[Advaita-l] Who has praarabda? -1

[Kuntimaddi Sadananda]

praNams to all - posting as two part due to length.
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Does jnaani has praarabda or does ajnaani has praarabda? Or who has praarabda?
First let us ask at what is praarabda? Praarabda is nothing but
results of actions that were performed in the past, when I am not a
jnaani. Hence it is ajnaana karma phalam. Of the total account of that
(sanchita) I brought in this life only that is ready to fructify in
this life – taking a conducive body, mind and intellect and taking a
birth at a place and time conducive to exhaust those that I have
brought in. In the case of human birth, where there is will to act, in
exhausting the old karma that I brought in, I may accumulate new one
when I perform the actions with the notion that I am a doer or with
kartRitva bhaava.

If during my growth, I encounter Vedantic teaching and learn from Gita
that all actions (without an exceptions) are performed by prakRiti
itself – prakRityaiva ca karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashaH – Then I
understand that I was or I am or I will never be a kartaa since
actions are not by me but by prakRiti. What is that prakRiti – Krishna
answered in the 7th ch. that it is his lower nature – that
constituting panca bhuutas, mind, intellect and ahankaara – this eight
fold nature is my lower prakRiti- says Krishna in – Bhuumiraapo nalo
vaayuH … sloka.

A jaani is the one Krishna says who understands that all actions are
being performed by the prakRiti. ajnaani, then, is one who thinks I am
a doer or kartaa and therefore action belongs to me – Hence the result
of that action also belong to me.

Hence the truth is neither a jnaani nor ajnaani are kartaas – or doers
of any action or all actions – says Krishna since all actions are done
by the prakRiti that includes BMI as well as the world that BMI
interacts with – that is the whole kshetram that Krishna defines.
Therefore praarabda nor sancita nor aagaami belongs to either jnaani
or ajnaani. Then to whom it belongs – The truth is it belongs to the
prakRiti only as per Krishna’s statement that prakRiti alone does the
action since doing involves a modification and only finite can get
modified. Self that is all pervading and infinite cannot undergo any
modification. A jnaani is the one who knows that I am the self and
therefore does not undergo any modification realizes that as Krishna
emphasized in the next sloka in Ch. 7 after the sloka –
bhoomiraponala.. that starts with – aprameyam ..My higher nature is
that never tainted by these actions of the lower prakRiti but yet
provides the support for all – dhaaryate jagat.

Now let us ask again who has praarabda? In principle, neither jnaani
nor ajnaani from the point of their true nature – that nature being
the self or that which provides the support for all the lower prakRiti
as Krishna says. Jnaani is the one who has this jnaanam – that is - I
am the self that pervades and supports all the prakRiti that does the
actions that includes all the eight fold nature of lower prakRiti.
ajnaani is the one who thinks he is doer even though he never does!
Hence no one really has praarabda to start with – but one who thinks
he is the doer also has the praarabda because of which he thinks he is
being born again and again.

When no one has praarabda then where is the question of – does jnaani
has praarabda? However ajnaani thinks he has praarabda since he thinks
that he is BMI which is part of the prakRiti. prakRiti that has BMI
has the praarabda since it will be born again and again. ajnaani has
by default since he takes himself to be BMI.

When ajnaani becomes jnaani in this life, that is the one who is
identifying himself with the particular BMI as I am this – now
understands I am the pure self and this BMI belongs to the prakRiti
and prakRiti being inert cannot DO itself, but it does in my presence
– or under my support since I am the one who provides the support to
this lower nature. That particular BMI which jnaani identified with as
I am this during his past when he was ajnaani – will continue its
praarabda since it is the product of that praarabda only until it
drops. Because of jnaanam – there is no more notion of doer notion in
the jnaani who had that BMI, there is no more aagaami or sanchita for
rebirth of that particular MI or subtle.

Hence when we say jnaani has the BMI – it is to be understood only in
the context of his previous ajnaana state because of the
misunderstanding notions of his previous doer-ship notions and results
that are fructifying as a result of those actions that were already
performed in the past and that which cannot be changed at the BMI
level. Hence understanding that I was never a doer even in the past
does not make any difference in terms of the results of actions that I
took ownership in the past due to ajnaana – Hence BMI will have to
undergo praarabda.

Since jnaani understood he is not BMI – he never has praarabda.
ajnaani also does not have praarabda – but due to ajnaanam he thinks
he has and suffers due to that notion. Then who does the actions at
BMI level using jnaani’s BMI. The answer is the same thing as who does
the actions at BMI level for ajnaani too – since Krishna declares that
all actions (jnaani or ajnaani) are performed by prakRiti only.
Hence, in principle, no one has BMI – whether jnaani or ajnaani – this
fact jnaani knows and ajnaani does not know and he thinks he is BMI
due to his ajnaanam.