How understanding destiny empowers

[Talk at Hindu Temple, Delaware]

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
So, thank you for that. Thanks to all of you for coming here today and also to the temple organisers and leaders for giving me this opportunity to share something about the spiritual wisdom from the ancient texts of India as it pertains to the topic of destiny. So, are we the makers of our destiny? All of us have some time or the other confronted this question.
Now, when we talk about destiny, there can be two broad meanings of the world. Destiny can refer to what is going to happen or it can refer to what we are going to do. So, for example, when some event happens and we just say, okay, this was destined to happen.
I was destined to come here. I was destined to meet you. I was destined to be in this situation.
So, something that happens to us by some inconceivable will, various things work out different ways. Sometimes we use the word destiny in a positive sense and sometimes we may use it in a negative sense. The word destiny also has a second meaning where it refers to what we are going to do.
Say a child is a prodigy, say very good at mathematics and then the child grows up and becomes a celebrated mathematician. Then we say that they have fulfilled their destiny. So, destiny has two distinct meanings and sometimes these two meanings can get conflated.
There can be confusion in these two meanings. So, when we talk about are we the makers of our destiny, what does it mean? When we talk about destiny as something that happens to us, it refers to some higher force or some higher plan which orchestrated things in our life by which something’s happened to us. So, for me, the subject of destiny has always been a personal mystery and a personal odyssey.
Now, some of you may have noticed, I use crutches for walking. So, I had polio when I was one and my parents, I was in India in a rural place, a semi-rural place. So, my parents, when I was a small child, took me to a doctor to give the polio vaccination and very diligently they did that.
But apparently, the doctor had been negligent and the fridge in which he had kept the polio vaccination, vaccine, that had conked off. So, the vaccine turned defective and the vaccine ended up giving me the polio. So, at that time, I was too small to understand anything.
I was just walking one day and the next day I collapsed, just couldn’t get up. So, my parents were devastated. But after they recovered, they took strength from the fact that this was destiny.
Now, as I grew up, I never felt my parents in any way considering my handicap as a burden. They, especially my mother, infused confidence in me that whatever happens, you have it in you to succeed. And since the early days, they found that I was good at studies, I was intellectual.
So, my parents encouraged me by telling me that destiny has compensated for your physical disability with your intellectual ability. And as I grew up, I became more reflective. And after I completed my engineering, throughout my life, my purpose was I wanted to be a topper.
I wanted to be the number one in my class, in my college, in my university. And somehow, although I was a good student and I always came among the toppers, but I was never the topper. I was never the unique number one.
Sometimes, I joined first, sometimes second, sometimes third. So, that was the driving force of my life. I wanted to be the number one.
When I was doing my engineering in one of the premier colleges in India, at that time, the third year, I gave my GRE. And since my childhood, I loved English. And generally, English is where many Indians have difficulties.
When they give GRE, there’s a scholastic gap. There is the analytical ability, the mathematical, and the linguistic. So, I gave GRE, and at that time, it was up to 2400.
I got 2350 out of 2400. So, I was not just first in my college, I was first in the whole state of Maharashtra, which has several million people in it. I was first in the history of my college.
And at that time, I felt elated. I felt as if I have fulfilled my destiny. What I had dreamt for, what I had strived for, I have now achieved it.
And yet, soon after that, something bewildering happened. Several of my friends, they were delighted and they shared my joy, lavishly congratulated me. But it happened that three of my friends, somehow, they forgot to congratulate me.
They thought, oh, everybody is congratulating, it’s just well known. So, first time it happened, I was a little taken aback. Second time, I was annoyed.
Third time, I was angry. And as I was angry, suddenly, somehow, by the quirk of nature, whenever any significant event happens in life, I seem to look at it from an out-of-body perspective. So, I look at myself and I felt, wait a minute, I thought that becoming a chopper will fulfil my dreams and will make me happy.
But here, I have become a chopper. And instead of being happy, I have become more dependent for my happiness on others. Earlier, I could just normally interact with them and take the conversation forwards.
But now, I am dependent on whether they congratulate me or not. And that set me thinking. I could follow the same trajectory.
I might top in another exam. I might get a high paying job. I might get fame and power and prestige.
But I thought, through it all, I will again be dependent on others for appreciating me, for congratulating me. So, will this road lead to happiness? And that’s when I discovered the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita. And then I understood how my life had actually prepared me for having the wisdom of the Gita inserted in my life just at the right moment.
If I had got that a little earlier, I would have been too infatuated by my goal of being a topper and I would not have been receptive. And if I had got it a little later, again the veils of worldly infatuation would have clouded my consciousness and again I would not have been receptive. So, now when we look at destiny, there is some higher power which sometimes leads us to success and sometimes leads to bad things happening in our life.
And this is not just some matter of some philosophy. If we consider sports, in some ways, sports is an intensified or amplified microcosm of life. The same things, ups and downs, which we go through in life, in a sports match, people go through it in a short time and with greater emotion.
In sports, players know that they have to perform. If in cricket, a batsman doesn’t bat well, they are not going to score runs. But at the same time, players also know that performance is not all that matters.
Among the various cricket teams in the world, the Australian team is known for its tough playing. Of course, now, right now, they are in some infamy because of the world tampering scandal. But maybe around one and a half, two decades ago, they were dominating the world cricket.
And even at that time, many of the leading Australian cricketers who were top-notch performers also had their quirky superstitions. Mark Taylor is an Australian batsman and every time he would go out to bat, before going to the ground, he would go to the pavilion restroom and cover all the lids of the commodes. And if he got out early, he would come back not to the pavilion, but to the restroom commodes.
And if any of the lids would be open, he would go and blast his teammates. Why did you keep this open? Because of that I got out. Steve Waugh was their captain and he would always have a red handkerchief in his pocket.
Partially coming out of his pocket, partially inside. And he considered that his good luck charm. He was a very good fielder and he practically never dropped catches.
But if he would drop a catch, he would look at the ball and he would look at the kerchief. Has it fallen off? How did I drop this catch? So the point is, these players, they would practise tirelessly, they would exercise, they would train. But at the same time, they also recognised that success doesn’t depend only on our efforts.
