foreign attaining salvation with an arrow piercing a Target the bow here is not made of wood but is made of omkara which is called pranava the Atma is the arrow that has to be aimed at the Target the goal here the target here is Brahman himself the Archer here has to be one without any confusion one who does not have interest in any worldly pleasures one who does not have any confusion about the nature of the jivatma and the nature of the paramatma with what is the result the result is the jivatma becomes similar to paramatma means similar to him indistinguishable from him when an arrow pierces a Target when it goes into the Flesh of the body it is not possible to differentiate the arrow or the head of the arrow and see it separately it is lodged inside the body similarly when this jivatma attains mukti he becomes similar to paramatma in yesterday's lecture we saw that Moksha mukti is of the form of samyapati this jivatma has eight natural qualities which are present in the paramatma also however when we are in this world those eight qualities are enshrouded by Karma they are not visible outside when we reach srivai contam those eight qualities are resplendent they shine out and so we are similar to bhagavan just as the arrow becomes similar to the flesh there similarly this jivatma becomes similar to paramatma so the samyapati between Jiva and paramatma is explained here similarly pranavaha dhanuhu why has it said pranavaha there are so many words so many uh words that can speak about Brahman however the upanishads have chosen pranava this is because pranava gives two important meanings about jivatma first pranava has three syllables refers to paramatma ma refers to jivatma in Sanskrit whenever a word refers to a an object it has a pravritten it it says some quality about that object and that object which is processing that quality the word ma the letter ma means the one who possesses knowledge it specifies the jivatma as one who possesses knowledge this quality is common to all jivasma is made of knowledge and possesses knowledge also this is common to all jivatmas therefore pranava expounds the equality of all jivatmas similarly there is another meaning here these three letters together mean this jivatma is the servant of paramatma shriman narayana alone and not for anyone else therefore this also tells the is the master and we are the servants this is also equal in all jivatmas there is no difference in this quality so this one verse says there are two different two similarities between jivatmas all jivatmas possess knowledge and all jivatmas are the Servants of paramatma similarly when the jivatma reaches mukti then he becomes similar to paramatma in these eight qualities therefore pranava dhanawed this is the essence of equality in the upanishads this was what we saw in yesterday's lecture now even though the jivatmas are all similar in their natural state that is when they are devoid of karma or devoid of any body right now we are not in this state we are all in this samsara we have a body we experience pain and pleasure therefore this shloka does not explain our present State our Pleasant present state is that we are all differentiated by so many things this differentiation amongst atmas came up because of karma atmas are all similar by Nature they are all made of they process nyanam they are Servants of bhagavan however when we are in this samsara we are covered by pragati where is the avidya Shakti the karma Shakti has enshrouded this jivatma it does not let him be resplendent as he should be therefore all these differences based on body based on skills based on intellect based on their behavior or discipline all these come up because of karma so this theory of karma is what we should not make we learned about equality always we should not start with differences in shastrams we always start with whatever is similar amongst things we do not look at differences first once we understand that everyone is similar everyone is equal then we can start to look at minute differences to know the finer details we should not concentrate on the finer details we should always consider ourselves equal to everyone but this world that we see is so varied so we might naturally have the question why this Variety in this world the answer for that is because of the karma of jivatmas so in today's lecture we will see what karma is how we have accumulated it what are the types of Karma and how we can get rid of them and reach salvation at the end today we will base this study on the Brahma sutras Sage Veda vyasa has written sutrams that explain the mean he is the son of parashara he is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself also he has written two great texts he has written Mahabharata and this brahmasutras Brahma sutras are referred to as they are a collection of well established rules well established so this brahmasutra and Mahabharata are the two great works of vyasa out of those we will base our study today on the Brahma sutrams yesterday we saw about equality in the upanishads today we will see how Veda vyasa explains the concept of Karma before delving into the subject of karma we should first know why is this Karma Theory existing in this sanatana Dharma other matam's philosophies might not accept this however this is a central theme in sanatana Dharma it is not illogical there is sound reasoning behind the existence of karma for that we should first know what the Atma is only when we understand what the Atma is can we truly understand why Karma exists this Atma is the entity that is referred to by the word I whenever I say I naan aham I am referring to the Atma the jivatma so the one I referred to by the word I is called jivatma this Atma is different from anything that we can see in this world I can see my body this body is not my not the jivatna because I am able to say this is my body I don't say I am this body we all have the knowledge that this is my body just as I say this is my hand this is my book this is my house we say this is my body therefore the body must necessarily be different from the Atman so the Atman is distinct from the body it is not the body itself next this Atma is eternal so first we saw that the Atma is the entity referred to by the word I this Atma is distinct from the shariram also this Atma is the processor of knowledge whenever we