The fruits of our actions will evidently bear imprints of the character and content of the desires nursed and corresponding thoughts excited thereto. The impression of the fruits of action – enjoying or frustrating – get carried over and added on to the memory store, with relating bearing on mind-trends thereafter. This way, we remain trapped into a vicious circle of one’s own thoughts, difficult to escape under ordinary circumstances. So, though we are born with a sense of freedom ingrained in our mind, but in reality we actually remain trapped to the confines of the thought-web of one’s own making. So is said:
“Watch your thoughts, they become words;
Watch your words, they become action;
Watch your actions, they become habit;
Watch your habits, they become character;
Watch your character, they become your destiny.”
Here it needs to be appreciated that the whole course of nature is so designed and with such precision as to act in a perfected self-automated mode. That leaves no scope for any external agency to adjudicate or administer our destiny. So, “As we sow, so shall we reap” remains the driving spirit of a being operative in autopilot mode. This is the premise on which the “Law of Karma” stands. So, how we conduct in life – be it out of one’s own volition free from any limitations whatsoever, or guided by indwelling desire and habit trends, or under external influence – will define what we become due for qualitatively and otherwise. Thus, goes the saying5:
“Sayathā kāmo bhavati, tata kratura bhavati;
yat kratur bhavati, tata karma kurute;
yata karma kurute, tadabhi sampatyate.”
It means:
“You are what your deep driving desire is;
As your desire is, so is your will;
As your will is, so are your actions;
As your actions are, so is your destiny.”
To sum up, mind lends ground to thought seeds carried over from the past, or impressions of environmental influences, nurtures them to germinate, sprout, and then put them in working mode.
In so far as instrumentality of a being (body-mind organism) is concerned, human beings are born with immense powers. The wholesome potential of a being, however, won’t come into play involuntarily. The instrument of mind is supposed to access and put them to use. The irony, however, is that human mind remains subject to lot of limitations. It therefore usually has a clouded vision, and so fails to access full landscape of mind. It, thus, is unable to access major part of one’s indwelling potential and which remains dormant. Human beings are therefore invariably born with limitations.
The limitations of mind can be put into two categories. First, elemental limitations, which is intrinsic to human construct, but for which the world with form and names would not be in existence. Next in line are self-acquired individual-specific limitations, coming as they may as a sequel to cause-effect chain that drives our lives.
A being is born primarily with six different types of elemental imitations – limited creativity; limited vision and knowledge; sense of want, craving, desire & lust; limitation of time; limitation of space; and laws of causation. They have related restrictive bearing on our functioning. Consequently, human beings, in the first place, lose their sense of fullness. Evidently, with limited creative potential, one is unable to service even existential needs all by oneself. We, thus, are born with a sense of want, which induces a sense of desire, making us self-centric, which further adds to the complexity of mind. For, desire driven people tempted to passionately pursue their self-designated path, often cross their line, and rough feathers with others, and evidently to one’s detriment.
Here, it also needs to be appreciated that the world is so made out that all put together would suffice our existential concerns. That binds us into an essentially interdependent unified organism. In this scheme of things all and sundry need to complement and supplement each other’s efforts to together sustain our existential needs. This calls for relating well to all and sundry to elicit their due support.
Now, since human beings are driven by a sense of duality, it brings in the scope to make choices. That makes us susceptible to get trapped into conflicting thoughts. Also, people may take varying stance over the same issue, at times playing into extremes. That makes it difficult for us to pick up the right lead in time. Owing to this very reason, often one fails to take initiatives in time. Consequently, one may be left behind in the run of time.
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