Karma, Fate, and Destiny

Aum Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

So, continuing in the little series that we’re doing. The first talk we did, of course, was an introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, and the foundational spiritual truth upon which all the other truths rest, and that was the understanding that we are all actually spiritual beings. This body is not us. It is not our home. We are temporarily residing within it. The different labels attached to this body are not our identity. They are temporary labels describing the body that we have, but not ourself.

Then in the next talk we did, we covered the subject of reincarnation, and how is it that you get a body, and what is it that keeps you in that condition within the material body, the trans—the subject of the transmigration of the soul, and we learned that it was primarily due to desire. And the—one of the verses that we dealt with was,

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits the body, that state he will attain without fail.” [ Bhagavad-gītā 8.6]

So, our state of consciousness at that moment of departure from the body sets up what’s going to happen going forward. But that wasn’t the whole picture. And so, we’re continuing with that, building upon it. The subject tonight is karma, fate, and destiny.

So, most people are very intrigued by the question the idea of, “What does the future hold for me?” Right? People are into it. I don’t know if it’s that common now, it used to be everybody got the newspaper and went to the—at some point—the horoscope section, and wanted to read the horoscope. And they—or they know some psychic that can foretell something, a palmist who can read palms, or somebody that reads tarot cards. It’s sort of like this whole idea of predicting what is my future.

Just as a little side point, I’ll let you in on a secret. I have actually been gifted with the ability to predict the future, and I can do it for everyone, and I’ll let you into a little secret. My prediction of what the future holds is death. And of course, “Whoa, why are you saying that?” That’s a like a bummer. But in reality, it is a wonderful thing to be very mindful of.

But moving on with the subject: People have a tendency, when they want to know what the future holds, everybody is sort of like anticipating and hoping for something that they consider to be good that will happen to them. And of course, we have a very limited definition of what is good. We confuse something that we desire, to be “good.” We often haven’t figured out that we can actually desire things that are harmful for us, that are not in our interest. Many marriages now are proof of that. [Laughter] People have such a strong desire: “Oh, this is going to be absolutely amazing!” And 5, 10, 15, 20 years later, it’s sort of like, “What was I thinking?” And that is a really good example of how we often confuse desire with that which is good.

So—but when people are in this sort of like state of mind, they become often blind to the bad that may also becoming, and they don’t want to hear about it, and they don’t want to consider it, or we have a very narrow and actually quite (I’m going to say a word without meaning to hurt anyone), sometimes it’s quite childish and quite immature, the things that we seek, and we’re not really open to the bigger picture, the reality of material life.

Tied into this we often see that people have this strong and sometimes even burning desire to know what is coming in the future, but in their focus, they fail to appreciate the opportunity that the present moment offers us. We’re so fixated on what’s going to happen down the road that we overlook the opportunity that the present moment offers us in our life. And I’m just raising that here and we will cover it shortly.

So, there is a fundamental principle (and this is far more true than most people are willing to consider or accept), wherever you find yourself in life and what you are experiencing, it is the effect or the result of previous action, of previous desire. This is more true than most people are willing to actually consider.

In saying that, it’s really important to appreciate that it is my own choices and actions that lead to my destiny and my fate. It’s not like your destiny, and fate is something external to you that’s floating around there in the atmosphere or the universe or something, and somehow it gets externally just visited upon you. No, we are always the recipient of that which we have sown. This fundamental principle of, “As you sow, so ye shall reap.” That is the principle.

In the world today, you find most people have a very limited and materialistic view of life, of our own life and our place in the world. And what I mean by that is, if you ask people to define freedom, most people think that freedom means, I have the money, and I have the influence and the power to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and that would be freedom, to be that free.

And of course, for somebody with any spiritual training, that’s like, oh my gods, really, that’s what you think? Don’t you know that for every action that you take, there will be a reaction? Everything that you do will come back to you in one form or the other. And so, from a spiritual perspective, freedom doesn’t mean to be able to do whatever you want, but to be able to live and act in this world and not be bound by any reaction to that. That’s what true freedom means. And so, this is the context or the framework of how we’re going to be discussing things.

