Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak
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CHAPTER X
THE EFFECT OF KARMA AND FREEDOM OF WILL
Therefore, in considering the difficulty which stands in the way of the embodied Atman attaining the Parabrahman, or obtaining Release, after escaping the cycle of birth and death in the shape of Names and Forms, one has to consider both Karma and the Subtle Body. Out of these, the Subtle Body has been dealt with before, both from the point of view of the Samkhya philosophy, as of Vedanta ; and, therefore, I shall not repeat the same subject-matter here. In this chapter, I have considered only the nature of that Karma or Action, whereby the Atman falls into the cycle of birth and death instead of Realising the Brahman, and also how a man has to live in this world in order that the Atman should escape that cycle and acquire immortality. Those qualities of Time and Space embodied in Name and Form, as a result of which the fundamental, non- perceptible, and qualityless Parabrahman existing at the commencement of the world, appears in the form of the visible world, are known in Vedanta philosophy as ' Maya ' [1], and that also includes Karma [2]. Nay, we may even say that ' Maya ' and Karma ' are synonymous ; because, unless some Karma or Action has been performed, it is not possible for the Imperceptible to become Perceptible, or for the Qualityless to become Qualityful. Therefore, the Blessed Lord has, after first saying "I take birth in Prakrti by my Maya" [3], defined Karma later on in the eighth chapter of the- Gita itself, as : "the Action, whereby the variegated Cosmos, such as, the five primordial elements etc. comes into existence out of the imperishable Parabrahman is known as ' Karma " [4]Karma has been here used in the comprehensive- meaning of Activity or Action-whether it is performed by a human being or by the other objects in the world, or it is the activity comprised in the Cosmos itself coming into existence. But, whatever Action is taken, its result always is that one Name and Form is changed, and another comes into existence in its place ; because, the Fundamental Substance, which is covered by this Name and Form, never changes and always remains the same. For instance, by the Action of weaving, the name 'thread ' disappears, and the same substance gets instead the name of ' cloth '; and by the Action of a potter, the name 'pot' takes the place of the name 'earth'. Therefore, in defining Maya, Karma or Action is sometimes not mentioned at all, and only Name and Form are included in Maya. Yet, when one has to consider Karma by itself, one has to say that the form of Karma is the same as the form of Maya. Therefore, it is more convenient to make it clear in the very beginning that Maya, Names and Forms, and Karma are fundamentally the same in nature. |
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