LORD KRISHNA'S MURPHY'S LAWS = KARMA YOGA vs MURPHY'S LAWS = KARMA YOGA MORE SCIENTIFIC

LORD KRISHNA’S

KARMA YOGA vs MURPHY’S LAWS

(POST.2)

In Post.1 on Murphy’s Laws – we had affirmed that Murphy’s laws were in existence from the beginning of the world. Over 5000 years ago – in Dwaapar Yug (according to Hindu calendar), Lord Krishna told his disciple Arjuna – all about Murphy’s Laws – and he called them Karma Yoga – as part of his sermon called the Bhagavad Gita.

He said – “you have every right for Action. Action is both your right and your responsibility. You cannot forsake action, for any reason, especially in performance of your duties. But, the results of your actions are not entirely determined by you. While you have all the right to your actions, you have no such rights in respect of their results.”

He has explained his Karma Yoga theory, which is in fact an expansion of the Murphy’s Laws, in many places in the Gita Sermon – which can be summarized approximately as below :

1.   Every man can choose his actions. He has every right in the choice of his actions. 

2.   But, he remains responsible to bear the brunt of the ”results of his actions.”

3.   While he can choose his actions – the results cannot always be chosen by him. He has no absolute right in the choice of the results of his actions.

4.   It is not that – you or I will perform an action – without a specific end result in view. We will and we are entitled to have some end result or some goal or purpose, in view while performing all of our actions. Krishna’s sermon to Arjuna also had its specific PURPOSE - i.e., to urge him to kill all the opponents in the war. So, an action always has a purpose or a result in view.

5.   But, the actual results of our actions are determined by the natural forces and natural laws which are always at work in the Universe. You and I are not the sole deciders of the results of our actions.

6.   While these natural forces and natural laws actually go by the “cause-and-effect principle” – none  of us can assume himself to be the sole cause of any effect.

7.   Many forces of nature are simultaneously at work on our action – and they produce the results of our actions - which may or may not be the ones – we desired for.

8.   Let us take a simple example. You see a ripe mango on a mango tree. You want it. You take a stone, aim at the mango and hurl it. You have taken the aim very correctly and hurled it with the required force. Ordinarily, the stone should hit the mango and mango should fall to the ground. That is your expectation; the result you are aiming for.

9.   But, after you hurl the stone, the mango is moved from its position by  the air passing by it. So your stone goes past it in its own trajectory. There is a bald headed man passing on the other side. It hits his head. 

10.                Naturally, he is annoyed and comes for a quarrel with you. What follows next, depends on your further actions and his further actions. This simple example only shows that – you don’t get your desired results – all the time. But, there is some result, for sure.

11.                For any action by you – you actually reap two types of results. One is called Drisya phalam, or the immediately experienced result. The second is called adrisya phalam, the result which is given to you in a distant future, or even a future birth. You cannot see this adrisya phalam of an action immediately after the action. You cannot therefore connect the adrisya phalam you are receiving now - with its connected, original action which you performed some time in the distant past.

12.                Drisya phalam or the immediately experienced Result is the one you can connect with your Action. But, this result may be of 4 different varieties.

13.                (a) The result may be exactly equal to the one you aimed for through your action.

14.                (b) The result may be much more than the result you aimed for through your action

15.                © The result may be much less than the result you aimed for through your action

16.                (d) The result may be entirely different in shape, content, quality and direction from the result you aimed for through your action.

17.                Let us look a simple example. You prepare well for an examination – aiming for, say 80 % marks. In the examination, you may get 60%, or 80% or 90% - all of which are possible – though not expected by you. Some people who expect to get 90% - may be caught in a traffic Jam and may not be unable to write the exam itself.

18.                You can see all these happening all through your life. Therefore – expect a result. But also, expect the unexpected. Be prepared for the unexpected. The Drisya phalam is what most of the western writers are concerned with. Drisya phalam depends on current action.

19.                This example is a simple example known to all of us. Yet, we must answer the question – why did you not get the 90% you aspired for? We all can give several reasons for that. We know instinctively that – we do not know the questions that will actually appear in the exam. So, 90% expectation is not an exact result aimed for. If the questions are all known ones, you may get 100% also. If most questions are tougher than you thought, you may get much less than 90%. If the valuer of your Papers is in a bad mood – your answers may receive lesser marks. 

