Posted by sanjay krishna on September 18, 2008 at 11:57am
Question: Karma or Free Will?Hare KrishnaAll Glories!! I have a couple big big question's which have been bothering me for a couple of weeks now.If I'm walking down the street and see a person getting attacked by another person, do I just leave the person alone as it's that person's karma to get beaten up? If I do step in and help this person, am I just a tool of his good karma? Which is it, his karma or my free will to step in and help him? And my decision to help him, has it come about because of the good activity the other person performed previously to get the good karma of me helping him? In that case does that remove my free will?Your help with getting my head around this is greatly appreciated.Many, Many ThanksHare KrishnaAnswer: Devotees Exercise their Free WillTry to do something to save the innocent victim. One time in Australia there were some women trapped in a burning building. The devotees were getting ready for a Ratha Yatra festival and had a big canopy that was to be used on the Ratha Yatra cart. They took that canopy and run to the site holding the it open and had the women jump into it. The following news story from Melbourne, Australia's widely-read afternoon newspaper The Herald tells the story. The paper dedicated practically its entire front page to that morning's rescue. A three-quarter page photograph showed the devotees holding the canopy outside the burning building. Although, in their previous encounter, the news media had been unable to understand the disciples' love for their spiritual master, the rescue had been something that everyone could relate to. The article, entitled, "Krishnas Catch Leaping Women," described the dramatic event:Three women jumped from a first floor window as fire raced through a city building today. They jumped into a twelve foot square canvas tarpaulin held in the street below by members of the Hare Krishna Movement. Three more women climbed down a ladder from the top floor of the three storey building ... The Hare Krishna followers rushed to the scene when they heard screams. One, who said his name was Steve, 19, said they were in the Hare Krishna building two doors away. "There were three women, all about 19 or 20, sitting on a first floor window ledge screaming for help, so we grabbed a canvas tarpaulin and held it out for them to jump into," he said.One of the girls said "Someone yelled 'fire', and we raced to the window to find smoke everywhere. One of the girls smashed the window and the Hare Krishna followers held out a big piece of canvas so we could jump. I was petrified," she said.Five women were taken to hospital for treatment for cuts, abrasions and smoke inhalation.If a devotee acts in Krishna's service it is outside of the dictates of karma. It is an exercise of his free will to facilitate that person having the opportunity to go back to home, back to Godhead in this lifetime. If sometime is rescued from fire or from a thief by a Krishna conscious person, they will always remember that person who rescued them. This appreciative remembrance of a devotee will be very favorable for them to awaken their dormant Krishna consciousness.Hare Krishna Hare KrishnaFor more discussions visithttp://harekrishnaharekrishna.ning.com/forum/
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The devotees should do all they can to help the conditioned souls but not if they put themselves at risk. If a devotee is injured, we can't imagine the gravity of such a loss.
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