This idea that freedom means I have the money, or I have the power to do whatever I want, whenever I want, it is very naive and is very blind to the real repercussions of my choices. There are laws of action and reaction. This word, English word “action” in Sanskrit refers to karma. This is the meaning of karma. The reaction, or the fruit of my actions, this is called karma phalam. Phalam means fruit, the fruit of my actions. And these fruits may be bitter, or they may be sweet, depending on what was the nature of the action that I performed. And so, in my life—

We mentioned the last time we were having a conversation about how when a little baby shows up, this little tiny fresh sweet smelling little thing that’s makes your heart flutter, and you go, “Oh it’s so nice, and it’s so sweet, and it’s so innocent, and it’s like so pure.” And it’s like no! That’s not the reality. That little dude has shown up with a monumental amount of baggage, and throughout their life, they will be unpacking that baggage, and they will be tasting fruits, sometimes bitter and sometimes sweet. And they brought it with them. It’s not like somebody’s being mean to them and inflicting something harmful thing on them. No, it’s not like that, not like that at all. Things that are happening are happening because of our choices, the actions that we have taken.

So, I referenced, everybody’s familiar with the idea of, “As you sow, so you shall reap.” Of course, there was a Biblical verse that is often not really clearly understood, and it says:

“… for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” [Galatians 6:7]

It’s not like you can go out on the ground and plant a potato and expect to harvest wheat, or plant some rice and think you’re going to get peaches. The nature of the seed that is planted will produce a very specific kind of plant. And so, understanding this, and understanding the role that we play in our life is like so important.

It’s also very empowering, even for somebody who has had a very difficult life, for whatever reason, they were born in a certain family and circumstances and had—I mean I know this from dealing with people in prisons where I have been running programs, when they hear that nobody else is responsible for my situation. It is my choices, and the way I react, and the way I choose to act that bears fruit that I must eat, that I must take.

And so, action, the idea of action was like super important in all yogic and Vedic teachings. If everything that’s happening to me in my life now is the result of previous choices and actions, then I have to get my act together. I have to start making really good choices, really good decisions, and acting on that if I want a life that is wonderful, that produces wonderful results. It is only in my hands, no one else is to blame, no one else is responsible. It’s going to be up to me, to really learn how to make really good decisions, good choices and to act on those in a way that is very appropriate.

So, the Bhagavad Gita, when it deals with action or karma, there is a verse that states:

“The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore, one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.17]

So, it’s like, what’s that all about? So they have these three words—one is karma, another one is vikarma, and the other one is akarma. So, karma, most people don’t appreciate, karma didn’t reference any and all action. It was actually speaking about action that is guided by some spiritual principle, where people live a life of honesty and straightforwardness and kindness. They may still have many material desires and look to benefit or enjoy the fruits of their labour as it were, their work, and that is perfectly fine. But when people live a life that is guided by spiritual principle, even if they’re being very materialistic, that category of activity was called karma.

The word vikarma, it means that which is performed that is not in line with Vedic teaching, or without the direction of the Vedas, and it was considered unauthorized or sinful activity. It’s a form of karma, but people that engage in this category of activity, usually their life is not going to be so good. They’re going to experience a lot of challenges and a lot of difficulties. And they’re going to have to pay heavy prices for their choices.

And then the third type, akarma. It refers to—it literally means “inaction.” And we think inaction, “Ooh, what does that mean? Just like lying around in bed not doing anything?” No, that’s also a form of action. When they referenced inaction they were actually talking about activity that does not produce a karmic result. It means activity that doesn’t have any material repercussion. It means spiritual action, leading a spiritual life.

So, I’ll read a verse, and this might—some people might struggle with this one a little bit. The verse, from the fourth chapter, it’s the 18th sloka or verse:

“One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.18]

So, it’s just like is that some kind of riddle? What’s that mean, one who sees action in action and inaction in action? So, what it was referencing, there is a little secret: The thing that really drives us is our intention and desire. If my desire is for selfish interest, then I am engaged in activity that will bear fruit, even if I’m just hanging out and being a lazy slob, it will have a fruit. If, on the other hand, I am living a life of great surrender and dedication, where my entire life is an offering, an offering to the Supreme Soul, and an offering in the service of all God’s children, all of mankind, then my life, while very busy and filled with activity, does not produce any karmic reaction. And that’s wow! that’s pretty amazing.

So, reading on, another verse:

“Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independent, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.20]

So, we’re talking about a person that is living a life on a spiritual platform where, although they are engaged in all types of activity, and a common person may look at them and go, “Well, that’s not different than anybody else,” yet within their heart and mind, their whole life is one of spiritual service, even their breath, everything is an offering, everything is undertaken as an offering to God, to a higher transcendental truth or reality.

“Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled…” Tall order—your mind and intelligence perfectly controlled. I’ve— we’ve mentioned this in passing before, and we will deal with it in the future when we deal more with the mind. That, on the spiritual path, we have to grow to accept that we are the ones, we, the spiritual being, we are the ones responsible for the content of our mind, what we are going to think about, how we are going to process things, what we should be focused on, what we should be desiring, rather than our mind being in control, and it’s just like running wild, and I’m just caught up in all the stuff that’s going on there. One moment I’m down in the dumps, next moment I’m all elated, and then I’m all depressed again, and then somebody says something, and then I’m just screaming at them, and they are screaming at me, and it’s just like—this is a life out of control. It’s the mind and all the emotions that are leading everything.

“Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.21]

Wow, that’s an extraordinary thought. This might seem to be out of—very distant, and it’s like wow, how could you possibly do that? But the reality is, there is a very simple process to come to that state. And of course, the foundational activity is the meditation, the chanting that we do on of these transcendental sounds. But then to live a life in a mood of service, this is called karma yoga where one becomes linked to the Supreme because of their offering of their life.

And then the final one in this group that I was reading from:

“He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady both in success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.22]

So this position, this is a constant message in the Bhagavad Gita, to learn how to live a life where you accept the reality of things. Sometimes, because of my previous action, things that I consider desirable will come, and sometimes, because of my previous actions, things that I consider undesirable will come. I shouldn’t be losing the plot when something so-called good shows up and then being so distraught when something bad shows up.

How am I to live in a position where I’m not overly swept by so-called good and bad things? How do I maintain this equanimity, this level where I can sort of just accept things for what they are? This is—the practical application is what we’ve discussed in the serenity prayer, “Grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the courage to change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

When a person is cultivating this appreciation of my spiritual identity, and I’m awakening to a wonderful spiritual experience, a connection with a higher spiritual reality, with the Supreme Soul, in particular, then the things connected to this world, it’s kind of like—yeah, it’s okay, we can take it or leave it. It’s not like the focus of my life to be constantly chasing material experience that I desire and constantly trying to run away from things that I consider undesirable.

[They] may come, just like a storm may come, and I just have to close the windows and hunker down, and maybe I need some candles in case the power goes out, and I’ve got a bit of food stored in the cupboard, and I wait for it to pass. And then we open the windows, and if it’s a big mess outside, I go out and clean it up, and just get on with things. Maintaining that type of equanimity is really a spiritual condition.

These verses that I’m reading, although we’re kind of just focused on the bigger idea, karma and destiny or fate, but actually there’s so much information in here. We could take one of them and talk about it for a couple of hours and still not cover everything that’s there, but just covering the main points.

I think—and just in case anybody is not yet got the idea that clearly, do not think that every everything that happens to you in this lifetime is only the result of some previous lifetime. At every moment you are making decisions which drive actions, at every moment. And there will be a consequence, there will be a fruit that you will experience, either almost immediately, or at some later date, or some time in the distance future, in another lifetime. But all the time, we are acting, which produces our so-called destiny or fate. And we should not be so obsessively focused on, “Oh, am I going to have money? Am I going to find a nice person to love? Am I going to be able to get the car I want?” or whatever people dream of, and just be focused on those types of things and oblivious to my life right now; and my actions right now are determining what my future experience is going to be.

So, then a person—and somebody has actually asked this question—“What about if you’ve done in this lifetime, and even in previous lifetimes, many sinful or bad things, and you have this big load of karma, how do you escape from it? How do you sidestep the oncoming avalanche? Is there any way around it?” And of course, the answer is, yes, there is.

So, I’m going to read three verses that deal with that:

“One is understood to be in full knowledge whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification. He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.19]

And it’s sort of like okay, what does that mean? And this might be shocking to some people, and even seem like a little bit harsh, but this is the reality of things: We have accepted a particular body, and we have a particular mind that is affecting and influencing us, and almost everything that we desire, not everything, but almost everything, is different forms of sense stimulating activity—tastes we want, sounds that we want, smells, touch. We have desires, and if we think—if you look at the desires that you have, very honestly, you think about something and delve into it, what is it that I’m actually desiring? And it’s like I’ve got this big focus and this earnest desire, and I’m going to spend all this energy to try and give myself—just stimulate my senses in different ways.