To take care of this, of late, objective questions are set mostly – and valuation of them is done by computers. You have written all of your answers correctly – but you may have written the roll number wrongly – and no one has noticed. Go on imagining the things that can go wrong – between the effort and the result. You can write ten more at least. Like your car, bus or train may get stuck in an agitation or a traffic jam – and so on. So, even the immediate drisya phalam can vary significantly from your expectation. But, Drisya phalam can be made more and more accurate - by our concentrated, accurate actions. Yet, not EXACT. A train's punctuality can be controlled significantly. But, never 100% exact and not all the time.There are other forces acting on your action all the time.

20.                Adrisya phalam – results essentially from your Intentions in performing your actions. These intentions are also an integral part of your actions. While your actions are visible to all - your intentions are invisible to others. The result of your intentions comes to you at a time that is decided by the natural forces in a peculiar manner. The intentions and their connected results are stored in an invisible baggage and delivered to you in some random manner at a random time. There is a method for this. But, this process makes it difficult for you to connect this adrisya phalam with the original action.

21.                The intention behind an action is what makes it a “virtuous” deed or a “evil” deed. For all virtuous deeds, you accumulate what is called punyam and for all evil deeds, you accumulate what is called papam. You will receive the adrisya phalam of all your intentions, in store in this baggage of punyam and papam – at some future time. But if the baggage is too much, and cannot be fully spent in current life, you will carry it along with you into the next birth.

22.                In the overall analysis – the eternal rule that - every action will be met with an equal and opposite reaction – stands in this case also. This law holds good very, very strictly in this Karma theory.

23.                Look at the equation :- Intention + Action ->(leads to)  Adrisya phalam + Drisyaphalam. 

24.                This equation is to be understood with greater clarity by us, since Adrisya phalam of a previous action (of a long time past, or of even a previous birth) usually accompanies the drisya phalam of the current action. The adrisya phalam of the current action will accompany the drisya phalam of a future action. This is because of the huge invisible baggage of adrisya phalam (of punyam + papam) that we always carry on our head.

25.                This means that the Natural forces that there are – have no independence  in giving you any thing which you do not deserve. If you get some thing – that is what you deserve as the adrisya phalam of some past action of you plus the drisya phalam of your current action.

26.                Let us look at an example :

27.                X murders Y and takes away his bag of  $1 million. The drisya phalam for his planned action is obviously the $1 million that he got from the slain man Y. The adrisyaphalam in terms of “Papam” is immediately added to his invisible baggage. The natural forces may award him this adrisya phalam immediately or at a later date. For major acts of “Papam”, the result may be immediate, overtaking the entire baggage pending. The adrisya phalam is not awarded strictly in the order of committing the actions, but, in some other random logic, of the natural forces. Therefore, the murder may be found out either immediately, or a little later, or never by us. The murderer may later even become a member of legislature or Parliament also or a famous man in the society. But, he will face his adrisya phalam when he least expects it - from a least expected source. He may face a more cruel death or a prolonged suffering.

28.                Another example. Who gets the winning lottery ticket for say, $1 lakh? The one whose baggage of adrisya phalam deserves it. It is not that these things are happening in a random manner in the world. The cause-and-effect theory is absolute and is in operation. There is a cause behind every effect. The cause may be one or many.

29.                Another example. Why are some people poor and some are rich? Nature is not very particular about this aspect. What you call as riches or poverty, fame or anonymity, positions of power and of no power, glamour and its lack, are nothing in the eyes of nature. Of course, they are also the drisya phalam and adrisya phalam of various actions.

30.                 The proper question to be asked is – why are some people very happy most of the time, and why are some people suffering most of the time?

31.                A pauper may actually be very happy most of the time. There are no trappings around him which are the sources of unhappiness. His invisible baggage is also light and is full of virtuous deeds of the past. But another pauper may be in all sorts of misery, all the time – for just the opposite reasons.

32.                A rich man may be mostly unhappy and suffering, even with all the comforts provided by his riches. But, another rich man may really be enjoying his life very well – his invisible baggage may be full of virtuous deeds of the past (including past births).

