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Faith gives relief

CHENNAI: Scriptures affirm that human beings are born to undergo the effects of their individual Karma and this explains the sufferings people experience during their lifetime. The firm faith that only God can relieve us from this bondage of Karma has to seep in since all attempts to seek relief from other sources may not be efficacious. In a lecture, Swami Gautamananda drew attention to Sri Ramakrishna’s extraordinary ability to interpret great Vedanta truths in simple terms during discussions with his disciples. On the point of human beings being subject to their Karma, it is explained that though to some extent one had to reap the fruit of one’s actions, much of this bondage is dispelled when one repeats God’s name, meditates on Him and surrenders to Him. God does not rule mechanically and is ever ready to guide those who seek His help. His compassionate nature towards every Jivatma is such that one has only to implicitly trust Him and this vouches for easily coping with the consequences of Karma and gain relief from sorrow.

This is similar to the way a parent might review a wrong doing of a child with compassion and reduce the degree of punishment. An erring child may be let off with an imposition instead of some greater chastisement if the parent is convinced in the child’s genuine regret of the error.

Likewise, suppose it was ordained that one had to be born blind in seven births because of his actions of previous births. But after a dip in the river Ganga, which brings liberation, maybe this fellow remained blind for the rest of his life, but he was not born another six times.

Again, Sri Ramakrishna held strong views on the subject of non-dualism that negates this world as unreal. It was not wise for a householder to believe that “everything is like a dream”, for there would be no congruity when one thought in non-dual terms when in the midst of dualities. It would lead to a schism in the behaviour of the person when the mind and thoughts are different from one’s actions, hindering the growth of an integrated personality. True devotion to God can reconcile this problem, when one lives and acts for God and remains unattached to the world.

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