Monday, December 01, 2008

An interview with God

AN INTERVIEW WITH GOD

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"So you would like to interview me?" God asked.

"If you have the time" I said.

God smiled. "My time is eternity."

"What questions do you have in mind for me?"

“My Lord, You know what will be my only question”

“ I don’t understand, my son “

Oh my Lord, pl don’t pretend as if You do not know. Why did You have to take my dear Girija at such a young age? Why did You make me and my family undergo such a misery ?”

“I will answer this question later,but tell me are you angry with me ?”

“ No, how can I get angry with the saviour of this world ? I am only sad at my fate “

“Now, tell me my son, are you not happy that you got good parents ?”

“Yes, I am extremely happy that I got such a loving and caring parents and very affectionate brothers, sisters and their families “

“ Are you not happy that you got a wonderful wife?”

“ Of course, I am. I am ever grateful to You for this gift.”

“And, I hope that you are happy that you have two darling daughters and affectionate sons in law

“ Yes, my Lord. Our daughters made our life wonderful all these years. I am fortunate to have such nice sons in law who are now more than sons to me. My daughters and sons are today my best source of support and affection.”

“How about your grandsons?”

“What to say? They are the source of great joy. Without them, I do not know how I would have been after the tragedy that struck me last year. Thank You my Lord, for having given such great grandsons.”

“Your dear Girija was also happy all these years in the company of all of you?”

Yes, except the last four years when she was suffering from ailments. But even then, she kept her sufferings within herself. Outwardly, she was the usual ever bright Girija”

” So, my son, you had SuKham and Dhukkam in your life. This is true in everybody’s case. I will try to explain to you how this happens and who is responsible for it”

“ What , are you not responsible?”

“ Wait my son, after you hear me fully, you will also agree that I am not responsible.”

“ Ok, my Lord, go ahead.”

“ My answer will be a long one. But I will try to make it as short as possible. Be patient and try to understand what I say

First, let me tell you about the Sariram., i.e., the body. Each individual is endowed with three bodies.-

Gross Body ( Physical body ) which are visible and experienceable to others and self.

Subtle body consists of sense organs of knowledge ( ear, skin, eye,tongue,nose), Sense organs of action (Mouth, hands, legs, organ of excretion,organ of reproduction) , Physiological system( Respiratory system, excretory system, digestive system, circulatory system, and the system for protecting the body from unwanted extraneous system example Vomitting , sneezing)and inner organs ( mind and intellect) which are invisible to others but experienceable by self

Casual Body ( Physical and Subtle bodies in unmanifest form ) which is invisible to others and self.

What you have to note is that the subtle body has a longer life than a gross body. When the gross body dies, the subtle body does not die. It survives and takes another gross body. It continues to take physical bodies until the resolution of this world, which is called PRALAYAM.

‘Death’ is the disassociation of subtle body from the gross body. ‘Rebirth’ is the association of subtle body with a new gross body. Have you understood until now ?”

“ Yes, I think , I have”

“Ok, then I will proceed to the next step.

As per law of Karma, every Karma (action) by the individual, small or big, has its effects or ‘Phalan’. The Karma phalan is divided into Drsta Phalan ( visible result ) and Adrsta phalan ( invisible result ). The Adrsta phalan is again divided into two – The good (Punyam) and the bad (Papam). The scriptures have clearly defined what is Punyam and what is Papam. The Adrsta Punyam later becomes Drsta –Sukham ( happiness which is visible) and the Adrsta Papam later becomes Drsta Dhukkam ( Unhappiness which is also visible.)

Now, you may ask - how long will it take for today’s Punyam to be converted into happiness and Papam to be converted into unhappiness. The duration is never a fixed one. It will vary from Karma to Karma from Punyam to Punyam and Papam to Papam.Certain types of Punyam will fructify immediately, while others may take a very long time. So is the case with Papam.When different types of seeds are sown, they sprout at different duration. A papaya seed may sprout immediately and become a tree in no time. On the other hand a mango or a coconut seed takes a very long time. The gestation period is different for different animals. Insects multiply within hours, whereas a human being is born after nine or ten months after conception. So, you understand that all actions need not produce results uniformly. Agreed?”

“ Yes, I understand”

“We have already seen that when a person dies, the subtle body does not die. Also, when a person dies, there are many unfructified Punya, Papas which are embedded in the subtle body.As these unfructified Punya, Papas have to produce Sukham and Dhukkam, , another physical body is required. Hence there is PunarJanma or rebirth.

You know now that in the rebirth, the subtle body and the casual body are the same and only the physical body is different.While experiencing Sukham and Dhukkam in the next body, the individual performs more actions and consequently acquires fresh Punyams and Papams.Many of these remain unfructified and thus produce the next body. Thus the cycle of birth and death is perpetuated by the Punyams and Papams which are regularly replenished. Is this clear ?”

“ Of course, My Lord ,the things are becoming clearer now “

“ Wait my son, let me elaborate the Law of Karma further

I hope you have now understood that God does not determine the type of birth and the type of experience. God cannot do so. Both are determined by the Punya Papas acquired by the invidual. Trust , I have made myself clear”

“ Ok, I agree that you are not responsible for the type of death and type of rebirth.”