33.                There are special circumstances in which there is no adrisya phalam for one’s actions at all. A liberated / enlightened person, who performs his actions with NON-ATTACHMENT does not carry any invisible baggage for such of his actions.

34.                Now – we have to draw the Karma theory from many other sources  - apart from the Gita. Lord Krishna himself has said that he is not telling any thing new – but that all this is coming from the most ancient scriptural wisdom which has always been there. He says, he himself (in a previous birth) had taught this knowledge in Kritha Yug (several lakhs of years earlier) to some great liberated wise men. He doesn’t carry any baggage – but is reborn as Lord Krishna for a purpose. He says, his purpose is “dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge”. I take birth in any period, when I need to bring virtuosity back to an even keel.

35.   So, we have seen the operation of Karma Yoga in case of ordinary persons like us, liberated persons (like Adi Sankara, Buddha etc), special purushas (or incarnations) like Lord Krishna who decide their actions and their fruits.

36.   If we believe that every cause must have its effect – we must accept the Karma Yoga theory (or karma theory).Our actions are in three shapes – Intentions, words and deeds. All these are rewarded in different ways. When you look at the world – this theory explains every action and its result quite efficiently.

37.   It is up to you to carry whatever invisible baggage you want to. Remember – for your thoughts, words and actions – you are responsible. For awarding you the results – a more unbiased, impartial invisible force is responsible.

 *  *  *   E  N  D  *  *  *

ANY THING CAN GO WRONG =INCLUDING = MURPHY’S LAWS = THE GREAT INDIAN TWIST

ANY THING CAN GO WRONG

INCLUDING

MURPHY’S LAWS

Who is the originator of Murphy’s Laws - is Uncertain. But, many people , who do not want to give any credit to Murphy, whichever Murphy he may be, affirm that the laws were always there. They are nothing new. When the universe was built, every atom of it was infused with Murphy’s Laws. Forget Murphy –  they are universal laws obeyed from sub atomic particles to huge galaxies. There wasn’t any one who did not know these laws – in some rudimentary form. All the people in the world  were always using it consciously and unconsciously in their lives.

Admitting all these contentions - there is no denying the fact that - after these Laws came out in a simple format and called Murphy’s Laws, luck turned hugely in their favour and they came to be used  more popularly  and more consciously in all branches of human effort.

There is actually a single law – but it has many avatars; many shapes; many heads. It is almost a Hilarious truth – a some what comic representation of life.

We all know that change is the only constant in this universe. Things change. Every thing changes – every moment. If you try to change them, they will. If you don’t try to change them, then also, they will. So, change cannot be averted. But, the direction of change can be altered by our effort. We also change – in a natural, sequential process and to an extent, by our own effort.

But, there is not one man who is acting on changing things. There are billions of us all over the earth acting simultaneously – and in different directions, with different intentions. And then, nature itself is the biggest change Agent.

If all men suddenly go to sleep  and do nothing for a week, the world will still change a lot. So – things change constantly by the effort of billions of people and also Nature (which includes space, air, fire, sun, moon, earth, seas, animals, birds, insects, viruses, bacteria and every thing seen and unseen).A one hour rain brings forth lots of changes in the atmosphere around us. All this means – that the whole universe is full of change agents – who are changing themselves and the entire environment around them  constantly.

Now, Can we predict what will happen tomorrow or ten days from Now? If every thing is predictable, you would not be having news papers and news channels. When diverse forces act in different directions – the final outcome is bound to be somewhat unpredictable.

And yet, we, as human beings, try to predict, anticipate, forecast, plan, guess, foretell, map and do many, many things to bring a bit of clarity to our FUTURE. This is the specialty of human beings – amongst all other creatures.

As human beings – we predict the future – much more than any other animal can. Prediction also implies preparing for future. Prediction involves planning and  channelizing things and events  in  desired directions.

We fix Goals – tomorrow’s goals, next Sunday’s goals, next year’s goals,  next five years goals and so on. We know that without setting goals – we will never achieve much in life. Some one wants a gold medal in next Olympics. Some one wants to find a remedy for an illness. Somebody wants to build a huge monument. Some body wants to kill an enemy. There are more goals than there are people.

Even those who have no goals have expectations. Goals are planned expectations. But, there are expectations for which we have not planned.

