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133
Ätmasiddhi
Chapter 10 Guru's Explanation about the Soul being Kartä
(Third Fundamental)
The Guru sees that the pupil is led by the considerations of Sänkhya and other beliefs and has not correctly grasped the theory of Karma. Therefore he has doubt about the soul being Karta (doer or actuator) of Karma. He has presented the following four alternatives for the occurrence of Karma: (1) Karma itself may be actuating new Karma, (2) It may be the nature of soul to acquire Karma, (3) Every thing might be occurring by virtue of Prakruti, and (4) Karma might be acquired under the inspiration of God. He has, however, failed to consider the possibility of the soul inducing the activities of the body, speech, and mind. If such activities occur under the inspiration of the soul, it evidently becomes responsible for that.
In this connection, it is worth considering what Shrimad stated in the Letter of Six Fundamentals (Appendix-II). It states: "All objects are associated with purposeful activity. All of them are seen with some or other activity that causes change or alteration. The soul is also imbibed with activity. Being active, it is Kartä. The omniscients have described three types of its activities. In the absolute state when the soul stays tuned to its pure nature, it is Kartä of that nature; in terms of worldly activities, it is Karta of the material Karma; and nominally it is Karta of the physical objects like buildings, towns, etc.".
Of these three types, the first type does not result in bondage of Karma, because the soul stays within its own nature. The second one does account for bondage. The third one is nominal and would result in Karma, only if the soul resorts to the sense of attachment or resentment, while being involved in such activities. In the following five stanzas the Guru explains how the soul behaves under the influence of considerations and hence incurs bondage.
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