ON SIN OF BEING BORN

ON THE SIN OF BEING BORN

Birth is considered as “ adhi vyadhi”-original disease! Spirituality and philosophy  do not speak highly of birth. It is considered as a misery. Why are creatures born in this world? Philosophy argues that it is because of one’s karma or deeds good or bad.A person or a creature is born with the consequence of the deeds of his previous birth. He continues to perform deeds and accumulates the effect of his good and bad deeds which form the basis of his future birth and  its happiness or suffering. Thus birth is the result of “ prarabda, sanchitha and agami “ karmas. there is no escape from this cycle! That is what Adi Sankara points out: “ Punarapi jananam Punarapi maranam Punarapi janani jatare sayanam.” Is man satisfied in his birth? The answer is no! Under the influence of illusion or Maya he considers life as permanent and forgets  the purpose of his life on earth totally! Krishna was once asked what was the most miraculous thing in all creation, and he replied that a man should wake each morning and believe deep in his heart that he will live forever even though he knows that he is doomed!

His ‘ mamakara’ or attachment to his wife, children, property and kith and kin leads him to intense misery and the various vicissitudes of samsara or family life. More and more insatiable desires torment him and there is no escape from the resulting agony! Every second he loses his longevity, youth deserts him, days lost never return, time swallows up the whole universe, wealth blows up like the bubble on the waves of the sea and life itself is like the momentary flash of lightning! The sea of Samsara is fathomless and abysmal. It is shoreless. It is infested with alligator like wife and children who drag you down further! “ Life and death are illusion. We are in a constant state of transformation.” says a  writer! “ Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides” according to Lao Tse. According to Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, “ The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die and you to live. Which of these is better only God knows.”

It follows, therefore, that birth is the  result of the sin or the punya that one has  accumulated! Is it possible to live without doing anything to avoid birth? Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that it is impossible. If there is no karma there is no birth! If the body is at rest the mind is active! Mental activity is also karma and that has its effect. As such man is caught in the inescapable grip of the cycle of birth and death! When can man release himself from this everlasting cycle? It is only after innumerable births and deaths after experiencing the effects of all previous births. After all this experience emancipation is granted as per the Sasthras  and philosophy. But that stage is very far and the chances are remote since karma and its effect is continuous and unstoppable!

Man should realize that the world he lives in is unreal! It is an illusion, a make believe. It weaves a web in which we are caught and think it is real! It is like the silver in the seashell. For a look it shines like silver but there is no silver in it! The shell is real but the shine of silver is deception! But we are carried away by the shine of silver and think it is real.  This feeling is also similar to a dream. So long as we dream we feel it is real. We sometimes laugh and cry, feel sad or happy. But the moment we open our eyes the realization dawns that, after all, it was a dream! We still live in this dreamy world imagining it to be real! The world itself is of temporary existence and is it not foolish to think that we would live forever?

How to avoid birth? It is impossible to stop karma or escape from the ordeals of experiencing its gruelling effects! Janmarahitya -- birthlessness can be achieved by an attempt to achieve the aim and purpose of our earthly existence!  We are born not to live to eat. We eat to live. The purpose of our birth is to realize ourselves!  We are the Indestructible 'atma’, a chip of the block of the Paramatma or the Brahma the Supreme Reality! We are not the body with which we identify ourselves! we are not the small i but the big I which is the Infinite! In that constant thought we release ourselves from all our attachments and entanglements. We grow spiritual, detached, meditate on the Supreme Reality, attain Jnana and eventually merge with the Supreme Being! This is called emancipation or salvation or mukti when birth is annulled!