At every moment, we are certainly engaged in some actions. The actions performed by us in the present are referred to as Ongoing Actions (Kriyamaan Karma).
Every action brings its results, that is for sure.
But sometimes we do not receive the outcome immediately. Some results are experienced in the same lifetime, while certain actions do not bear fruit within this life. Such results get stored for us for the future and are called Accumulated Actions (Sanchit Karma).
This can be understood with the example of trees.
If you plant a banana tree, within just a few years it begins to bear fruit, and you can taste it. But if you plant a walnut tree, it takes several decades before it yields any fruit.
Similarly, some of our actions give results quickly, while others take a long time to show their effects.
In accordance with time, the results of accumulated actions must be experienced in the next life.
These results are not within our control, because they are already determined. Such predetermined outcomes are called Predestined Results (Prarabdha).
God has made us dependent in terms of experiencing results.
That means whatever actions we perform, we are bound to experience results exactly according to them, and there is no escape without experiencing them.
If we perform good actions, we must experience good results. If we perform bad actions, we must experience bad results.
However, God has granted us complete freedom in choosing our actions. We can perform any type of action we wish.
No external compulsion from God is imposed upon us in this regard.
If in the present life, our predestined results are unfavourable or filled with suffering, we should continue to perform more good actions so that future results of our actions (Karma Phal) become better.
Predestined results have to be experienced, there is no way to avoid them.
Yet, there is one way to stop the creation of new Predestined Results (Prarabdha), and that is by practising Selfless Actions (Nishkaam Karma).
When we engage in selfless actions ( actions performed without any desire), then new Results of Actions stop being created.
If such actions are combined with devotion, life becomes even more elevated and divine. Through Selfless Actions, the bondage of actions begins to dissolve.
When no new Results of Actions are created, no new Predestined Results (Prarabdha) will arise. And when all Predestined Results are exhausted, the cycle of rebirth comes to an end. This is the true path of liberation.
In our lives, when suffering comes, we often believe that God has written misery into our destiny. But upon deeper reflection, it becomes clear that God does not give happiness or sorrow to anyone.
We only receive the outcomes of our own past actions, which appear before us in the form of Predestined Results (Prarabdha). Understanding this truth is the essence of real wisdom.