The Dynamics of Karma

Hari Om. Namaskaar. 

Extremely sorry for disappearing and sincere gratitude to all of you who chose to patiently wait. For various reasons, I could not get back to continue the Satsang as planned. But, now we will move ahead. 

We had seen earlier the story of the Mendicants and certain thoughts were posted on the implications of the same. 

For a quick revision, visit http://www.seek-the-eternal.blogspot.in

Now we will actually enter the text Upadesa Saar…

Ramana Maharshi was one of those teachers who called a spade a spade. He wasn’t the types to garnish the truth with convenient interpretations. So, he states in the very beginning the nature of Karma, and it is worth being warned that this text will shatter many of our longstanding notions!  

Here it is very important to understand that the discussion is not yet about Karma Yoga. It is about Karma (actions). 

And it is extremely important that we understand this thoroughly because our entire lives we live addicted to Karma. There is a certain fascination, a kind of an irresistible temptation to indulge in action all the time. That is the reason sitting quietly is so difficult for most of us. 

Even when the scriptures tell us to sit quietly, we turn around and ask: Ok, but what to “do” after sitting quietly?

It is funny, but what we do not realize is that we are all human “beings” and not really human “doings”!!! 

So, because we are all such slaves of action, we need to understand action. 

For Karma to happen, 5 factors are essential: 

Karma (the action by itself) + Kartrtva (doership) + Karana (means of doing) + Karmaphala (Results of action) + Kartaa (doer of the action)

When all these 5 are there, then Karma is said to happen. 

The interesting thing is that we all want favorable results (karmaphala) in life. 

For the sake of better or other results, we keep on doing Karma, because we believe that Karma decides our results and that Karma therefore is supreme. 

But, Karma by itself is inert. And so is Kartrtva (doership), Karana (means) and Karmaphala (results). Due to lack of sentiency (life factor), by themselves, none of these can shape the karmaphala. 

The only one who can do so, is actually the single sentient factor in this complex mechanism of Karma - the Doer or the Kartaa. 

Now the question is: Who is the doer? 

The doer is not you and me as we commonly understand. In fact, if the Lord’s grace was not there, you and I could have not managed to do something as simple as breathing!!! So, the actual Doer in that sense is the Lord. 

So Ramana says that Karma being inert cannot be supreme and thus must not be given the exaggerated value we give it. Instead, we need to realize that results are gained by the will of the Supreme Doer - the Lord Himself, and none else.

It does not imply that the Lord decides our results. The Lord is like the Maths Teacher. When we are asked what is 2+3 and we write 6, the teacher gives us 0 marks. But it is not actually the teacher who is giving us the marks. The law of arithmetic is that 2+3 is not 6. The teacher just delivers the result in accordance to the laws of maths and as per the answer written. 

Similarly, God only gives us the results in accordance to the laws of karma as per the actions we perform. 

But, we have no say in the result. The law will decide it, the Lord will imply it. We can only do Karma by His grace. 

But no inert Karma in the world is more powerful than the Lord who is the doer of all Karma. Hence it is important to surrender to the Lord and not to Karma itself. 

Also, the entire mechanism of Karma is governed by the Laws of Karma. Whenever there are laws, any intelligent person would ask: Who made these laws? and Who makes them work? 

That Supreme Power which created the very laws of Karma and ensures that the laws continue to function, is the Lord Himself. We can call Him by any other name if we do not like the word “God”. But in that sense, the Lord, or whatever we choose to call it, is the supreme authority in the matter of Karma. And since Karmaphalas are the very fabric of our life’s experiences, the Lord is the supreme authority in our life too! 

THINK! 

But what is the harm if we don’t believe in the Lord? What’s wrong in being a Karma-holic? We will discuss in the next post! 

TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON VERSE 1 OF UPADESA SAAR.