In their own idiosyncratic way, they were trying to appease whatever unknown force shapes the results and trying to get that in their favour. So all of us do at some time or the other recognise that our success depends on our efforts, but doesn’t depend only on our efforts. So that factor, which is beyond our control, and which shapes the things that happen to us, that is destiny.
Now destiny is intricately related to the concept of karma. The Bhagavad Gita in the fourth chapter says, karma is very difficult to understand. At a simple level, we can say that karma refers to the effect, to the principle of cause-effect correlation in the universe.
Every cause produces an effect and every effect has a cause behind it. So karma is the principle of connection between cause and effect. And destiny refers to the linkage when which cause will produce what effect.
Destiny determines that. That means that actions do produce reactions, but when and how the actions will produce reactions, that is not fixed in a universal sense. That is customised according to individual based on their destiny.
So destiny is the sum total of our past karma, which is aggregated together and that shapes the interaction between our present actions and our reactions. One simple example to illustrate this. Consider a farmer.
In farming, the goal is to get a yield, a harvest. The farmers ploughing the land and sowing the seeds is the karma, is the endeavour the farmer is doing right. Then the rains coming on time in the appropriate quantity, that is destiny or daiva.
Then the adequacy of the harvest time passing so that the season changes and the crops harvesting time comes, that is kaala. So karma plus daiva plus kaala leads to phala. Phala is the fruit.
So our endeavour plus destiny plus time when all three are together, then that leads to the result which we desire. So the farmer ploughs the land and sows the seeds, the rains come, the seasons change and then there is a harvest. If the farmer sows the seeds, but the rains don’t come, then no matter how well the farmer has done their part, the harvest will not come.
So karma is important, but daiva is also important. Another more immediate example for most of us, when a couple get married and decide to have a child, they may unite, that is their karma. But it is not that just uniting automatically guarantees they’ll be a child.
Sometimes the child is born soon, sometimes the child is born after a long time. Sometimes conception doesn’t happen for a long long time also. So that is determined by destiny.
So we do our part. What we do is in our control, that is karma. What is not in our control, which also determines the result, that is daiva.
And then there is kaala. Even if conception occurs, there is a period of gestation after which delivery happens. So the child is born.
So this principle of karma, daiva, kaala leading to phala is operational everywhere. But in the normal course of action, we may not notice it. Because we often think simply the karma leads to phala.
So for example, I eat food and I get energy. You say, okay, I got the food, I earned the food, I ate it, I got energy. That may seem very simple.
However, sometimes I eat food and it simply causes indigestion. And instead of getting energy, sometimes the food may lead to poisoning. And it may not be that I was careless, I went to a proper place, but somehow the cook who made the food was careless, or the ingredients were contaminated.
Cook was also careful. So food will lead to strength. That is a normal correlation.
But sometimes food which is meant to lead to strength can lead to weakness. Food which is meant to lead to health can lead to sickness. So in the normal course of action, we do not notice that there is something apart from our action leading to the result.
But when the predicted result or the expected result does not come, then we get the question, why did this happen? With respect to our digestion, the only time we think of our digestion is when it does not work. We just take it for granted, normally. So there is something beyond our endeavour which also shapes the result.
But that is something which we do not usually think of. I often speak at colleges, and many times students have this question. I studied so well, but I did not get marks.
If I get to know the students a little better, then I ask them, can you think of times when you did not really study much, but whatever you studied came in the exams, and you got better marks than what you expected, or what you deserved? If they are honest, they will say yes. If we look at our lives, we all can think of times when bad things happened to us. We worked hard, and things did not work out.
But then if we look at the times when things did work out, we may have done our part, but so many other things fall in place. That is how things work out. Many of you are Indians who have come to America.
Now millions of Indians dream of coming to America. But those of you who get there, if you look back at your life, you may have endeavoured, you studied, you worked hard, you got a job. But the series of events by which you came here, it is not just your efforts.
So many other things had to work out right, otherwise you would not have come. So if we look at our lives, sometimes destiny works positively, where even with little endeavour, we get a lot of result. Sometimes destiny works negatively, that we do a lot of endeavour, and very little result comes.
But destiny is not partial. Destiny is simply giving us the results of the actions that we ourselves have done in the past. Now, acknowledging the role of destiny is empowering.
Why? Because if I think I alone determine the results, meaning I don’t believe in this destiny stuff. If I work hard, I’ll get the results. Yes, we should work hard.
But if we think we alone determine the results, and somehow despite working hard, the results don’t come, then we start thinking that something is wrong with me. Failure is an event in a person’s life. But if you don’t understand destiny, then failure doesn’t remain an event, failure becomes the person.
That means, sometimes I may endeavour the best that I can and the result doesn’t come. If I think, oh, that means there’s something wrong with me. Yes, we may have done something wrong and we need to change ourselves, make ourselves better.
But sometimes beyond our power, things do go wrong and results don’t come. So, then if we understand, okay, this was just right, then let me move on in my life. I’ll talk now from the Mahabharata about how the concept of destiny is to be understood in a way that empowers us to act properly.
The Mahabharata features the Pandavas and Kauravas, two sets of cousins. The Pandavas are virtuous. They are the good guys.
The Kauravas are the bad guys, you could say. But the moral lines are not so clear. Among the Kauravas, their father Dhritarashtra is a relatively good person, but he becomes bad because of his attachment to the bad guy.
Durjanar’s son, Dhritarashtra, son Duryodhana is evil and Dhritarashtra is attached to his evil son. So, when Duryodhana hatches his evil schemes, at that time, Dhritarashtra initially opposes, but then he capitulates. So, finally, when the climactic war is going to take place because of Duryodhana’s obstinacy, his, not only was he evil, but he insisted on continuing to be evil.
Then Dhritarashtra’s friend and younger brother, Vidura, tells him, stop your son from his suicidal course. Otherwise, not only will he die, but he will cause the destruction of the whole dynasty. At that time, Dhritarashtra tries to appeal to destiny.
He says, oh Vidura, if it is the will of almighty destiny, if it is the will of almighty destiny that our dynasty be destroyed, then who am I, a tiny mortal, to stop the will of almighty destiny? So, Vidura cuts through his rationalisation and he says, okay, destiny determines the consequences of our actions, not our actions themselves. Destiny determines, after I do my action, what result is going to come. Destiny doesn’t determine what action I am going to do.
