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[Giridhar]

>it is Gummuluru Murthy's prArabdha to respond to the post on sannyAsa and
>karma and to write this post as a follow-up.
>
>it is prArabdha for some of us to think of ac, house, paycheques to be
>modern conveniences and to think of them as tools of enjoyment.
>
>it is prArabdha for some of us to think of the same ac, house, paycheques
>to be hindrances in our quest for truth.
>
>Nothing can be avoided. Like an arrow that has been shot (which will meet
>its target), the seeds for these actions have been sown long ago and we
>are seeing the fruits of that action or omission.

It is surprising that this is mentioned today. This morning, the Kanchi
swamigal
gave a long discourse on television on how foolish the above idea is. He
gave a good example. Suppose, a man comes home drunk and beats up his wife.
We are witness to this event, but we are busy. Do we say 'It is my
prarabdha to go to work, for the wife to get beaten, for the man to drink
?' or do we say 'I will do my duty of informing the police. I will try to
take other action also, but if the actions do not succeed, it is not
important since Bhagavan will decide the fruits of my action.'

Clearly, except for a handful, many in the group seem to have ignored the
wisdom quotations posted by Rama. Well, he seems to be an untiring person
(like Jaldhar) responding to these posts. I have long given up hope that
people will stop misinterpreting and simply ignore Shruti, Smriti and what
not to emphasize there is no free will. It does not seem to matter that
Shankara, RM etc. say otherwise. The aspect seems hilarious because I have
seen people quote the Yoga vasistha for mental renunciation but the same
people completely ignore the early chapter of the above text when it comes
to free will. Vasistha is so emphatic that he even denies there is
something like destiny and goes on to say that everything can be changed by
right effort and right thinking. Anyway, if this is said, one starts
arguing from the paramarthika level and says there is no free will, no
individuality. Constantly confusing between the two, one lands nowhere.

I hope we don't visit bars and drink, because we physically have
conform to rules and regulations prescribed by the shastras. We
can not say

1. I have mentally renounced the joy which arises from consuming
alcohol
2. It is my prarabdha that I should drink.



This situation has become so bad that even the soft spoken newspaper 'The
Hindu' has to say the following...

-----

It is amusing to read articles written by NRIs, who often take the
liberty of preaching Hinduism (and Advaita, Karma) to the Indians
here.

        When the non-resident Indians speak of 'their' version of
Hinduism to the so-called 'ignorant' and 'pitiable' Hindus who
live 'here' in India, one becomes a little uneasy. A majority of these
people, from the early years of their education, start nurturing
the dream of migrating to the land of bounty (the US in most cases)
for better material prospects.

        They leave their motherland with the sole objective
of fulfilling their material ambition, which itself is the antithesis
of the true practice of Hinduism. They do not want to be in the
'ugly' land of snakes, cowdung and stinking villages. They do not
want to identify themselves with the unclean and foul-smelling
common folk of this country. They want to be hygenic, clean and
economically high-placed.

        To wash off their 'guilt complex' and feel emotionally
secure admist their riches - which, at times, alienates them from
their cultural roots - they would like to have, as a cosmetic touch,
a little of religion, the Indian classical dance, music, ethnic food,
festivals and other cultural items. They build ostentatious
places of worship to visit either during weekends or during times
of distress. They liberally donate to temples in India or themselves
construct temples over there.

        Hinduism  is protected and preserved by the common folk of
this country...The latest challenge to them is not globalization
and liberalisation, but also the attitudes of the NRIs, the impact
pf which is devastating on Hindu culture and traditions.

        First we have to become rightful insiders to understand
the subtlelities involved in religion. Only then we will have a
right to criticize. [A]

        If we start denigrating the inconvinent things of Indian
culture, which do not tune to our intrepretation, we may ultimately
reach a stage where we may be compelled to eliminate even some of
the most creative portions of our literature.

-------------

It is not that I am not guilty of the above (i.e., sacrificing the
spiritual for the material) but then I do not wantedly misinterpret
Shankara to suit my tastes. If shankara says that physical renunciation is
necessary for moksha, so be it. It is so. I may disagree with Shankara but
it is HIGHLY improper to say 'Shankara said so because it was his prarabdha
to say so. It is my prarabdha to deny His greatness without any logic or
reason.'

For those of you who are happy with the prarabdha theory, do not get too
angry and yell at me or Ravi (for allowing such posts on the list), just
think it is my prarabdha to post such things and pray to God (if you have
such prarabdha, of course).