Gita Rahasya -Tilak 309

Gita Rahasya -Tilak

CHAPTER X THE EFFECT OF KARMA AND FREEDOM OF WILL In as much as the being burnt up of Karma in this way is entirely dependent on the Mind being . free from objects of pleasure, and on the Realisation of the - identity of the Brahman and the Atman, no time is lost in . such Realisation performing its function of destroying Karma, in the same way as fire begins to exercise its function of burning, the moment it comes into existence. The moment Realisation comes, Karma is immediately destroyed. Neverthe- less, the moment of death is considered to be more important than all other times in this matter, because death is the last moment in a man's life ; and, though the Uncommenced Accumulated Karma may have been destroyed by previous Realisation, yet the Commenced (prarabdha) Karma is not destroyed. Therefore, if this Realisation of the Brahman does not continue till the end, the good or bad Actions which may have been performed in the meantime as a result of Commenced Karma, will become desireful (sakama), and one will not be able to escape having to take a fresh birth to suffer their consequences. It is true that that man who has become really Released from birth (jivanmukta) is not subject to this fear. But, when one is considering this subject-matter scientifically, one has also to consider the possibility that the Knowledge of the Brahman, which has been acquired before death, may not continue till the end. Therefore, philosophers consider the exact moment of death as of greater importance than the time before death ; and they say that the Realisation of the identity of the Brahman and the Atman must necessarily take place at that moment, that is, at the moment of death ; and that otherwise Release is not possible. On the basis of this theory the Gita, on the authority of the Upanisads, states that : "by remembering Me at the moment of death, and Realising that there is no other than I, the man is Released" . According to this proposition it follows that, any man, who has spent the whole of his life in evil deeds, will become Released by Realising the Paramesvara at the moment of death, which, according to some, is not correct; but, if one considers the matter carefully, it will be seen that there is nothing wrong in it. The man who has spent the whole of his life in evil deeds cannot acquire purity of mind, and Realise the Brahman at the moment of death. As in all other matters, it is necessary to acquire the habit of devoting the Mind to the Brahman; and, it will be very difficult, nay impossible, for the man who has not even once in his lifetime Realised the identity of the Brahman and the Atman, to get that experience suddenly at the moment of death.