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Question

Gurudev pranam 🙏🙏
Can prarabdha karma be erased by devotion to God or by present (kriyaman) karma?
Or must prarabdha necessarily be experienced?
Kindly guide 🙏🙏

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Answer

To understand this question correctly, we must first understand the structure of the world and the laws by which it operates.

Bhagavan creates the universe through Prakriti. He calls Himself the father of creation and Prakriti the mother—this He states clearly in the Gita. Consider these two verses:

1. “mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram ।
   hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate ॥” (Bhagavad Gita 9.10) Meaning: Under My supervision, Prakriti brings forth the entire moving and unmoving world. O Kaunteya, because of this, the universe constantly revolves and transforms.
2. “sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ ।
   tāsāṃ brahma mahad yonir ahaṃ bīja-pradaḥ pitā ॥” (Bhagavad Gita 14.4) Meaning: O Arjuna, whatever forms arise in all species, their mother is the great Prakriti, and I am the seed-giving father.

Bhagavan created Prakriti and also the laws that govern Prakriti.
Prakriti functions according to those laws. She is an impersonal, invisible force that performs the task assigned to her without any partiality.

She does not see whether the doer of the deed is a devotee or non-devotee,
a virtuous person or a sinner,
a king or a pauper.
She records every action in her invisible “computer” and fixes its results accordingly.
She leaves no one untouched.

Therefore, everyone must receive the reward or punishment of their actions under the Law of Karma, the divine law.
Our good and bad deeds from past lives create what we call prarabdha or destiny.

That is why Bhagavan says:

“samo ’haṃ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ ।
ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham ॥” (Bhagavad Gita 9.29)

Meaning: I am equal to all beings; none is hateful or dear to Me.
But those who worship Me with devotion abide in Me, and I abide in them.

Meaning: The Law of Karma applies equally to all.

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However, like every general rule, there are exceptions.

When a person becomes fully surrendered to God,
when his heart becomes pure, stainless, and devoted,
when he becomes truly righteous and takes Bhagavan as his sole refuge,
then Bhagavan begins to destroy his sins gradually.

For this state, Bhagavan declares in the Gita:

“api chet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk ।
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ ॥”
“kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṃ nigacchati ।
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ॥” (Bhagavad Gita 9.30–31)

Meaning: Even if a person is extremely sinful, if he worships Me with exclusive devotion, he must be regarded as a saint, for he has chosen the right resolve. He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace.
O Kaunteya, know with certainty that My devotee never perishes.

And about the power of exclusive devotion, Bhagavan says:

“ananyāś cintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate ।
teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yoga-kṣemaṃ vahāmy aham ॥” (Bhagavad Gita 9.22)

Meaning: Those who worship Me with single-pointed devotion—I carry their yoga (acquisition of what they lack) and kṣema (preservation of what they have).

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Now to the central part of the question—there are three types of prarabdha:

1. Ordinary prarabdha
2. Medium prarabdha
3. Difficult (intense) prarabdha

Through worship of God, devotion, and surrender:

Ordinary and medium prarabdha are either destroyed or their impact becomes so mild that it resembles going out in heavy rain with an umbrella—a few drops may touch you, but you do not get drenched.

But very difficult prarabdha, which arises from extremely heavy past sins,
generally must be experienced,
although Bhagavan reduces its severity.

Our actions in this life—called kriyaman karma—usually influence only ordinary and medium prarabdha.
Difficult prarabdha can be altered only by very high-level righteousness and exclusive devotion.

And yet the final truth is this:

The highest, absolute, and unwavering surrender to God can destroy any type of prarabdha,
or at the very least, reduce its pain and harshness to a remarkable degree.

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Hari Sharanam!