So, Dhritarashtra, it is your duty to stop your son from bringing destruction on the dynasty and don’t rationalise by saying that this is destiny. Understand that it is your responsibility. The word rationalise can be understood in two ways.
Rationalise, its normal spelling is r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l-i-z-h-e, rationalise. It can also be spelled as r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l-l-i-e-s, rationalise. So, when we rationalise, we tell rational lies.
We use our rationality to lie to ourselves and lie to others. So, it was not that Dhritarashtra really believed in destiny as supreme and that is why he felt, how can I stop the will of destiny? If he had really believed in destiny as supreme, then when the Pandavas had come back, it would have allowed them to become the kings. But he participated, consented at least to various conspiracies to dispossess them.
But at this time, to justify his weakness, he was saying, oh, destiny is supreme. But Dhritarashtra told him, no, destiny is not supreme. Destiny determines the results of our actions.
Destiny doesn’t determine everything. We have our free will and we have to act responsibly. Suppose, many of your mothers or fathers have a child and child exam is there and then you tell, please study.
The child says, whatever is in my destiny, I will get that. Why should I study? Somebody says like that. Whatever is in your destiny, you will get that.
But our destiny is not static. Destiny is fixed in terms of, we have done certain past karma by which we are going to get certain reactions. Destiny is not, it is not static.
It is not predetermined. Our present actions also shape the situation that we face in our life. So, if a student doesn’t study and fails in the exam, he says, that was my destiny.
That was not your destiny. That was your stupidity. That was your irresponsibility.
Interestingly enough, after the Kurukshetra, actually one of the persons who also tries to persuade Dhritarashtra is Vyasa. He is the famed sage who is the author of the various Vedic literature. And he said Vyasa, Vyasadev comes to Dhritarashtra to console him after the war is over.
So, before the war, when the war is about to take place, Vyasadev comes and tells, stop Dhritarashtra. So, again Dhritarashtra tries to say, but isn’t it destiny? The way things are happening, the war seems to be destined. So, Vyasa says, we can’t know the ways of destiny.
We can only know the way in which we should be acting. So, you are not acting according to Dharma right now. But after the war gets over, Dhritarashtra is devastated, disconsolate.
And at that time Vyasadev comes again. And then Vyasadev tells him, oh Dhritarashtra, do not lament. The war that happened was the will of destiny.
Just accept it now, move on in your life. Do what is your duty right now. Now, what does this mean? Earlier, he said that the war is not destiny.
You have your duty to stop the war. But now the war has happened. See, the war was destiny.
What is going on over here? So, you have to understand this. You have to see there is destiny and there is free will. So, what happens to us is destiny.
What we do is free will. So, we can say that in the context of the Mahabharata, before the war happened, Dhritarashtra had his free will, which he could use to try to stop Duryodhana. He could have done that.
But now the war has happened. Now what has happened is over. There is no use lamenting about it.
So, consider that what has happened is destiny and move on in your life now. Now focus on using your free will to do what is in your power. Now, before I can explain this further, we need to talk about one more point.
What is the relationship between destiny and God? In the Mahabharata, so, this is a broad, this is an important principle which I elaborate. We see the present and plan the future. God sees the future and plans the present.
How does this apply to the question of destiny? I will come to that in a minute or two. Destiny, we could say, is like the law of nature. In physics, we talk about laws of nature, the Newton’s law of gravity.
One law is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, karma is a broader statement of that same law which includes free will, consciousness and higher supervision. So, destiny is basically the functioning of this law that governs the universe.
But beyond the law, there is a personal conscious supreme and that supreme is God. In the Kurukshetra war, when Drona takes command on the eleventh day after the fall of Bhishma, he says, he is very pleased at being offered this honour and he says, what can I do for you, Duryodhana? So, he says, I want Yudhisthira to be arrested alive. So, Drona agrees and one day, two day, three day, Drona tries to the best of his capacity but he is not able to.
By the third morning, when he is not able to arrest Yudhisthira, Drona is castigated by Duryodhana. He says, you promised me. Why are you not yet arrested, Yudhisthira? So, Drona replies, O Prince, you have seen that I have endeavoured to the best of my capacity.
My body bears the marks of the wounds that I have sustained while fighting for you. Only endeavour is in our hands, O Prince. The results are determined by destiny.
And the Lord of destiny is on the chariot of Arjuna. The Lord of destiny is on the chariot of Arjuna. As long as he is there with Arjuna, victory is impossible for him.
So, destiny is the governing principle but beyond that principle, there is a conscious supreme. That supreme is God. So, the way things happen to us, they are determined not just by the mechanical law of karma.
There is also a personal supervision over the world. And by that arrangement, even bad things that happen, they can be, they can turn out to be good. They can turn out to be for good.
So, when Vyasadeva tells Dhritharashtra that the war was destined, what he means is, now focus on what is in your control. That what happened is over now. What Yudhishthira did was his mistake, but that’s over.
The past is history. God is so expert that he can bring good even out of our mistakes. So, what has happened, even if it is because of our mistakes, we see that as a closed chapter, we see that as destiny and move on.
So, God’s vision is different from our vision. Last year, I was in Florida, in Fort Lauderdale, and I was speaking on a similar topic. And I spoke this theme about how God sees the future and plans the present.
A simple example could be a child and a doctor. A child has pain in the stomach. Child goes to the doctor thinking that the doctor will remove the pain.
Doctor sees that, oh, there is an infection over here. He says, you have to do surgery. The surgery increases the pain.
The child says, I came here to be relieved of pain, and you are increasing my pain. The child is simply seeing the present, oh, I have pain, I want the pain to go away. But the doctor sees there is an infection, that infection will lead to far greater complications.
Therefore, let’s do the surgery right now. So, the doctor with knowledge has a greater vision. Similarly, God in His infinite wisdom has a vision much bigger than ours.
So, I spoke this theme. And then in the audience, there was a Ukrainian girl. She was working, she works on a cruise.
