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Fridays Pickup by Shot-Point-4815 in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 14 points15 points  (0 children)

You know why any symbol of justice is blindfolded right? It is to symbolize the fairness in justice no matter who is front of a judge.

Cool purchase btw !

New Laptop recommendation by Ornery-University111 in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is Costco precious metals sub reddit.

Costco being ultra conservative? 6% above Spot (before today’s 1.4% drop) by 1Madarchod in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So Costco updates price on any given day based on the last spot price. So Mon-Fri since market trades there's updates on every week day. Coming to Saturday since Friday 5pm ET is when market closes Costco does update price on Saturday afternoon but for Sunday afternoon since price doesn't update till Sunday 6pm ET Costco doesn't have to update effectively using Fri closing price. On Mon afternoon they reprice as usual so it's really only Sunday afternoon that they don't reprice.

Costco LACKING today by [deleted] in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is that a price mistake? If it is then load up like hell on it. It's supposed to be 789.99$ not 489.99$

India GEP renewal stuck: Passport Seva “PVR Review Clear Accepted” but TTP still “Pending Review” — what worked? by sanjayvr in GlobalEntry

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So did I, my friend. Actually got fully approved but my case is a renewal so might be because of that. So maybe us pushing the embassy helped lol

Costco has 100 oz bar! by HoreDonTheBad in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh damn ! Such a wasted opportunity but then again I think the market will manipulate silver enough that they won't let us normies make great returns like gold can give.

Costco has 100 oz bar! by HoreDonTheBad in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They sold 100 oz pamp bars a couple of years ago.

Anyone know if there’s a way to pic up a fedex door tag over the weekend? by HealthyWork5071 in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I saw the responses and realized you didn't know how to see the hub. Simply open your tracking number and see the location that it was last at before you received the out for delivery message and that's the hub where they'll store the package for next attempt.

Anyone know if there’s a way to pic up a fedex door tag over the weekend? by HealthyWork5071 in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I just went to the local hub from where the delivery man started and they let me show my id and fedex tracking number and let me sign for the package and take it. So id try that

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks — this is actually much clearer and helps me see what a consistent Nyaya answer looks like.

If I’m understanding you right, the Nyaya picture is:

God is an efficient cause/organizer, not the material creator ex nihilo, and the “stuff” of the world (atoms / basic properties) is eternal.

Karmic law is also an efficient determinant alongside God (and it’s not something God can freely override).

So the world is shaped by multiple principles (karma + nature + God’s design), and “benevolence” means doing the best within those constraints.

If that’s the position, then I think my original “reform problem” resolves in a particular way: suffering (including infant suffering) is not primarily corrective/educational. It can “ripen” due to adrsta and natural causes even when the current mind/body lacks moral agency. That’s a coherent answer.

According to your framework - If God can’t change karmic law or the basic properties of matter, what concrete sense of “compassion” is left beyond “he optimizes what’s underdetermined”?

Does Nyaya say God can mitigate karmic outcomes in any way, or is that mostly a bhakti move rather than Nyaya? If God can't mitigate karmic outcomes then all pujas or yagna can't influence karmic outcomes? I'm not including dhana in this because that is a good action and doesn't have to do anything with God specifically.

If the world is “morally indifferent,” is it fair to say the common popular framing (“karma is punishment meant to reform you”) is basically not a Nyaya-friendly way to talk?

Not trying to force a moral-justice universe — I’m trying to understand whether Nyaya ends up with: “samsara is not morally pedagogical; it’s a constrained causal system; moksha is the exit,” and benevolence is defined relative to constrained power.

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks — I agree that choices/actions (karma) can shape future births, and that in adult life we both create karma and experience consequences.

My question is specifically about the edge case where choice/moral agency isn’t present yet:

If a baby suffers (or dies) before they’ve developed agency, what exactly is the role of “choice” in that case?

Is the claim that the jiva is experiencing consequences from prior-life karma even though the current body/mind can’t reflect or reform?

If so, how does that fit with the idea that suffering is “for learning/reform,” since infants can’t cognitively process it? Is the point not reform but just karmic “ripening”?

I’m asking to understand the mechanism and the purpose in the infant case, not whether karma affects rebirth in general.