I mean, when somebody thinks about going on a vacation, let’s say, okay, you get two weeks in Bali! What’s that all about? It’s like getting out of the cold and feeling the warm barmy tropical air, to walk into the ocean and feel the warmth of the ocean, to go to a massage place and have a really nice massage, to be able to eat different kinds of food. You think about all the activities that we want to seek. And I’m not saying these activities are good or bad, just looking at it objectively. That whole two weeks, and probably $1,000, or more, including the airfare, was spent on some passing sensations that simply affected the body and to some degree the mind. And after that’s passed, it’s gone. It’s gone. And it’s not coming back again, unless you go and do the same thing again. And then we want to hang on to the memory, “Oh, that was so nice. I remember, yeah, I was there with what’s-her-name, and we were on the beach, and we were getting a massage on the beach, and it was beautiful, they had these really nice sounds playing, and it was just this a wonderful day, and…”

Everybody’s just talking about these temporary moments that only focus on the body and the mind. They don’t focus on me, the eternal spiritual being. They don’t provide me nutrition. They don’t bring me fulfillment and realization.

So, when a person has moved beyond just focusing on activities that are meant to be stimulating the body and mind, and there is a deeper purpose and a deeper driver for their activities, then that is what is being referenced. And a person that is living such a life will be in knowledge, will have an understanding of things, and that knowledge is so powerful it burns to ashes the past fruit of actions.

“All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice…”

Okay, this word sacrifice, in Sanskrit this is yajna, yajna. Sacrifice doesn’t mean, “Oh, I’m going to do something really hard and painful.” Sacrifice means to make an offering, a sacrificial offering for someone else’s pleasure, for the pleasure of the Supreme Soul. And that is what is being referenced here in this word of sacrifice. And this idea of sacrifice, of making an offering of one’s life was integral to growing spiritually.

“All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reaction, and having tasted the nectar of the remnants of such sacrifice, they go to the supreme eternal atmosphere.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.30]

“O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this life: what then of the next?” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.31]

So, this was like really an integral part of people’s life, this understanding of what I am living for, the idea of having a much higher purpose, rather than just my mind and my desires that are just dragging—my emotions, that are just dragging me everywhere. It’s the idea of dignity and being noble and humble in life, and having a higher purpose, and to make an offering of one’s life for a higher purpose and higher meaning.

Is this too serious? No? It’s good?

It’s kind of quite shocking, because we live in a world where you are told this is stupid. You got to be out there grinding on it, making the money, then you got to be hitting the clubs, and it’s all about, “Boomba, boomba, boomba.” [Bass beats] You’ve got to, you got to be out there the footy, or you got to be out there at the beach, you got to be—Everybody’s just like, we’re just being constantly bombarded with all of these ideas. This is what social media is all about, of what’s cool, of what’s happening, of where you will find happiness, where you will find fulfillment. And so much of it is focused on the body. It’s just like oh my God, what’s happening to people?

You got all these young kids taking anti-aging products, because they’re worried that later they’ll—they want to look youthful even when they’re in their 50s and 60s. So you got kids, early teenagers now, vast amounts of them, using anti-aging products. And it’s like where did they get this idea from? Somebody’s sold them the idea.

But what I am selling you is something noble and dignified and true, and will provide the happiness that you actually seek. So, it’s just like, what’s the big picture? Some people might find this a little bit harsh. Spiritual texts are often known to be very blunt, and telling you the reality of things, the way they are.

So, there is a description here from the Bhagavat Purana about materialistic life. The understanding was that we exist in what they would reference, the earthly realm, but they say that there are other dimensions, there are other planes of existence. For instance, there’s a plane of existence called svargaloka, which for most people in the Western world would be like heaven, which is—and since we’re talking about this, most people have a very strange conception of heaven.

They’re thinking, people, often with Christian sort of backgrounds, “Oh, when we die, we’ll go to heaven. And I’ll be there with mom and dad, and my husband or wife and all the kids and the dog, and we’ll all be having a wonderful time, and it’ll just be fantastic. We’ll just be enjoying things. And oh, oh, yeah, and God will be there also.” What is that conception? It’s so weird.

But they talk about, in Vedas, places of tremendous heavenly enjoyment. And they also talk about places, hellish dimensions, where there is tremendous amounts of suffering. And it is because of the choices of individuals that will determine what is going to happen in the future. So, in this verse:

“The living entity is exactly like a dog, who, overcome with hunger, goes from door to door for some food. According to his destiny, he sometimes receives punishment and is driven out, and at other times receives a little food to eat. Similarly, the living entity, being influenced by so many desires, wanders in different species of life according to destiny. Sometimes he is high, and sometimes he is low. Sometimes he goes to the heavenly planets, and sometimes to hell, and sometimes to the middle planets, and so on.” [Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.29.30-31]

So, that’s the rather distressing picture, big picture, and why there is a need to get a grip. There is a need to become the driver of the bus of our life, to be firmly in the driver’s seat, and to be making brilliant choices, great decisions that produce wonderful outcomes—that is our job as human beings. Lower species of life, they don’t think like this. They are compelled to act only by desire and instinct, but in the human form of life, we have the opportunity to change that direction.

