--Statements below contradict the testimony of Ramakrishna. He stated that he's having another incarnation, to commence 200 years after his death. This would entail a whole new venue of agendas for mankind, as we head into a true "Heaven on Earth", with TM (and other objectives) made accessible to everybody. Thus, Enlightended people can spin a whole new web of karma for mankind if they desire, even if they are free of it themselves.
- In [email protected], akasha_108 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The following article: i) extends the categores of Karma posted by Vaj > a bit ago (from deFouw and Svoboda), ii) clarifies (perhaps) the prior > discussion of videha-mukti and death, and ii) addresses the perenial > question on FFL of why some gyani's act in non-gyani fashion (as > conceptualized by non-gyanis). > > -------------------------- > http://www.mudgala.com/articles/gyani_actions.html > > In this day and age, when it is normal practice to evaluate not only > students, but even professors and our peers (peer-review), we find > ourselve in the business of judging those we take to be gyanis. > > Often, we find them doing things that are not "gyani-like". Of course, > we define what a gyani should be like as we wish, without regards to > shastra. > > In particular, we all know that gyanis are beyond likes and dislikes. > Yet, we sometimes feel that they act like the common man. They seem to > get angry, or feel sad. How do we explain this? > > We need to understand the nature of karma. > > Karma > > There are three kinds of karma: > > 1. Prarabdha - Action from past births that have led to the current > birth. These karmas are only exhausted when the doer experiences them. > > 2. Sanchita - Action from past births which are set to fructify in > future births. If we take another birth, these karmas will fructify. > For gyanis, who will not take another birth, these karmas have no effect. > > 3. Aagaami - The karmas performed after one becomes a gyani. These > are not reaped by the gyani, but by mankind in general. Thus, when we > say that a swami is performing good for mankind, this is exactly true. > In Tattwa-bodha, we are told that a gyani's good karmas go to his > well-wishers, and bad karmas go to his ill-wishers. > > Thus, two of the three kinds of karma, aagaami & sanchita karma have > no effect on the gyani. This is because the aagaami karma is > experienced by mankind, and sanchita karma has no opportunity to > fructify since the gyani does not take another birth. Thus, after the > dawn of knowledge, a gyani continues to interact with the world so > long as prarabdha karma remains. > > > Prarabdha Karma and Gyanis > > The nature of prarabdha karma is brought up by Shankaracharya in his > Vivekachudamani: > > Like an arrow released towards its target, the karma begun before the > dawn of knowledge (prarabdha) is not destroyed by gyana. 454. > > Now, we can understand the following verses from the famed Panchadashi. > > Once he is convinced of the unreality of the world, a knower, with > mind undisturbed, allows his prarabdha karma to wear out, and engages > himself in worldly affairs accordingly. 7-131. > > Do not fear irregularity when the wise engage themselves in actions > according to their Karma. Even if it happens, let it be; who can > prevent the karma? 7-132. > > In the experience of their prarabdha karma, the enlightened and the > unenlightened alike have no choice; but the knower is patient and > undisturbed, whereas an ignorant man is impatient and suffers pain and > grief. 7-133 > > If by the force of his prarabdha karma, a wise man is compelled to > enjoy the fruits of desires, he does so with indifference and great > reluctance like a man who is impressed for labour. 7-143. > > Once the prarabdha karma is exhausted, the seer either attains > videha-mukti (i.e. death), or, he is in constant one-ness with the > paramatma. Thus, prarabdha karma is a great blessing to the world, as > the world can benefit when the gyani interacts with it. If prarabdha > karma were burned up in the fire of gyana, the only medium of teaching > from these great masters would be pure silence. > > Types of Gyanis > > Thus, it is also possible to grade gyanis based on the amount of > interaction with the world. Those with larger interaction with the > world have a larger reservoir of this karma to exhaust. Swami > Chandrashekara Bharati brings this out beautifully (VC 459). They are > graded, in ascending order of superiority: > > 1. One who has adopted sannyasa for the fruition of his gyana, and > abides in sattwa guna. He is a brahmavit. > > 2. One who gets out of his samadhi of his own volition, by the > force of his own karma. Happiness and sadness pertain to him. He is a > brahmavidarah. > > 3. One who is responsive when awakened by others. When awake, he is > connected with the prarabdha karma. He is a brahmavidariyan. > > 4. One who has reached the transcendant, and is unresponsive even > when awakened by others. His prarabdha karma is exhausted, and thus, > has no effect on him. He is a brahmavidvarishthah. > > Madhusudana Saraswati says that a tattva-gyani (knower of the truth) > may not be a jivan-mukta (liberated while living). The yogi of the > highest order is one who is both a tattva-gyani and a jivan-mukta. > However, he also clarifies, that there is absolutely no doubt that > both classes of gyanis will reach videha-kaivalya. i.e. liberation > upon the falling of the body. (BG 6.36) > > Gyanis and Prarabdha Karma > > What is the nature of the gyanis interaction with the world when > prarabdha karma is in play? Swami Vidyaranya quotes the Gita in the > Panchadashi: > > O Arjuna, your own karma, produced by your own nature, compels you to > do things, even though you may not want to do them. B.G 18.60 > > The Ashtavakra Gita gives us a perfect example: > > Like a dry leaf blown about by the winds of prarabdha karma from > previous lives, the desireless, independant, free, liberated person > moves about. > > The gyani is compelled to interact with the world, as is his nature > formed over a multitude of previous births, without attachment to > them. Since they have no effect on the gyani, and since there is no > doer-ship attached to it, there is no fault in this. > > The illusion of action > > After all, it is us (the ignorant) who superimpose action on the > gyani. In reality, the gyani does nothing, so there is nothing for us > to judge. > > He ... does nothing, even if he be acting vigorously in the eyes of > the world. AG 19.19 > > It may be difficult for us to see inaction in the multitude around us, > but thankfully, we have an entire vedanta tradition designed to take > us there. All of us strive to become yogis of one kind or another, and > as the Gita puts it: > > He who recognizes inaction in action, and action in inaction is a > yogi. BG 4.18. > > Conclusion > > The gyanis move about in accordance to their prarabdha karma. Let us > stop judging them. Let us learn from them actively, so that we may > develop our own sanchita karma. Let us praise them, so that we may > benefit from their positive agami karmas. > > Sources > > * [AB] Swami Tejomayananda. Atma Bodha. > * [AG] Ashtavakra Gita > * [BG] Swami Madhusudana Saraswati. Bhagavad Gita. trans. Swami > Gambhirananda. > * [PA] Swami Vidyaranya. Panchadashi. trans. Swami Swahananda. > * [VC] Swami Chandrashekara Bharati. Viveka Chudamani. trans. P. > Sankaranarayanan. > > > ---------------------------------- > > > > Per this framwork, if a gyani had some odd sexual and business karma, > the unfoldment of such could look bizzare to onlookers. But it is not > volitional nor stemming from unresolved vasanas needs). its "taking it > (Prarabdha karma) as it comes." > > Further, if a guru takes on students with odd Prarabdha karma, the > teacher might construct what appear to be quite odd exercises for the > students to pursue, to accelerate the burning up of Prarabdha karma > which is non-conducive for the transmission of knowledge -- enabling > the students to be more pure teachers -- and maximizing the > generation of benificial Aagaami karma for the benefit of mankind. > > MMY appears to be a brahmavidariyan, one who is responsive when > awakened by others. Thus he is connected with the prarabdha karma. > Due to his apparent rapid attainmet of gyani from the blessing of Guru > Dev, it is POSSIBLE that he has / had remaining substantial amounts of > worldly prarabdha karma - including sexual, and this has unfolded "in > front of him". 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