Why don’t things go as per our plans always?

You have planed to go for a movie. Your mind is very eager to reach the theatre. With much enthusiasm you reach there…enter the theatre and suddenly electricity goes off. The alternative power backup system also fails. So you get disappointed.

During covid phase, one person was home quarrentined. His family members served him a delicious and nutricious food. He was delighted to see it but got disappointed as whole food tasted bitter to him because of the covid effects on his taste buds.

A paralysed person wanted to lift his hand. But inspite of full efforts and will power; he couldn’t move his hands.

There was a cab car; well serviced and full with fuel. But driver refuged to drive a car.

If you notice these examples minutely, you will understand that even if everything seems to be favourable , things don’t go as per our planning always. Also, we commonly observe that sometimes everything goes well as per our plans inspite of unfavourable conditions.

Why dont things go as per our plans always?

Bhagvadgita chapter 18, verse 14 beautifully explains the reason.

अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् । 
विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ॥ १८-१४॥

According to Bhagvad gita, five important factors are required to accomplish any action/ karma.

They are-  अधिष्ठान/ Adhishthan, कर्ता/Karta, करण/Karan, चेष्टा/Chesta, दैव/Daiva.

Adhishthana/अधिष्ठान – The gross body/ sthul sharira is the place where all the actions get accomplished.

Karta/कर्ता – The individual jiva ( consciousness identifying with the body mind complex) / the ego, which has the sense of doership is karta.

Karana/करण –  Indriyas/ Sense organs (5 karmendriyas & 5 Jnanendriyas) and the mind-intellect through which we perceive, respond, and think.( inputs from jnanendriya are analysed by mind/ intellect and respective commands are send to karmendriyas to get the action accomplish through the gross body.)

Chesta/ चेष्टा- The five physiological functions (pranas) which energise and activate the body.

Daiva/ दैव – The unseen elemental forces /The divine power of the Ishvara.( can be alternatively called as the mother nature.)

Let us understand these factors with the common example.
To accomplish a simple action, “To lift the mobile. “, all the five factors have to come together–

1. Adhisthan-  In this case adhishthan is ‘ the gross hands ( skin, muscle,ligament,bones, etc)- i.e. the body’

2. Karta – Here the individual/Ego who is wishing to lift the mobile is karta.

3. Karana-  To lift the mobile;  the sense organs/ jnanendriyas ( subtle faculty of touch -skin, vision/ eye) and  karmendriya  ( faculty of grasping), the mind and intellect( for intercommunication) in sound condition are required.

4. Chesta- The five vital air/ पंचप्राणवायु of the subtle body provides the vitality to every gross body parts. It also empowers  Karmendriyas and jnanendriyas  to function. Thus to lift the mobile, pranas must be sound to give power to the skin ( jnanendriya-faculty of touch), the hand( the gross body) and karmendriya( faculty of grasping).

5. Daiva- This is the most important factor- the divine factor.
If this 5th factor is absent, the very action, lifting the mobile will not happen.
If this action ‘ To lift a mobile’ is not destined in the person’s life; at that particular time,  something will be arranged by the nature/ elemental force so that lifting will not happen; even though rest 4 factors are present.

Why is this factor called Daiva?…the divine factor?

Because this is the ultimate deciding factor about whether a particular action/event must happen or not in the life of a particular individual jiva.

How does it decide it?

You must be knowing that the Ishvara is the giver / distributer of the results / fruits of the actions to all the  jivas as per their karma.

If you are destined to get success in your tasks, things will get arranged ( by this divine factor) and you will get success for sure ( required 4 factors will get arranged any how. )

The Ishvara uses His power- the maya which is fathomless and can make even impossible things to happen.Thats is why we observe many miraculous or unbelievable events happening in our life.

A person destined to die in accident, will die even with trivial injury or delay in medical help or further complications. And a man not destined to die will not die even after coming under the running truck. Either he will be untouched by any parts of truck or will get immediate medical help.
Everything will get arrranged or disarranged as per the requirement of the event to happen or not happen.

Even with the strong will of becoming a doctor and hard study work for competitive exam , one doesn’t get admission to medical college. And if one is destined to become a doctor, the nature will arrange all to make him a doctor.

Who stores all the accounts of our karmas so as to give its results?
The detail and minute records of each karma (karmic account ) of all the jivas ( from previous and current life) are stored in the total causal world (Maya) in the form of  tendencies / vasanas.  Everything is decided as per this account of stored karmas/ tendencies.
The Ishvara distributes the results or fruits of these karmas to the jivas in the form of  a particular birth, skills, abilities and disabilities,  things and beings so that they can enjoy or suffer in this current life through the innumerable life events. ( called as prarabdhas)

Thus to make things happen, the Ishvar uses His own shakti,  elemental force ( This is nothing but the maya which has three gunas; the five great elements are made up of. This is the material for the creation of this world. Everything in our life is made up of these five great elements with the power of maya. Thats why we call it as the mother nature. )

So; why don’t things go as per our plans always?

This very statment is untrue. Our every plan succeds for sure. But it is the Ishvara/ the divine which decides when and how to make it succeed.
Some wishes/ desires are fulfilled in this birth and some will be fulfilled in the next births. ( It depends upon the time at which the fruit of our action/ karma gets ripend.)

Whichever events happening in your current life are nothing but the results/ fruits of your own wishes/ karmas of previous lives.( ripened fruits ready to eat and hence enjoy or suffer).  Mother nature is arrranging all the things  to make those events  happen in your life, which you are destined for your current life.

Mind well…. all these happening are occuring in the presence of the Self/ The Atman/ the Brahman. The Nondual Brahman is the substratum upon which everything is going on. This Pure Consciousness is the enlivening principle that illumines the action and its five factors.

Actually from the stand point of Brahman, there is no creation, no happening at all. ( Action and the very five factors required for it are inert.)
But from the standpoint of ignorant jivas, life is full of happenings…good or bad…. and that’s why they enjoy when right things happen and suffer when things go wrong. And the very fluctuations of these emotions give rise the question in their minds- ” Why don’t things go as per our plans always?”

What is the takeaway message from this answer, given in this verse of Bhagvadgita?
You must have understood that, the jiva/ ego is not performing any action. It only inspires the body mind complex to act. The very act is carried out with the elemental force upon the substratum of the Brahman. But still the ego expresses – ” I have done the action”. And as per the law of karma, only the doer gets the results of his karmas/ actions.
Nondoers don’t get any results/ fruits.
If the traffic signal rule is broken, the driver( the doer)  has to pay the fine and not the passengers ( non-doers).

Realised masters are the silent witness of whatever happens….they neither enjoy nor suffer…!( like those passengers/the non-doers)
We; the ignorant are the ego with the sense of doership( like that driver),  hence have to pay fine. ( Results of doership are either fine/ punishment or reward.)
So, to be at peace; we have to give up the sense of doership/ kartutvabhav and remain as the witness consciousness unaffected by anything. 

Hari Om !