means not calculable by the mind and when the state of Grace comes, then the Grace itself acts [Sri Aurobindo, Fate and Free-will, p.29-30] When Grace acts, it simply dissolves karma, says Divine Mother : You say here that we are seized in the chain of karma, but some times when the Divine Grace acts, that contradicts... wholly, the Divine Grace wholly contradicts Karma; that (Grace) melts it (karma) as butter when put in the Sun Karma and Rebirth ---- [Divine Mother, Fate and Free-will, p.35] Karma and rebirth are the two faces of the same coin. The unresolved karmic residue is the cause of rebirth, says Sri Paramahansa Yogananda: God sent perfect souls to earth to behave like immortals calm, desireless, and ever happy both to watch the earthly moving pictures and to act in them. During the acting and watching of mundane moving pictures, however, should not develop attachments. Unless its material desires are cast off before death, the soul must return to another body in the earthly moving picture house in order to work out the desires born there. ----[ Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Reincarnation, p.86]

13 13 What we meet in life wealth or poverty, health or disease, knowledge or ignorance all have a karmic angle. What we meet in life is our destiny, which is the accumulated karmic residue; however, how we respond to the circumstances caused by our destiny, is our own free-will; and that response together with our karmic residue will decide our future, says Sri Paramahansa Yogananda: Babies who die in their mother s womb are usually suicide cases from before. They spurned life before, and in the process of rebirth they emanate spasms of latent repulsions of life, which derange the body so much that it dies in the embryo. Those who had acquired riches, health, prosperity, wisdom, or spirituality in the past lives are born with specific advantages from the beginning of their present lives. Likewise, those who created poverty, disease and ignorance through negligence in the past lives will meet those conditions from the very beginning of their lives ----[ Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Reincarnation, p.96] When the soul incarnates as a being, it is with the purpose of resolving its karmic bondage, and gaining experience for the purpose of spiritual growth. Usually, the soul makes its choice regarding the parents and location, to suit its purpose, says Sri Aurobindo:.., You must avoid a common popular blunder about reincarnation. The popular idea is that Titus Balbus is reborn as John Smith, a man with the same personality, character, attainments as he had in his former life with the sole difference that he wears a coat and trousers instead of a toga, and speaks in cockney English instead of Latin... This is not the case.... The soul comes into birth for experience, for growth, for evolution till it can bring the divine into Matter. It is the central being that incarnates, not the outer personality the personality is simply a mould that it creates for its figures of experience in that one life. In another birth it will create for itself a different life and career [Sri Aurobindo, Rebirth, p.1]: However, the previous experience remains in the form of impressions upon the subtle body; therefore after the birth, normally, the conscious mind does not remember the details of its previous birth, says Sri Aurobindo:...It is not the personality, the character that is of the first importance in rebirth it is the psychic being who stands behind the evolution of the nature and evolves with it. The psychic when it departs from the body, shedding even the mental and vital on its way to its resting place, carries with it the heart of its experiences not the physical events, not the vital movements, not the mental buildings, not the capacities or characters, but something essential that is gathered from them, what might be called the divine element for the sake of which the rest (of them) existed. That is the permanent addition, it is that that helps the growth towards the divine. ----[Sri Aurobindo, Rebirth, p.1]

14 14 In some cases, soul mates of one life-time continue to take birth together as a group; though their relationship to one another may be in an altered form: You say, relationships of one birth persist in successive births, the chances depending on the strength of the attachment. This is possible, but not a law as a rule, the same relationship would not be constantly repeated the same people often meet again on earth in different lives, but the relations are different the purpose of rebirth would not be served if the same personality with the same relations and experiences were incessantly repeated. ---[Sri Aurobindo, Rebirth, p.14] Do successive births always imply an evolutionary progression? Or could it be a regression? A man committing evil deeds in one life, will he become an animal in the next life, as a punishment for his crime? Normally not, says Sri Aurobindo. Note that the Law of Karma, is not a punitive, vindictive law, but a reformative law. Its purpose (and operation) is to advance the soul in the scale of evolution: There may be what seems to be retrograde movements but these are only like zigzag movements, not a real falling back, but a return of something not worked out so as to go on better afterwards. The soul does not go back to animal condition; but a part of the vital personality may disjoin itself and join an animal birth to workout its animal propensities there. There is no truth in the popular belief about the avaricious man becoming a serpent. These are popular romantic superstitions. ---[Sri Aurobindo, Rebirth, p.14-15] The period between the death and rebirth is the period of rest for the being a period of assimilation of the experience gained during the previous lifetime. Once the soul digests the experience, it is ready for the next birth. This period of rest may be of varying interval, says the Divine Mother :... Here I must tell you a very important thing: the psychic being can progress and form itself only in the physical life and upon Earth. As soon as it leaves the body it enters into a rest that lasts a long time according to its own choice and degree of development a rest for assimilation, for a passive progress so to say, a rest for passive growth which allows the same psychic being to pass on to new experiences and make more active progress After having finished one life, it chooses the environment where it will take birth, approximately the place where it will be born, the conditions and the kind of life in which it will be born and a very precise programme of experiences through which it must pass in order to make the progress it wants to make. ---[Divine Mother, Rebirth, pp. 6-7]

