LIFE RESPONSE

Goutama - the Buddha had advised his people not to take extreme positions in life. He always had preferred the middle path. Position such as extreme right or extreme left, can create difficulties to all people concerned, he preached. He also advised people not to crave too much. Craving results in the feeling of possessiveness which in turn, could lead to tremendous grief, he warned his disciples and followers.

‘Even nectar, if consumed in excess ends in death’, so says a local proverb. In practical terms, we have heard several times the advice of elders only to bend but not to break. To break is doing an extreme action. Once broken it ends, be it a living being, material or a situation.

Life is a great leveller. Come what may, it responds. It responds positively to positive thoughts and actions and of course, negatively to negative thoughts and actions. This, all the more reiterates the importance of keeping the purity of mind intact. The more pure your mind is, the better is the life responses, that is.

The Hindu scriptures say that whatever response you get in life could be due reasons such as:

Karma phala (result): This is all about the result of one’s own karma (actions). You do good, you get good. If you do bad, you get bad. It is very simple to understand and follow.

Prarabda karma: This is the result of the karma (actions) of your ancestors. The results of some of their actions not only affect them but their successors too. Good or bad, on this you have no control; you take it as it comes by.

Mujjanma (last birth) karma: Hinduism, like many similar religions, believes in rebirth (punar-janma). This result is the carry over of your own actions of your past births. Here again, you have no control. Take it as it comes.

We see many people putting good efforts but suffer in return. We may find it unexplainable that here is a guy who is doing good but he is not getting any positive results. Probably, this could be due to prarabda karma or mujjanma karma. One comes across number of similar cases. However, even though life response could be a sum total of all the above three causes, one must understand that the major part of the result depends on one’s own action in this birth itself.

What prompted me to do this post is an incident that happened to my business partner. He had been part of a service club that I too was in. A man of very strong opinions (very often cut & dried, to the extent of hurting other’s sentiments), my partner had taken his role of protector/mentor of the current office bearers of the club too seriously. For this, he went into a fight mode with a majority of the members of the club. From an external perspective, he was not fighting his war but some one else’s. Feeling the possessiveness, he went into such an excess that he started calling every member who crossed him, names in public and through writing. Things came to such a pass that even the very people whom he was protecting/mentoring, turned against him. He was asked to explain his actions to which he gave scant respect but added further innuendos. Not reaching anywhere, the President of the club asked him apologise for his extreme actions that brought pain to many members including me, his partner for many years. With this he had no option but to apologise to continue his membership in the club. Since his ego did not allow him to do so, he quit the club which had been part of him for 8 years on which he and his family had contributed immensely. The club was not only giving him an opportunity to serve the needy but also was offering him and his family enough companionship and fellowship to which the family was very dependent.

What is the scene now? He is sulking, sitting out alone. The family is unhappy with his actions and the entire membership of the club feel bruised by his deeds.

The question everyone asks is “was it really needed?” One does not know but one feels that with certain restraint and by not taking the case to the extreme, he could have avoided the terrible outcome.

Bible says “you take the sword and you die by it”. I see it as a true example of the result of one’s own karma.

Such is the Life response. Can anyone escape it?