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Karma-Its Operation and an Appraisal
the individual being which has some real freedom of will, some power of choice
The world of matter seems to know nothing about freedom, everything there appears as if written 10 syllabic laws on tablets of stone We can think of no presence of soul to natural things " But matter is not all on the plane of mind there appears consciousness of possibilities and of choice And from this arises the idea of a free and Infinite Wul, a Will of illimitable potentialities Therefore absolute freedom of a Splait and Power is not determined by Karma, but it determines Karma On this basis we may understand the relation between Karma and freedom 'The soul of man is the power of the self-existence wbich manisests the universe and it is not the creature and slave of mechanical Nature Mind, life and body and its functions are subject to the action of Karma Man in himself, the real man is free, rather Karma is his instrument He is using it always from life to life for the shaping of a limited individual, which may be one day a divine and cosmic personality There is the individual power of the spirit and we have only to gee why here I am at all under the dominion of Karma I appear to be bound by the law of an outward and imposed energy only because there 19 a separation between my outward nature and my inmost spiritual self, and I do not live 10 that outwardness with my whole being, but with a shape tura and mental formation of myself which I call my ego There is still the feeling of relative freedom, and this freedom and power are influences from the soul
"But the real freedom comes from the personality to the person The first stage of this is passive liberty, liberty of assent, but the assent is to the will of the Spirit There is the higher state of consciousgess in the supramental range In that stage, the soul 18 one with the Supreme in its essence of consciousness and expressive act There "Karma itself becomes rhythm of freedom and birth a strain of immortality "13
4 It has been objected that the Karma theory connects actions and its consequences in a rather mechanical way In its mechanical aspect, it mistakes the means for the end Io this, it is presumed that repeatence is the end and paying the due penalty 18 only a means It is said that Karma theory over-emphasises the retributive aspect of punishment
But, here again, we find a confusion between ends and means Repentence has its place in life, but it is not the end to be achieved Repentence does purify the mind and has the effect of a catharsis This would be a means for the future development of an individual Even as a means it is
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Sri Aurobindo Freedom
The Problem of Rebirth (Pondicharry, 1952) Ch IX Karma and
| SR No. | 520751 |
| Book Title | Sambodhi 1972 Vol 01 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani |
| Publisher | L D Indology Ahmedabad |
| Publication Year | 1972 |
| Total Pages | 416 |
| Language | English, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Sambodhi, & India |
| File Size | 11 MB |