use the word I it is always associated with some knowledge or some activity we will say I see this part or I perform this activity to perform an activity I need to know the activity first I should be a entity which has knowledge I should be a sentient entity so this jivatma is called means nowhere the one who cognizes the one who possesses knowledge this deha this sharira does not possess knowledge a wall or a painting does not possess knowledge but the jivatma that resides within them possesses knowledge this is the tatvam known as Atma next the question we have to see is is this Atma Eternal or can it be created and destroyed if we think that this body is the Atma then it is very much created on some date I have a date of birth so am I created on that date do I stop to exit cease to exist or do I die away when this body dies this is the next question for that says I will give you a basic structure there are four adhyayams there is a chapter so there are four chapters the first chapter called verses all passages in The Vedas that talk about the creator of this world are talking about paramatma Brahman purush so in the first establishes that all vacuums all passages in The Vedas that talk about creation specify that narayana is the creator this is called in the second adhyaya there are a lot of objections to this concept people say no is the cause or sriman narayana is not the cause or this there is no cause for this world it is not created or destroyed so there can be many such objections he cautious all those objections and establishes that Brahman is the karanam for this the nature of being the Creator sustainer and destroyer of this world is present in paramatma alone this is established in the Avira in the third he explains the means to attain salvation sadhana means the way by which we can attain something so sadhana tells us the means for bhakti it talks about karma from that how we can move to bhakti yoga how to perform bhakti yoga and reach mukti that is in the third advya specifies the goal that we need to reach Kalam means fruit the fruit of our action the fruit of our bhakti yoga is attaining salvation reaching srivakundam enjoying bhagavar and Performing service to him this is explained in the fourth of now in this brahmasutrams one sutram says this Atma does not have any creation or destruction and Atma is not born it does not have utpati it does not have Nasha destruction also why what is the reason that he gives because The Vedas say that there is no creation for this Atma the nation says foreign he is not born from something it is not the case that before now he has been born at some point of time he is never born he is he never dies so when the question arises is this jivatma created Vedas immediately give the negation as a reply says this Atma is not born because Vedas say that Atma is not created then he gives a second argument also the verses in The Vedas not only say that this Atma is not born they also say that this Atma is eternal what is an eternal substance something that is never created and can never be destroyed is said to be Eternal so this jivatma is said to be Eternal in The Vedas he is never born he never perishes shashwataha he is always of the same nature purana he is very old yet very enterprising he is very engaging and interesting this Atma is this verse also says are Eternal something that is eternal cannot have a date of expiry it was created so the question was is this Atma created or destroyed for that there are two answers given by The Vedas one direct negation no Atma is not created the second answer was Vedas say that this Atma is eternal something that is eternal cannot have a birth or a death therefore Atma does not have creation or destruction this is what says however we might have a question here he is basing his whole philosophy on just verses from The Vedas is there no logic here if Vedas say something should we just accept them as it is no The Vedas very much give logic and this is explained in the upper brahmanams that is why we need to read the smritis bhagavad-gita sapuranas ETC only using those can we understand vedanta Shri Krishna in his bhagavad-gita gives two expounding reasons why this Atma cannot be created or destroyed the first one is he says he says one that cannot be destroyed avinashi one that cannot be destroyed why so because this Atma pervades this whole World Tatum means pervaded this whole world is permeated by this jivatma as per Sita and Atma is it is not large the size of an Atma is Anu Shruti says if you take a grain of rice and you cut it into 100 pieces you take one piece from that and cut it again into 100 pieces and do this again and again even that portion that you get will be larger than an Atma so an Atma is very microscopic minute however he is capable of moving to all places in this world he is capable of entering into everything whatever you see in this world there is an Atma residing within it if there is a book there is a jivatma residing within that book if there is a small germ or a creamy within that germ also there is a jivatma so the jivatma is so subtle he is so small that he pervades this whole world this is what Krishna says how is this relevant he says the Atma cannot be destroyed because it pervades everything how is this logic valid that it is because whenever something needs to be destroyed something smaller than it has to enter it and break the connection between its components Suppose there is a part I can break apart with water also or with wind also I take a jet of water fast jet of water and I hit the pot with it what happens the small water particles can enter the part and break the connection between the components of the pot once the connection is broken the say yoga is broken the part breaks automatically therefore whenever one object destroys another object the Destroyer has to go inside it has to pervade the object that needs to be destroyed even when you cut a fruit with a knife only a sharp knife which can penetrate the fruit can cut it a blunt knife cannot even enter it and so can't cut it therefore whenever something needs to be destroyed something else should be capable of pervading into that this jivatma now Krishna says is most subtle there is nothing that is smaller than the jivatma therefore there is nothing that can destroy this is and kill him because