I was having a conversation recently… there was so much they had to share, and one of the things was about karma, those incidents that make us feel, “this shouldn’t have happened”, about disparity and suffering in this life. But isn’t that question something every human faces?

Then comes another thought, “Was I even being guided by God? If yes, then why did all this still happen? Was I even meant to live in sansar, or the life I’ve lived until now?” This chain of thought arises when one sits with oneself, meditates on the Self, or somehow awakens from the deep sleep of maya. So… what’s the answer?

Honestly, it’s very simple. What is meant to happen, happens. Either along the straight path or the curved path… You thought this would be the answer? Well, it is one of the correct answers. But is any answer truly wrong? Okay, I’ll stop kidding.

When you take a birth, there are major calculations behind it. Based on your consciousness’ development, your atman’s readiness to recognize itself, your past deeds (karma), and more; you are born exactly the way you are meant to be. This isn’t decided by someone sitting above, you decide it every time your atman pulses.

So, what then? How do you know if you are walking the right path?

For readers in their early years, I genuinely recommend listening to different saints, sadhakas and abhyasakas, keep enquiring… For readers who aren’t in their early years, I’ll try to keep this simple.

You lived a life. You faced many things, you suffered, enjoyed, experienced it all. But obviously, some things made not just you suffer, but your loved ones as well. Could it have been diverted?

To answer you in one sentence: nope, it doesn’t work like that.

Let’s say you got a loan. There are a few ways to repay it. You can earn and repay, steal and repay, or do anything to repay. If you don’t repay with money, the bank takes a valued object and makes sure your loan is settled. Either way, even if you earn, steal, or do nothing; the loan is repaid.

The same is true with karma. You can take the path of Parabrahman, do tapasya, bhakti, or manana, or any method of walking on adhyatma, and you will still repay. Only the mode of payment changes.

In sansar, these payments appear as suffering, loss, emotional abandonment, traumas, etc. On the path of adhyatma (assuming one consciously leaves sansar and becomes a sadhak or sadhu), one is forced to face the mind without any escape, endure inner unrest, witness attachments break, stand alone without emotional cushion, or remain steady while maya becomes even more strong. So, what’s the difference then? The difference is one is a conscious decision to walk the path of recognizing the Atman, and the other is an unconscious decision to stay in maya and play its games while forgetting oneself.

So… do we not get the option to choose adhyatma? Everyone does. Each human, at their lowest, gets moments to contemplate, enquire, feel, become conscious, evolve, and choose. Take a pause here and try to remember, was there really no time when you had a chance to choose adhyatma? (Adhyatma has different ways, and each way is correct.)

“But then, it would have been better to choose the adhyatmic path rather than the sansar path I chose, right?” Nope. There is no better path. Adhyatma isn’t superior, sansar isn’t inferior. Each aspect has its own space. If sansar was inferior, Parabrahman would have never chosen to forget Himself and live as us. He takes birth as you, as me, as every jeev and nirjeev in this known and void universe. Each atom and molecule is Him enjoying Himself as That. Then is He inferior? Are His choices inferior?

Sansar isn’t inferior, nor has your life been. Things happened for a reason, and that reason is Him. He lived the life the way He wanted to, so why complain?

The best thing among all of this is the first question you asked yourself, because that question means the Atman is wanting to open its eyes. The journey is beautiful. He is beautiful. You are beautiful.

A Quiet Note:
If you feel like talking, reflecting, or enquiring further, you can write to me at darekaraditee@gmail.com or join our WhatsApp group.