Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 463

शरीरस्यापि प्रारब्धकल्पना भ्रान्तिरेव हि ।

अध्यस्तस्य कुतः सत्त्वमसत्यस्य कुतो जनिः

अजातस्य कुतो नाशः प्रारब्धमसतः कुतः ॥

śarīrasyāpi prārabdhakalpanā bhrāntireva hi |

adhyastasya kutaḥ sattvamasatyasya kuto janiḥ

ajātasya kuto nāśaḥ prārabdhamasataḥ kutaḥ

(Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 463)

To attribute prarabdha even to the body is decidedly an illusion. How can a superimposition have any existence? How can the unreal have a birth? And how can that which is never born, die? So how can prarabdha function for something unreal?

To think that past karma to the soul which surrendered to Supreme Lord without fail can be imposed is wrong. It is also an illusion. Such rare souls never take birth or die. Similarly, anyone can become a self-realized soul but one has to follow the devotional principle very strictly. If we just would like to do what our mind is saying, then all karmas will punish us. To avoid bad and good karmas, one should come to the state of Su-karma. "sukarma," however the prefix "su" means auspicious. Sukarma is that action that causes no material karma (reaction), either "good" or "bad." It is the same as akarma — karma or work that does not bind us.