The Mystery of Human Birth

After knowing a lot about karma, renunciation and devotion, Arjun asks Lord Krishna, O Madhav! If a person has died while performing devotion and doing good deeds and his devotion and his deeds were good but had not yet reached the point where he could get salvation. So in such a situation, will all the good he has done in this life go in vain? Will he not get any value for his love for God? Then what is the benefit of devotion?

Then God answers this question and says:

Pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate. Na hi kalyāṇakṛt kaścid durgatiṁ tāta gacchati. (Bhagavad Gita 6.40)

Then Keshav smiles and says, no Parth, it is not like that. Just as when the wind moves past a fragrant flower, it takes with itself some of the fragrance of that flower, in the same way the soul also takes with itself the essence of the good deeds done by that person in his life. Due to good deeds and devotion, that person will first have to enjoy the happiness of heaven, suffer the punishment of sins and then in the new life he will get, he will get many facilities from the very beginning. He will have to struggle less in the next life because he has already got a lot of things useful for life.

Now it again depends on him whether he uses those facilities with devotion or ego-consciousness. Those new actions will decide the direction of his life. Many people think that I am very short of resources, I have to make so much effort even for food, whereas my friend, brother or sister has been given everything by God, but why this injustice to me?

The answer is very simple and clear that his karma in his previous life was not good, that is why he has got this uncomfortable life. He will have to work hard again, engage in devotion, pay attention to good deeds and have faith in God. All this does not end here, its effect remains on his family also. If a human being does good deeds and worships God and is not able to attain complete salvation but dies, he will be born in a privileged and prosperous family. Why would the laws of nature place such a person in a family without means? But the one who did nothing even in his first birth; He spent his life in Rajasic and Tamasic qualities, if he did not touch the Sattva qualities then he would have to endure the difficulties of life in this new life. The rules are equal for everyone, be it human or deity.

If someone sees a family with prosperity nearby, then he should understand that the life of the people of that family is happy not because of any favoritism, but because all those members have done very good deeds with devotion to God in their previous birth. Yes, the results of what he is doing in this life are yet to come. The one who sees this should do his work and devotion thinking only about himself, leaving aside comparisons and doing only good deeds, this will be beneficial for him.

Na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana. Nānavāptam avāptavyaṁ varta eva ca karmaṇi. (Bhagavad Gita 3.22)

The world, nature, humans, gods and the universe are bound by rules, that is why they remain in motion. If rules were made to be broken, this would have ended long ago. And such rules have been made by Me only to save humanity. You should consider this as an absolute truth. Sun, Moon, Air, Fire, Earth, Gods, Yakshas and planets etc. are all tied to it; No one is untouched. And Arjun, I myself am bound by these, I too perform action. If I do not do any work then this universe will end. That's why I ask you to do the work. I ask you to do your work without attachment to the results. Because as soon as the fruit or attachment comes, ego will come, which swallows even the most learned and knowledgeable person. Not even any god is untouched by this.

Shri Krishna is also saying that the work done by any human being or the devotional efforts done never goes in vain. He gets birth only on the basis of spiritual practice. They are of two types. First of all, on the basis of the virtues done by him, man attains the best worlds like heaven and he enjoys happiness there for a long time. After this he comes back to earth and takes birth in a pure and wealthy human family. So that he can get a favorable environment for good conduct and spiritual practice from an early age i.e. childhood itself. In comparison, if a devotee of higher order is mature, then after enjoying the pleasures of heaven and other worlds, he is born into a family of wise spiritual practitioners; Yes, this is very difficult but not rare. Due to the spiritual practice done in the previous life, he automatically acquires spiritual intelligence and consciousness. After taking a new birth, he starts working again to attain salvation. This is the reason why some humans are devotees by birth.

And on the contrary, those human beings who did not do anything in their previous birth but lived their life only in the glare of Tamasic and Rajasic qualities, have to do more devotion and more hard work in this life. Otherwise, like his previous birth, this birth too will be in vain. What they are accumulating due to their selfishness, greed and ego, by snatching it from others or by not snatching it, will not be of any use to them; We can give something only through devotion to God, charity, service, satsang and most importantly by imparting good values ​​to our children. This is the ultimate goal of human life.