== BOON OR CURSE - DEPENDING ==
Namaskar,
A man at the peak of his career, with a good wife, social respect, and
financial power opts to carouse around with a young woman and risk
everything, thinking that he will never be caught.
A popular leader - a man of the people - grabs congressional control
only to turn his back on the masses and rule with an iron fist.
A pious woman who has led a simple life, gets hit by a bus when crossing
the street and loses both her legs.
A young man shocks everyone by stepping away from a life of "guaranteed
worldly success" in order to dedicate himself to a noble cause with
seemingly little rewards.
LIFE IS FULL OF EVENTS
So many things happen in life - good things and bad things, smart
choices and foolish ones. And it is all distinctly linked with the
expression of our samskaras - reactions from our past actions & past
lives, or yoga's theory of cause and effect.
For some, their good samskaras can be a gateway to liberation, while for
others their good samskaras can ricochet them onto the path to hell, if
they abuse the fruits of their pious past actions.
Good then does not always signify future greatness or liberation, and
bad does not mean terrible things. A man suffering from bad samskaras
may reflect more deeply and vow to lead a virtuous life.
All that can be said is that all samskaras - whether they be good ones
or bad ones - are binding, keeping one forever tied to the cycle of life
and death.
This letter investigates some of the many nuances of the ways of karma
and at the same time presents Baba's guideline for how to escape the
endless cycle or noose of action and reaction.
A FEW RULES OF THE GAME
While at some point or another we have all learned about karma theory -
let's take a moment to review some fundamental rules.
(A) Must Have Free Will to Create Samskaras
Only human beings can create samskaras, whether good or bad. Someone may
decide to steal a chocolate bar or a sports car, while another may
volunteer in a literacy center. By exercising our free will and making
life choices, we create our samskaras, or unexpressed reactions.
In contrast, animals cannot create any (new) samskaras because they do
not have free will. Everything they do is according to instinct, nature,
and the Cosmic operative principle, or prakrti. If a monkey bites a
small human baby, then that monkey will not incur any samskara.
The only thing that can be said is that that monkey may have been born
into animal life because of their previous bad samskaras from human
life, but during that animal life no new samskaras can be created.
From the time one first emerges from the Supreme Hub in the form of
fire or water, or wood etc up until one's highest expression of animal
life - i.e. along the path of saincara - one will not have any
samskaras. It is only during one's first human life - that first step
into the arena of pratisaincara - that samskaras get created based on
what one does.
One may then may bounce back and forth between various grades of human
and animal life, between pratisaincara, negative pratisaincara, and
saincara. It all depends upon how one exercises their free will when in
human form.
A despotic ruler will most assuredly be reborn as a lower being or even
as a piece of iron, depending upon the nature of their sins etc.
(B) Samskaras Carry Over From Life to Life
We must always remember that ours is a part life - we have been coming
and going from one life to the next for ions. We may be 50, or 35, or 71
years old, so unless this is our first human life, we are carrying
around a big bundle of samskaras from our past lives.
And that can take shape in so many ways and explain why a very good
person my undergo a terrible problem in life. It may seem totally
unfair, yet what they are undergoing may be the result of a samskara
from 2 or even 5 or 10 lives ago.
Thus there is no set time frame for when a Samskara will take
expression, nor is there an easy escape from those unexpressed reactions
- they have to take form.
Not even a man of extraordinary wealth can free himself from those
reactions. In addition, those samskaras are more than we can ever
undergo in one life - and in this life also we will create even more
samskaras.
Hence the cycle is unending: Birth to death and then rebirth, until one
is blessed to enter the path of sadhana. Even then it is not an easy
ride. It takes tremendous effort, coupled with His divine grace, to
achieve liberation.
So ours is a part life, linked with a whole chain of past lives and
hence old samskaras.
HOW GOOD SAMSKARAS LEAD TO BAD ONES
We all then enter this world with so much baggage - and just having good
samskaras alone does not ensure that one's movement will be proper.
Actually, it is usually those who are enjoying the fruits of their past
good actions who then inflict the most harm on others.
Most often it is due to the expression of our good samskaras that we
then create such a nasty pile of bad samskaras. The real culprit is our
false sense of vanity. Just see.
For most of us, our life choices do not dramatically effect entire
populations of people. Just a few people hold such positions - often due
to their good deeds in the past.
Because of their honesty or service in the past, in this life they have
taken on a high stature. And then what happens: Ego grows and grows.
They may begin to think that they have the world in the palm of their
hand, or feel that they are invincible etc. In that seemingly unbeatable
- yet precarious and vulnerable position - they may commit so many
wrongs that they will put themselves on the fast track to hell.
They may drop a bomb on an entire city or nation, or they may suppress
millions, or they may declare an entire people to be slaves. So many
things one may do under that false sense of vanity. In their blindness
they think that no harm can come their way, but in the due course they
will undergo each and every reaction. And so many times those harsh
reactions begin in this very life.