So, she came and told me an incident from her life, which gave her realisation of this principle. We have the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, on behalf of whom I am speaking here. So, we have a centre in West Virginia on top of a mountain called New Vrinda.
It’s quite a remote place. And she had gone there for a retreat. And there’s not much public transport available over there.
So, suddenly she got a call from her captain saying that the ship is leaving, come back immediately. She’s looking for someone. How do you go back? She’s asking, is there any transport? So, somebody told her that there’s a young man, a boy who’s leaving the next morning at 10 o’clock.
So, she contacted him, says, can you drop me to the airport? Yes, sure. And then she came, come at this point at 10 o’clock, I’ll pick you up. Okay.
She came there at 9.45. She’s waiting at 10 o’clock. The boy didn’t turn up, 10.15, 10.30, 10.45. She was calling, calling, because it’s a remote mountainous area. There’s not much range over there.
And then it became 11. She was seething with anger. Finally, it became 11.30. And then the call went through.
She asked him, where are you? Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot. What do you mean you forgot? I need to go, I need to go, come back. He says, sorry, I can’t come back.
Now, I have to also catch a flight and it’s too late, I’ll miss my flight. And then the signal went off. She’s shouting at the phone.
She’s furious. Seething with anger. She somehow tried to keep herself calm.
That evening, she again came to the temple for Aarti. And there’s another lady over there, she asked, do you know about that boy who went today morning at 10 o’clock in the morning? He left today morning. He says, yes.
Seething with anger. His car met with a terrible accident. Says there’s a drunk driver who hit straight the car.
And then she showed the photos. That drunk driver had hit the car right on the passenger side. This boy was injured, but not very seriously.
The car was severely damaged. And if anybody had been sitting on the passenger side, they would have been killed. So she understood that she was saved by some higher plan.
Now the boy’s forgetting, was it his irresponsibility? Yes, he should have been remembered. But God arranged through his forgetfulness, through this boy’s forgetfulness, to protect her. So after something has happened, we see that as destiny.
Sometimes, why something happened? I did such a small thing and why such a big reaction to this? We may not understand at that time. For her, it took her six hours to understand. Why did this happen? It was for good, but it took her six hours.
Sometimes it may take her six months. Sometimes it may take her 60 years to understand why a particular situation led to a particular complication. But if you understand that there is a power beyond us, and that power is not just mechanical or impersonal.
There is a higher plan in which our past mistakes and even our present mistakes can be incorporated for our ultimate good. If you understand this, then we can always be positive. So everything that happens may not be good, but everything that happens can be for good.
For good means good can come even out of the bad. The important thing is what we focus on. In our situation, we focus on doing what is the best.
The Bhagavad Gita is a book which talks about various yogas. It talks about karma. It talks about daiva.
It begins with Arjuna having to fight a terrible, distasteful, distressful war. He had to fight against his own grandsire. Arjuna was in tears before the war.
He told Krishna, when I was a child, I would come back from playing and I would climb on the lap of Bhishma and I would play with his beard. I would soil his clothes. I would say, father, father.
The father Pandu had passed away when he was quite small. I would say, Bhishma would fondle my hair and he would say, child, I am not your father. I am the father of your father.
In the second chapter, fourth verse, Arjuna asks in agony, those elders whom I meant to worship, how can I shoot arrows at them? And he just puts aside his bow. Being overwhelmed by grief, the last verse of the first chapter, 1.46 in the Gita, depicts Arjuna having lost his spirit. He puts aside his bow.
I can’t fight. I can’t fight. So Arjuna and the Pandavas had tried their best to avoid the war.
Krishna himself had gone as Shanti Doodh, as the messenger of peace, to try to avoid war. Krishna was the greatest of all warriors. He is God himself.
Right now, in India, Pakistan, there is some tension going on. Suppose the Indian Prime Minister goes to Pakistan to petition for peace. It is a very grave thing.
And suppose at that time, Pakistan tries to arrest the Indian Prime Minister and put him in prison. It would be outrageous. That’s what the Kauravas tried to do.
They tried to arrest Krishna. So the Pandavas had done everything. Sometimes we say, I have done everything humanly possible to avoid this.
The Pandavas did not only everything humanly possible, but even everything divinely possible. Because God himself went to petition peace. But Duryodhana was insolent.
He refused. And the war was inevitable. So when Arjuna was brought by destiny to the situation where he had to fight against his own loved ones, he lost heart.
Sometimes destiny will bring us to situations which are agonising. And we too may lose heart. The Bhagavad Gita is a historical book.
It is Itihas. Describes events that happened millennia ago. At the same time, it also has eternal relevance.
Arjuna’s Gandiva bow can signify our determination, our enthusiasm. Life’s adversities can make us lose our heart. I can’t fight.
I give up. But Arjuna heard the Bhagavad Gita. He understood that whatever was happening, it was at one level because of Duryodhana’s wickedness.
But at another level, it was also part of higher plan. And his role was to do his part in that higher plan. And thus, at the end, he tells Arjuna, Krishna in 18.73, I will do your will.
And Arjuna picks up his bow in readiness to fight. That he picks up his bow in readiness to fight. So he is asked by Krishna to surrender.
And for him, his surrender is in diligence. He is diligent in doing what is in his control. I will do your will.
When we, we are all under the laws of karma, destiny, we do our part, destiny will give results according to its plan. But above destiny is the Lord of destiny. And the process of bhakti helps us connect with the Lord of destiny.
And that connection, that surrender is in two parts. One is, there is dependence on God. And then there is diligence for God.
In the same Mahabharata, there is a description of Draupadi. When she is about to be dishonoured by some wicked people, she tries her best to protect her honour. But when she can’t, she raises her hands up in dependence on Krishna.
And Krishna intervenes and protects her. But that is one form of surrender. Dependence on God.
When things are beyond our control, we just depend on God. So this is the mood that is there even in the Bible. When Jesus knows that the next, after the day of, night of the final supper, he knows that he’s going to be killed the next day.
So he prays, Oh father, let this come pass. But let thy will be done, not mine. Let thy will be done, not mine.
That means that here is expressing dependence. So the Bible offers one model of surrender to God. That is, okay, let your will be done.
The Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna offers another model of surrender. Yes, let your will be done. That is fine.
