Change Fate(BHAGYA) 100 % Guarantee- Devotional(Puja/Path) Secrets Unveiled! (Part 2/3)

After reconnecting with God, there are rest of the remaining 4 aspects we need to understand to change fate. Let's know Jiva and Prakriti in this second article to change Fate (BHAGYA).

We as humans are not self-sustained on this planet Earth. We rely on the grace of Mother Nature to sustain ourselves, build sophisticated cities and technologies, and live our lives. This can be seen all around us. Sanatan Gyan or Vedic Scriptures very clearly explain how the reality of Jiva and Prakriti. We need an understanding of the five elements to Change Fate(BHAGYA).

We have already covered Ishwara or God in Change Fate(BHAGYA) 100 % Guarantee- Devotional(Puja/Path) Secrets Unveiled! (Part 1/3). It is highly recommended that you read the article to understand the process of changing fate (Bhagya) properly. You need to know about Ishwar and a brief introduction about the five elements that are needed to Change Fate(BHAGYA) of an individual.

After you have imbibed these concepts, you will be able to understand the steps mentioned below!

Change Fate (BHAGYA): Step 2- You are Jiva, not the Body, Stop Living Like One!

One night, I was walking along a road without street lights. I saw a snake a few feet away looking towards me. I ran for my life, stumbling upon some gravel along the way and hurting my knees. Just then, the whole street lit up as the power came back.

I saw there was no snake, but a long rope. I cursed myself for not knowing the truth; I wouldn't have needlessly hurt myself. It all makes sense, doesn't it? If we knew the truth, we wouldn't have hurt ourselves.

यथा रज्जौ सर्पभ्रमः तद्वत् आत्मनि देहाभिमानः। Just as the illusion of a snake arises on a rope, so too arises the false identification of the body with the Self

This is verse 121 from Vivekachudamani, a central metaphor in Advaita Vedanta, notably used by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. The acharya or Guru tells here that people, due to a lack of true knowledge, misidentify the impermanent body as the Self and consequently suffer.

Why is this important? Why is this relevant to Change Fate (BHAGYA)?

It is important because we can only solve problems, change outcomes, or receive something according to our current capacity. We can see the sun as we can receive the Sun,i.e., through our eyes. We get results after the efforts we have put in. The efforts build our capacity to receive the results or wins in our lives.

To Change Fate (BHAGYA), you would have to stop the misidentification with the body. I would like to share two real case scenarios where people transcended their fate or destiny.

King Vikramaditya was meant to be a Beggar in his life; instead, he was Charawarthy Samrat

India's or Bharat's calendar begins with Vikram Samvat, named after the legendary king Vikramaditya. He received his kingdom from his elder brother, King Bharatahari, the creator of the famous Vedic texts Saundaryasatak and Vairagyashatak. Vikramaditya was meant to be broken, a popper in this life due to the many accumulated karmas from his previous lifetimes.

Instead, he became a larger-than-life king whose name was used to mark the beginning of a new era, or samvat, in Vedic India. Here is his take on changing destiny.

"Our Fate is like a horse, it needs to be tamed through daily efforts, else it starts working against you" Chakravarthi King Vikramaditya

Vikramaditya's secret was the true identification of the self. He never identified himself with his body. This reflected in his daily routine, which came naturally without unnatural efforts. What we identify with is critical to the actions we perform. This has been brilliantly demonstrated in the book Atomic Habits.

If so, why don't we do the same in how we approach life? We all have heard that we are not the body but the living soul inside the body. Why do we live life like we are the body?

Reality check! We believe just the opposite. We believe we are the body, not the soul. So our entire approach is to live like the body. This, in turn, narrows our potential, and we belittle our existence, and our problems become larger than life.

Lord Buddha, the 10th incarnation of the supreme personality of Godhead, has also warned against the same. There is an interesting story about how an astrologer was perplexed when he met Lord Buddha.

An astrologer was perplexed seeing the hands of Lord Buddha. According to him, he should have been a Chakrawarthy Samrat surrounded with all three opulences: wealth, wine, and women, but he was a mendicant, asking for alms. Here is the solution given by Lord Buddha.

Palm Lines & Prophecy	Buddha’s Response
Show kingly (Chakravartin) destiny	“They reflect my past, not present or future.”
Astrology predicts the future?	“They are true for the conditioned, but not for the Awakened.”
Expectation of material greatness	“A Buddha is one who has transcended the past and destiny.”
Destiny binds ordinary people	“A realized being becomes unpredictable, living each moment new.”
“Who are you really?”	“I am nobody. I have dropped name, form, and all identity.”

