Srimadh Bagawatham - Do we have independence?

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/04/srimadh-bagawatham-purpose-of-our-life.html

Since He has given us complete independence to make our own choice, does this mean that we don’t depend on Him? Are we responsible for our fate? We have independence to choose our path in life and yet we are under His control. How can we have independence and yet be in His control?

Think of a farmer who owns 10 acres of land. The farmer sowed a type of seed in every acre. Once the plants started to grow, the farmer’s friend paid him a visit.

‘Why do the plants look different from each other?’ asked the friend.

‘That’s because I sowed different types of seeds. Over there I sowed sugar cane, here paddy, yonder lentils…’

‘But they all came from seeds so they should look alike!’

‘Different types of seeds produce different crops,’ answered the farmer.

‘Are all these canes from similar seeds?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why is this cane tall while that one there is short and that one over there bent?’

‘Each seed produces plants per its built in genetic expression,’

‘So are seeds responsible for farming?’

‘Of course not; I am responsible for farming as I sow the seeds!’

‘Then you are responsible for producing a tall cane, a short cane and a bent cane?’

‘No no,’ said the farmer feeling tired of explaining farming practices. ‘The plant shape and size is produced by the built in genetic expression present in the seeds. I only sow the seeds. The seed turns in to plants based on its built in genetic expression!’

The lord is like the farmer. The jeevatmas are the seeds sown with the past karmas acting like built in genetic expression. We take birth to rid our karmas so that we can be free.

If we take birth because of our karma then we must be able to spend our accumulated karmas completely. Apart from birth there is also heaven and hell to spend the karmas accumulated during our life on Earth. Then, how come we keep taking birth as we should have reached a zero karmic balance a long time ago?

The reason we haven’t reached a zero karmic balance is because as we try to spend our karmas, we accumulate additional karmas.

Karmas can be divided into two classes.

1.     Sanchita Karma

2.     Prarabhdha Karma

Sanchita Karma is like a bank account. It contains all the papams and punyams we have accumulated in our previous births.

Prarabhdha Karma is like the money we withdraw from a bank account. At each birth, Bhagawan assigns us a portion of karmas from the Sanchita Karma account. We enjoy both the good and bad fruits yielded by the prarabhdha karma.

We extinguish a portion of karmas in the form of Prarabhdha karmas at every birth. According to this eventually the sanchita and prarabhdha karma accounts should come to zero and we should be on our way to Moksham. But this is not the case.

As we are undergoing the effects of Prarabhdha karma, our actions also cause us to accumulate new karmas.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/04/srimadh-bagawatham-role-of-karma-part-1.html