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Re: Free will Vs Predetermination

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Bhashyam Raghunandan • August 6, 2002 


Dear Sri Maruthi Pavan,
The following is my understanding of the topic of
Paramatma roopa and swaroopa.  Request all other
bhagavatas to pardon and correct me if I am wrong.

As far as the swaroopa of the jivatma or the para
brahmhan is concerned, both do not have any gender. 
The jivatma because it is confined into a body [based
on the karma] has a gender.  Again the gender is only
to the body.  Thus a name given to the jivatman is not
for the jivatman but to the body alone.
As far as the swaroopa of the supreme bhramhan is
concerned, the same holds good.  But the supreme
bhramhan is also identified as Narayana which also has
a divya mangala vigraham of a male gender.

Now coming back to what I was explaining in the other
mail, as the topic was freewill Vs pre determined
actions, I did not explain in length about the
following:

"He has the  swatrantryam to punish each jivatman for
the deeds  [karma] he does but at the same time
because of his daya considers small good deeds of the
jivatmans as  big deeds and based on the same provides
us with  better environment in the subsequent janmas
[better  environment is nothing but sadacharya
samashrayanam,  bhagavata samparkam etc]."

Sriman Naryana has many kalyana gunas [infinite] along
with swatantryam.  At any instance when a jivatman
comes face to face with the Lord, He would want to
punish the jivatman for his wrong deeds.  But at the
same time, he also has the kalyana gunas like
sousheelyam, swamithvam, karunyam ...etc.  He also has
the praapthi to attain every jivatman. Infact he has
done a lot of krushi to attain a jivatman.  According
to our Poorvacharyas, it is he who has to attain a
jivatman hence he considers some of the good deeds
done by the jivatma even though they were done
accidently [Yadruschika] and because of that helps the
jivatma by providing him a better body and
environment.  There are many instances in our puranas
that explain the same.

Swami Ramanuja was the sishya of Yadava prakasha for a
long time.  Once during this time, the king's daughter
gets under the spell of a bramharaakshasa. 
Yadavaprakasha based on the invitation from the king,
tries to drive away the raakshasa.  Then the
bramharaakshasa narrates the past of yadava prakasha. 
Yadava prakasha in his earlier life, would have been a
reptile.  Accidently [not knowingly] the reptile eats
the bhagavata shesa of some bhagavatas who had just
finished having their prasadam.  This alone makes him
a vedantin in his next life [as Yadavaprakaasha] who
got the samparkam of Swami Ramanuja and later became
his disciple and attained moksha. [Guruparampara
Prabhavam].

Even the story of sage Narada in Srimad Bhagavatam
proves the same.

Hence Bhagavan exercises his swatantrayam on those
jivas who do not have any sambandham of his
bhagavatas/Piratti/Himself.  But his daya takesover
moment a jiva has a bhagavata sambhandam even if it is
accidental.  Swami Ramanuja in the Gadyatrayam calls
Him as "Apaara Kaarunya MahOdadhe" i,e an ocean of
karunai.

With my limited ability and limited understanding I
have putforth my thoughts.  Please pardon me for
anything wrong in the content.
adiyen Ramanuja Dasan.
Raghunandan


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