If karma forces one to sin, how can he reform himself in this birth?
A girl devotee asked like this:
Hare Krishna , Prabhuji I have one question since many year , it is said that ones Life is predecided as per his previous karma, is it true , also do one get the life partner as decided and is he or she our life partner for seven janams how far all this is true that marriages are decided in heaven , I have few cases where (my brother) after telling him several times the girl wasn’t good got arranged married in 2000 n since then he has been facing problems. I want to know many people fall in love some are fortunate to get married to the same person n some are not been able to reciprocate their love. Is all this predecided? If so is our professional, how much education we will have, our financial status, how many kids, our life span, diseases , accidents if any all as per our previous birth karma. Then how will the person improve upon his mistakes done in previous birth ? It is most likely that he may be more worst in this life depending on situations…. Kindly help me with the answer for these questions also keep my name hidden.
REPLY:
Who said that our present sins are implemented by karma? Does Karma force one to commit sins? It is the character given as per one’s karma forces him to commit sins and also gives him the option to skip that, but, the implementation is in his hands only.
Karma just decides whether we will be a good person or bad person or crooked person or cruel person or kind person, like that.
Karma is always packed with the free will to implement the sinful acts and avoid adding new karma.
If you are destined to be a cruel person, the free will helps you to avoid killing anyone.
(How to know that our karma is coming down and we are purified? READ HERE!)
Let the karma forces you to sin. You can avoid it. Only if you do not use that free will to avoid new sins, you incur karma again in this birth.
Let me give some examples to understand avoiding sinning though karma forces one to sin:
(1) You are destined to be a cruel husband in this birth and you will kill your wife. Your wife has been destined to be killed by you.
If you marry her and at a point of time meet good souls and devotees and reform yourself, you will not dare to kill your wife. Instead, you will face a situation to kill your wife, but, you will stop it at the last moment. Then, how will your wife be killed?
Here, karma gives two chances for your wife also. If your wife is living highly materialistic life without reformation, she will be killed by someone else who has not reformed himself.
If your wife too has reformed herself and she leads a good reformed life with you, she will escape from death as a reward for her reformation and she will just face a “death like” experience and escape from that (like you tried to kill and stopped at the last moment).
Thus, karma will give both of you token punishment similar to death, but, just a feeling of being killed.
You may ask: What is the meaning of reformation?
Reformation means total change in nature gained with the power of the association of pure souls and devotees.
For example, many sinners were reformed by the purity of Srila Prabhupada when they associate with him.
Had they not been reformed, they would have involved in many sinful acts as directed by their karma.
But, they escaped from adding new karma, because of the association of a pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada.
Then, where their karma goes?
Those karma are borne by those who reform the sinners.
(I have written a detailed post HERE about how siksha and diksha gurus accept the karma of followers.)
Any reformer will be adding karma because of his act of reforming others.
I too am accepting the karma of the followers because, I have reformed many from sinning through my writings and guidance. If they escape from any sinful acts, I have to face the heat of their karma.
How can we, the preachers and gurus will bear the heat of karma?
Here, Krishna comes. He is so merciful.
He gives the gurus and preachers the strength to bear those added karma.
Because they are in the service of society by distributing the messages of Krishna to reform others. That is why, Krishna calls those gurus and preachers as HIS DEAREST DEVOTEES in Bhagavad Gita:
Bhagavad Gita 18-68:
For One who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end, he will come back to me.
Bhagavad Gita 18-69:
There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there be one more dear.
Thus, Krishna helps those who reform others using His messages.
(If our spouse is already decided by karma, why should we see horoscopes for marriage? READ HERE!)
That is why, when I prayed to Krishna in ICU in February 2019 to take me if my services to Him on earth are sufficient (or) give me life again if He wants me to serve Him for some more period from here, He escaped me from death when the doctors did not give hope of my survival decisively.
Though Srila Prabhupada faced heart attacks twice on board Jaladhoodha ship on his way to America to preach the Lord’s Holy Names, Krishna kept him alive without any major treatments.
What this shows?
The devotees too add karma by reforming others.
But, Krishna gives them strength to bear & clear the added karma.
So, we should see the devotees with merciful heart and support their mission.
They may look like you, but, their service is spiritual.
(If the man came from animal, why he suffers since animals have no karma? READ HERE!)
You may work in a company and earn, but, the devotees work for you.
You may build a house for you, but, the devotees build buildings for other devotees.
So, everyone of us have the responsibility to make those preaching missions alive by supporting those devotees who involve in preaching.
Hereafter, if you see any devotee distributing Bhagavad Gita on road, talk to him kindly and offer a cup of milk or buttermilk or water to reduce his thirst.
If you see anyone preaching, give your support to him to your level best.
Ok, let us now go again to your question.
If One involves in illicit relations as per karma, why it adds karma again? READ HERE!
Like thousands of devotees reformed and escaped from sinful life because of acharyas and pure devotees, you too can avoid sinning if you use your free will to lead a devotional life without material attachments and with Krishna Prema.
Then, your past karmic reactions will be cleared with some small token punishments that you can bear and cross.
If you are very serious in material detachment and attachment to Krishna, all the past reactions can be cleared with some small token punishments in this birth itself.
Since you would have lived for Krishna alone in this birth, you would not have added new karma in this birth.
So, after leaving this body, you can go back to Krishna Himself in His kingdom.
Though it is a difficult process, If you are 100% decisive in your above mentioned efforts, you can achieve Krishna in this birth itself.
Now, tell me, why should one get motivation to avoid sinning in this birth though his karma forces one to sin?
(If karma is everything, what is the need for astrological remedies? READ HERE!)
The answer is: To get Krishna and stop further painful births and deaths.
Now, use your free will to avoid sinning further. This is to get Krishna.
If your real target is Krishna, do this.
If your real target is satisfying yourself, your relatives and friends, then, you should take the association of the devotees more to get reformed.
Srila Prabhupada’s books and the devotees reformed me. Now, I am speaking to you..
Let the karma forces one to sin. If we follow the footsteps of the exalted devotees, we too can reform yourself.
I wish you success in your reformation.
(KARMA & SUICIDE: If karma decides suicide, why the person is punished with a ghost body? READ HERE!)