Dhruva is on his way to the forest to do penance when Sage Narada meets him. Narada’s advice to Dhruva spells out the effects of karma, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse. Narada says that usually boys of Dhruva’s age are interested only in playing and cannot distinguish between insult or praise. Joy or suffering are the result of one’s past karma. So, a jnani will not worry about them.
Narada says, “If you still think like a child, you should not be bothered about praise or a scold. But if you claim that you are boy only in age, but older in terms of wisdom, you should not worry about anything. If you let sorrow or joy bother you, you lack tattva jnana. All jivatmas are the embodiment of jnana. There is no difference among jivatmas. Praise and disapproval do not affect the atma. A person with good experiences in life should be content with what he has. If he aspires for more, owing to his greed, his efforts will be fruitless.” Contentment leads to peace of mind and avarice to misery, which is what Narada’s words indicate. Narada says, “You, Dhruva, have embarked on the path of bhakti yoga. Many sages, who tried to reach His feet, failed, despite trying over several births.”
Narada further says, “When the time is ripe for you to get something, then your efforts will bear fruit. When a person, due to the grace of the Supreme One, has a good experience in life, he must be happy, because to that extent the effects of his punya have been used up. If he suffers, he must again be happy that the effects of his bad deeds have been exhausted to that extent. The lesson from this is that whether it is punya or papa, only the experiences that result from them will be different. But both have a role to play in keeping us within the samsaric cycle.”