How many times have we witnessed those at the height of power fall to
the depths of hell within a few years. Their names are endless and come
in so many shapes and sizes: Mrs. Indira Gandhi, O.J. Simpson, Bernie
Madoff, Adolf Hitler, Christopher Reeve, Saddam Hussein, and the list
goes on and on.
Thus even if one has good samskaras from the past, that is not
necessarily a key for greatness. One may tumble at any moment if one is
not careful.
CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT NEEDED
All in all, we never know when a good or bad samskara may take
expression. There is no fixed time frame - it may be this life or the
next. Just a conducive environment is needed.
When we are young and feeling strong and healthy then we may only reap
our past good samskaras and our bad ones are just waiting for the proper
moment to come forth. A man in his youth may marry a beautiful woman
only to watch that woman run off with another man, or vice versa.
So many things can happen - it just depends on when the ground is fertile.
GOOD SAMSKARAS AS A BOON
And of course, one's good samskaras can lead one further along the path
of righteousness.
Baba says, "Vaedikii diiks'a' is to request God, request the Lord, to
show one the right path. And after a long time, when the Lord is
satisfied, He arranges for Ta'ntrikii diiks'a'. Ananda Marga diiks'a' is
Ta'ntrikii diiks'a'." (AV-3)
By Baba's grace, many of us have come onto the path of Ananda Marga due
to some proper effort in the past. Yet we all know, we must all put
forth the right effort to keep on this path. The moment we think that we
ourselves are great or the moment we look to material satisfaction for
our happiness, we may fall from the path.
Here the point then is that good samskaras are not just a liability such
as in the case of Mrs Gandhi or OJ Simpson etc, because of one's past
samskaras with proper feeling one can become a great sadhaka, as we see
in so many examples.
CLASSIC FAULTY APPROACH
The main problem comes when people think, "I will take the good
samskaras and Parama Purusa should take my bad ones."
This is when vanity, ego, lust, and all kinds of degenerative properties
take shape in the mind. Because that outlook is devoid of any service
mentality.
Then one asserts their free will in a negative direction. Most or
Hollywood, sports stars, and political leaders fall in this category.
Due to their past good deeds they got some qualification in this life,
yet due to ego they end up tumbling far, far below.
What they fail to realise is that getting human life again is not an
easy task. Again one will have to go through countless animals lives.
TAKE PHYSICAL EXPRESSION OR PSYCHIC EXPRESSION
So this whole entire samskara theory is quite complex. It may bring us
fame and fortune or it may remain hidden for decades and then crop up
one day, dramatically changing the course of our lives.
One other critical point is that samskaras may take physical expression
or psychic expression. At this point in the advanced societies, most
undergo mental torment and torture in the form of anxiety, stress,
depression, or so many other psychic ailments.
Whereas in the poor countries, people suffer in the material sphere but
not necessarily in the mental realm.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, He has blessed us by bringing us on the path. We
understand that we this world is not our eternal abode and it cannot
offer us endless bliss. Rather we are to become one with Him - in this
very life itself. That is our aim; that is our destiny. Yet we have so
many samskaras.
So in sadhaka life, our samskaras ripen very quickly for they must get
expressed in this life itself - as there will not be future lives. So we
must undergo a huge number of reactions. Even then, they cannot all take
expression. There just is not enough time.
Baba says, "So Parama Purus'a says to His devotees, “Just see how
difficult it is for you to carry such a heavy load of sam'skaras. You
are small children. The load weighs more than you. How long will you be
able to carry such a burden? You have accumulated so many sam'skaras
that you will have to carry the load for many lives, for thousands of
years. One life will certainly be insufficient. So I have a proposition.
Give me the entire load of your accumulated sam'skaras. I will carry it
for you”.
"The devotees reply, “How can we possibly give our heavy burden to You?
No, we must carry the load ourselves. We will sing songs and dance for
you, but we will never give you such a heavy load of sins”."
"But Parama Purus'a knows that His dear devotees cannot carry such a
heavy load of sins. If they do not give away the load it will be a
constant strain for them. So what does Parama Purus'a do in such
circumstances? He takes their sins without their permission. If someone
takes things from others without their permission, what is it called? It
is called theft. Thus, as Parama Purus'a takes the load of sins from the
devotees without their permission, He is certainly a thief “Harati
pa'pah yah sah Harih.” One who steals others sins is called Hari. So,
one of His names is Hari." (AV-8)
Namaskar,
Gaotam
Note 1: MANY ANGLES TO THE ISSUE
There are many angles and aspects to this our samskara theory. In the
above letter, only certain elements were touched on. Others should write
in with more points.
Or read these letters on this topic:
1) Remarkable Murder Story Told by Baba About How Samskaras Take Expression
2) Whether a Long Life is the Best Life
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Deserts Needed
Baba says, "Ecologists claim that some deserts are essential for keeping
the global ecology in a balanced state. The high day temperatures and
the cold night temperatures that occur in desert regions create a useful
effect. The hot, dry desert air rises and creates a vacuum which sucks
in cool air, generating a chain reaction. Moist air is sucked in from
the sea and formed into clouds which then rain on the land. If deserts
vanish entirely, the overall rainfall will be reduced." (PNS-16, p.37)
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