FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.14.55

न हि क्रमश्चेदिह मृत्युजन्मनो: शरीरिणामस्तु तदात्मकर्मभि: । य: स्‍नेहपाशो निजसर्गवृद्धये स्वयं कृतस्ते तमिमं विवृश्चसि ॥ ५५ ॥
na hi kramaś ced iha mṛtyu-janmanoḥ
[na hi kramash ched iha mrityu-janmanoh]
śarīriṇām astu tad ātma-karmabhiḥ
[shareerinaam astu tad aatma-karmabhih]
yaḥ sneha-pāśo nija-sarga-vṛddhaye
[yah sneha-paasho nija-sarga-vriddhaye]
svayaṁ kṛtas te tam imaṁ vivṛścasi
[svayam kritas te tam imam vivrishchasi]
na — not hi — indeed kramaḥ — chronological order cet — if iha — in this material world mṛtyu — of death janmanoḥ — and of birth śarīriṇām — of the conditioned souls, who have accepted material bodies astu — let it be tat — that ātma-karmabhiḥ — by the results of one’s karma (fruitive activities) yaḥ — that which sneha-pāśaḥ — bondage of affection nija-sarga — Your own creation vṛddhaye — to increase svayam — personally kṛtaḥ — made te — by You tam — that imam — this vivṛścasi — you are cutting.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na hi kramaś ced iha mṛtyu-janmanoḥ
na
not
hi
indeed
kramaḥ
chronological order
cet
if
iha
in this material world
mṛtyu
of death
janmanoḥ
and of birth
śarīriṇām astu tad ātma-karmabhiḥ
śarīriṇām
of the conditioned souls, who have accepted material bodies
astu
let it be
tat
that
ātma-karmabhiḥ
by the results of one’s karma (fruitive activities)
yaḥ sneha-pāśo nija-sarga-vṛddhaye
yaḥ
that which
sneha-pāśaḥ
bondage of affection
nija-sarga
Your own creation
vṛddhaye
to increase
svayaṁ kṛtas te tam imaṁ vivṛścasi
svayam
personally
kṛtaḥ
made
te
by You
tam
that
imam
this
vivṛścasi
you are cutting.
My Lord, You may say that there is no law that a father must die in the lifetime of his son and that a son must be born in the lifetime of his father, since everyone lives and dies according to his own fruitive activity. However, if fruitive activity is so strong that birth and death depend upon it, there is no need of a controller, or God. Again, if You say that a controller is needed because the material energy does not have the power to act, one may answer that if the bonds of affection You have created are disturbed by fruitive action, no one will raise children with affection; instead, everyone will cruelly neglect his children. Since You have cut the bonds of affection that compel a parent to raise his child, You appear inexperienced and unintelligent.

As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām: one who has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service, is not affected by the results of karma. In this verse, karma has been stressed on the basis of karma-mīmāṁsā philosophy, which says that one must act according to his karma and that a supreme controller must give the results of karma. The subtle laws of karma, which are controlled by the Supreme, cannot be understood by ordinary conditioned souls. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that one who can understand Him and how He is acting, controlling everything by subtle laws, immediately becomes freed by His grace. That is the statement of Brahma-saṁhitā ( karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām ). One should take to devotional service without reservations and surrender everything to the supreme will of the Lord. That will make one happy in this life and the next.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
If you say there is no rule that the son should not die while the father lives, then let birth and death happen by karma, but still, you have created bonds of affection for increasing your creation, and then you have cut those bonds and caused undue suffering. “What is my offense, since I only give birth and death according to a jīva’s karma? There is no law that while the son lives, the father dies, or that after the father dies, the son should die, since it depends on karma.” Then let birth and death happen by karma, but then what action do you perform? “How can all this be accomplished by insentient karma, without my control?” True, it is accomplished by you. But you have created bonds of affection for increasing your creation, and you cut those bonds. Seeing such misery arising from affection, who will have affection for their children? And without affection of children, how will they survive? You are certainly a fool because of this fault in your creation. Or there is another meaning if the present tense stands for the imperative. “Affection is the cause of happiness and distress. Without affection let the children be born and let them die. Then there will be no happiness and distress.”
If you say each lives and dies by his own karma, then karma alone is the cause and even You have no authority — she presses the contradiction. Honest theological wrestling is part of bhakti.
Reflection Questions
  • Which contradiction in my own theology am I refusing to face?
  • Who could I press for an answer rather than going quiet?
📝 My note

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