Therefore,
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when
body
Introduction
The Doctrine of Karma, with its attendant concept of rebirth,
has been existent in India from a very distant past and is
generally believed to be a part of the Hindu Philosophy. But, the
more we probe into its depths, the more we find it to be starved
of rational substance and cogency. This leaves one, who is
acquainted
with
the
rational
thought
intrinsic
to
Hindu
dismantles
its
very
foundation.
For,
the
doctrine
its
very
nature
is
SAT-CHIT-NANDA
(--)
the
ultimate
abode
of
all
beings;
it
is
absolute
know
the
tma
gives
up
the
body
(i.e.
body-
the doer. Fulfilment of the desires brings happiness and nonfulfilment causes sorrow. We are affected by this duality,
proportionate to our attachment to the desires. Gita says that
attachment reinforces desire into Kma (craving); Kma breeds
anger, which prejudices our perceptions, thus causing mental
confusion. This affects the power of judgment, which ultimately
results in total ruin (verses 2.62 and 2.63). This impact and
reaction are immediate to us and may be called Mental as they
affect the mind.
Now, to understand the second type of impact of Karma,
we have to take stock of some more basic facts about the
physical manifestation and its stability. Manifestation takes place
by unleashing opposites from pure existence. In the world we
see that for every entity or experience there exists an opposite:
pain for pleasure, failure for success, hate for love, enmity for
friendship, turbulence for calmness, hostility for peace, chilliness
for warmth, valleys for hills, mountains for oceans, fire for water,
etc. The phenomenal world exists in opposites, from the
subtlest, the atoms, to the grossest, the universe. Atoms exist
with opposite forces, namely, the protons and electrons. But,
why dont these opposites cancel each other, causing total
destruction of the universe? It is because some force is holding
back the opposites, preventing them from cancelling each other.
It is the force of creation; the energy of material existence.
Prana Upanishad (1.4) says that energy and prna were
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Transcendental
impact
as
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it
is
concerned
with
the very essence of humans is tma, they also share the same
nature. What we perceive as reward or retribution on their part is
only an expression incidental to furthering the basic urge for
existence. But pursuing each and every action of every
individual and rewarding or punishing him accordingly is not the
concern of humans; nor is it possible for them. It is not natural to
them.
Is there any other arrangement for dispensing the reward
and retribution naturally or otherwise? The advocates of Karma
Doctrine do not suggest or establish the existence of a natural or
supernatural system for surveilling all the deeds and dispensing
rewards and punishments. Such a system or authority
extraneous to tma cannot exist; for, the Scriptures say that
there exists nothing but tma and its manifestation. tma
pervades everywhere and everything (a 8, vetvatara 6.11,
Mundaka 1.1.6 and Gita 9.4, 13.26). Therefore, the concept of
rewards or retribution being awarded for each action depending
upon its commendability or culpability is only a fictional one
advanced by those who are starved of a rational explanation for
the problem of evil and are therefore given to dogmatic
dispositions. These people, feeling the deficiency of substance
in their argument, come up with such props as rebirth in
compensation thereof.
Now, therefore, we may examine the concept of rebirth
which is an essentiality of the Doctrine of Karma. It is with this
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4.5)
unfragmented,
the
subjects
eternal
tma.
represent
It
is
the
uninterrupted,
definitively
stated
in
what we have already seen in Gita 2.62 and 2.63. Moreover, our
day-to-day experience shows that a person at a given moment is
that which occupies his mind at that moment; if it is kindness, he
is kind; if anger, he is angry, and so on. Sage Patanjali points out
in Yogasutra (1.3 and 1.4) that when your mental activities are
fully eliminated, you are in your true self; otherwise, you are
what
your
mental
activity
is
( ).
Thus,
the
||
and indivisibility of
susceptibility
to
gross
misinterpretation.
It
is
3.9.28
of
Br hadranyaka.
After finishing his answers to all the questions raised in the
court of King Janaka, Yjavalkya () asks a question:
When a tree is felled, new ones sprout from the root; from which
root is man born again, after death? He himself answers the
question, as nobody volunteers. He says,
I
I.
The
Conclusion
In the light of our discussions we may conclude thus:
Fundamentals of the Doctrine of Karma such as indispensability
of reaction of similar force and effect for all actions, attribution of
ones present suffering to his past Karma, etc. are not logically
sustainable. These are in conflict with the basic teachings of
Hinduism also. Rebirth of the same individual after the loss of
body is an essential feature of Karma Doctrine, but Hinduism
rejects it outright. Similarly, the concept of good and evil is not
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