Karma and Karuna

Yada yada hi dharmasya
 glanirbhavati bharata |
Abhyutthanam-adharmasya 
tadatmanam srijamyaham | |

Whenever dharma declines, I restore it and put down the forces which cause the decline, by assuming a form.

Paritranaya sadhunam 
vinasaya cha dushkritam |
Dharma-sansthapa-narthaya
 sambhavami yuge yuge | |

I am born again and again in every crisis in order to protect the good, punish the wicked, and restore dharma.

(Verses from Bhagavad-gita)

Everyone is now seeking comfort and pleasure; that is the be-all and end-all. If you tell a man that he can eat whatever he likes and as much as he likes, he is delighted; if you add that he might develop, as a consequence, some illness or other, he will treat you as an enemy. No regimen or control is popular. But, strength is derived only from control, from restraint, from regulation. Man becomes tough and capable of endurance only if he welcomes hardships. Struggle, and you get the strength to succeed. Seek the basis for the seen, in the unseen. The tall skyscraper has a deep base reaching into the earth. This seen world has, as its base, the unseen Paramatma; your body is but the vehicle through which you can search, investigate, and discover that base.

I Have To Reveal The Worth Of Vedas

The body is the instrument for doing karma; the Sastry said that buddhi (intellect) is shaped by karma — "Buddhi karmanusaarini"; japa and dhyana will purify the buddhi and make it an instrument for self-realisation and for winning grace. The warmth of divine grace will melt all ajnana away; you can win it by engaging yourself in good deeds. Do the karma for which you are best fitted, which is your sva-dharma (one’s duties that accord with one’s nature); do it without complaint, without any malingering. That is the principle of varnashrama dharma (duties of social groups and stages of life).

India was the home of peace and prosperity when this was followed by rich and poor alike; but now, the land is plunged in darkness and confusion. Therefore, another Avatar has come, for teaching people the dharma which they have forgotten. Rama, Krishna, and other Avatars had to kill one or more individuals, who could be identified as enemies of the dharmic way of life, and thus restore the practice of virtue. But now, there is no one fully good, and so, who deserves the protection of God? All are tainted by wickedness, and so, who will survive if the Avatar decides to uproot?

Therefore, I have to correct the buddhi, by various means; I have to counsel, help, command, condemn and stand by as friend and well-wisher to all, so that they may give up evil propensities and, recognizing the straight path, tread it and reach the goal. I have to reveal to the people the worth of the Vedas, the Shastras, and the scriptural texts, which lay down the norms.

The easiest path to self-realisation is the surrender of the ego, sharanagati. Arjuna surrendered and so, the war in which he was engaged was transformed into a Yajna, a spiritual exercise! Daksha performed a Yajna; but he did not surrender; he was so full of egoism that he slighted God! So, his Yajna was transformed into a war reeking with hate. Do not pit your tiny ego against the Almighty; leave it to His Will and you will have lasting peace.

Grace Can Countermand All Effects Of Karma

You might say that the karma of the previous birth has to be consumed in this birth and that no amount of grace can save man from that. Evidently, someone has taught you to believe so. But I assure you, you need not suffer from karma like that. When severe pain torments you, the doctor gives you a morphine injection and you do not feel the pain, though it is there in the body. Grace is like the morphine; the pain is not felt, though you go through it! Grace takes away the malignity of the karma you have to undergo.

You know there are dated drugs that are declared ineffective after a certain date; well, the effect of karma is rendered null, though the account is there and has to be rendered! Or, the Lord can save man completely from the consequences, as was done by Me to the bhakta whose paralytic stroke and heart attacks I took over some months ago, in the Guru-purnima week! It is wrong to say the "Lalata likhitam" (what is written on the forehead, i.e., fate) cannot be wiped out; that what one has earned in previous births must be consumed in this birth. Grace can countermand all that; nothing can stand in its way. It is the grace of the Almighty, remember.

Of the Avatars, some are for a definite limited purpose like Vamana or Narasimha. They are just manifestations, to counter some particular evils. They are not full-fledged, long-lasting, expansive, like Rama and Krishna.

The Lord has no hate in His composition; He is all mercy. That is why Krishna proceeded to the Kaurava court, as a messenger of peace, with compromise proposals. He showed man how patient he should be in spite of provocations, how self-control wins in the end.

God Has No Favourites Or Rivals

Krishna demonstrated that if you practise the sadhana of the constant presence of God, you are bound to achieve victory. Take Him as the charioteer; He will steer you through the heaviest odds. He has no favourites or rivals. Like fire, He spreads warmth to all who are near Him. If you do not feel the warmth, do not blame Him: blame yourself that you are far from Him. Look at Bhishma! He prayed to the very Krishna who had vowed to kill him; he prayed that Krishna should grant him a vision of His divine splendour! That is true bhakti, real jnana! He had the faith and the vision, and Krishna blessed him.

Hiranyakashipu said, “He is nowhere” and so, He was nowhere for him; Prahlada asserted, “He is everywhere”, and He appeared from the pillar to prove him true. God did not have to run into the pillar in order to come out of it, to respond to the challenge of the father. He was there all along, just as in everything else. He had only to make Himself visible! I too am like that; if you accept Me and say, “yes”, I too respond and say, “Yes, yes, yes”! If you deny and say, “No”, I also echo, “No”. Come, examine, experience, and have faith; that is the method of utilising Me.

Do Not Demean Your Talents

“Dakshinamurthy taught His disciples by His silence”, Sastry said. Yes; what He did was to make the disciples rely on their own intelligence. Do not demean your talents; when you dive deep into yourselves, you can discover the source of all strength. Ants creeping over a rock, millions of them, can carve a deep groove along their path. The minute feet of the ant have that power. You might have seen on the walls around the village wells, hollows produced on granite slabs by the continuous placing of water pots! The pots are made of mud, but they erase even the hardest granite over the years and cause the hollows where they rest! The Atma-svarupam (embodiment of Self) is not alpa-svarupam (an insignificant embodiment)! The Atma is not anaemic. It is a powerful dynamo, capable of generating enormous power. The Guru (spiritual teacher) shows you the guri (goal); but, you must generate the power yourself, by your own sadhana (spiritual effort).

Prasanthi Nilayam, 23-11-1964, 8 p.m.