But what will I do? I will do your will. So if we understand destiny properly, then, and especially if we understand destiny in the light of the personal Lord who is about destiny, then what is in our control, we will be diligent about doing that. And what is beyond our control, we will be dependent on God for doing that.
And we know that what is beyond our control is not out of control. There is a higher plan. Even if things appear to be happening wrong, something right will come out of it.
About 25 years ago, when I first started giving talks based on the Bhagavad Gita, so one of my mentors gave me a sheet of how to speak in public. And the last guideline was, depend on Krishna. And then it was in bracket, depend on Krishna, but only after you have prepared.
So, even when we are speaking about God, we depend on God, of course, but at the same time, our relationship with God is not only of dependence on Him. There is also diligence for Him. So when we acknowledge the role of destiny, there is something beyond my power, beyond my control.
Then we don’t agonise about that. Because okay, whatever is meant to work out, it will work out. When some people do some bad things, because of which some bad things happen to me, God is expert enough to bring good even out of the bad.
What is important is what I do. Let me focus on doing the best that I can. And if I can do the best, then eventually, God will bring the best, even out of the worst situations.
Bad things happen to us, because of our past bad karma. But God can bring good even out of the bad. So whatever karma may get us to, Krishna will get us through.
Because of karma, we may get into all kinds of adversities, perplexities. But if you stay devoted to Krishna, He will get us through. So I’ll summarise what I spoke, then we can have a few questions.
I spoke on the topic of are we the makers of our destiny? I started with destiny has two meanings. One is what is going to happen and what we are meant to do. So talking about how in my life, despite my parents best efforts to protect my health, through the vaccine which is meant to protect, I got born.
Sometimes some things are just meant to happen and they happen. But through that, something good came out. Because I was physically not so active, so I became intellectually more active.
And that helped me to grow in a different way. So what we are going to do, that is also up to us. And I talked about what to understand the concept of destiny.
It’s not just an abstract philosophical concept. Even in sports, sports players know that performance matters, but performance is not all that matters. Even hard fighting players like the Australian cricketers, they also have their quirky superstitions by which they try to appease the unknown.
So how does destiny interact? How does destiny work? I talked about an equation. Karma plus daiva plus kala leads to phala. Our action plus destiny plus time lead to the result.
In two examples, one is of the farmer sowing the seeds and rains coming, seasons changing and harvest and a couple uniting and conception occurring and eventually delivery occurring. So the couple uniting is karma, the conception happening is daiva and kala is the gestation period and the phala is the infant being born. So now, action leads to reaction, that is the law of karma.
But it’s not simply one to one. There is destiny which determines which action will lead to what reaction and when. Normally, because action leads to expected reactions, we don’t even think of destiny.
I eat and the food is digested. But when I eat it, food doesn’t get digested. Then I say, what’s wrong? So, if we don’t acknowledge the role of destiny, then we may claim results, claim the glory for our success, but then we’ll also be burdened by the failure.
And sometimes failure may happen despite our best efforts. And if we think still I am responsible for the failure, then that will crash us. We’ll start thinking failure is not an event in my life, failure is my life.
Failure becomes a person if you don’t acknowledge that there are things beyond our control. The purpose of understanding destiny is not to disempower us, but to empower us. So, when Dhritarashtra is not ready to stop his son, at that time Vidura tells him, it’s your duty.
Destiny determines not our actions, but the consequences of our actions. Therefore, choose the right action now. Don’t say that the war is destined, focus on what is your duty.
But after the war has happened, then he says, see the war as destiny and focus on what is your duty right now. So, sometimes we may commit mistakes, others may commit mistakes and bad things may happen. But destiny is not just a mechanical force of action reaction, there is a personal divine intelligence overseeing it.
And even from the bad, good can come. So, I talked about how we see the present, we see the present and prepare for the future. God sees the future and prepares for the present.
This Ukrainian girl, she was forgotten, didn’t buy that boy, but that’s how she was protected from accident. So, even if we have made mistakes, even if others have hurt us, betrayed us, what has happened? If in the past, see that as destiny and focus on doing what is in our control. And everything that happens may not be good, but it can be for good.
Provided we do the good. Arjuna lost his morale because by destiny he had to fight against his loved ones. But the Gita lifted his vision up from the war he had to fight to the Supreme Lord who was in control.
And then he surrendered. And surrender was diligence in terms of picking up his bow and readiness to fight. Diligence for what is in our control and dependence on the divine for what is beyond our control.
Knowing that, that will work out well in the long run. And with this understanding, he became empowered and picked up his bow in readiness to fight. Whatever difficulties we face in our life, by destiny, by our mistakes, whatever it is, whatever karma may get us through, Krishna will get us through.
So, just as Arjuna picked up his bow in readiness to fight, if we also understand the spiritual knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita, we may be demoralised, but we too will become enthused in readiness to do our part in the great battle of life. Thank you very much. Are there any questions or comments? Yes, please.
So, Duryodhana after being killed in the war, goes to heaven. So, why does it happen like that? And is it like, say, a terrorist killing innocent people and then going to paradise to enjoy virgins over there? Yeah. There are significant differences.
But first, let me explain the Mahabharata’s context. And then we’ll look at its parallel with this. The Mahabharata is very clear about what is Dharma and what is Adharma.
Time and time, the greatest sages and even God himself points out that what Duryodhana is doing is wrong. And so, it in no way glamorises what Duryodhana is doing. It doesn’t… Duryodhana, when he’s fighting the war, he is not fighting the war thinking that, oh, if I die in the war, I’ll go to heaven.
So, he is not motivated to fight the war with some promises from some book that I’ll go to heaven. He’s fighting the war primarily because of his selfishness. I want this kingdom and I want it at all costs.
In fact, he provokes the Pandavas primarily because he thinks I’m going to win. I’ve got so much more army, such more and I’m going to win. So, his actions, both from the perspective of the Mahabharata’s analysis, they are shown to be the Adharmic.
And from his personal motivation, he’s not doing it because he’s promised by some scripture to do something. Now, as far as the destination is concerned, the Mahabharata depicts two, three different things over there. The Shri Madhavacharya, who is a prominent Acharya in the Indian tradition, he’s written a book called the Mahabharata Parinirnay, where he analyses the Mahabharata and he points out that the Mahabharata is a huge book, 110,000 verses.
