Devote Mind to God and Leave Body to Prarabdha
Nobody really can evade the results of past actions, that is prarabdha; but prarabdha affects only the body, not the mind. The body experiences pleasure and pain according to prarabdha. Nobody wants pain, but it has to come, if deserved. Man does not complain about pleasant things, but about painful events, he says, 'I worshipped God with so much devotion; I follow such-and-such a saint; why then should I have to suffer such pain?' But he does not realize that it is the result of his own past deeds. What can God or a saint do about it?Suppose we are in need of money, and a man or our acquaintance, or a very close relative, is the manager of a bank; if we happen not to have sufficient bank balance, then he is helpless. At the most, he may help us with some money of his own. Similarly, according to our prarabdha, if there is no happiness for us, how can we get it? At the most a saint may, if necessary, reduce our burden of sorrow by taking on some of our suffering to himself. Therefore, we should accept the good or bad effects of our prarabdha on our body and mentally remain in the remembrance of God. A true devotee cares not for the body, and is therefore not worried about physical afflictions of the body. He does not wish to evade prarabdha.Just as the limbs of different persons have differences, the good and bad attributes also appear in different proportions according to the deeds of the past births. Of course one cannot relate each effect with a specific deed, and we call the entire collection of past deeds as prarabdha. Happenings in the world as well as in the individual's life take place according to the respective prarabdha. The difficulties that arise are due to it, and not created by God. Like guests, they come and go. We should not invite them, and nor need we be afraid of them. Prarabdha and the planets affect only the body. They do not stop your mind from praying and worshipping God. Prarabdha does not affect one who remains obedient to a saint or sadguru. Practise continuous remembrance of God and you will surmount your prarabdha.* * * * *
