Today I was watching Mahabharata on TV. Today's episode was about Krishna guiding Kalyavan towards his (Kalyavan's) death. For dummies like me who are wondering who Kalyavan was.. He was a bad man.
Arjuna is perplexed at Krishna, who instead of fighting Kalyavan, actually withdraws towards a cave.
Krishna explains to Arjun why he maneuvered Kalyavan into a cave where a Rishi was doing Tapas completely covered by a cloth. Kalyavan, who has sworn to kill Krishna, thinks that it's Krishna who is hiding under the cloth and kicks the person inside the cloth cover, thus waking up the Rishi who, in his wrath, kills Kalyavan.
Krishna explains that this is fate, that Kalyavan was fated to die this way. True, perhaps. God of course created all of us and is omniscient. He knows what has happened and what will happen to every thing and living being in the universe(s).
If I wrote a software program, I would probably know the meaning of each statement and perhaps even know how efficient each part of the program and which part would consume a lot of resources and so on.
But then if I start ascribing piety and evil to each component of the program, it is weird. I created the program - I am responsible for how each part of the program performs. I cannot distance myself and say "this is evil".
If destiny is true, how can we ever ascribe good and evil to people around us? We are destined to behave in a particular way. People are not responsible for what they are destined to do. Our behavior itself, good or bad, is an "Act of god".
How do people believe in destiny (and hence, in absence of free will) and also simultaneously believe that some people are good and others are evil and that they are responsible for what they are?
I am surprised - how does Krishna believe in this fallacy? He is supposed to be knowledgeable, if not, an avatar of God.
I am shaking my head. Some things don't seem to make sense.
Quote from http://cicn.vanderbilt.edu/images/news/psycho.pdf:
Quote from http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/intro.asp#.VSE5ltyUdrw:
Hmmm. BR, What do I make of this?
Additional reading:
Quote from http://cicn.vanderbilt.edu/images/news/psycho.pdf:
"Gage’s story became a classic of neuroscience because it revealed that behavior, which seems a matter of personal will, is fundamentally biological."
Quote from http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/intro.asp#.VSE5ltyUdrw:
"Everyone emerges from childhood with one of the nine types dominating their personality, with inborn temperament and other pre-natal factors being the main determinants of our type. This is one area where most all of the major Enneagram authors agree—we are born with a dominant type. Subsequently, this inborn orientation largely determines the ways in which we learn to adapt to our early childhood environment. It also seems to lead to certain unconscious orientations toward our parental figures, but why this is so, we still do not know. In any case, by the time children are four or five years old, their consciousness has developed sufficiently to have a separate sense of self. Although their identity is still very fluid, at this age children begin to establish themselves and find ways of fitting into the world on their own."I had shared these thoughts with BR, a friend of mine about a month back. I got a reply today. I am posting the same here..
The other day i did not answer 2 or 3 of your questions. (1) Destiny and Freewill. (2) The very first creation by God. (3) Our actions - God's or ours?
(1) What you meet in life is Destiny. How you meet it is Freewill. Destiny may or may not be subject to change. It is the choice of the individual but however it is, it is predestined only. An illustration-In a temple, people receive "prasad" at the end of their prayers Irrespective of its taste,it is consumed by one and all WITHOUT COMMENTS. The reason being that it is considered as God's Blessing.Similarly,our experiences in life are 'prasad' only. Whether they are favorable or unfavorable to us, they have to be consumed (swallowed if they are unpleasant) WITHOUT COMMENTS. They are His Blessings only, some in disguise, for unknown reasons. For one with a correct understanding, a life full of sorrow will not anger him/her because he/she knows that whatever happens IS for their ultimate good. (2) As followers of Sri Aadi Sankaracharya who propagated Advaita philosophy, we all are part of (Ansh, in sanskrit) The One and only Reality. According to this philosophy, the Reality or Truth is only One Consciousness or Awareness. There is no duality meaning creation, world etc. is only a myth. Even the Trinity- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are CREATED because of the will of The One Supreme Being. This Supreme Being is beginningless and endless, birthless and deathless. Hence, the question of the first creation does not arise at all. But even then, we have been given the names of the first couple in Brahma's creation as Manu and Satrupa. It can be taken that our presence here is because of them who were the first couple after creation to beget progeny.
(3) Whatever are one's experiences in a lifetime is according to the doctrine of karma.The law of karma is the application of cause and effect in this world. One's happiness or suffering are the inevitable consequences of actions in a previous life. Similarly, actions performed in this life determine those of the next. Hence, the pains of this life are self-inflicted, they have to be accepted with calmness and resignation.Thus one is free to rise or fall in their evolution.If we learn to live rightly here, we are spared grievous suffering in a future existence on whichever plane we may land. The rewards and punishments are not by the whims of God, which most of us believe to be.". I reap what I sow." It applies equally to one and all without even a trace of partiality. God is not responsible for our actions, He gives results to actions governed by the law. Hence He is responsible for the results of actions.
Another clarification;
Sri Krishna is considered to be 'Poornaavataar' among all Incarnations, meaning, A complete Divine Incarnation-human +divine at its fullest. He also behaved in compliance to the Supreme, not according to His wishesJust as we worship our own religion but respect other religions as well, just as we love our own mother but respect others' mothers as well, we must adore our favourite deity without an aversion for other deities (of other religions too)..
Hmmm. BR, What do I make of this?
Additional reading:
Dear Calf Tummy
ReplyDeleteHope my explanation adds few info.
Blessed to be guided by our Guruji, Once I asked similar inter-related questions.
1. We reap what we do
2. All deeds originates from thought and thought is driven by Karma. Past Karma fruit initiates present thought/actions. Its never ending vicious loop.
3. Sanskrit saying :- "Tena vina trunamapi nachalathi"-- Single grass cannot move without HIS (lord's) will
Hence which is the source of result? Karma OR buddhi Or Lord Himself.
Guruji's simplified explanation for my little brain processing power :-
"Tena vina Trunamapi Nachalathi"... Yes nothing moves without HIS will...Means its in broader sense, that every object in nature has their own traits/properties/methods. Like inevitable birth, death, nature of rock, living/non living, direction of sun rise or sets. They are all in broad sense that can never be changed.
But human being is born with special gift of mind - thinking capacities and influence surroundings with his will. All his actions are like free animal in sanctuary with boundary lines as HIS major nature rules/wills.
Hence if we do any thing, we are bound to get action result within these boundaries.
Extended my question:"then how to get out of past fruits Or avoids its influence on future and future generation"
Guruji explained : " As man has the will, once he realizes past deeds of self or ancestor effecting present, the we can always do best effort to be in right path to undergo past effect peacefully and reduce chain reaction of creating new bad deeds. Hence Effort is always in individual hands rest left to Almighty"