Chapter 6

“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O learned sire that art versed in all thescriptures, of Exertion and Destiny which is the most powerful?’

“Bhishma said, ‘This ancient story of the conversation of Vasishtha andBrahma, O Yudhishthira, is an illustration in point. In olden times theadorable Vasishtha enquired of Brahma as to which among these two, viz.,the Karma of a creature acquired in this life, or that acquired inprevious lives (and called Destiny), is the more potent in shaping hislife. Then, O king, the great god Brahma, who had sprung from theprimeval lotus, answered him in these exquisite and well-reasoned words,full of meaning.'”

“Brahma said, ‘Nothing comes into existence without seed. Without seed,fruits do not grow. From seeds spring other seeds. Hence are fruits knownto be generated from seeds. Good or bad as the seed is that thehusbandman soweth in his field, good or bad are the fruits that he reaps.As, unsown with seed, the soil, though tilled, becomes fruitless, so,without individual Exertion, Destiny is of no avail. One’s own acts arelike the soil, and Destiny (or the sum of one’s acts in previous births)is compared to the seed. From the union of the soil and the seed doth theharvest grow. It is observed every day in the world that the doer reapsthe fruit of his good and evil deeds; that happiness results from gooddeeds, and pain from evil ones; that acts, when done, always fructify;and that, if not done, no fruit arises. A man of (good) acts acquiresmerits with good fortune, while an idler falls away from his estate, andreaps evil like the infusion of alkaline matter injected into a wound. Bydevoted application, one acquires beauty, fortune, and riches of variouskinds. Everything can be secured by Exertion: but nothing can be gainedthrough Destiny alone, by a man that is wanting in personal Exertion.Even so does one attain to heaven, and all the objects of enjoyment, asalso the fulfilment of one’s heart’s desires by well-directed individualExertion. Al! the luminous bodies in the firmament, all the deities, theNagas, and the Rakshasas, as also the Sun and the Moon and the Winds,have attained to their high status by evolution from man’s status,through dint of their own action. Riches, friends, prosperity descendingfrom generation to generation, as also the graces of life, are difficultof attainment by those that are wanting in Exertion. The Brahmana attainsto prosperity by holy living, the Kshatriya by prowess, the Vaisya bymanly exertion, and the Sudra by service. Riches and other objects ofenjoyment do not follow the stingy, nor the impotent, nor the idler. Norare these ever attained by the man that is not active or manly or devotedto the exercise of religious austerities. Even he, the adorable Vishnu,who created the three worlds with the Daityas and all the gods, even Heis engaged in austere penances in the bosom of the deep. If one’s Karmabore no fruit, then all actions would become fruitless, and relying onDestiny men would become idlers. He who, without pursuing the human modesof action, follows Destiny only, acts in vain, like unto the woman thathas an impotent husband. In this world the apprehension that accrues fromperformance of good or evil actions is not so great if Destiny beunfavourable as one’s apprehension of the same in the other world ifExertion be wanting while here.[9] Man’s powers, if properly exerted,only follow his Destiny, but Destiny alone is incapable of conferring anygood where Exertion is wanting. When it is seen that even in thecelestial regions, the position of the deities themselves is unstable,how would the deities maintain their own position or that of otherswithout proper Karma? The deities do not always approve of the good deedsof others in this world, for, apprehending their own overthrow, they tryto thwart the acts of others. There is a constant rivalry between thedeities and the Rishis, and if they all have to go through their Karma,still it can never be averted that there is no such thing as Destiny, forit is the latter that initiates all Karma. How does Karma originate, ifDestiny form the prime spring of human action? (The answer is) that bythis means, an accretion of many virtues is made even in the celestialregions. One’s own self is one’s friend and one’s enemy too, as also thewitness of one’s good and evil deeds. Good and evil manifest themselvesthrough Karma. Good and evil acts do not give adequate results.Righteousness is the refuge of the gods, and by righteousness iseverything attained. Destiny thwarts not the man that has attained tovirtue and righteousness.

In olden times, Yayati, falling from his high estate in heaven descendedon the Earth but was again restored to the celestial regions by the gooddeeds of his virtuous grandsons. The royal sage Pururavas, celebrated asthe descendant of Ila, attained to heaven through the intercession of theBrahmanas. Saudasa, the king of Kosala, though dignified by theperformance of Aswamedha and other sacrifices, obtained the status of aman-eating Rakshasa, through the curse of a great Rishi. Aswatthaman andRama, though both warriors and sons of Munis, failed to attain to heavenby reason of their own actions in this world. Vasu, though he performed ahundred sacrifices like a second Vasava, was sent to the nethermostregions, for making a single false statement. Vali, the son of Virochana,righteously bound by his promise, was consigned to the regions under theEarth, by the prowess of Vishnu. Was not Janamejaya, who followed thefoot-prints of Sakra, checked and put down by the gods for killing aBrahmana woman? Was not the regenerate Rishi Vaisampayana too, who slew aBrahmana in ignorance, and was polluted by the slaughter of a child, putdown by the gods? In olden times the royal sage Nriga became transmutedinto a lizard. He had made gifts of kine unto the Brahmanas at his greatsacrifice, but this availed him not. The royal sage Dhundhumara wasoverwhelmed with decrepitude even while engaged in performing hissacrifices, and foregoing all the merits thereof, he fell asleep atGirivraja. The Pandavas too regained their lost kingdom, of which theyhad been deprived by the powerful sons of Dhritarashtra, not through theintercession of the fates, but by recourse to their own valour. Do theMunis of rigid vows, and devoted to the practice of austere penances,denounce their curses with the aid of any supernatural power or by theexercise of their own puissance attained by individual acts? All the goodwhich is attained with difficulty in this world is possessed by thewicked, is soon lost to them. Destiny does not help the man that issteeped in spiritual ignorance and avarice. Even as a fire of smallproportions, when fanned by the wind, becomes of mighty power, so doesDestiny, when joined with individual Exertion, increase greatly (inpotentiality). As with the diminution of oil in the lamp its light isextinguished so does the influence of Destiny is lost if one’s acts stop.Having obtained vast wealth, and women and all the enjoyments of thisworld, the man, without action is unable to enjoy them long, but thehigh-souled man, who is even diligent, is able to find riches buried deepin the Earth and watched over by the fates. The good man who is prodigal(in religious charities and sacrifices) is sought by the gods for hisgood conduct, the celestial world being better than the world of men, butthe house of the miser though abounding in wealth is looked upon by thegods as the house of dead. The man that does not exert himself is nevercontented in this world nor can Destiny alter the course of a man thathas gone wrong. So there is no authority inherent in Destiny. As thepupil follows one’s own individual perception, so the Destiny followsExertion. The affairs in which one’s own Exertion is put forth, thereonly Destiny shows its hand. O best of Munis, I have thus described allthe merits of individual Exertion, after having always known them intheir true significance with the aid of my yogic insight. By theinfluence of Destiny, and by putting forth individual Exertion, do menattain to heaven. The combined aid of Destiny and Exertion, becomesefficacious.'”