It’s bigger than the biggest poems known in Western history. Iliad and Odyssey are known as the biggest poems. Mahabharata is seven times bigger than both of them combined.
So, the why I’m quoting its hugeness is that even Madhavacharya, it was almost 700 years ago, he says that at that time itself, the Mahabharata was interpolated. So, there is much in it that may not be what was there in the original text. So, as far as the Mahabharata’s main storyline is concerned, it clearly depicts that what Durudana was doing was wrong and all the, you could say, the wisest people of that time tried to stop it from doing that.
And the actions will have its consequences. So, with this specific point, so, the idea that he might have, he has gone to heaven, that could be an interpolation. That’s one possibility.
The other possibility also is that, if it’s an interpolation, then there is, if you look at the narrative of the Mahabharata, its focus is on what is the right choice for us. Arjuna himself asks in the Bhagavad Gita, What is Dharma? What is my duty? What is the right course of action for me? And the Mahabharata was clear that Durudana’s course of action is not right. So, in that sense, the Mahabharata is not recommending in any way that course of action.
Now, it is also said that when God himself, Krishna is present, and at that time, if somebody dies in his presence, then whatever papa they have done, that gets cleansed because of his divine presence. And it’s like sometimes in the government, sometimes there may be many terrorists who have committed a lot of terrorist activities. But if the government arrives at agreement, and then the war ends, the insurgence ends, and then at that time, the government just, if there is one powerful leader who has won the war, we say, okay, I grant amnesty.
All the terrorists who are there, we are forgiven. But of course, the condition is the insurgency has to end. So, if we see, Durudana, there is no description in the Mahabharata, that he continued his demonic activities in heaven.
So, he, by dying there in the presence of Krishna, became cleansed of his impiety. And the purpose of karma is not just retribution. Retribution is revenge.
You did this, you have to get this punishment. The purpose of karma ultimately is reformation. That we need to, we are given bad consequences for our bad actions, so that we can make better choices.
But if you are cleansed of the tendency to make bad choices, the cleanse of the evil, the evil tendencies, then there is no need for those consequences. So, Durudana, if at all he went to heaven, he was cleansed of his impiety. And he got the reaction to all his misdeeds in the agony that he faced for the 18 days.
And he saw one by one, his generals being defeated, his arrogance being exposed, his dreams being shattered. So, he did get the reaction for his actions. But eventually, his impiety was cleansed.
And then there was no need for him to get a reaction. But Durudana’s killing is in no way glamorised, Durudana’s actions is no way glamorised by the Mahabharata. Now, as far as a terrorist believing that they will get virgins when they are killed, I have attended many interfaith meetings.
And there are many Islamic scholars who say that there are two kinds of jihad. There is internal and external. The real core jihad is fighting against our own evil tendencies.
And even when there is external jihad, it’s only when war is fought for self-defence that is considered holy war. War that is considered as aggression on others, that’s not considered holy. Now, of course, there is a big distance between how Islamic scholars understand the Quran and how the mass leaders of Islam, they propagate the understanding of Quran among the Muslims.
So, in the Vedic tradition, there has been a separation of power between the intellectual and the political or you could say spiritual and the material. The Brahmanas were the teachers of spiritual knowledge. They had spiritual power.
But they would not take up any post or positions. That was with Kshatriyas. So, spiritual and the political was separated.
Even if you see Buddha himself was a spiritual teacher. It was Ashoka later who was the political ruler who spread Buddhism. Jesus was a spiritual teacher.
And there were Roman emperors who eventually spread Christianity. In all religions, we see that there is a separation of the spiritual and the political. However, in Islam, there is a mixing of the two.
Muhammad was both the spiritual teacher and the political leader. So, because of this, there is a tension in Islam. Those who are spiritually minded, they focus on Muhammad’s spiritual example.
But the political leaders, they focus on Muhammad’s political example. And they use that to justify whatever they are doing. So, because there is the separation between the spiritual and the political is not there in Islam.
And Islam also did not have reformation or renaissance. Christianity had it in the 17th, 18th century. India had its, Hinduism had its renaissance in the 19th, 20th century.
Islam never had a renaissance. So, because of that, Islam is, and for many Muslims, individually, it is a way they are going closer to God. It is a path to God.
But collectively, more often than not, it becomes a political tool to power. Because the political leaders of Islam, they quote Muhammad’s political example. So, now, in that case, the idea that you can kill innocent people and you will go to heavens for that, that is completely against the codes of war.
In the Kshatriya codes, with which the Kshatriyas were meant to fight the war, it is that you have to fight with the equal, who is armed and who is alert. The equal who is armed and alert, only then you have to fight. That is the Kshatriya code.
But the terrorists, they are exactly the opposite. They are targeting people who are not equal, who are not armed, who are not alert. That is ghastly.
The nearest that we get anywhere in the Mahabharata to that is Ashwatthama’s, killing the sleeping children of the Pandavas and the sleeping warriors on the Pandavas’ way. And everybody condemns that. Even Ashwatthama’s own associates eventually condemn, you can’t do this.
And Ashwatthama is condemned for that. He is cursed for 1000 years for that horrendous action. So, there is no parallel in that.
The Mahabharata does not glamorise Duryodhana. It shows through analysis and narrative that Duryodhana’s actions are wrong. So, that is why the two are not at all parallel.
Any other questions? Yes, please. Okay. Good question.
So, is it that Duryodhana was enjoying the fruits of his piety and eventually he will get the results of his impiety, he will go where he is trying to go, where he belongs? Yes. We can analyse this question in different ways. Generally, we all get the reactions to our actions.
But when we get it, it will vary. So, sometimes a person may have done something pious and a lot of impiety also. But first, their pious results may come.
Because of which, it may appear that impious results are not coming at all. But the result of their impiety will also come in due course. So, my focus here was on comparing the actions of Duryodhana with the actions of the terrorists.
Focus was not so much on the intricacies of karma by which we get different situations at different times. But that is also a valid way of looking at things. Thank you.
