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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



The Choice


If the Lord is indeed infinitely merciful, why doesn't He spare everybody the 
miseries of Samsara? Why doesn't He liberate everybody from the constricting 
fetters of Karma and afford the boundless bliss of Paradise to all? Is it not 
His duty, as our Divine Father, to see that we are happy always?

Why does He let some people, in fact most of them, go astray in paths that lead 
nowhere? Why does He watch unconcernedly while most of us go round and round in 
circles, knowing not the way out of the mundane maze? Sri Nammazhwar defends 
the Lord against such accusations by pointing out that if everyone were to be 
liberated, these elaborate worlds, the Karma bhoomis, created for the purpose 
of the Lord's leela and for affording good and bad experiences to the righteous 
and the evil, would go barren and unpopulated-

"elleerum veedu pettrAl ulagu illai endrE". Another fallacy of the Sarva Mukti 
Prasangam or advocacy of liberation for all, is that there would be no reward 
for good behaviour nor any disincentive for sinful conduct, plunging the world 
into anarchy, utter disorder and chaos.



There is another aspect that is equally puzzling, when we realize that it is He 
who directs all our actions, sitting in our heart as the Inner 
Controller-"anta: pravishta: SAshtA janAnAm sarvAtmA" says the Shruti, 
attesting to the fact that we are mere puppets suspended on a string, dancing 
to the tunes of the Paramatma, who is the "SUtradhAri". We are thus incapable 
of lifting even our little finger without His say-so. This being the case, why 
does He want to play with us and our lives, instead of taking us away us to His 
eternal abode? The Upanishad clarifies this further by emphasizing the role of 
the antaryAmi, who, unbeknownst to us, controls all our actions, good and 
bad-"Ya AtmAnam antarO yamayati sa ta AtmA antaryAmi amrita:" 



If we think about it, we appear to be mere toy horses on a merry-go-round, 
helplessly going round and round in circles, willy-nilly, activated by the Lord 
who holds the lever of the machine in His hand, sending us whizzing into the 
machine's orbit or letting us stay still in our respective positions, as He 
wills. The Gitacharya Himself confesses this to Arjuna-

"Isvara: sarva bhootAnAm hrit dEsE Arjuna tishttathi

BhrAmayan sarva bhootAni yantra AroodAni mAyayA"



As if this were not enough, the Kousheetaki Upanishad tells us that the Lord 
Himself induces us to perform good deeds if He wants to liberate us, and leads 
us astray, if He intends us to spend our lives in this sorrow-filled mundane 
morass-

"Esha hi Eva sAdhu karma kArayati yamEbhyO lOkEbhya: unnineeshati

Esha Eva asAdhu karma kArayati tam yam adhO nineeshati"

The wisdom and goodness to pray to the Lord as well as the indifference to His 
attractions or outright ill will towards Him, leading respectively to the 
higher worlds or the accursed ones below, are also the result of His own 
prompting, says the Gita-

"dadhAmi bhuddhi yOgam tam yEna mAm upayAnti tE"



"tAn aham dvishada: kroorAn samsArEshu narAdhamAn

kshipAmi ajasram ashubhAn Asureeshu yOnishu"



It doesn't appear fair- if it is indeed the Lord who induces us to engage in 
good deeds or bad, why should we be made to shoulder the burden of their 
inevitable fall out? Everybody knows that the agent, acting upon instructions 
of the principal, is not liable for any consequences flowing therefrom. 
Similarly, why should the fruit of good and bad action stick to us, and not to 
the Lord, who is really responsible, being the driving force behind the action? 
When a hunter directs an arrow at a dove, would the dove blame the arrow for 
hitting it? What logic is there in penalizing an instrument, when the real 
culprit is the person using it?



It is indeed true that the Lord directs the activities of individual souls. 
However, this is after the Jeevatma is afforded the freedom of initial action 
(prathama pravritti). When it acts in the very first instance, the Jeevatma is 
endowed with a small measure of independence, enabling it to choose its path. 
The Lord doesn't interfere in this choice, which is solely the soul's. However, 
once the choice is made, the Lord lets the Jeevatma go its chosen way, 
channelling its efforts in that direction. Thus, though Emperuman is the inner 
controller, the primary path to be traversed is indeed selected by the 
individual soul, making it responsible for subsequent developments, good or 
bad. When we are at the crossroads, the Policeman manning the crossing does not 
require us to go any particular way. It is we who, of our own volition, choose 
the road we want to travel on. Whatever we encounter on the chosen road, be it 
robbers armed to the teeth who relieve us of our possessions, or a wedding 
party who takes us for a free lunch, is the result of our own free choice. It 
is this element of initial choice which the Jeevatma is endowed with, that 
makes it the Karta, the Doer, responsible for his deeds, even though his 
subsequent actions in the chosen direction might indeed be prompted and 
actively aided by the Paramatma.



If the Jeevatma were to lack even this initial independence, then the vast body 
of Shastras, enjoining upon the individual soul to do this and to refrain from 
doing that, would all become purposeless. What is the use of a Scripture, if it 
is addressed to a remote-controlled slave, who has neither the independence nor 
the capability to obey its dictates? Thus, for the Shastras to be meaningful 
they must have as their audience people with some measure of liberty and this 
is one of the reasons for the Jeevatma's limited freedom during prathama 
pravritti.



It would therefore appear that the Lord has three roles- one of indifference, 
one of permission and one of active facilitation.



The Lord just watches the Jeeva during his initial endeavour, allowing the 
latter to choose the right direction or wrong, of its own free will. At this 
stage, the Lord is just an observer, and doesn't interfere in any way.



At the second stage, the Lord permits the soul to proceed on the path of its 
choice and perform actions appropriate to the same. This permission of the Lord 
is required because the Jeeva is incapable of independent action. Emperuman is 
thus the "anumanthA", according approval for the Jeeva's deeds. Approval here 
doesn't mean that the Lord is pleased or otherwise with the soul's efforts, but 
merely allows unhindered progress on the chosen path.



There comes a third stage, where the Lord , by now convinced of the Jeeva's 
proclivity for the righteous path or otherwise, actively aids the progress of 
the individual soul by propelling it along the way to wisdom and liberation, or 
on the disastrous route to destruction, to rot forever in the hellish worlds 
below, with no hope of redemption. 



The Lord thus doesn't play favourites-He gives everyone the freedom of choice 
to exercise their preference for a particular path, and then helps them along 
their way, whether good or bad. For those who hold Him dear, cherish His memory 
as precious, spend their time in singing His praises or in His constant 
worship-for these bhaktAs, He too responds by bestowing them with wonderful 
wisdom, whereby they choose a suitable strategy like Bhakti or Prapatti and 
reach His lotus feet for performing uninterrupted and unhindered service to the 
Lord.

On the other hand, for those who display only hate, ill will and disdain for 
the Lord, He too responds in kind as He did in the case of Ravana, Hiranyaksha, 
Hiranyakasipu and others of their ilk, and hastens them along on their chosen 
route of ruin.



Even when we are at the crossroads, we thus have very clear pointers-one 
pointing towards the Lord, leading to righteousness, devotion, overwhelming 
love, wisdom and liberation-and the other away from Emperuman, being the 
perilous path of evil, of disregard for the Shruti and Shastras, leading to 
accursed births in Asuric clans and ultimate annihilation.



The choice is ours.



Srimate SriLakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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