Do our realizations arise because of our past karma?
So do our realizations come from our past karma or how do they come about sometimes certainly not from past karma they can come from past bhakti karma doesn't necessarily rise to spiritual realizations usually it is a combination of multiple factors that certain see our knowledge acquiring faculties is we have our pratyaksha pramana we have anuman pramana and shabda pramana now pramana means it's a valid way of acquiring knowledge anuman itself is not desirable, anuman pramana means a valid way of acquiring knowledge so realization essentially means that something which we perceive what comes in through pratyaksha pramana that we do anuman pramana by which the pratyaksha pramana harmonizes the shabda pramana that means there is no happiness in material existence or there is even misery even if you become super successful and then I actually meet a super successful person and I find that his life is so empty and then I realize this is true so pratyaksha pramana and shabda pramana when our thought process harmonizes the two that is the essence of realization that is the reality we accept it to be a reality that is a realization so how does this come it is both Krishna's mercy and our endeavor by Krishna's mercy we may face certain situations certain things may be orchestrated certain things may come in front of our perception by Krishna's mercy certain certain classes we may have heard before that passages of scripture we may have read before that so that at that particular point that awakens within our heart we need to just do our part in terms of trying to be intellectually alert in terms of trying to connect what we are doing with chastana and trying to be devotional submissive so that if Krishna is speaking it is not that our heart is filled with our own plans and our own greatness so that we don't hear Krishna's voice so if we have an intellectual alertness and devotional submissiveness then by Krishna's mercy the realizations will come maybe for some people the intellectual alertness may be more because of their past karma they may have more sattva guna because of which they can remember more things but actually this intellectual awareness is not just capacity for facts recollection of facts it is more in terms of insights and that doesn't depend so much on past karma to some extent it might be but to a large extent it depends primarily on the diligence with which one is practicing bhakti Krishna reciprocates and then gives epiphanies accordingly.