Yes, you had a comment. So, I know that Gangali, as soon as she thought that she was going to marry King Vipassana, her eyes, she is there. So, why Gangali is going to do that in Panchakantam? In Panchakantam? Okay.
Good question. Yeah, okay. So, Gandhari was so chaste to Dhritarashtra that when she came to know that her husband was blind, she chose to put blindfolds on her own eyes.
So, why is she not included among the list of great, great wives or great illustrious chaste women? Yes, there are different ways of analysing. And in this particular case, Gandhari’s chastity is her glory. And Mahabharata does appreciate her time and time again.
However, she, while on her side, she was very dharmic in following Dhritarashtra. She also had a reservation of what Duryodhana was doing. She tried to stop him.
But eventually, she, out of her anger, chose to curse Krishna. So, she cursed Krishna, I have lost my family members, you will lose yours. Actually, Krishna is not under anybody’s curse, he is God.
But he voluntarily chose to accept that curse. But the point is, while her chastity was a material virtue, she also had antipathy towards the Supreme. If you see the other characters over there, none of them had antipathy towards the Supreme.
So, her virtue is lauded. But in the context of the five illustrious wives, she is not included over there. So, you are saying that isn’t, in a sense, destiny also karma only because it is the accumulation of past life’s karma? Yes, it is.
Basically, there are, broadly speaking, do we have this still on? Okay. There are four different kinds of karma. I didn’t have the time to go into that.
If we consider karma, the total reservoir of karma that we have done, to be like a water tank. So, in a water tank, there is water flowing inside, water flowing outside. So, the water that is inside, if we call this the karma tank, the water that is inside is the sanchit karma.
It is the karma that is accumulated from our past. The water that is going inside, that is the agami karma. Agami karma is the actions that I am doing right now.
Or you could call it the kriyaman karma. Then the water that is coming out, that is called the aprarabdha karma. It is soon going to come out.
Hmm. And then, there is some water that has already come out. And I am drinking that and if it is clean, I am happy.
If it is unclean, I am miserable. That water which has already come out, that is the prarabdha karma. So, to explain this in terms of analysis, we are all doing actions right now.
And these will accumulate and they will give reactions. Some reactions may come immediately. I overeat tonight and tomorrow I have stomach upset.
That may happen immediately. I put my hand in fire, my hand burns. But some actions may come after a long time.
So, now, the prarabdha karma refers to certain things which we get at the start of our life, which determine a significant aspect of our life. Like say, some people are born in a particular family which is wealthy or poor. Some people are born with a particular complexion.
Some people are born in a particular nation. And that shapes their lifelong jyot. So, that is like an instalment of past karma which stays with them throughout their life.
So, if you consider the body to be like a vehicle for the soul, yantra rudhani maya, in 18.61, the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, then we understand that we get a vehicle. So, the body which we have got, that also is destiny. But we differentiate between karma and destiny because the word karma can have multiple meanings.
In the Bhagavad Gita itself, the word karma is used in four different senses. Karma can refer to the actions that we do. Karma can also refer to the reactions we get.
Oh, I am suffering my own karma. It was my karma. Here, what is saying we are not referring to karma, we are referring to the reaction to karma.
Karma can also refer to the law of the correlation of action and reaction. Nobody can escape karma. That means it is not referring to either action or reaction, but the correlation of action reaction.
These are three meanings of karma. And karma also has a fourth meaning. There are three types of karma.
There is su-karma, vi-karma and a-karma. Su-karma is action that gives good reactions. Vi-karma is action that gives bad reactions.
A-karma is selfless or spiritual action that gives no reactions. Now, su-karma is also sometimes referred to by short as karma. So, now that means karma can have multiple meanings.
It can refer to action to reaction, the system of action reaction and to a particular category, particular type of action. So, for the sake of clarity, we separate karma and destiny. Destiny is the sum total of our karma, the sanchit karma, which is going to come in a particular way to us.
So, the usual word is daiva for that. So, daiva is accumulation of our karma, but it is accumulated and it comes out in a particular way by higher plan, which is not always determined by action in our hands. The distinctive connotation it has, that is signified by the word destiny.
Thank you. Is there any last question? We have time for one or two more questions. Yes, please.
Okay. So, if we do a particular action, which at that time seems right, but in retrospect we realise it was wrong. So, do we get the reactions for that action? See, as I said, the purpose of the system of karma is not retribution, it is reformation.
So, we are, we are not meant to agonise over which action is going to lead to which reaction. Actually, we can end up becoming very judgemental. If somebody is suffering at that time, we should not be thinking, you know, this is their, the reaction to their karma.
If, if a thief robs a citizen, the citizen goes to the king, have it robbed, and the king says, oh, it was your karma, because of which you robbed. And what would be, what would be the order of justice in such and such case? In fact, if we start taking it like this, a baby, a small baby is crying. Should the mother think that the baby is crying because of his own karma? The mother has to take care of the baby.
So, there is karma in terms of things that happened by past, but there is dharma. Dharma is what is in our hands, what we are meant to do. So, basically, which karma will give us what reaction, we don’t know that.
And getting into that, or rather, this will give me that reaction, or this must be a reaction to that. That is speculative, that is judgemental, and that can often make us very hard hearted. In all situations, our focus should be on what is my dharma? What is my duty? And if we focus on that, okay, that thing happened, even if I get the reaction, if I do my duty right now, things will be all right.
In fact, the Bhagavad Gita says that we have many dharmas. The highest dharma is sharanagati, is bhakti. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayisyam ma sujaha.
Krishna says, if you surrender to me, I will free you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. So, what that means is that if with whatever free will we have right now, we start practising bhakti, and we start doing our life and its duties in a mood of devotion to the Lord, then whatever bad will happen, what reactions may have meant to come for us from the past, they will be taken care of.
Not that they will go away, but they will come to us in a way that will facilitate our spiritual evolution. They may come in a minimal form, they may not come at all. They may come in a way which will prompt us to become spiritually more inquisitive, but it will work out for our good.
So, when we learn, okay, that decision was wrong, then move forward and take that as experience and make better decisions now. Don’t bother about what karma will give what reaction, because that is beyond our capacity to know. Just focus on, if I do the right thing right now, especially if I align with God through bhakti, then I have a bright future ahead for me by His grace.
