How does Krishna take away the karma of his devotees?
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Transcript
Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.
So what does it mean when we say that Krishna takes away the karma of those who surrender to him? After all, we see even devotees have to go through the problems of life. The word karma has different meanings. And we need to look at the different meanings to understand how Krishna protects the devotees.
If we look at whatever problems come in our life, they can come at four levels. First is, we don't know what is the right thing to do. Because of lack of knowledge.
Say in the past, 70-80 years ago, people did not know smoking was bad. So they drank, they would smoke, thinking that this is a good fashion. So sometimes we do wrong things because of lack of knowledge.
And then we bring reactions upon ourselves. Second is that we have knowledge of right and wrong, but still the desires are too strong. So we have desires which are like alcohol.
Now, smokers know that smoking is bad, but still they are impenetrable. So second is the desire, level of desire. Third is that presently, we are in certain situations which cause suffering.
Somebody may be poor, somebody may be handicapped, somebody may be in a very difficult financial situation or caught in a troubling relationship. These are current situations which we are living with. And fourth is the reactions that we are going to get in future for whatever we may have done.
So put it another way, we can envision our karma to be like a tank. So there is already some water in it. Some water is coming out, some water is going in.
So when you say water is coming out, that means the suffering is coming upon us. Water is going in means that we are doing activities which will cause suffering in future. So now it's not that all the water that goes in has to go sequentially in and come out.
It needs some actions. If I over it, I may get the reaction immediately also. So basically, that means there is suffering which we are adding, suffering which is existing and suffering which is coming right now.
So this whole thing is called a Sanchit Karma. Accumulated Karma. There is the karmic tank and Sanchit, accumulated karma.
Within that, what is coming to us is called as Prarabdha. So whatever Janma, Ishwara, Shuddha, Shivi, Vishnu, whatever intellectual level we have, whatever looks we have, whatever health we have, and whatever dynasty we are born in. There may be a lot of things which determine our happiness or suffering to some extent.
These are like the Prarabdha Karma. So now, Bhakti helps us at these various levels in many different ways. Firstly, Bhakti gives us knowledge.
By which we at least know this is right, this is wrong. That means that because of ignorance, what we were adding, suffering, bad karma, we stopped that. Secondly, Bhakti also gives us a higher taste.
By which when we know something is wrong, we are able to get the willpower, get the purification, by which we are able to give it up. Many of the things we have been able to give up. Some may be struggling, but still we have been able to give up much more than others.
So that itself is, much of the self-inflicted suffering stops. Now, with respect to the Prarabdha Karma, that usually does not go away easily. So, for example, in our tradition, faith healing has never been emphasized.
That means, say, somebody was born blind, and then, say, somebody touched him, some saint touched him and the eyes came back. In Christianity, Jesus healed some people like that, and many faith healers claim to do that. Whether it is true or not, it's debatable.
But in general, our tradition has not emphasized that. So, we have some saints, you know, who were blind, and still they were great devotees of Krishna. Their devotion did not remove their blindness.
So generally, the Prarabdha Karma does not change. But what changes is our suffering because of that. Because when we are only in material consciousness or bodily consciousness, then any material suffering, because that is the only level of reality that we know about, so it feels as if our whole world has come crashing down, or the whole world is unfairly limited in some way.
But when the whole spiritual gateway opens for us, and we understand that we can have a relationship with Krishna irrespective of whatever situation we are in, so we are able to deal with that situation much better. So, the material problem remains at a material level. But because our consciousness is not caught only in the material level, we have learned how to find satisfaction in the spiritual level.
So, the problem doesn't cause that much suffering as it would have caused earlier, or as it would cause in non-devotees. And now with respect to the… So, this we have to… usually we have to live with. And the fourth is the prarabdha, what is going to come in the future.
Generally speaking, that Krishna takes away in the sense that the devotee is no longer under the law of karma. So, in Prabhupada's example, that sometimes the police catch a thief, catches a young teenager, delinquent teenager, or a young boy who is stealing, and say, police is beating a thief. And say, a mother is chastising, beating a child because of some mischief.
Externally, beating is the same. But one is the rule of law, the other is the rule of love. No world of difference.
So, externally, a devotee may also go through sufferings, as might a non-devotee. But the devotee is overall in the shelter of Krishna. And because of being in the shelter of Krishna, whereas for non-devotees, suffering simply causes frustration.
It just causes frustration. Whereas for devotee, suffering brings renunciation, realization, and devotion. Three things.
By renunciation, not again or frustration, because devotee understands there is a higher dimension to life. And I need to take shelter in that. So, in that sense, we become not so dependent on material things for our happiness.
Then also realization. Realization means that when we actually take shelter of Krishna in distress, we do experience some relief. So, although there are various miseries which come upon all of us in material existence, but when the consciousness is absorbed in me, then Krishna says that the devotees don't suffer in the same way as non-devotees suffer.
The sufferings come, but the devotees don't suffer. So, with respect to those huge sufferings, what is happening is, Krishna takes our karma, not the prarabdha, a prarabdha, what is going to come in the future. And prarabdha usually we have to live with, but we don't suffer so much.
A prarabdha Krishna may take, Krishna usually takes. And he takes personal charge. He does whatever is best to increase our attraction to him.
So, when a devotee goes through suffering without a resentful consciousness, it's not easy to avoid resentment, but somehow if you try to remember Krishna, and then we get that renunciation, realization. And then when we realize, yes, there is really the shelter of Krishna. That shelter of Krishna really raises me above suffering.
When we understand this, then our devotion to him also increases. Because Krishna is for real. So, that way, our shelter becomes more and more shifted from the material level to the spiritual level.
So, devotees will also get sufferings. But the point is that those sufferings do not cause frustration, rather the sufferings bring renunciation, realization and devotion. So, that way, in the Madhva Sampradaya Mahacharya gives an example.
Suppose a child has not done homework. And now the child is going to go to school. At that time, the teacher is going to say, show your hand.
You have not done your homework, show your hand. I'm going to beat you. Slick.
She's going to beat like that on the hand. Now, the mother, when she says that, oh, my child has not done homework. The mother on one side doesn't want the child to be punished.
But at the same time, she also knows that the child should learn discipline. So, the mother sends the child to school, but puts on a glow on the child's hand. And now, that is, show your hand, teacher beats.
Creates a loud noise. But the child doesn't feel anything. So, that glow, so that's a feature is like material nature.
I see, got it. Krishna is like the mother. And the glow is the remembrance of Krishna.
Excellent. So, if we take, externally, we may go through suffering, but if there is remembrance of Krishna, then the devotee is actually relieved from their suffering. We may also, a devotee may have some fracture, some pain.
Materialist will just say, ah, oh, ouch. A devotee could call out, Krishna, Radharani, Chaitanya. You know, that itself gives relief.
That is purifying. There is uplifting. So, now the problem may come, if while going from the home to the school, the child takes away the glow.
So, Krishna is giving us the shelter of his remembrance. Yes. So, even when we go through material nature, we will grow old, we'll get deceased.
We will also have to go through the trivedh tapa. But Krishna gives us the glow, the shelter of remembrance. So, we have to, we have to make sure that we hold on to that glow.
Then we will experience the protection from it. Very nice. Very beautiful though.
Excellent. It's like driving in Delhi. Yeah, very nice.
So, one thing I'm trying to do after the recent leaves.