We expect a rain tomorrow. We expect the train to come on time. We expect the Post office to open at 10 AM. We expect the ATM and our debit card also to work. We expect that the hotelier is  not planning to poison all the people in the town who take food in his hotel. We expect the Pilot of our plane to be not dead drunk. We expect public servants to be helping people. We expect love from our spouse, children and parents. These are all implicit, underlying expectations  in our day to day life. There are thousands of such expectations – on the basis of which we run our life.

We expect the air to be clean and containing sufficient oxygen and not containing toxic gases. We expect water to be clean. We expect our food to be nutritious and healthy. We expect our body to be reasonably healthy tomorrow. We expect that our country will not be attacked by terrorists tomorrow. We expect the pen in our pocket to have sufficient ink and actually write.

Suppose you start writing down all of your expectations; you will find that – your expectations go on filling pages after pages and yet, the expectations never seem to end. Murphy’s Law is precisely - on your expectations.

What happens again and again and again  in our lives -  with our expectations? Things go wrong. Our expectations go wrong. Things happen in unexpected ways. We are surprised, bewildered and dumbfounded – on why things happened the way they did – rather than the way we expected?

Why do things not happen in a predictable way? If not, what is likely to happen in various circumstances? What is the worst that can happen? What should we be prepared for?

These are certain aspects of life that are philosophically, artistically, creatively, critically, statistically, scientifically, socially, legally, sportively and seriously viewed and analyzed by wise men of all countries , and they have pronounced profound statements of Facts, near facts, subjective statements, objective statements, pessimistic statements, optimistic statements, realistic statements and out right non-sense statements – all of which are educative, leading and misleading to all of us.

If you add up your own experiences to these, you are the Murphy, who will pronounce your laws – for your benefit and possibly for the benefit of others. There were therefore many similar Murphys before us – and   the field is wide open. If you don’t like the name Murphy, call it any other name. But, add to this cynical, clinical and umbilical wisdom.

The law initially was some thing like this. But, we will go on adding a few examples – just  by way of illustrations.

1.       If any thing can go wrong, it will.

2.       Don’t  be too sure that it will go wrong always. If you are sure, then, you have predicted correctly – and proved Murphy wrong. Things can go wrong. Not that they will. They may, or they may not.

3.       Some times, you may tend to hope that things should go wrong. Like – you may wish that the train must come late today.  It may. Or, it may not. But, when it does, usually, you were not expecting it at that time.

4.       Some times you don’t want it to go wrong. Suppose – you are now made responsible to ensure that it doesn’t go wrong. But, you find, it goes wrong today – whatever you do.

5.       It hasn’t gone wrong till yesterday, or even this morning. But, it can go wrong AFTER you assumed charge!  And, therefore, it may become your fault. Everybody knows that you have taken charge today morning – and therefore, it is your fault.

6.       Many things can go wrong simultaneously.  You assumed charge today in the factory – and some thing big has gone wrong immediately. It is therefore your fault and your negligence and everybody understands it to be so.

7.       If you attempt a cover-up, You will be found out. If you don’t – anyway, it is taken as your fault. Any cover-up by you becomes evidence that the earlier goof-up in the factory was actually your fault.

8.       When you are tackling these serious issues – you may get a phone call – that your wife has slipped in the bath room and broken a few bones – and is in the hospital. If you go – you are damned in the factory by your bosses. But, if you don’t go, you are damned at home.

9.       Why did she slip in the bath room? You have not washed off the soap water that got sprinkled all over the Bath room, after your taking bath for half an hour. It was slippery – and you didn’t clean or warn your wife. She slipped, broke a few bones – and it was your fault. She knows it too and is mad at you.

10.   Well. You are between the devil and the deep sea and can’t help things either way now. Hospital or Factory? Divorce or dismissal? What is the maximum punishment that will come? Your head is cursing your fate. Cursing Murphy.

11.   Well. You open your Brief case and take out a kerchief to wipe the sweat off your face. Your daughter’s school note book stares you in the face. You wrote her home work last night  lovingly – when she was asleep. But, the note book is now in your Brief case. Will you rush to the school to make over the Note Book to your Daughter? Or allow her to take punishment from the teacher? It was your goof-up. Your daughter knows it.