Here, many will complain it is difficult to do what you are suggesting. We are not currently enlightened. How can we believe we are the soul, not the body?

See, here is where you have misunderstood! I am not saying become enlightened. I am reminding you to start believing your real identity, that I am not the body, but I am the divine spirit soul.

Here is the fun part! We don't need to work for something that we already have in our hands. We, however, have to be reminded of what we have forgotten.

We have misidentified the body as ourselves, the pleasures and pain of the body as our own. The work which has to be done is to start reminding ourselves that I am a part and parcel of the supreme.

As often quoted by Swami Vivekananda, the most flamboyant and firebrand mystic of the 21st century, who transformed Bharat since its post-independent era.

तुम अमृत के पुत्र हो, ईश्वर के अंश हो, अमर आनंद के भागी हो,अनंत शक्तियों के भंडार हो,दुनिया में कोई काम ऐसा नहीं, जो तुम ना कर सको।

He gained fame after his speech in Chicago, where he was given the topic to speak on zero. He mesmerized the audience and got a thunderous response from the public. He disclosed his secret to the youth with the following mantra:

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced. Others are mere talking machines.”

Take the idea that you are the soul, not the body. Make it your central existence.

Now, we have painstakingly understood how to start believing in our real identity. The question arises: How do I start believing that I am not the body, but the divine spirit soul? After all, it is easier to preach than follow. Isn't it? Here is where the next part begins!

What is JIVA? What is its Constitution?

Who are we actually? Unless we know the true information from legitimate sources, we won't be able to start believing in ourselves. Lord Krishna beautifully explains this in the Bhagavad-gita 15.7:

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः। मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति॥ ७ ॥ The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.

The soul consists of three intrinsic features:

1. SAT: Eternal Indestructible Presence

   
   

2. CHIT: Consciousness and Intelligence

   
   

3. Anand: Innate Blissful Nature

What is the jiva's physical dimension and location in the human body? It is in the heart and is 1/10,000 the size of the tip of our hair!

बालाग्रशतभागस्य शतधा कल्पितस्य च । भागो जीवः स विज्ञेयः स चानन्त्याय कल्पते ॥

"One should understand that the jīva is one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair, divided again into a hundred parts — unimaginably small — yet it is conscious, eternal, and capable of liberation."

Yup! That small is our existence in the body.

Yet we power up the body. We are miraculous beings, the marginal potency (tathasth shakti) of Lord Krishna! We are inherently indestructible, full of knowledge, blissful existences. Any problem, situation, or external factors can't do anything bad to us.

Reality is different, though, isn't it?

We feel we are fragile, ignorant, and full of misery. Life is drag, a burdensome experience, new threats lurking at every corner.

The reason is quite simple.

If we are suffering currently, it is due to our misidentification with matter and its byproduct, the material world. This is the reason we need to understand PRAKRITI (Nature).

We have misidentified our identification with material nature. We need to learn how we misidentified with nature and lost our existence. Nature provides us, but it is meant to enslave us.

What? Yes. You read that right.

Nature is not for our sake. It doesn't serve us. It serves the supreme. We need to understand PRAKRATI or Nature to Change Fate (BHAGYA).

What is PRAKRITI? How does it Enslave the JIVA?

The first secret you need to understand is that nature is not here to serve us. It serves the supreme personality of Godhead Krishna. We can't forcefully lord over it. In simple words, on this planet earth we exploit its resources for our need and greed. Since we are part and parcel of the supreme, we can take what we need.

We, however, can't take it for our greed. Our misery started when we wanted to lord over material nature. Our spiritual quality makes us jivas superior to asat or jadh (matter), but not its owners. Ever since we came into this material existence, we have tried to be the masters of matter or PRAKRITI.

Here is the proof from Srimad Bhagavatam (3.27.2) with explanation given by ISKCON's founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Praphupada:

एष पुरुषोऽविधिज्ञः प्रकृतिं वेद नात्मनः कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुर्भवति सङ्गिणि ॥ This living entity, although transcendental to material nature, thinks himself the doer and thus associates himself with the modes of nature. "As soon as I think that ‘I am enjoyer, I am proprietor,’ this is my fallen stage. Therefore a conditioned soul, fallen conditioned soul, is struggling for existence. He is trying to be enjoyer, he is trying to be proprietor. That is his artificial way of life..."

It is not that matter has contaminated us. It's the opposite! We have tried to control prakriti, and in doing so, we forgot our transcendental qualities and identified with inferior material qualities.

Why? It's simple, you become something you associate with.

