THE ABSOLUTE LAW OF KARMA - Who Maintains the Record of Sins and Virtues?

THE ABSOLUTE LAW OF KARMA

Who Maintains the Record of Sins and Virtues?


A verse in the scriptures states that a suppressed conscience takes one to hell and an awakened conscience leads to heaven. This statement explains the enigma of Heaven and Hell i.e. an individual himself is responsible for creating heaven and hell in his life.


Scriptures (Garura Purana) describes this phenomenon metaphorically. It is mentioned that in the astral world (Yamlok) there lives a deity named Chitragupta, who maintains the record of good and evil deeds of a sentient being. When a living being dies and its soul enters the astral world, this deity presents the record of its good and evil deeds and, based on this account, the soul is assigned to live in heaven or hell. Common sense would not accept existence of a deity like Chitragupta.


The number of human beings inhabiting this earth itself is in billions. If we take into account the other living beings of millions of non-human species, the total number would be beyond mathematical calculation. It would be an impossible task for an individual to work day and night without rest for millions of years maintaining records of each moment of life of innumerable beings of the cosmos. Impracticability of maintenance of such a stupendous record puts a question mark on the very existence of Chitragupta.


Modern science, however, substantiates the reality underlying the metaphorical descriptions given in the scriptures. Science has now established that all mental, verbal and physical activities carried out by an individual having a discriminative mind leave subtle impressions on the deeper levels of the psyche. In this way, like the compressed audio-visual recordings of events on a microchip of the computer or compact disc, all good and evil deeds are being recorded in the secret chambers of the sub-conscious mind.


This record, like a C.D remains in storage till it is required to be played at a desired moment through an appropriate mechanism. Since time immemorial, enlightened persons in India have wondered about the role of fate in human life. Sanskrit and Hindi literature has abundant references to the “footprints of Karma” (Karma Rekha), which it is said, cannot be erased by any degree of intellectual endeavour.


In Indian spirituality, karma stands for any physical, verbal, mental or social activity. It means that each karma produces an imprint (Rekha), which cannot be erased before creating a reaction (Karmaphal). There is a belief that the Creator (Lord Brahma) inscribes the destiny on the forehead of a human being and this Divine Inscription cannot be erased by anyone (Vidhi ke likhe ko metanhara). Let us examine this concept from a scientific point of view. Microscopic examination shows innumerable furrows in the grey matter all over the brain. Medical science has not so far come to know the biological implications of these indentations. Comparative microscopic research studies have shown that density of these crenulations in the grey matter of highly evolved persons and thinkers is much more, than in the case of common masses. It shows that these microscopic lines in the grey matter of the brain are nothing but compact subtle impressions created by external activities, which we take as imprints of mental, vocal and physical actions. This record of activities (good and evil deeds) on the neurons of grey matter proves the existence of an intelligent mechanism, which Hindu Mythology refers to.