Understanding the intricacies of the law of Karma

The meaning of the cryptic philosophical discussion between Pariksit and the bull on the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam and what we could bring to our practical lives.

In the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, there is a mysterious passage, the talks between Pariksit Maharaja and Dharma, who had taken the form of a bull.

Kali was beating the bull with a club. Although the situation is quite obvious, Pariksit addressed the bull, trying to get a testimony proving the guilt of Kali, just like in modern justice systems. However, the bull refused to directly accuse Kali directly, speaking instead in a cryptic way:

"O greatest among human beings, it is very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered by all the different opinions of theoretical philosophers.

Some of the philosophers, who deny all sorts of duality, declare that one’s own self is responsible for his personal happiness and distress. Others say that superhuman powers are responsible, while yet others say that activity is responsible, and the gross materialists maintain that nature is the ultimate cause.

There are also some thinkers who believe that no one can ascertain the cause of distress by argumentation, nor know it by imagination, nor express it by words. O sage amongst kings, judge for yourself by thinking over all this with your own intelligence." (SB 1.17.18-20)

Understanding the deep meaning of the bull's words, Pariksit replied:

"O you, who are in the form of a bull! You know the truth of religion, and you are speaking according to the principle that the destination intended for the perpetrator of irreligious acts is also intended for one who identifies the perpetrator. You are no other than the personality of religion. Thus it is concluded that the Lord’s energies are inconceivable. No one can estimate them by mental speculation or by word jugglery." (SB 1.17.22-23)

At first, this passage doesn’t seem to make much sense. It appears that it implies that if someone is a victim of some crime or violence and he reports the perpetrator, asking for justice, he is entitled to receive the same punishment reserved for the criminal, like, for example, if a man stabbed with a knife would be forced to spend ten years in prison alongside the criminal that stabbed him. How could this be called justice?

However, when we study it attentively, this cryptic passage from the Srimad Bhagavatam reveals some very profound truths about the law of Karma and its implications.

Karma can be quite a difficult thing to understand. On the one hand, karma is deterministic, things just happen the way they are supposed to happen as we receive the results of our past actions. On the other hand, there is also a component of free will.

This is a very deep philosophical point. When a person kills another, who is the culprit? Would it be the assassin, because he was the one pulling the trigger? Would it be the victim himself, since he was receiving the results of his past actions? Would it be the revolver, since, without a weapon, no murder would take place? Would it be the three modes of material nature that moved both in this direction? Would it be the material nature, since it is in control of the three modes? Maybe it’s just chance, and therefore there is no culprit at all?

At the time of Vyasadeva, there were six prominent philosophical systems in the world, including the Vaisesika, Karma-mimansa, the atheistic Sāṅkhya, and so on. Philosophers of these different systems had different ideas about who the doer of actions is. In the Karma-mimansa philosophy, for example, material activities are the only cause, while the followers of the atheistic Sāṅkhya system believe that material nature is the cause, and so on. The bull made reference to these different systems, speaking in a way that illustrates the position of common people confused by these different opinions.

Although in one sense everything that happens to us is our own fault, since it's the result of our own past actions, the criminal who pulls the trigger is also to blame. He had the choice of pulling the trigger or not, and still, he did it. If he were not a culprit, he would not be subjected to future punishment. So, in one sense, the killer is an instrument for the realization of the past karma of the person who is killed, but at the same time, he is guilty. How does it work?

Karma works in a very mysterious way. It puts face-to-face a person who is about to commit a crime and someone who has done a similar thing in the past. At the same time, the killer is the instrument of the realization of someone's past karma, but on the other hand, he is also an individual who has a choice. If he is able to control his mind and throw away his weapon, nobody will die at that time. Because there is free will, when he takes the wrong path and kills, he becomes implicated in the reactions to such a heinous act.

The weapon is certainly not at fault, because it's just a material object without free will. Although the three modes are responsible for moving everyone in this world, they are also not at fault, because they just act according to the desires of the souls involved in the material creation. As we associate with matter, we develop different material desires, and the material modes impel us to act according to such desires. At every step, we have a choice, but as we make wrong choices, it becomes progressively harder to go back. The more sinful we become, the harder it becomes to go the opposite way. One may thus come to a situation where he is forced by his mind and senses to do things he would otherwise prefer not to do, as discussed in the Bhagavad-Gita.

One who is envious and propense to harm others may eventually end up in a situation where he or she has the possibility of killing someone, and the one who did a similar thing in the past is put into the opposite role.

