What is the use of getting reactions for wrongdoings without knowing those wrongdoings?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you. If my current life is a reaction of my actions I did in my previous life, then is it fair to get punishment without knowing what I did wrong? Yes, this is a fair question.
And answering this requires, as I said, understanding the purpose of Karma. The purpose of Karma is not to keep us perpetually in a multi-lifetime flashback mode. What does it mean by multi-lifetime flashback mode? Say, right now, I get up and I start walking.
And I sleep at home. What lifetime, what Karma did I do wrong? You don’t need to live at all. And further, we have to understand that the actions which we have done in many previous lives, it’s just not possible for the human brain to remember the life.
And the whole purpose of karmic learning is not just conscious choosing. Yes, conscious choosing is important. This is right, this is wrong, I should not do this, I should do this.
But much of our learning happens subconsciously. That means, right now, I am speaking. You are here.
Now, can we remember the exact moment, say, when we learn language? When we learn ABCD, when we learn the spelling of words, when we learn the sound of words, when we learn speaking. Now, we know that we have learnt it. But we don’t remember that.
And we use it constantly. So, we use, right now, much of the learning, which is subtle and subconscious. So, most of our life’s behaviour is determined not just by the consciously learnt facts.
Okay, this is left, this is right, my house is 500 metres from here. These are facts and information important. But many of our decisions are shaped by subconsciously learnt patterns of behaviour.
Language is just one example. But other subconsciously learnt patterns of behaviour. So, the karmic learning is not just mentally, it’s a matter of categorical, this is right, this is wrong, stop doing this, start doing this.
No, it is a matter of changing our mentality. So, as I said, we may know something is wrong and still we feel compelled to do it. So, at least some level of control is good, we don’t do it.
But still, the important thing is to change our mentality so that we are not attracted to doing bad things, attracted to doing wrong things. So, the purpose of karmic learning is not just conscious categorisation of right and wrong. It is a subconscious changing of our mentality.
So, what we are right now, all of us are particular persons, some of us are introverts, some of us are extroverts, some of us, all of us have different patterns of behaviour. So, this is not something which you have consciously chosen. It is something which has unconsciously grown by our past choices.
So, karmic learning, the principle of karmic learning is to not just give us categorical information of right or wrong. It is to change our subconscious thought pattern, our subconscious tastes. So, that happens gradually.
We don’t need to know specifically, this was the wrong because of which I got this way. As I said earlier also that the point is not to learn specific causes, but the point is to learn general principles. And learning general principles means, accordingly re-directing or purifying our tastes.
So, that happens as we study scripture and mould our life around it.