jivatma resides within water weapons cannot enter a jivatma and kill him because jivatma is more subtle than those weapons therefore since he pervades everything he cannot be destroyed this is the first reasoning that Krishna says the other reason he says is when talking about our body he says he gives no further explanation he says this is a deha it has an end it has a date of expiry now we should understand what he means the word deha comes from the root means coming together of components a collection of components therefore this body is called a deha because it is a collection of many angas many away of us he says anything that is a collection of components will be destroyed at some point of time take anything in this world if it is made of components then it is capable of being destroyed so he says this body since it is made of components can be destroyed now the counter of this is true for the Atma since the Atma is not made of any components the Atma cannot be destroyed therefore the first reason is Atma is so subtle and it pervades everything therefore it cannot be destroyed the second reasoning is this Atma does not have any components so it cannot be destroyed these are the two Logics that Krishna gives Swami Rama he says if this Atma can be destroyed or is created at some point of time then there are two fallacies that will occur what he says is this Atma is not eternal I was born on the date on which I was born I have a date of birth if I was born on that date then I am born with a specific body I have a height I have a weight there is certain Health that is associated with this body Etc are determined at the time of my birth I might be stout or it might be lean I might be dark or I might be pale in complexion I might be born in a poor family or in a rich family now all this cannot occur without a reason suppose the jivatma came into existence on the day I was born with this body then what is the cause for me being born in a specific family and some other child being born somewhere else there cannot be any reason and without a reason this discrimination cannot exist therefore there has to be a reason this is called I am with this body I am experiencing certain pain and pressure without any cause without doing anything I am being subject to plane and pleasure this cannot be the case I should have done something and as a result I should have been experiencing this this is called prasanga the other one is all of us Follow The Vedas and we do so many things Veda say if you want to attain swargarh We performed we are awaiting suppose when this body dies the Atma is also dead then how can I attain swarga swarga is not in this world I have to shed this body and I believe that I have to go to some other world which is swarga suppose this Atma has an end can be destroyed then all the activities that I have done all where the criticals that I have done are falsified they are of no use then all those Vedas which preached me to do this are also invalid they cannot be pramanam anymore therefore these are two reasons why the Atma has to be Eternal so now we have seen what an Atma is and why it is not created or destroyed it has to be Eternal now the next question is why did I take this birth we all know that bhagavan is the one who creates this world so bhagavan should have given me this birth the Atma is eternal I have taken this body on such and such a date and I am going to die on any some date that is going to come in the future now why was I born on that date what is the cause for my birth suppose we say that bhagavan is the cause for this birth there are people who say this bhagavan determines who should be born where if we say so then there are two great defects on the head of bhagavan vyasa says he says are not present in paramatma because he expects something in us to create us what does this mean vaishamya means partiality when bhagavan creates this world some people are born as Devas some are born as humans some are born as animal else some are one as plants some are born as books and rocks and mountains and everything now why is this difference there if bhagavan determines who should be born where then he is partial to some people and gives them a good birth he is partial to others he dislikes others and gives them a mediocre birth so the partiality the defect of partiality will rest on bhagavan's head this is called vaishamyam the other one is if bhagavan created us this way then he has made us be become born in a world that is filled with sorrow if he had any compassion if he was benevolent he could have created a world that is completely filled with pleasure where there is no pain since he has created a world and made us be born in this world which has sorrow therefore he is no anugraham he has no compassion he is these are the the two doshas that will occur if we say that bhagavan is the cause for my birth this birth then what will happen is bhagavan will be partial and bhagavan paramatma will be nirgrana one without any compassion when such an objection comes up where the vyasa says he is not partial and he is not lacking in compassion because he creates this world he makes jivatma's enter bodies and take birth only based on their karma he expects he investigates the past Deeds Done by every jivatma and based on that gives them an appropriate sharira therefore he does not do it independently he does not do this as he wishes he follows the karma of each jivatma when this that doesn't mean that bhagavan does not have compassion because he has given a set of rules The Vedas are the set of rules that bhagavan has given after that it is up to us to follow those rules if we don't follow it we will be penalized even if you take a game of cricket or football if you don't follow the rules you are penalized you are given a red card and you are sent out however you can say this is only a game how does it matter how I play the entertainment is important no the entertainment is important within this framework of rules similarly bhagavan has given a framework of rules for this world if we don't follow it we might go to naraka if we follow it we can go to swarga or Moksha therefore bhagavan is not independent he does not do it as he wishes or as he pleases he follows our Karma however our past Deeds are he gives an appropriate birth then the vyasa says how do we know this because