Radhanath Swami decodes KarmaQuestion to Radhanath Swami: Everyday newspapers are flooded with news of both joy and sorrow. Why are people destined to the experiences they receive?Radhanath Swami Answers: The system of this world has been created by the divine but within the system we create our destiny. The divine hand of lord has created the laws of Karma. If we act sinfully then our destiny will be to suffer and if we act piously then our destiny will be to enjoy. What we have done in our previous life is what we are experiencing now and this is a divine arrangement. Everything that comes into our life is what we deserve due to our past activities and what we are doing now will determine what our future will be. So in this way our destiny has been set by our own previous lives and our own life at this time. Krishna says,“sarva-dharmaan parityajyamaam ekam sharanam vraja”Bhagavad-Gita 18.66“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”If we surrender to Krishna then we will no longer be under the imprisonment of the laws of Karma. Then Krishna will simply do whatever He wants to do to help us to become a pure devotee. It may appear like karma as He may give us happiness as well as distress. It is similar to a person, who is experiencing happiness and distress by the laws of Karma. But the experiences we get are not necessarily because we deserve them. We may deserve them or we may not, but we need them. If we act sinfully and if Krishna feels that the sinful reaction is not good for our spiritual progress, He can take it away. And if we act very piously and Krishna sees that the affluence that we deserve according to our karma is not good for our spiritual life, He will not give it to us. A karmi, one who is fruitive worker in this world, he gets what he deserves and nothing else. He gets the reaction of his own activities. But a devotee gets what Krishna knows is best for his/her spiritual advancement. There is maya prakriti and there is daivi prakriti. Maya prakriti is this material nature, which is three modes of material natures, where we are simply enjoying or suffering the fruits of our actions. But daivi prakriti means the divine energy of the lord, where we are directly in the merciful hand of Krishna’s and he is just orchestrating our life in such a way that gives us every opportunity to surrender. But even with those opportunities He never interferes with our independence. We can accept the opportunity or reject it.
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