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Divine will and karma

A spiritual discourse clarifying the distinction between Divine will and personal karma.

"Bad thinking and bad actions arise from denying the Divine will. The bad deeds and bad thoughts come from negating the will of God."

"So don't think that now whatever you will do is Divine will. It may be your destiny, and destiny is the reaction of your karmas. So that is not Divine will, it is the will of your karmas."

The speaker addresses a question about whether all actions, including bad ones, are Divine will. He explains that negative actions stem from ignorance and denying God's will. He illustrates this with a story of a disciple who, misunderstanding the teaching that God is in everyone, fails to heed warnings from people and is harmed by an elephant. The talk emphasizes using discernment (viveka) and clarifies that personal destiny is the result of one's own karmas, not synonymous with Divine will.

Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer Workshop

There was a question from yesterday, Devī, which I did not answer. If everything we are doing is Divine will, then where is the worry? Why then is something good or bad? Perhaps the bad is also the Divine's will. No, that is not Divine will. Bad thinking and bad actions arise from denying the Divine will. The bad deeds and bad thoughts come from negating the will of God. There is a story of a master teaching oneness, unity, and that everyone is God. He said that God is in everyone, and in everyone is the Divine will. One day, a disciple was going through the market, and a wild or mad elephant came. People were running away, and they told him also to go away from the mad elephant, but he said, "No, it's not necessary because my Master said in everyone is God. So, in him is God, so he will not do anything to me. If he knows how to do something, then he will do it," and he went towards the elephant. The elephant was very angry and pushed him with his trunk. Luckily, the neighbor's house window was open. When he flew through the window, he was hospitalized. After a few months, when he recovered, he asked the Master, "Master, I cannot understand this. I was following your teaching that everyone is God, so I was seeing God in him also." The Master said, "Yes, everyone is God, but you didn't see God in everyone. No, I did." "No. Because the people who were warning you, why didn't you think in them is also God, and that God was warning you?" Yes, that is true. So, whenever some bad action comes, it is coming out of misunderstanding and ignorance, and therefore you should be careful in your actions. It's easy to say, "Nāhaṁ kartā." But did you follow Mahāprabhujī's bhajans and teachings? So when we like something to do, at that time we forget these three things and only remember one thing. If we want to do something, then we do it, and I remember only one thing: "Nāhaṁ kartā." That's what leads to problems. Therefore, we shall use our viveka. So don't think that now whatever you will do is Divine will. It may be your destiny, and destiny is the reaction of your karmas. So that is not Divine will, it is the will of your karmas. So don't think that now whatever you will do is divine will. It may be your destiny, and the destiny is the reaction of your karmas. So that is not a divine will, it is the will of your karmas. Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer Workshop

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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