the upanishads says The Vedas say one who does Good Deeds he is born as one with a good mind and a sadhu one with a clear mind if I keep doing bad Deeds then I will be born and bad births only therefore bhagavan is not the main cause he is only a secondary cause for our birth what is the main cause the object that is created that has a Shakti that is the karma the past Deeds that that has jivatma has performed those past Deeds which are called karma is that karma is the main cause for the birth what bhagavan does is he just ensures that everyone gets a birth according to their karma he has already set the framework of rules therefore whatever I do based on my karma I will get my next birth he just watches if all this is functioning properly he does not decide at every birth whether which are this Atma should take a poor birth or a rich birth therefore there is no partiality in him he is not lacking in compassion therefore Atma is eternal Atma takes this body because of karna the Atma does not take it because of bhagavan bhagavan is only a secondary quality secondary cause therefore there must be a primary cause and that cause is called karma the next question is what is karma for that The Vedas say there are two things that The Vedas do one they command us to do certain things then they command us to abstain from certain activities the one is called vidhi the second one is called nisheda vidhi means commanding me to do something nished means asking me commanding me to abstain from something for example Vedas say I should do Sandhya Vandana they say if I want to reach swarga I should perform similarly Vedas say I should not eat garlic so the first two are vidhi commands if I want swarga I should perform irrespective of whether you want to or not I should perform these two are commands the the third one is a negation do not eat garlic now so there are two things vidhi and nished on the other axis you can write karanam and akaranam whether I perform it or I don't perform it now let us mix and match if something is commanded by The Vedas and I perform it then I will get punya the Vedas say if I want swarga I should performed I will get some punyam that punyam will fetch me swarga in later births therefore if something is if Vedas command me to do something and I perform them I will get punya them if The Vedas command me to do something and yet I abstain from doing it Vedas every day Thrice a day however I stop doing them if I abstain from doing it then I will get papam Vedas command me to do something I don't do it this is the first one was that watch was commanded as if that which was commanded is neglected by me I will get Papa similarly if that which from which I should have abstained is performed by me I will get Papa Veda say do not eat garlic if I go ahead and eat garlic anyway then I will accumulate Papa so punya is accumulated when Vedas command me to do something and I do it papa is accumulated in two instances Vedas say I should do something and I don't do it or Vedas say I shouldn't do something and I go ahead and perform it anyway so in these two cases I will accumulate Papa if Vedas say you don't do anything you don't do something and I abstain from doing them this is nishidha akaranam then there is no reward or no punishment for that Vedas told me not to do something I abstain from them this is how Papa and punya are incurred by us so the jivatma takes birth because of karma karma is Papa and punya Papa and punya are also called Dharma adharma or sukratam all these are synonyms therefore this Karma comes from our Deeds when we do something that The Vedas told us to do we get karma we get punyam when we do something that The Vedas told us not to do we get Papa so we have seen till now now the next question is I have taken this birth I accept that the Atma Eternal he has no beginning he has no end and I have taken this birth on such and such a date I was born with this body now I also agree that karma is the cause for this body I have taken this birth because of my past Karma however how did I accumulate Karma I have taken a birth only now but only if I had Karma before this birth can this birth occur at all then how did I accrue Karma before this birth for that we should understand that the cycle of birth is also anadi there is this term called anadi which means beginning less there is no beginning is bhagavan created on any date no he has existed always similarly jivatma is also anadi he did not he was not born on any date he does not die on any date so jivatma and paramatma similarly The Vedas say that the cycle of birth and death the cycle of sriti and pralaya is also anadi Vedas bhagavan created Surya and Chandra how did he create them just as they were before bhagavan created them again this is what it says so in the previous cycle of Shruti Surya and Chandra were created with certain qualities in after that Heroes of pralaya now after pralaya and srishti occurs again what he does is they were before sun should have such and such qualities Moon should have a certain set of qualities those qualities don't change in this cycle of sriti also bhagavan maintains those qualities so from this we understand that the cycle of birth and death are Shruti and pralaya is also beginningless there was no date on which this cycle or creation started therefore I have taken birth on sachin-chatra date before this I had another birth this birth is because of karma that Karma Papa and punya could have been accrued only if I had done some deeds in the past how could I have done deeds in the past because I had another body at that point of time I have always been taking birth it is not that the Atma is eternal but it has taken the first body only today it is not the case this is not my first birth I have had countless infinite number of births in the past therefore there is no concept of beginning of karma this is also a popular question that many people have when did I start my karma this birth that I have taken is because of bike deeds in the previous birth that birth was because of deeds in the birth before that similarly if I keep tracking back to the beginning at some point when I took my first birth I would not have had any Karma at that point of Time how was it decided what kind of birth I will have for that the answer is kindly understand properly there is no first birth