Beyond Doubt

Author(s): Padmasagarsuri
Publisher: Arunoday Foundation

Page 59

Our intentions also are like that of the Sethji's. We desire spiritual happiness as well as sense pleasures. We hanker day and night after wealth and property and at the same time want God to favour us. Like the Sethji we want all these free of cost but we have to bear in mind that without working hard and putting some effort none, can achieve anything be it material or spiritual. Punya is earned only by good deeds and evil deeds lead to the accumulation demands -viz. of Papa or sin. When 'Punya' and 'Papa' bear fruit we are subjected to favourable and unfavourable situations in life respectively. Happiness and misery also are the resultant of previous deeds. Auspicious and unauspicious planets have nothing to do with our lives:
"कमैंणो हि प्रधानत्वम्
किं कुर्वन्ति शुभा ग्रहाः वसिष्ठदत्तलग्नोऽपि T4: Mafur "
Only Karma is the ruling factor of our life. However auspicious the stars may be they cannot change our fate. Vasishta Rishi had fixed the most auspicious time for the coronation of Sri Rama, but Sri Rama owing to his previous Karmas had to retire to the forest for fourteen years. Even Sri Rama had to experience the fruit of his Karmas, what to then say of ordinary people, Adi Sankara Charya too believed in the Karma theory and said:
"स्वयं कर्म करोत्यात्मा
स्वयं तत्फलमश्नुते स्वयं भ्रमति संसारे
Frei THIS II
i.e. The soul binds itself with Karma and it is the soul itself which enjoys the fruit of it. The soul is the one which ensnares itself to the world and is caught in the meshes of births and deaths and
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