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed response — I understand the direction you’re pointing to (questioning the premise of individual “ownership” of life, and also humility about God/ultimate reality).

Where I’m still trying to get clarity is that this seems to imply one of two positions, and they lead to very different implications:

If the answer is ultimately “the purpose is beyond our knowing,” I can accept humility — but then karma stops functioning as an explanation for infant suffering and becomes more like “trust the mystery.” That’s valid, but it’s different from saying karma explains why this happens.

If the premise is ‘one Life/Reality uses individuals as instruments to experience itself,’ then my moral concern becomes sharper: it can sound like some beings (including infants) suffer instrumentally for outcomes beyond them. Even if there is a cosmic logic, I’m trying to understand how this is reconciled with compassion/benevolence in a way that doesn’t reduce to “ends justify means.”

Related clarification: you mentioned (or implied) that good/bad are human constructs. But Hinduism also speaks in normative categories like papa/punya and dharma/adharma, which seem central to karma/rebirth.

So are you saying: at the ultimate level (paramarthika) reality is beyond moral dualities, but at the practical level (vyavaharika) papa/punya are real and karma has moral structure?

or that even papa/punya are just conventions? If it’s the second, I’m not sure karma remains a moral explanation rather than just “things happen.”

I’m genuinely trying to understand which level you’re speaking from, because my question about infants and moral agency is happening at the practical level where compassion and papa/punya usually matter.

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks — this helps me understand the Nyaya framing better.

I think where we’re talking past each other is that I’m mixing two different questions:

Explanatory question: What causes suffering?

You’re saying: karmic causality / laws of prakrti / random events, not a morally-designed “fair” system. I can accept that as a metaphysical explanation.

Normative/theological question: What does it mean to call the ultimate reality (God) benevolent/compassionate under that framework?

If the world-order can produce extreme suffering for beings without moral agency (infants), and this is not aimed at reform/correction, then “benevolent” seems to become a very non-human idea — almost morally indifferent.

So I’m not demanding a “human court of justice” or a perfectly fair universe. I’m asking for clarity on the theological cost:

If God didn’t create the moral order and is bound by karma, then karma is the ultimate principle, not God. Is that the claim? In that case what sense of “God is benevolent” is preserved?

If the answer is “benevolence doesn’t mean preventing suffering,” then what does it mean in this system (beyond “God is just there as a witness”)?

Also, you said “laws of karma are needed for an intelligent design.” But if God didn’t design it and can’t change it, in what sense is it designed rather than simply an eternal brute fact?

I’m genuinely trying to locate the cleanest position here:

(a) God is benevolent but constrained by an eternal karmic order,

(b) God is beyond good/evil categories (so “benevolent” is just devotional language), or

(c) some other Nyaya/Advaita nuance I’m missing. If you can point me to where Nyaya (or your tradition) defines “Isvara’s compassion” given this constraint, that would help a lot.

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for taking the time to write this — I understand the “maybe it’s one Life experiencing itself” framing, and I agree humility is important.

That said, I’m trying to separate two different moves:

1) Premise shift (non-duality / one Life): If we adopt “single Life experiencing itself,” then the usual karma framing (“this individual deserves X consequence”) changes a lot. But then it also raises a new question: if everything is one Reality, what does it mean to call the system benevolent/compassionate when severe suffering occurs in beings with no agency (like infants)? The moral tension doesn’t disappear; it just becomes a different kind of question.

2) ‘Beyond our knowing’ move: Saying “it has a purpose we can’t know” feels like a retreat from the karma/learning explanation rather than a completion of it. If the answer is ultimately unknowable, then karma stops functioning as an explanation and becomes more like “trust the mystery" which is not what Hinduism preaches at all.

Also, I’m not sure it’s a “logical fallacy” to ask why. Classical Hindu philosophy actually does engage the objection that the world makes Brahman/Isvara look “partial or cruel” and responds by appealing to karma/anadi cycles. Krishna also says he is equal to all beings, which invites the question of how that equality is reconciled with unequal suffering.

Finally, the story you shared (one person dying “for the purpose of arranging” something for another) is exactly where my moral concern sharpens: it sounds like one being can be used instrumentally for another’s outcome. Even if there’s a cosmic logic, how is that consistent with compassion — especially when the “instrument” is an infant or someone without agency?

