[Chaturamnaya] Tattvabodha of Adi Sankaracharya - 34

[S Jayanarayanan]

(Continued from previous post)
 
 
7. Karma
 
There are three different types of karma
detailed here - sancita karma, praarabdha karma
and AgAmi karma. Every action done has a result
(merits - punyam /demerits - paapam) depending
on the motive and gross action. Some results are
visible (drishTa phalam) and some are not visible
(adrishTa phalam) and subtle. These subtle results
of action are called karma or karma phalam and
that gives rise to cycles of birth and death or
samsAra. The subtle elements come into picture
as long as the notion of doer-ship is associated
with the actions. These subtle elements should
be experienced in a form and field of experience.
The form and environment will be dictated by
the magnitude of merits and demerits together.
sancita karma is the component which is a
cumulative of merits and demerits on all the
births together. prArabdha karma is the
component which is the fructifying portion of
sancita karma responsible for this birth.
Arabdha can only be exhausted by experience
of pleasures (merits) and sufferings (demerits).
AgAmi karma is the component which gets
accumulated from any moment onwards in this
birth; in other words, all the subtle results which
contribute to the sancita karma from this moment
onwards in this birth. There can be a portion of
Agaami karma which may get fructified in this
janma (birth) itself.
 
Jiva, by ignorance (which was basically the
reason for this birth) has the notion of doer-ship
of actions. The jiva has a firm conviction like 'I
am a man', 'I am strong', 'I am the body' etc.
So, sancita karma gets accumulated and when
the gross body is exhausted with the praarabdha,
the jiva takes another birth (field of experience)
with the fructified sancita karma and with
subsequent actions and sense of doer-ship
Agaami continues. Thus, there is no escape from
this cycle of samsaara without Self realization.
AgAmi karma is prevalent only in the human
form because of free will and cognition. Animals
and other living beings live based on instincts
and there is no ego or the notion of doer-ship
and hence there is no AgAmi karma for them.
 
 karmANi katividhAni santIti chet
 AgAmisa~nchitaprArabdhabhedena trividhAni santi .
 
If it is asked : How many kinds of karma are there?
(the answer is); there are three kinds of karma,
namely, AgAmi, sancita and prArabdha.
 
 j~nAnotpattyanantara.n j~nAnidehakR^itaM puNyapAparUpa.n
 karma yadasti tadAgAmItyabhidhIyate .
 
The results of actions good or bad, performed
through the body of the jnAI after the dawn of
knowledge is known as AgAmi.
 
sa~nchita.n karma kim ? What is sancita karma ?
 
 anantakoTijanmanAM bIjabhUta.n sat yatkarmajAtaM pUrvArjita.n
 tiShThati tat sa~nchita.n j~neyam .
 
The result of actions per formed in (all) the previous
births which are in the seed form to give rise to
endless crores of births (in future) is called sancita
(accumulated) karma.
 
 prArabdha.n karma kimiti chet .
 
If it is asked: what is prArabdha karma? then:
 
 ida.n sharIramutpAdya iha loke eva.n sukhaduHkhAdiprada.n
 yatkarma tatprArabdhaM .
 bhogena naShTaM bhavati prArabdhakarmaNAM bhogAdeva kShaya iti .
 
Having given birth to this body, the actions which
give results in this very world, in the form of
happiness or sorrow, and which can be destroyed
only by enjoying or suffering them, is called
prArabdha karma.
 
 
(Continued in next post)