We start with the birth of a child, one human child, for example. The birth of this human child is due to his past karma. No sooner has he taken birth than he begins to experience the sanskaras acquired out of his past lives. So what will be the nature of the child? The nature of the child will, of course, be his past sanskaras. That child must act, feel and think according to his sanskaras accumulated in past lives. There is no way out, and he must experience them. That is the Law of Must.
To add to this principle of Must, the environmental circumstances are such that they help the child to act, feel and think according to his past sanskaras. No sooner does the child see the light of earth, whether it be male or female, it begins to grow older day by day. It has to weep as soon as it is born. It must be given milk-diet. The child must grow bigger and bigger. It must have a name. Its sex, etc., are determined by the principle of Must.
The child knows not whence he or she has come from. It has no thought of all that. It takes for granted that it is born, and it begins to live. It gets a sex and a name, cries, eats, drinks, later studies in school, and enjoys life – all this because of his or her nature…
It is your very nature that makes you think that you are a man or woman, that you have a body (sickly or healthy, beautiful or ugly, etc.) It makes you think that you are hungry, robust, unwell, etc.
-Awakener magazine, p24