12.   Any thing can go wrong. Many things can go wrong. Simultaneously. When you see a small cloud – it may pass, it may drizzle or it may rain, but  if Murphy’s law is at work,  a huge tornado may be coming your way.

13.   You take a chance. Tell some one in the factory that you will be back in half an hour, after seeing your wife and daughter. You tell your boss too. Now, you get into your car and drive fast. You had serviced you car, just yesterday. It can’t fail you too. It can’t go wrong. But,…. it can. Murphy is always at work.

14.   Somebody has just thrown a long nail on the road and your tyre hits it and the nail just gets into it somehow. It is now punctured. You are on the Roads.

15.   If this doesn’t happen, Some one’s car can hit you from behind. You are not the only one on the road. Other people have their emergencies too. Their cars were not serviced yesterday. So, now, you are neither at the factory, nor at the Hospital nor at the school.

16.   You can predict four things to be taken care off. But, the fifth thing comes out laughingly, and stares at you when you are least prepared for it. You can’t fix all faults. The fault you didn’t fix – is waiting to become the main culprit.

17.   The strongest iron tubes and girders in the world trade centre from its bottom to the top were finally - said to be responsible that the centre collapsed totally. The Engineering Marvel – overlooked the hundredth fault probably – and the hundredth fault was waiting in the wings to come out and laugh at all. Did we ever prepare for it?  

18.   The unfixed fault is known when things actually go wrong. But, there is always an unfixed fault in every thing in our life. Not just one. Many.

19.   What is depreciation? It is the coming down of the value of a thing, due to its use or even due to its non-use. Use it. The thing will be gone after some time. Don’t use it. Then also it is gone after some time.

20.   Whether you make a machine, or mother nature makes a tree or a human being – all will go – no matter what you do – after some time. That’s law of depreciation simplified.

21.   If you use more – either the machine or your self – they will go more quickly. Things become worse under pressure.

22.   So what happens?  What is the definite prediction for tomorrow?

23.   Tomorrow, things will get worse. Whatever you do. Law of depreciation at work.

24.   So Smile. Today is a better day than tomorrow. That is reason enough to celebrate.

25.   Let us look at life a little more closely. What do we really want? We want to be healthy. We want to be happy.

26.   We want a beautiful wife or a rich, handsome husband.  We want them to be loyal to us. We want them to be very versatile. We want them to take care of us. We want them to be great cooks; great talkers; great earners; great artists. great lovers. But, loyal to us. Even if we aspire for two or three only of these qualities – things start going wrong with the spouse. It is Murphy at work.

27.   When we love them and they love us -  things look great. But, marry them, as some time you will;  and you instantly realize, things are not as  great as they looked. They start becoming ordinary from next morning. They become very ordinary in a week, and then very, very ordinary in a month, and then  very stupid too in a year. Some may find it unbearable later some time.

28.   It is a passage from  “can’t live without”  to a more earthly  “can’t live with” sort of realization. People change. Love also changes.  It has happened to countless people. But, you expected your love to be immortal, immutable, eternal. It changes. You change. Your spouse changes.

29.   Why do things change always?  Because, they are not right – right now. They have to change. They will. Which way? Try to predict and go on fixing the faults. The fifth unfixed fault will slip you when the slope then is very slippery.

30.   Can you ensure that there is no mad man or mad woman in New York or New Delhi? No way.

31.   You may not know right now – but one day, your spouse may look like one, to you. Or, you may look like one to your spouse. Murphy at work – replacing the cupid, stupid!

32.   Doctors make mistakes – just 1% of the time. Be grateful to them. But, if there are 100 Doctors in the town, at least one of them is making a mistake right now. Over a period of time, they make 100 mistakes – one per Doctor. Over a longer period, they make 1,000,000 mistakes. Are you sure, you will escape this 1,000,000 mistakes? Well. It is possible if you don’t go to any doctor.

33.   Things go wrong to different people in different ways. There are bacteria and viruses which are very freely getting into and out of your body all the time. Health is the period between every 2 sicknesses. That is the reason your medical leave is a reasonable number of days in every year. You are expected to fall sick every year – for say, 20 days!

