​Sometimes we say Krishna is acting and sometimes karma is acting – what is it really?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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Sometimes we say that Krishna is acting and sometimes we say karma is acting. So what is it actually? See, in the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, when there is a conversation between Parikshit Maharaj and the cow and the bull, Kali is coming and beating the cow, and at that time, he’s beating the bull basically, and at that time Parikshit Maharaj asks the bull, what is the cause of your suffering? Now, at one level, the whole question-answer session appears a little absurd, because straight forward you can see that this black man is beating me.
Why are you asking what is the cause of your suffering? And in response, this question seems strange, and the reply is also what? He says, actually, some people say karma is the cause, some people say guna is the cause, some people say this is the cause, some people say this is the cause, and ultimately he said that the conclusion is it is very difficult to ascertain the cause of suffering. And then, surprisingly, what is Parikshit Maharaj’s response? He lords the bull. He says, you are not, you know, one who blames the wrongdoer, one who blames the aggressor, is consumed by the same ignorance as the aggressor.
What it means is that certainly the aggressor is to be blamed, if the aggressor is attacking, but we understand that the aggressor is also an instrument of karma. So, if I see the aggressor as solely responsible, then I will retaliate without considering dharma. In some cases, it may be appropriate to retaliate also.
For a Kshatriya, it is important to protect. For that Kshatriya, I may retaliate, but that is based on dharmic considerations. So, when we think that the other person alone is to be blamed for my problems, then I am also, I am not seeing the philosophical vision.
And that is why it is said that we will sink into the same darkness as the offender is sinking. So, in general, to ascertain the cause of suffering is very difficult. So, now, all three things are involved.
The standard example I give is that suppose a person commits a robbery, and then the police come and arrest that person and the judge sentences that person. Now, what is the cause of that person going to the jail? We could say the judge is the cause because the judge gave the sentence. We could say the police is the cause because the police arrested the person.
Police put the lock on the jail. We could say the person is the cause because the person was robbed. So, all three are appropriate.
All three are parts of a causal chain. And at different times, different aspects may be focused on. So, in this example, the judge is like Krishna, the police are like material nature with its law of karma, and we are like the thief, the soul.
So, now, when we look at karma, or when, say, when we get some suffering in life, our principle… So, it’s my karma that is a cause, it’s Krishna also is a cause, okay, I myself am a cause, it’s material nature that is a cause, Krishna is also a cause. All three are causes. Now, we focus on that vision which is uncool to our bhakti.
So, and it is not necessarily a matter of just mental adjustment, but it’s a fact. At different levels, different causes can be focused on. So, I could say, if I get malaria, I can say, oh, mosquito caused me malaria.
Oh, I can say that maybe my diet was poor, because of which my immunity was low, that’s what caused the malaria. So, now, in different situations, I may focus on different things. If in my house, there is some dirty water for me, mosquitoes are coming, near the vicinity, then I’ll try to remove that.
At that time, I’ll deal with that cause. But if the problem is also that I have low immunity, then I may work to cure that. So, within the causal chain, we may focus on different aspects at different times for dealing with the problem.
So, we have to see in our mind, in our heart, which is the vision that inspires us to take shelter of Krishna the most. So, it is, it is, when I say Krishna is not the cause of our suffering, that means, I’m using the word cause here in the sense of blame. We are not to blame Krishna for our suffering.
The cause in the sense of, we have done the bad karma, because of which we are getting the suffering. Now, in this example, I can, of the person, of the bank robber being sentenced, we could say that the judge can give a three-year sentence, the judge can give a one-year sentence, the judge can give a ten-year sentence. But the judge is not responsible in the sense that the judge did not cause me to go into the jail.
It was my own, it was the robber’s robbery that made the robber go into the jail. So, now, when the suffering comes in our life, our mind is very tricky. Sometimes, we feel, oh, Krishna is in charge of my life.
And even if the suffering has come, Krishna knows about it, Krishna will take care of it. And therefore, let me just take shelter of Krishna, let me just serve Krishna. If this vision of protectedness, that, you know, Krishna is in charge of my life.
So, Prabhupada gives an example of this, of how sometimes a parent may discipline a child, if the child is naughty. Prabhupada says, a devotee’s suffering is like that, a parent disciplining a child. Whereas, a non-devotee’s suffering is like a police disciplining a criminal.
Both are beating only, but there is a big difference between the two. Now, in this vision, even when we are suffering, we understand that we are under Krishna’s protection. And therefore, we feel inspired to surrender more to Krishna.
In some situations, especially when there is a very great loss, say some loved one passes away, or somebody gets a crippling disease or whatever, crippling disease or whatever, then in those situations, it’s very difficult, it may be difficult to actually take shelter of Krishna at that time. So, in such situations, we need to, we can think of that, okay, I don’t know what is the cause of suffering, but what I do know is that if I take shelter of Krishna, Krishna will remove me from suffering. So, it is like, say it’s hot out there, and I’m suffering because of the heat, and suddenly I come to a room which is air-conditioned.
I immediately feel relief. So, here I’m not concerned about why it is hot. Is it the global warming that has happened because of it has become hot, or because there is some unseasonal, whatever it is.
My concern is not what the cause of the heat is. My concern is I need relief. And I get that.
And I come to the air-conditioned room. So, similarly, sometimes the suffering may be so great that thinking that Krishna is the cause of the suffering, or Krishna is even letting the suffering happen, that may also make us, how can Krishna do this to me? I mean, we just not feel inspired to take shelter of Krishna. At that time we can just say that, we can just say that, I need relief, I need shelter, and Krishna is offering me the shelter.
So, in general, the question why why me, why this, why now, all these are very, answer the same question. This question is very difficult to answer. The better question is how now? How can I take shelter of Krishna now? How can I experience relief now? The how question is empowering.
The why question is actually disempowering. So, but our mind decides that we just cannot abandon the why question. So, we deal with the why question in whatever way satisfies the mind, so that we can take shelter of Krishna by addressing the how question.
Thank you.