15 15 The period between death and rebirth, is used for assimilation of experience, and not in some grand paradise or in hell, as imagined by some people. The heaven and hell are only allegorical references; the real heaven or hell occur only in our normal life on Earth, says Paramahansa Yogananda: By wrong living one can create a physical and mental hell even worse than the fiery hell that vengeful people imagine for others after death. By good living one can create within himself a place even sweeter than heaven people imagine for themselves in the after death state.... Man, influenced by delusion, ascribes to the all loving God a vindictive spirit that creates hell and purgatories.... But the idea of eternal damnation for souls made in the image of God is untenable and should be exploded and banished as a superstition from the minds of men ----[Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Reincarnation, p.20] 4.9 The Cosmic Law The law of karma is a Cosmic Law, with a divine purpose, says Sri Aurobindo: What we are is a soul of the transcendent Spirit and Self unfolding itself in the cosmos in a constant evolutionary embodiment of which the physical side is only a pedestal... but the spiritual growth is the real sense and motive. What is behind us is the past terms of spiritual evolution...by constant rebirth we have developed.., and are still developing. What is in front of us is the greater potentialities, the steps yet unclimbed, the intended mightier manifestations.... What we have to do with ourselves... is to grow and open to greater significances of divine being, divine consciousness, divine power, divine delight... This is surely the Will in things which moves, great and deliberate, unhasting, un-resting, through whatever cycles, towards a greater and greater informing of its own finite figures with its own infinite Reality. ---[Sri Aurobindo, Rebirth, p.26-27]

16 16 References 1. Sri Aurobindo, Vyasa and Valmiki, Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Fate and Free-will, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Rebirth, Sri Aurobindo Society, Pondicherry, Paramahansa Yogananda, Karma and Re-incarnation, Ananda Sangha, Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi 6. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man s Eternal Quest, Self Realization Fellowship, Paramahansa Yogananda, The Divine Romance, Self Realization Fellowship, Gina Cerminara, Many Mansions :The Edgar Cayce story of reincarnation, Signet Book, X ----

17 17 APPENDIX Sri Krishna: कक कम ककमकम तत कवय प यत र म हहत I तत त कम प रवक ष य मम यत ज ञ त व म क षस श र त II कम नयद धप ब द धव य ब द धव य च द धवकम I अकम श च ब द धव य गहन कम गतत II When it comes to differentiating karma from akarma, even the learned scholars are confused. I will reveal to you the secret of karma the subtle differences between karma, vikarma and akarma by knowing which you can be free from bondage. Verily, inscrutable are the ways of Karma. Sri Krishna : **** ---[Bhagavadgita, IV-16,17] तस म त वममन द र य ण य द तनयर म य र रतष र I प प म न प र हहनय न ज ञ नद धवज ञ न न शनम II एव ब द ध पर ब द द व स स तभ य त म नम त मन I हह शत र मह ब ह क मर प द र सदम II Therefore, by restraining your senses gain control over the higher faculties, (mind, intellect) and destroy the seeds of sin. Knowing that the ultimate Reality is subtler than the intellect, purify and strengthen your faculties through restraint, destroy the formidable enemy called desire **** ---[Bhagavadgita, III-41,43]

18 18 Sri Krishna : यत प रद ध न द त तर त न य न सव ममद ततम I स वकम तमभ यच मसद धद ध द धवरदतत म नव II From which Source (God) all beings derive their energy, and which Source (God) pervades the whole Universe That can be realized by simply performing ones own naturally ordained karma (duty) with diligence. Subhashita: Subhashita: **** अज ञ कम ण मल पन द रत तज ञ कम न मलर म पतत I मलप यत रसन व क सद धप ष करवद यथ II Work hangs heavily on the ignorant; but not so on an adept. Ghee sticks to palm, not to the tongue. **** यथ न सहस र ष वत स गच छतत म तरम I तथ यच छक त कम कत रमन गच छतत II ---[Bhagavadgita, XVIII-46] In the middle of a thousand cows, the Son precisely identifies his Mother; likewise one s own Karma will track the doer without error! **** ---[Chanakya Niti, 13-15]