संगत से गुण होत है, संगत से गुण जाय।

You are the result of your association. Even if you are an immortal being, if you associate with dead matter, you imbibe the qualities of dead matter. Then, our downfall. Remember, we are what we think our identity is. We define our existence with matter, then we display the qualities of matter.

To summarise, we try to lord over nature, and as a punishment, we accept that inferior qualities of nature. These are:

1. ASAT: Temporary existence, i.e., repeated life and death

   
   

2. ACHITA: Ignorant or bereft of knowledge

   
   

3. DUKHA: Pain & Suffering

Isn't this our current condition? Ask yourself honestly.

How is Prakriti controlling JIVA(You)?

The fools today argue I am free; I answer to no one. Really? Aren't you liable to your parents, wife, and children? Aren't you liable to your country? Aren't you liable to nature that supplements your needs?

You, sir, are not free. You are controlled by nature in the following ways:

1. Modes of Nature (Rajo Guna-Tamo Guna-Sattva Guna) Action-Rest-Goodness

   
   

2. Birth-Old Age-Diseases-Death

   
   

3. Thinking-Feeling-Willing (Thoughts-Emotions-Preaction)

   
   

4. Natural Disasters, Predators, Changing Seasons

   
   

5. Karma & Results (Action has an interest added reaction)

There are many more. Here I have listed only a few. We need separate articles to understand these points. How nature is keeping you in check. We won't cover them here because we would be going off topic.

Sanatan Gyan or Vedic Scriptures further removes a delusion you might be having now. I control the actions I take. I have free will, don't I?

No, Sir, you don't! At least not the way you think it is!

The Bhagavad Gītā (3.27) tells the secrets of prakriti and actions of JIVA:

प्रकृते: क्रियमाणानि गुणै: कर्माणि सर्वश: ।अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥ All activities are carried out by the modes of material nature (prakriti). But the soul, deluded by ego, thinks, "I am the doer."

You see, truth feels bitter now, doesn't it? You thought you were the center of the world, the enjoyer; everyone here is to serve you. You can do whatever you want. Get whatever you wish, but alas, you are nothing but a slave of Prakriti, which is keeping you in check through repeated births and deaths by putting you in prison of 4,32,000 varieties of life.

Prakriti, a 14-world Brahmanda, to keep you a Slave?

Don't believe me?

Here is the proof from Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.10) and Bhagavad-gītā 7.14:

देवी ह्याेषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया। मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते॥ This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who surrender unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

ISKCON's founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's commentary provides the proof on this quote about the world being a jail of conditioned souls.

This material nature is very strong. It is like a prison house. And who is the superintendent? Durgā Devī! Therefore this whole material manifestation is sometimes called "Durgā", the prison, and she is the jailer who keeps the rebellious souls conditioned.

He has provided more sources, as individuals might feel incredulous about this revelation. In Chaitanya-charitamrta (Adi-lila 5.22), he has commented as follows:

“The entire material universe, with its different planetary systems, is nothing but a big prison. The superintendent of this prison is Durgā Devī.”

PRAKRITI or Mother Nature is like the justice system. It is here to purify and rectify us. It is here to test us to see whether we are ready or fit to return to our original home, the spiritual world, and regain our original, pure, transcendental nature, similar to that of the supreme personality of Godhead, Krishna.

"This material world is like a prison house, and those who are in this material world are considered to be condemned. Just as criminals are put in jail, similarly, the living beings who are averse to the Supreme Lord are sent into this material world, which consists of the 14 planetary systems. And Durga, the goddess who controls the illusory energy, is the jailer." A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada— [Lecture on Bhagavad-gītā, 1973]

If we are not 100% ready, then it binds us to other 4,32,000 species or bodies. It starts from the most detestable worm in the stool to the highest body of the demigods.

On the other hand, if we start living with "Yoga Chitta" and slowly and steadily reconnect with the supreme personality of Godhead, Krishna, then we can easily transcend the PRAKRITI.

Sanatan Gyan Stance on Jiva & Prakriti

Jiva or individual souls, due to their association with matter or Prakriti, forgot their immortal nature and accepted a false material nature of birth, diseases, old age, and death. With the light of right association and knowledge, can they rise above their problems and do the needful to Change Fate (BHAGYA).

In one line, start connecting with the supreme to rediscover your nature and transcend world problems. It all starts with "Yoga Chitta"!

We will conclude the Change Fate (BHAGYA) in the next final article, where we talk of the remaining two factors to change one's destiny, KAAL (Time), and KARMA (Actions).

If you haven't read the first article on Change Fate (BHAGYA), I highly advise you to read it as it will be difficult to understand the conclusion.