34.   We visit Doctors of different specialties periodically, including the psychiatrists for the mind and the psycho-somatic things. There is a specialist for every part of your body and mind. But - None of these Doctors have reasonable cures for most major, known, frequently attacking diseases. But they do tell you what has gone wrong with you and give you some predictions.   

35.   Whoever buys a house or builds one – is always running up and down the hardware shop, plumber’s shop, electrician’s shop, municipal authorities’ offices and so on. But, the one who rents a house – has to deal only with the owner of the house. Lesser hassles.

36.   If you marry – you are in lot of problems. Things never work out to the approximation of a heaven – which you thought would fall into your lap. This continues till the D’Day – the divorce day. Upto 6 months before and 6 months after the d’day, you see hell. You decide – enough is enough. But, then the second and third marriages are also made in heaven, by the father in the heaven. You can’t help it. You will get into them. The cycle goes on.

37.   In some countries like India, most couples stick to the same husband (or wife) – from the Marriage day to the Death day. They do fight. Things do go wrong in India too. But, they don’t change each other. Like we said earlier, the next husband or wife can be worse.  The known devil is better than an unknown angel or devil .There is also the possibility, that the known devil may become the less and less of a devil as time goes on, running out of tricks and patience. They, in fact, start loving the Play.

38.   Outside our home – in every field, we can see Murphy at work all the time.

39.   Just one last example. Look at our Political Governance – in any country. Every Political Party is always in deep trouble. The ruling party is always in trouble. But, its consolation is – the opposition parties are in equal or deeper trouble. Consequently, the people are in the deepest trouble.

40.   Booms and depressions happen in cycles. We know the depression when it is with us. Not before. Do whatever – like some infectious diseases, it stays for a certain number of years. Some countries are in depression perennially. Things are always going wrong there.

41.   Every coin has another side. Murphy is not an exception. Let us look at the other side.

42.   The problem with us is – most of the time, we don’t know the problem or where it is. The ancient Indian sciences say philosophically that – it is not the world that is the problem – it is YOU, dammit.

43.   YOU are the problem all the time.

44.   You think, your spouse is the problem. No, it is you. You think, the government is the problem. No, its you. You think, the car is the problem. No. its you. It is always You – who don’t know either the problem or the solution.

45.   You are the Murphy – who goes wrong all the time – and is blaming all the universe for it.

46.   You don’t know what to eat, when to eat, why to eat, when to drink, why to drink, what to drink, whom to marry, why to marry, when to marry, whom to vote, whom not to vote, when to sleep, how long to sleep, where to sleep – small, small, small  things, all these you don’t know. I don’t know either. Ask the President of any country – he or she doesn’t know either.

47.   Murphy is wrong. Murphy is DEAD WRONG – in saying that – NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, THINGS GO WRONG!

48.   Things are going RIGHT – all the time. It is just that - we don’t know and don’t understand. If One car collides with another, iIt is perfectly natural and understandable that they smash each other and become rubble and rubbish. That is the right thing to happen.

49.   If you abuse your spouse – he / she will get angry. That is the right thing to happen. If you feel attracted to some one else  other than your spouse; well, a year down the line – divorce is on the cards. That is the right thing to happen. It is just that – we don’t know and don’t understand.

50.   If there is a tension between two individuals, or two countries, that is the right thing to happen. Just that, they don’t understand. There is a carry forward from the past in both of them that creates the tension.

51.   It is as simples as this. If you drink and drive – the possibilities of you getting into an accident are three time more than when you drive sane. Well. You are not the only one who decided to drink and drive. There are a hundred others who are also drunk and driving – and have therefore increased the chances of an accident to their car three times more than normal, for each of them. This means that the chances of your getting into an accident, when all of you drive on the same road are now around 3 x 100  = 300 times more than normal. If all of you drive on different roads, the chances are  proportionately less. And you assume you are the only one to drink and drive! You are wrong. But, accidents are happening correctly – absolutely rightly. They are not going wrong.

52.   For this reason, the Great Indian scripture Bhagavad Gita proclaims – whatever happened, was the right thing to happen. Whatever is happening is the right thing to happen. Whatever is going happen (any time in future) will be the right thing to happen.

53.   So. Murphy’s Law is wrong – or right?

*  *  *   E  N  D  *  *  *