The central point is that the law of karma works in a circular way. We may perform a certain action, like violently attacking someone. The person then desires revenge, and at a certain point, in some future life, the roles are reversed. We become the victim and the victim becomes the aggressor. We then desire revenge, and in some future life, the roles are switched again. We can see that it becomes a loop. In fact, we have been caught in this circle since time immemorial, sometimes being in the position of the aggressor, sometimes in the position of the victim. Someone who is a victim of some violence has the right to desire justice, but the problem is that to receive justice, he has to stay in this material world to receive it! More than that, one will have to take birth close to the person who harmed them in order to cause them suffering. One may even become the wife, husband, or child of the person who harmed them, a position where one can surely cause a lot of suffering and get their revenge. The question, however, is if that's what we want. The desire for revenge put us on this path, of taking another birth in this material world in order to get our revenge.

That’s why it’s said that “the destination intended for the perpetrator of irreligious acts is also intended for one who identifies the perpetrator”, both have to remain here, one to receive the results of his action and the other to get justice.

That’s why a sage is advised to just tolerate the results of his past karma without becoming disturbed. By forgiving, he breaks the circle. He suffers the reaction to something he did in the past, but without the desire for revenge or justice, he doesn’t become entitled to be in the reverse position in the future. Thus, he becomes free. Christ also explained this higher principle when he spoke about turning the other cheek in his Sermon on the Mount.

This may sound like some kind of impractical pacifism at first, but it actually describes the rationale of a saintly person. If I’m actually receiving justice for some wrongdoing I did in the past, what’s the point of blaming the person used as the instrument? It would be like hitting myself with a hammer and then blaming the hammer for what happened. Apart from everything else, a devotee understands that nothing happens without the sanction of Krsna, and thus he understands that Krsna is actually protecting him from the reactions of his past karma, allowing him to receive just a fraction of what he would be otherwise entitled. In this way, instead of becoming angry at someone, a devotee remembers the Lord even when difficult situations appear. These difficulties then become a catalyst for his devotion, helping him to surrender to the Lord, just as we studied in the prayers of Queen Kunti.

But, how could we apply this in a practical way? Let’s say someone in our community is attacked. Should we just cross our arms and accept that he just received the results of his karma and that the perpetrator is actually innocent, being just an instrument? Of course not. While the victim may act like a saint and just tolerate the offense, without becoming revengeful, the proper authorities have the duty of finding and punishing the perpetrator, otherwise, they incur the fault of neglecting their duty. As Srila Prabhupada explains, this is also good for the criminal, since if he is punished now, he will not have to suffer the consequences of his acts in the future.

We can see this illustrated in the pastime: while Dharma refrained from being angry and accusing Kali, Pariksit was ready to punish the offender with his sword. That was his duty as a king. Thus, this mysterious passage of Srimad Bhagavatam actually teaches us a higher principle. As long as we are holding a grudge for whatever wrongdoings people did to us, we will be forced to remain in this material world, taking birth in situations that may allow us to get our revenge.

We then have another point that is protecting one's dependents from the effects of their past Karma, like Pariksit Maharaja is trying to do by protecting the cow and the bull from Kali.

Of course, we understand that the real solution for people's suffering is Krsna consciousness; however, to become Krsna Conscious, most people need to be in a favorable situation. A devotee may thus work in making arrangements for people living in a peaceful and spiritually conducive environment where they can peacefully practice Krsna consciousness, like Srila Prabhupada, making plans for establishing temples and rural communities as a means of teaching people how to live peacefully.

Although karma is, in one sense, a tool that material energy uses to teach us lessons, karma is also a mechanical system of justice. The results of Karma are thus not always favorable to our spiritual development. Often, it can be the opposite: the miseries caused by our past activities often distract us from our spiritual practice. Usually, only people who have sufficient sukrit from past lives turn to Krsna in moments of difficulties. Most people just become resentful and inimical to God. We can practically see that often people become a little interested in Krsna Consciousness, but different calamities in their lives put so many obstacles in their paths.

Fathers, kings, and other authorities have thus the responsibility of protecting their dependents, so they can be trained in spiritual consciousness. The physical protection they provide is just temporary, since ultimately no one can escape the results of one’s past karma, but the spiritual training is capable of solving the fundamental problem. When a person, due to spiritual practice, finally becomes free from the influence of karma, his path to spiritual perfection becomes wide open. That's the reason the spiritual master takes away the results of the disciple's sins during initiation, giving him or her the chance for a clean start.

The human form of life is very precious because it awards us the rare opportunity to develop our Krsna Consciousness. However, our past karma often gets in the way. It is a great tragedy when someone loses his life untimely or goes through difficulties that prevent him from properly practicing spiritual life. Compassionate Vaishnavas try to prevent that and bring the souls back to their normal, healthy condition.