Okay? So, when I say everything can be for good, how do we justify the killing that has happened? Say the school children are being killed in shootings. Yes, there are terrible things happening in this world, and it has always been like this. As I talked about it, Ashwatthama in the Mahabharata, after the war was over, he came like a coward and killed the children of the Pandavas when they were asleep.
It’s horrible. So, there are two aspects over here. There is, we all have been given free will, and our free will is not unlimited, but we do have some free will.
And although God is supreme, He doesn’t control our free will. He controls the range of our free will. What do I mean by this? That the Bhagavad Gita, 9th chapter, 6th verse gives the example, yatha akashito nityam vayusarvatra goma tatha sarvani bhutani manthanitya upadharya.
Just as the air flows within the sky, similarly, all living beings exist within me. Now, if we consider, conceive of the sky as an upside down bowl, then the sky determines the range in which the air can flow. It doesn’t control the flow of the air.
It controls the flow of the area in which the air moves. So, similarly, all of us have been given some area in which we can move. And within that, we can do whatever we want.
And we can choose to do bad things. And if we do bad things, we will get bad reactions for that eventually by our karma. But there will be people who will be victimised by that.
So, now, how good will come out of it? If we learn from it, and we take measures by which such things are not allowed to happen, that is human responsibility. There is God’s will, there is free will, and there is evil. The three factors which determine actions and the results, God’s will, free will, and evil.
Evil is not some being out there somewhere. Evil is simply, if I keep doing particular actions again and again and again, I become desensitised to the gravity of that action. So, when somebody takes up a gun for the first time, when guns are not easily available, and people are aware of how serious are the consequences of using guns, they will be very grave when they use it.
But when guns are easily available, and they are casually used, then one uses them without contemplating the ghastliness of what one is doing, and then there is a result of that. So, that is evil, which is a result of consistent misuse of our free will. So, when people do bad things, that they are going to produce bad results.
And we are not meant to say that this is good. Nobody, when Draupadi is dishonoured, or Sita is abducted, nobody tells Draupadi or Sita, what happened was good. There are active measures that are taken.
Ram is ready to fight a war to chastise and punish Ravana for his ghastly misdeed in abducting Sita. The Pandavas are ready to fight a war to correct their situation, to correct the wrongs that were done to Draupadi. So, the point here is that ultimately, even from bad, good may come.
But that doesn’t mean that we at an individual social level, we don’t work to make proper arrangements. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, I come to establish Dharma. So, if everything is going to be for good, then why does Krishna have to come to establish Dharma? Krishna comes because he takes responsibility for creating systems by which things will be well managed in this world.
And if those systems get disrupted, he comes and he creates the systems. And it is not that he creates alone, it is for Arjuna. Krishna, he could have fought the war by his own omnipotence and he could have defeated the enemies.
In fact, he tells Arjuna also in the Vishwaroopa Darshan, he shows how your enemies are already killed. By my arrangement, they are already killed. But, you become an instrument.
You become an instrument and you take the credit. So, God wants that each one of us become agents of change. One time, a person went to a temple and he started complaining to God, so many bad things happening over here.
Why don’t you do something? Why don’t you send someone? Suddenly, he heard a voice, I have already sent someone. And looking around, who is speaking? I couldn’t see anyone. I thought maybe I am imagining.
Why don’t you send someone? I have already sent someone. Look around, who is this? This is God speaking. He is scared.
Okay, God, who have you sent? He said, you. You become an agent of the change. When there is darkness, the powers go off.
It is easy to curse the darkness. But, it is much more useful if we turn on a candle. Or in today’s world, we turn on our mobile flashlight.
So, if there is complete darkness, sometimes that is what happens in life, in society, in the world. Just power goes off. Everything seems to be chaotic.
We can blame why this is happening. Now, somebody may have disrupted the power. Somebody may have caused the chaos.
But, what is in our hands is, we can turn on our light. And, if one person turns on their light, let me turn on my light also. And then, we all turn on the light.
And then, we can have enough light for us to move forwards. As we keep moving forwards, taking proper steps, eventually the power will come back. So, when bad things happen, we don’t, at that time, just accept the status quo, thinking that this is for good.
We take responsibility to make sure that some good comes out of it. But, sometimes, when nothing seems to make sense, why is this happening? And, when the thought of that which is not in our control starts dominating us and starts disempowering us, it creates resentment and helplessness within us. At that time, we just let go.
Okay, I don’t know why this has happened. And, some good may come out of it in future. Let me not think about it.
The whole purpose of talking about destiny is to focus on doing what is in our control. Let’s illustrate with one last example. In the Bhagavatam or Krishna Leela, there is an incident where Kamsa, he is driving the chariot of Devaki, his cousin sister.
And, because she is getting married and he is very happy. But, then he hears that Devaki’s child will kill me. And, he is ready to kill her.
Complete change. And, at that time, Vasudeva tells, Vasudeva tries various ways in which, Vasudeva is the husband of Devaki. He tries various ways in which he wants to save his wife and stop Kamsa from his horrendous act.
And, one reason he uses is, oh Kamsa, life and death are destined. If something is destined, it can’t be avoided. Why are you doing this terrible sinful activity of killing a woman, killing your own sister, and killing your own sister on the day of her marriage? It’s a horrible sinful activity.
Because it’s a sin, sin square, sin cube it is. So, why are you doing this to avoid destiny which cannot be avoided anyway? It’s interesting that Vasudeva doesn’t turn this reasoning around and think, if Devaki is destined to die, she is anyway going to die. Why am I trying to stop Kamsa? Why doesn’t he think that way? Because, he is doing his duty.
His duty is, as a husband, he has to protect his wife. Kamsa is forgetting his duty. Despite being a brother, he is ready to kill his sister.
So, the knowledge of destiny is meant to inspire us to do our duty. Not that we rail at destiny and give up our duty. Or we think that destiny is in control and think I don’t have anything to do.
No. So, when such things happen, we leave it, the factors that are beyond our control, we leave it to higher beings for some good to come out. But we focus on being the change that we want in the world.
And that is the way we can be lights amidst the