Prarabda and purushaartha

[Vaidya N. Sundaram]

On Mon, 27 Jul 1998, sadananda wrote:
> Looking back, I also realize that there was an extensive discussion in the
> past on to what extent an external sanyaasa is required for moksha and the
> role of karma etc.  Those who are interested can look into those archives.

 Refer to July 1997 in the archives. The threads were on several lines:
The Karmas and our Destiny, Unreal Actions and Actors, Destiny and Free
will and so on.
 I wish to point out in particular one part of one post of one person.  I
believe it is concise and also to the point.

---

On Tue, 8 Jul 1997 Vidyasankar Sundaresan writes:

 If you take the position that all future actions are predestined, and
that one is helpless against such a superhuman force, you might as well
deny any possibility of attaining jnAna, or else, make jnAna itself just
an adventitious outcome of favorable karma. But that is never the case.
To talk about free will and destiny as if either is an absolute, is to
grant more than is due to these two. Destiny and free will have no
existence apart from each other. By exercising free will, one brings upon
a certain destiny, which then offers more opportunities for exercising
free will, which creates yet more destiny. We can use the same free will
to acquire jnAna, thereby breaking the cycle of destiny and free will.
There is a clear way out of the cycle that has been taught from the
ancient upanishads down to the recent Ramana Maharishi - namely Atma
vicAra.

---

 There is a lot more of this where this comes from, namely the archives.
For some list members, this may be old stuff which they have read;
nevertheless, it is of relevance here and I suggest list members read the
archives again and see the opposing points and come to a conclusion, or
take it further.

Cheers,
Vaidya.


                      Vaidya N. Sundaram
                    E-Mail: vaidya at purdue.edu
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 The place, time, objects and their knower etc., projected in a dream
during sleep are all mithyA (an illusion/false). So too, here. in the
waking state, the world that is seen is a projection by one's own
ignorance. Likewise, this body, the senses, the breath, the ego etc.,
are all unreal. Therefore, That thou art, the peaceful, defectless,
supreme, non-dual Brahman.  -- Adi Shankara in VivekacUdAmani.
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