Karma is suggested to be of three namely Sanchita*1,
Prarabdha*2 and Agami*3. It has to have a Kartha (Doer) and his Kartritva Bhava
(Emotion of Doer-ship). Karma is not that of Deha (Body) it is Achetana (Insentient)
without Chaitanya (Consciousness). As long as there is Dehatma Buddhi (Body
Identity) Karma sticks on. Transcending the Body Identity one becomes a Jnani. Does
a Jnani not need his body??? Yes, he does but only as a vehicle to manoeuvre
him in the journey of life.
How does a Jnani deal with Karma???
We all are told that Jnana (Awareness) is Agni (Fire)
that burns away all Karma (Resulatant Fruits). Sanchita and Agami will be burnt
away for a Jnani but what happens to the Prarabdha???
In one of the Pravachanas (Discourse) I heard the propounder
say, “Jnanagni sarva karmani bhasma kurute” (The fire called Knowledge burns
off all Resultant Fruits). This is actually what Sri Krishna tells Arjuna in
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 verse 37. He continued to justify with an interesting analogy:
Suppose a man having three wives dies, is it wise to say that his first and
second wives are widows and the third is not? So accordingly for a Jnani who is
no longer a Kartha and hence all the three, Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami no longer exist for him.
Though the speaker gave a very good explanation,
however as far as my knowledge on Karma Siddhanta, Prarabdha has to be endured and so Jnana
can burn Sanchita and Agami leaving Prarabdha alone.
Now I was in a fix, does a Jnani remain helpless to
his Prarabdha then??? Is he unable to subdue his Prarabdha???
Just as I had these kinds of thoughts I remembered
the words of Sri Krishna in the previous verse where He compares Jnana
(Awareness) to Plavaka (Boat). Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “When you are situated
in the boat of knowledge, you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries.”
So well Sri Krishna has cleared the case of
Prarabdha to Arjuna first in verse 36 by saying, Jnana is a boat with which you
can transcend Prarabdha, which is inevitable. Jnana helps the seeker to go
beyond the turmoil that the Prarabdha Karma has in store. The Jnani is aware
that his body functions for which it has taken its birth and will enjoy and
endure all that it has to. From the Jnani point of view it is only the Self
which manifests in such variety taking various bodies as vehicles so Prarabdha
does not affect him. In these two verse 33 and 37 in the chapter 4 which deals
with Jnana Yoga (Incantation of Knowledge) Sri Krishna gives us all the clarity
on our Karma Phalas. With this Jnana one can take part in Karma (Action)
without much of a bother.
*1 Sanchita - Store house of the Resultant fruits of
our Actions from all our past many lives.
*2 Prarabdha - The stored Resultant fruits from our Sanchita
store that are ripe and we have to bear its impacts be it enjoyable or remorseful.
*3 Agami Karma - The Actions performed action now in
this life which is a new load added to Sanchita store.
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