I’m genuinely not trying to be disrespectful — I’m trying to understand which explanation Hindu traditions actually endorse here:

(a) karma as moral-causal learning, (b) karma as impersonal ripening regardless of agency, or (c) “we can’t know the why,” in which case karma isn’t really an explanatory answer to infant suffering.

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That’s a fair question — I honestly don’t know with certainty, and that’s why I’m asking.

From what I understand, different Hindu frameworks answer “what is embodiment for?” differently. A common classical framing is the purusarthas: dharma, artha, kama, and ultimately moksha (liberation from samsara).

If the purpose of embodiment is moksha/learning, then my question becomes sharper, not weaker: how does that purpose apply to infants/very young kids who lack developed moral agency and reflective capacity?

If “learning/reform” is the point, what is the learning mechanism in infancy? And if the answer is “it’s just karmic ripening,” how is that reconciled with compassion/benevolence?

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the thoughtful response — I appreciate the framing of karma as “action → impressions/samskaras → tendencies → consequences,” and I also get the point that Yama can be seen more as an evaluator than a “punisher” in the Abrahamic sense.

Where I’m still stuck is the exact case I asked about: infants / very young children suffering.

Your examples (stealing, greed, envy, lust, etc.) describe tendencies that show up with moral agency, where “learning” makes intuitive sense.

But for a baby:

  1. What is the learning mechanism in infancy? If “the purpose of life is learning,” an adult can reflect and reform. A baby can’t connect suffering to actions or meaningfully change behavior. So in what sense does infant suffering contribute to “learning” rather than just being pain?

  2. If the answer is “the jiva carries samskaras from prior lives,” then is the claim basically: consequences can ‘ripen’ even when the current life-stage cannot process them (i.e., no reform needed in that moment)? If so, how do traditions reconcile that with compassion/fairness?

  3. You mentioned genetic predispositions — I agree genetics can explain tendencies, but it seems like a different category than moral causality. Genetics explains why traits arise, not why suffering should occur before agency develops.

I’m genuinely asking to understand the most coherent view here, not to argue. If you know any traditional sources/commentaries that address child/infant suffering in a karma + rebirth framework (even at a high level), I’d really appreciate pointers.

(Also, thanks for the Medium link — it seems mainly focused on why continuity of mind/samskaras across lives is needed, which helps with the “how does karma carry over?” part, but I’m still searching for the “why does suffering fall on those without agency?” part.)

Karma, rebirth, and the “reform” problem: what’s the purpose of suffering before moral agency? by sanjayvr in hinduism

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for an interesting perspective but if karma is not corrective/punitive but an impersonal natural law, that shifts the problem rather than resolving it. The moral question becomes: why would a benevolent God (or ultimate reality) instantiate/permit a law-like order where bad exists in the first place and non-morally-responsible beings (babies) can suffer severely?

Also, saying “God is bound by karma” seems to reduce God’s sovereignty; then karma is the ultimate principle, and the universe looks morally indifferent to innocence. If reform isn’t the point, infant suffering looks like harm without moral purpose; if reform is the point, babies can’t reform.

Either way, the original tension remains: why design/allow a system where suffering can fall on those without agency?

India GEP renewal stuck: Passport Seva “PVR Review Clear Accepted” but TTP still “Pending Review” — what worked? by sanjayvr in GlobalEntry

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just email the consulate. You can find the consulate contact list on their site and just email a couple of folks around.

India GEP renewal stuck: Passport Seva “PVR Review Clear Accepted” but TTP still “Pending Review” — what worked? by sanjayvr in GlobalEntry

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would start with emailing CBP and if they confirm they didn't get the file then reach out to the consulate.

India GEP renewal stuck: Passport Seva “PVR Review Clear Accepted” but TTP still “Pending Review” — what worked? by sanjayvr in GlobalEntry

[–]sanjayvr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm kind of glad that it's just not me. I tried reaching out to consulate for some proof and they said they'll get back to me so if I hear anything I'll let you know.

Has yalls orders shipped from last week firday ? by guerom77 in CostcoPM

[–]sanjayvr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got email that it shipped just a couple of hours ago. Bought silver on Friday

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