A keen learner, following me for years, has asked me to throw light on a very interesting philosophical question confronting his thought plane: “Can karmas accrued in this life be eradicated or nullified by faith, devotion, mantras, and prayersIJ In my understanding, fate can be changed provided it is outside the ambit of accrued karmas from the past life. In other words, can the karmaphala of bad deeds done in the present birth be nullified through prayaschit (penance), mantras, and prayers in this lifeIJ” To put his question in simple words: “Are we really slaves to our destiny or we could shape it by exercising our power of free willIJ” The question deserves due attention to resolve this dilemma confronting a large majority.
To find an answer, the question needs to be looked at on three grounds: First, the premise on which the theory of karma stands. Second, how does karmic carry over from the past, which defines the course of destiny, come into effectIJ Third, the chemistry of mind, which drives all actions on the part of a being. Remember, our life is bound by cause-effect chain. Any effect has to have a cause behind. And the effect, in turn, becomes the cause of next course of action to follow with related effect thereto. This way, we invariably remain trapped in the self-created labyrinth of never ending cause-effect chain. This chain gets carried over even to the next successive lives – from one birth to the other – as would the theory of reincarnation imply.
The question now is: Why are only human beings bound by cause-effect chainIJ In this context, it is pertinent to note that all living organisms, but for human beings, have no choice than to strictly follow the pre-laid nature driven design parameters underlying their lives, and with no scope for making any exception. And the fact that they do not perform any wilful act, there remains no scope for accrual of any karmaphal to them.
On the contrary, human beings are armed with the ‘power of free will’, which enjoins upon them with the privilege to guide their actions by choice and discrimination. Evidently, imperative to this empowerment tool is the call to own responsibility for the choice that one makes. Also, when there is choice-option in hand, it carries equal probability of both use and misuse. Ostensibly, therefore, one becomes due for consequences of the choices made. To sum up, the cause for being beholden to cause-effect chain arises out of the privilege of enjoying the freedom to make choices.
If the above script has a meaning, would it not be fair to reason out that the privilege of making a choice would also carry the scope to make such choices as could interfere with and modify the imprints of doings and un-doings in the pastIJ Now, suppose that a cause is conscientiously created purported to modify the imprints of past doings, would it not modify the destiny implications to followIJ HowIJ It is a different question altogether, which will be taken up later.
To make things clear further, it needs to be first understood and underscored that in terms of nature’s design, there remains a continuum in time in space. In this scheme of things, doings in the past culminates in the present moment, and which, in turn, sets the premise on which the next moment takes off. In a way, it will not be unfair to state that the present moment carries in seed form a probable blueprint of how we are expected to steer our lives in the emerging times. So, the course of life needs to be seen in continuity, not simply covering the goings in the present life but also the imprints of those carried over from the past life.
It may not be out of place to mention here that human course of life, going through all the twists and turns in the way, runs through successive cycles of birth and death. It is something like water flow emanating from snow-bound Mountain runs down the stream till it meets the ocean, evaporates all through its course, and then rains back into the water stream once again. All through the journey of life, a being, goes through the course of continued learning and unlearning. On the way, one acquires varied knowledge and skill sets, virtues and attributes, also picks up lot of negative imprints coming as they may with lot of unpleasantness one meets, and ends up with lot of unfulfilled desires. The issue continues.
The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at G-5, Basement, Jungpura Extension, New Delhi 14 Tel: 9818037273/ 24310031 Email: pioneerqueries@bharatastro.com Website: www.bharatastro.com