The big focus for those that followed the ancient Vedic culture was always on the future, with the understanding that my—this moment right now, and every moment as it comes to me, as I experience this time, I should be acting for my future benefit, not that I should just be overwhelmed with desires and act in a way that will cause me unhappiness in the future. I need to be the one in charge of my life.

And there is this cycle that needs to be broken: actions that we take affect our consciousness. Our consciousness then determines the nature of our desires, what we hold to be important, what we desire. And what we desire will then determine our actions, and those actions, once again, produce the effect of affecting our consciousness, which then affects the nature of our desires.

When we begin to live a more spiritual life, to adopt spiritual practice into my life, to begin to try to look at things more clearly, to behave in a kinder, in a more loving mood towards others, it has a tremendous impact, to learn to be tolerant, even of suffering and difficulty, to be tolerant knowing it will pass, and instead of responding to that, to respond on a higher level out of a sense of duty and responsibility and kindness towards others. Just because I’m going through some crap, I’ve got a splitting headache, it doesn’t mean I can start screaming at everybody and shouting at them and bullying people just because I feel like crap. No. My responsibility is to suck it up, and to know that this will pass, and right now I should behave in a dignified and a loving and a kind way towards others. This is how we break the cycle.

So, I mentioned before how people are really somewhat, sometimes obsessed with wanting to know what the future holds for them; and usually people that are really into that, you know, you get some people, every day they’re going to go and check out the horoscope or something, or they’re going to, you know, they’re into these kinds of things. They really are missing the opportunity.

Whatever will come, will come. You cannot avoid it. It will come. The fruit of your past action will be visited upon you. You should be very tolerant and peaceful and be more focused on right now, how I am living my life and the nature of the actions that I’m taking. So, this is really means to take charge of one’s life.

And of course, the big subject here that we haven’t really addressed, I’ve just mentioned it, is what is called karma yoga—learning to live a life of great devotion and service, where my actions, my speech, my thinking is an offering, an offering to God, an offering to a higher spiritual reality, and I seek to behave in a way that is compassionate, that is kind and loving towards all other living beings.

So, this moment, which means every moment in time, the now, means we should be focused on both the immediate and also the distant future, if we want to have a wonderful life.

So, the final verse, I will just read:

“Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogī and is happy in this world.” [ Bhagavad-gītā 5.23]

This idea of tolerance is really an important foundational part of anybody’s real spiritual life, to learn to tolerate things both the good and the bad, meaning you don’t become elated and overwhelmed by what you consider good, nor do you become deeply depressed by what is bad. You see it for what it is, and know it does not affect you, the eternal spiritual being. “If one is able to tolerate the urges of the senses and check the force of desire and anger…”

Anger is a big one. It is declared in Bhagavad Gita to be one of the paths leading to hell—anger, lust, and greed. To become immersed or swept away by this will only produce unhappiness. It can’t produce anything else. When one is able to do this, such a person is declared here to be—a person is actually a yogi. A yogi means one whose life is completely in union with the Supreme Soul. It is the adoption of my true spiritual identity and my connection with the Supreme Soul. When one is able to do this, they’re a yogi and happy in this world.

That’s it!

So, as usual, we’ll chant for a few minutes, and then over dinner, if you have a question, please feel free to ask. All questions are good questions.

Even though some of the things that we read and discuss might seem like, “Oh my God, mission impossible! My life is out of control, my mind is out of control. I don’t have the strength. I don’t have the capacity,” please do remember that it’s not up to us. All we need is sincerity and humility. This Mahamantra that we sing is actually like a prayer to be blessed with the strength, to be blessed with the surrender. It is by grace that one progresses spiritually. It’s not because of my strength, my ability. That’s really good news.

The second part of it is, what is being discussed is self-realization. It means uncovering the real you. We’re just talking about what is your actual spiritual nature, and the process that we’re engaged in is a process of uncovering that.

So, it’s not about becoming something, becoming powerful or strong or really intelligent. No. One, if they are simply humble and surrendered, they can be graced with spiritual mercy, and all of these things can occur. I hope that’s encouraging.

Thank you very much.

So I’ll probably also chant the Mahamantra, the Hare Krishna mantra