Karma – Some Thoughts

Most motivational speakers stress on I Can and that is true to some extent but the character we are born with is unique does not allow us to think the same way. We all know that body is just a medium. The driving force is something else. Some call it mind but Hindus say it is something beyond mind.

But for common understanding let us say that unless and until the mind is fully engaged in it, unless there is a spirit the work can’t be done. It should be noted that the discussion is only about work and not the results. When I Can is seen as achieving results the philosophy crashes.

This is what Krishna is telling Arjuna. Krishna warns him that while Arjuna should do his Karma, he should not be looking for the results. What he should give is the best of his efforts. Results do not depend on his efforts alone; therefore the results do not belong to him. There might be other people involved who may or may not be trying their best to get the results.

In my opinion, not only the results of the efforts but the efforts are also not in our hands. Several times it happens that you plan in the best possible way for an interview or a meeting and the things just go the other way. Parents try their best to educate their children but the children think the other way. Father wants his son to become CA but the son wants to become an actor.

Tulsidas says, “होइहि वही जो राम रचि राखा", which means whatever happens, has already been decided. So, when Vibhishana tells Hanuman that saints bless ordinary minds but without Rama’s blessings that is not possible. When we do not even know who we are going to meet and how our next second is going to be, how can we be the masters of our Karma?

There are examples of people who succeeded after several failures but not all people are like that. Not all people are destined to be successful. When quoting examples, most people like quoting the best people and give all the credit to their efforts but they forget that in many (not all) cases, an external support or internal (intuition kind of) that appears out of nowhere just in the right time opening the doors of success for that person.

Astrology is very clear in this respect. Every person is born with a character and he will behave like that. He will make his decisions like that. Nature has divided people into three gunas and most people behave according to one of them. Then there are graha dashas (planetary periods) which influence the thought process and therefore the day to day activities of the native. We keep changing throughout the life journey and this is indicated in the birth chart.

Whether we accept or not, every move is already decided.

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