We would have heard of the saying, “Tēnavinā tr̥ṇamapi na calati”. This means that even a blade of grass cannot move without God’s desire. However, this should not be used as an excuse for inaction.
It is narrated in Śrīmad Bhāgavata that sensing Dhr̥tarāṣṭra’s blind love towards his sons and the troubles this could cause within the kingdom and to the Pāṇḍavas, Sri Krishna sends Akrūra to advise Dhr̥tarāṣṭra. Akrūra arrives at Hastinapura. He meets all the elders of the Kuru clan and stays at Hastinapura for some time to observe the treatment meted out to the Pāṇḍavas by Dhr̥tarāṣṭra. From Kunti and Vidura, Akrūra collects an account of the troubles gone through by the Pāṇḍavas. He then approaches Dhr̥tarāṣṭra and advises him thus, “Oh King! You should uphold the glory of the Kuru dynasty. After your brother’s demise, his children have sought your refuge. Therefore, you must take care of them as your own. You must ensure that your actions towards them are impartial. You must rule the kingdom righteously. Otherwise, you will bring disgrace upon yourself”.
To this, Dhr̥tarāṣṭra replies,
“Akrūra, I appreciate your words of concern. Although, it has brought me comfort, following it is not easy. My heart is filled with a biased fondness towards my children. Is it not God who motivates us to do all this? Moreover, the Lord has descended on the Earth as Sri Krishna for the purpose of ridding all evil that is prevailing on it. Who can act against His resolution?”
Akrūra understands that Dhr̥tarāṣṭra was using divine will as an excuse for his inaction. He offers his respects to the elders in the court and returns to Dvārakā. As a result of his inaction, Dhr̥tarāṣṭra gets written down in history as an example of discrimination and blind love.
As we are aware, there are three entities in this world: jīva (finite souls), Paramātma (God) and jaḍa (inanimate objects). Jaḍa is an inanimate object. Hence, it is not bound by the restrictions and rules prescribed in the scriptures. Paramātma is the Supreme Lord. He has absolute independence and is above all. So, He is not bound by any restrictions prescribed in the scriptures. As jīva does not fall into either of these categories, all the guidelines, rules and prohibitions spoken of in the scriptures are applicable to him. Therefore, jīva is duty-bound.
Jīvas have three attributes: jñāna, icchā and kriyā. Jñāna is cognition, icchā is desire, and kriyā is action. All three are essential to perform any activity. These attributes are verily kartr̥tva (agency). However, the kartr̥tva of jīva is asvatantra or parādhīna (dependent agency). Therefore, jīva is bound by scriptural injunctions and prohibitions.
Another example of the result of inaction towards one’s duties is narrated in Skandapurāṇa.
Śr̥ṅgi, son of sage Śamīka, curses King Parīkṣita (son of Abhimanyu) to die of the bite of serpent Takṣaka as the former had insulted his father by placing a dead snake over his neck. When sage Śamīka gets to know of this curse, he chides his son and sends his disciple to inform King Parīkṣita about the curse. Learning of the curse upon him, Parīkṣita crowns his son as the King, leaves his kingdom and arrives at the banks of river Ganga. Accompanied by many sages and holy men, Parīkṣita spends the last 7 days of his life listening to Śrīmad Bhāgavata from Śukācārya.
Meanwhile, a Brahmin by name Kaśyapa, well versed in incantations to counteract poisons, starts towards the banks of river Ganga. As he was poor, he intended to provide a cure to Parīkṣita for Takṣaka’s poison and get paid in return. On his way, he meets Takṣaka, who was disguised as a Brahmin. During their conversation, Takṣaka learns of Kaśyapa’s intent. He reveals his true self and says, “Resuscitating somebody from my poison is impossible. If you think you can do so, try to revive this tree, which I will burn down with my poison”. Takṣaka bites a giant tree. His fierce poison burns down the tree to ashes, along with a man who had climbed on top of it. Kaśyapa casts a spell on the tree, bringing it and the man who was on top of it back to life. Seeing Kaśyapa’s ability, Takṣaka says, “Do not let the curse of a Brahmin go false. I will give you more wealth than you can get from Parīkṣita”. Kaśyapa foresees God’s intent and decides not to go ahead to help Parīkṣita. He accepts the wealth offered by Takṣaka and returns to his village. Eventually, Takṣaka reaches Parīkṣita and kills him as per the curse.
For failing to perform his duty by helping Parīkṣita, a severe sin accrued to Kaśyapa. This brought him notoriety, and he was distanced by the learned members of the society. He was not offered shelter anywhere and was blamed by all. Having been forsaken by everyone, Kaśyapa approached sage Śākalya and asked him for the reason behind his misery. Śākalya said that the sin accrued to Kaśyapa for not saving a noble person like Parīkṣita from Takṣaka’s poison was the reason behind his rejection by the society.
Realising his mistake, Kaśyapa requests the sage to advise him a way to cleanse his sins. Sage Śākalya asks Kaśyapa to take bath in the holy water of Svāmi Puṣkarṇi to get absolved from this sin. Kaśyapa does as directed and relieves himself of his sins and gets accepted by the society again.
These incidents show us that not performing one’s duties can bring dishonour and cause many sins, the results of which could be difficult to bear. Haridasas describe the human body as “Sādhana Śarīra” (body designed as an instrument to perform elevating acts). Therefore, for spiritual upliftment and to progress on the path of salvation, we must perform our duties as per scriptures, without making excuses and passing the blame on destiny or fate.
