Karma versus Fatalism

By Google Gemini

The concept of karma plays a vital role in the Ramayana. You will get the consequences of your actions – that’s what karma means in short. Dasharatha, a king who followed dharma quite meticulously, committed a mistake in his youth. While hunting, he killed a young boy mistaking him for a deer because of a sound. Dasharatha was genuinely repentant of what happened and he went to the blind parents of the boy to atone for his karma. But the understandably grief-stricken blind father of the boy cursed Dasharatha: “Just as we are dying in sorrow caused by the loss of our son, you too shall die grieving the separation from your son.”

So, Dasharatha’s death during Rama’s exile was a consequence of his karma. It was predestined, in other words. Immutable fate.

Ravana’s karma brings upon him the disastrous end he has. He has lived a life of adharma altogether. Interestingly, it was his fate too following him from another existence altogether. He was destined to live the life he did, according to certain versions of the Ramayana (not Valmiki’s). According to Vaishnava traditions, Ravana is a reincarnation of Jaya, the gatekeeper of Vishnu’s abode Vaikunta. Because of an act of Jaya, which was performed in all good intention and perceived by him as his dharma, he was cursed to be born as a rakshasa. Immutable fate.

The concept of karma and dharma are very complex and complicated in Hindu philosophy. You can do something that you think is the right thing, your dharma, but it may turn out to be against the cosmic harmony and you will be cursed. I’m not quite convinced about ‘cosmic harmony’. In my personal experience, there is more chaos than harmony in the cosmos. And when I look at what really happened to Jaya – the former form of Ravana – I’m inclined to look at the curse as a manifestation of the egoism of the four sages who uttered the curse. They wanted Jaya to open the gate, Jaya wouldn’t open it because his master Vishnu had ordered him not to, the sages are indignant, and instead of understanding the situation they utter a terrible curse which was ameliorated by Vishnu.  

Karma works in diverse ways in the epic. First of all, there is a cause-effect karma. Every action has consequences – immediate or later. Interestingly, even gods are not free from the consequences of their deeds. And humans (sages) can punish the gods. [Frankly, I like this part.]

There is a close association between karma and dharma too. When actions align with dharma, the resulting karma is positive; when they violate dharma, they bring suffering. Rama follows his dharma even at a great personal cost. He obeys his father’s wish, goes into exile, treats the sages and animals in the forest with respect, and upholds truth and justice as best as possible. His good karma supports his divine mission as an avatar of Vishnu. Kaikeyi’s egoism, on the other hand, brings her isolation and regret. Now, was Rama really happy at any time of his life? That’s something to think about. What does his fealty to dharma come to in the end?

The epic also implies that karma can stretch across multiple lifetimes. Ravana’s birth as a rakshasa itself is due to a bad karma of his previous existence as God Vishnu’s gatekeeper, as mentioned above. Ahalya has passed a long time, perhaps a yuga, as a stone, when Rama liberates her from her bad karma.

Karma is a moral compass. The Ramayana uses karma to teach ethical living. Characters are rewarded or punished based on their actions. But a question that can rise all too frequently is whether this actually happens in our world. Is goodness rewarded and evil punished? Did that rewarding happen even to Rama?

Another question that has often puzzled me is whether the concept of karma is fatalistic. For instance, Jaya commits an error and is punished with the existence of a demon, Ravana. And Ravana is destined to be killed by Rama. Destined. A lot of things are destined in the epic this way. Isn’t that fatalism?

The most sensible answer I arrived at is: Your present is shaped by your past actions, and your future will be shaped by your present choices. You are free to alter your present to some extent. At least, you are not a puppet of fate; you’re a participant in your own unfolding destiny. There are some aspects of your life that are beyond your control; your destiny, your prarabdha. But your response to events are your choices. Maybe, we can compare karma with a game of cards. You are dealt a hand (prarabdha), but how you play it is up to you (your freedom). 

PS. I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This series looks at the Ramayana from various angles.

Tomorrow: Loyalty: The Silent Strength of the Ramayana

Previous Posts in this series:

Ayodhya: Kingdom of Sorrows

Bharata: The Ascetic King

Chitrakoot: The Antithesis of Ayodhya

Dharma and Destiny

Exile and the Kingdom

Friendship in Kishkindha

Golden Deer: Illusions

Hanuman: Zenith of Devotion

Ikshvaku: Mythos versus Logos

Jatayu: The Winged Warrior

PPS. As I have said repeatedly, I’m a learner of the Ramayana as well as the Indian philosophy in general. So I keep raising questions as I do in this post too. Please don’t take offence at them. Instead, if you know the answers, post them in the space provided in the comments section.