“ The Punyams and Papas are of three types

- Sancita Karma _ all the unfructified Punyams and Papas accumulated in the past infinite Janmas

- Prarabdha Karma – of this huge amount of Sancita Karmas, a portion is fructified in the new physical body. This fructifying portion is called Prarabdha Karma . (The amount of fructification is an unknown thing, but you can safely assume that it is based on the intensity of Punyams and Papams in the Sancita Karma.) Prarabdha means that which has begun to fructify.

This alone determines the type of body, the type of parentage, the duration of life etc.

Agami Karma - In this Janma, the individual does fresh Karmas and the Punyams and Papas acquired in this Janma are called Agami Karma

So , in this Janma , while the individual is exhausting the Prarabdha Karma, he/she is earning Agami Karma

When the whole Prarabdha Karma is exhausted, the life comes to an end and death occurs Some Agami Karmas may fructify in this Janma itself and these will also get exhausted in this Janma itself. The unfructified Agami Karma will join the Sancita Karma. And so goes the cycle.

If you find it difficult to understand, I will try to illustrate with an example which may not be 100 % correct , but it may help you to understand the situation better.

Suppose you have Rs 10000 in one of your Fixed Deposit accounts ( Sancita Karma )

Assume you open a new Savings bank account ( new Body ) and transfer Rs 4000 from the FD account to the SB Account . This Rs 4000 is the Prarabdha Karma .

Assume that out of your fresh earnings of Rs 5000 ( Agami Karma ), you deposit Rs 2000 in your Savings account and another Rs 3000 in the FD.

So, you will have a total of Rs 6000 in the new SB account and Rs 9000 in the FD.

Suppose, the bank tells you that the SB account will automatically cease to exist when the whole amount is spent , what will happen? The moment you spend all the Rs 6000 in the SB a/c, the a/c will cease ( i.e, the death occurs). But the FD amount of Rs 9000 will continue to exist and with a portion of this amount, you can open another SB a/c in another bank ( rebirth )

This cycle of Sancita, Prarabdha, Agami Karmas goes on and on. A horoscope is an indicator of Prarabdha Punya, Papams in coded language. When we say, Saturn affects my life, the actual idea is that the Prarabdha Papam is affecting my life. When Sukra dasa helps me win a lottery, it is the unfoldment of Punyams.

Have I made myself clear, my dear son ?”

“ I think so, but, I have one question. If everything is going to happen as per the three types of Karmas, then what is the purpose of so many pujas , prayers, worshipping etc that we do ?”

These Karmas are called Prayascita Karma . By doing the Prayascita Karma, you are creating an Agami Punyam to neutralize the Prarabdha Papam.The Agami Punyam will either eliminate the Prarabdha Papam or atleast reduce its impact depending on the strength of Papam. In worst case, the prayascita Karma gives the strength to withstand the onslaught of prabala ( strong ) Prarabdha Papas. We will never know the power of Prarabdha in advance because it is invisible( Adrstam)So, we have to continue or repeat the Prayascita until we get the required benefit.”

“ Now, I clearly understand Girija’s life. Now, I know for sure that her various Pujas, Parayanams, Prayers, etc had only helped her to withstand the onslaught of her Purva Papams.”

“Have you got the answer to your question?”

“ Yes , my Lord, Thank You.”

‘One more thing, my son. I will now tell you the advantages of understanding the law of Karma.

1. The Law of Karma alone explains the differences and disparities in the living beings from birth. We often wonder why innocent children are born handicapped. This is because of Purva Papam.

2. You can accept your suffering even though you have not done any mistakes in this Janma, even though you have led a good life. The law of Karma explains you that it is because of your Purva Papams. You learn to accept your problems without blaming others esp, me , THE GOD. !

3. You can take charge of your future. If the present is due to Prarabdha Phalans ( fate ) , then the future is in your hands. The future situation in your life will be determined by your present actions. God does not determine your future. So, you accept a free will and decide on your present actions.

4. The law of Karma answers one of the general questions, which most people ask. Why do good people suffer and corrupt people have a gala time? Corrupt people are enjoying wealth today as a result of the fructification of their past Punyams. But they will definitely pay the price in future for their present corrupt practices. Similarly the good people are suffering because of their Purva Papams , but their good actions today will help them get Punyam which will get fructified as Sukham in the future.

5. Knowing the law of Karma only will help restore faith in God. By understanding this law only, you will know that the Lord can never be unjust. If a judge acquits a person in a case and gives different degrees of punishment to others, it is not because of his partiality. The decision of the Judge depends on the actions done by these persons.

6. If you understand the law of Karma, your devotion to God will remain intact. You will see the sufferings as an exhaustion of your Papams. You will understand that even as you suffer, your papams are washed off and you are becoming purer and purer.You will u8nderstand that The Lord purifies you by giving you sufferings, that is removal of papams. So your faith in The Lord is getting reinforced

I think I have tried to explain the Life as simple as possible, If you have any more questions, pl call me for another interview or contact my sishya H H SWAMI PARAMARTHANANDA SARASWATI”

“ Thanks a lot ,my dear God for sparing your time. I have become a better person today.” I said humbly.

“ Before we close this interview, can I tell you something in a lighter vein ?

“ What, my Lord, You don’t have to ask my permission”

“ You have worked in a big Corporate office. What do they do if the MD finds an employee extremely efficient in one of the branches of the company?”

“ The employee will be transferred to another important office, mostly the Corporate office, to help the top management to run the show more efficiently”

“ And what will happen to the branch?’

“They will suffer initially, but will learn to manage the branch in due course of time”

“ That is all , my son, have a good day”

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