________________
Chapter 11: Pupil's Fourth Doubt regarding Bearing of the Consequences of Karma
After realizing that the soul acquires the bondage of Karma due to its own indulgence, the pupil comes to the next aspect of bearing the consequences. Here he comes across the problem of the agency or the mechanism that can extend the consequences of Karma. The soul is no doubt the Kartä, but who is going to judge its activities and hand down the appropriate consequences? There does not appear to be any agency that would function as the dispenser of justice. His problems in this respect are presented in the following three stanzas.
Jiv Karma Kartä Kaho, Pan Bhoktä Nahi Soy; Shun Samaje Jad Karma Ke, Fal Parinämi Hoy?
The soul may be Kartä of Karma, but need not bear the consequences; how can lifeless Karma be intelligent enough to extend the consequences? (79)
Explanation & Discussion:
The pupil admits that the soul acquires Karma on account of its craving and aversion, but he fails to make out how it can bear the consequences. There are two problems in admitting that the soul has to bear them, viz. i) who is going to decide the right consequences and ii) who would hand down the same to the soul? Had there been some live agency involved therein, it can take such decisions and extend the right consequences. In this case there is soul on one hand, which acquires the bondage. Being the subject of that activity, it cannot, on its own, decide to bear the consequences. On the other hand there is lifeless Karma, which is not capable to know. It does not even know that a particular soul has acquired certain bondage. How could it then decide about extending the consequences? Since it has no intelligence, it cannot make any judgment or any other decision.
Faldätä Ishwar Ganye, Bhoktäpanun Sadhay;
Em Kahye Ishwartanun, Ishwarpanun Ja Jäy.
If God is conceived of as the provider of consequences, there could be a case for bearing the consequences; but that sort of contention would result in loss of God's godliness. (80)
Explanation & Discussion:
Most people believe in an almighty God, who would judge the activities of every being and would dispense the justice. If one subscribes to that belief, then God constitutes the agency, which can extend the appropriate consequences of Karma. God being impartial, He can properly judge every case and hand down the right consequences to every being. But there is no valid case for believing in the existence of God as the dispenser of justice. There are innumerable living beings who happen to acquire Karma every moment. If we admit the existence of God as the judge, He would not be in a position to judge all the cases, even if He is equipped with a supercomputer or with superhuman capability.
Moreover, sitting in judgment presupposes the propensity to act and that itself would lead to acquisition of Karma. It means that God himself would be subject to
