Do You Keep Getting Deceived in Life?? — This Is the Real Reason.

A question came in — "Brother, someone cheated me and took my money. How do I know whether this was a debt from a past life, or whether that person will face the consequences of what they did?? Is there any way to know?"

This question belongs to not just one person. This is the pain of thousands of brothers and sisters in whose lives someone came, deceived them, and walked away. Sometimes with money, sometimes in relationships, sometimes with trust.

But before answering this question, there is something very important — and something that will feel very difficult too — and that is this: no other person deceives us.

We present ourselves to be deceived.

The real cause of deception — it is not outside, it is within..

This is hard to hear. But when we look at it carefully, we realise it is true. We are deceived only and only because of the influence of the five vices — lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego.

These five vices alone cloud our intellect. When the intellect is clouded, we cannot see what we should have seen. We do what we should not have done. And then those who are deceivers — whose very work this is — they find us.

Like that old story of the scorpion and the frog. The scorpion pleaded with the frog — carry me across the river, I will not do anything. The frog thought, alright, let me help. In the middle of the river, the scorpion stung. Both began to drown. The frog asked — friend, why did you do this? The scorpion said — this is my nature, what can I do.

The scorpion's nature is the scorpion's nature. But the frog, knowing the scorpion's nature, still allowed it onto its back — why?? Because somewhere within, there was an emotional weakness. There was a vice that caused the eyes to close.

The First Vice — Lust: When the eyes get caught in the body..

There are senior officers in this country. Honest, dedicated, committed to the nation. And certain people trap them in honey traps. They create an attraction. The officer crosses his own line of dignity. Then photographs are taken, videos are made. And then begins the blackmail.

Now he can neither accept the truth nor escape the lie. Because accepting the truth will shatter his home, destroy his reputation, end his career. And clinging to the lie means selling the nation's secrets. In this trap, many have even taken their own lives.

Who deceived whom?? The vice of lust did. That officer's intellect, which went blind in one moment of attraction — that is what betrayed him.

The Second Vice — Anger: When the fire of revenge burns away the intellect..

There was a man. Someone had killed his brother. The rage was so fierce that he simply wanted to destroy someone — anyone. And the very people who had actually killed his brother filled his ears with poison. They told him the real enemy was someone else. Blinded by anger, that man killed those others who had done nothing at all.

In the end he understood that the people he had followed all along, on whose account he had taken so many lives — the real criminals were the ones who had whispered in his ear. And in the end, they had him killed too.

Anger had corrupted the intellect. And when the intellect is corrupted — deceivers use that corrupted intellect as their very own weapon.

The Third Vice — Greed: When the dream of getting rich quickly comes at a steep price..

There are big sharks in the share market who manage the entire game. And there is a common person whose eyes hold a dream — to earn 10 to 15 percent every month. This does not seem unreasonable. "I will put in 2 lakhs and make 20 lakhs" — who showed this dream?? The same sharks who are sitting ready to devour that common person's money.

But the sharks are liars — that is true. Their very business is deception. But why did the common person fall into their trap?? Because their eyes held greed. There was an impatience to become wealthy quickly. And where there is greed — the deceiver finds the door already open for himself.

Those who invest for the long term, who understand a company's vision and align with it — this happens to them far less. Because their eyes hold not greed, but understanding. And it is difficult to deceive understanding.

The Fourth Vice — Ego: When the ego is hurt, the pocket pays the price..

A comedy video once showed — a girl was selling a trimmer. First for ₹1500, then ₹1200, then ₹800. The boy had only ₹20 in his pocket, but he kept refusing. When the girl said sarcastically — "If you don't have the money, just say so" — the boy's ego was so wounded that he borrowed money from someone and bought the ₹1500 trimmer.

This is comedy — but in life, this happens every single day. When the neighbour gets a new car — we take a loan and buy one too. When someone buys a bigger flat — we get caught in a dishonest builder's dream. Because the ego says — "How can I be less than them??"

And this same ego corrupts our intellect. We buy things we do not need. We give money to people we should never have trusted. Because ego had closed our eyes.

The Fifth Vice — Attachment: The one that eats the slowest, and hollows out the most..

We think of attachment as a small vice. "This is love, this is affection." But the vice that hollows a person out most, like termites, is attachment itself.

The attachment to a son is its greatest example. Five daughters were born — each one was pushed aside. The sixth was a son — everything was poured upon him. The daughters were not educated, not treated with justice. And that very son — for whom everything was done — one day does not give those same parents a morsel of food. He puts his hands around their throat.

And the daughters tell the truth — but the parents refuse to believe it. "No, our son did not do this." Because attachment will not let the eyes open. And eyes that are shut in attachment — they are destined to be deceived.

Those who are emotionally fragile — who did not receive love in childhood — they search for a true friend in every new person they meet. On one sweet word, on one warm smile — they give their entire trust. This is attachment. And in attachment there is clinging. And in clinging lives the seed of deception.

A Deception of One and a Half Crore.. and We Moved Forward.

It happened to us too. There was a company. There was a person who had filled our eyes with temptation — grow fast, there will be exponential growth. And in that temptation, we got caught. Others around us also saw — here is an opportunity to steal.

The sales head showed 80 employees on paper, in reality there were 30. The salaries of the other 50 were going into his own pocket. The marketing person got work done for ₹60,000 and submitted a bill for ₹5 lakhs. A company has eight pillars — hold one and seven fall. Hold two and six fall. We found ourselves under a debt of one and a half crore.

And what did we do?? We did not sit on top of all that and weep. We did not keep asking ourselves why they deceived us, whether they would be punished or not. We thought only one thing — what do I have right now, and what is the best that can be done with it right now??

And a path emerged. More than half the debt was cleared. The work grew. Life moved forward.

So what is the answer to the question — was it a past life debt, or was it freshly created??

The truth is — this question should not be thought about at all.

There are always some karmic accounts in play. But asking "was it old or new" — it means you are still attached to it. You are still inside the wheel where sometimes they are on top, sometimes you are — but both keep spinning. If you truly want peace — you must come out of this cycle.

And there is only one way out of the cycle — forgiveness. And that too completely, from the heart.

Say — "Whatever you took, you took. I forgive you. But in this birth or any other — do not come to knock on the doors of my life." This forgiveness is not a desire for revenge. This is your own liberation.

If recovery is possible — do it. If it is not — then treat that loss as your own MBA. Someone who does an MBA from IIM spends ₹70 to 80 lakhs. What life teaches carries the same price. The difference is that the understanding that comes from life's school does not come from any book.

The next time deception comes — pause for a moment. Do not look toward that person. Look within. Ask yourself — which vice was it that closed my eyes?? Lust, anger, greed, attachment, or ego??

When that vice becomes visible — the real work begins. To recognise that vice, to fight it, and to conquer it. Because when the vices win — the deceivers find their work. And when we win — the deceivers have nothing left to do with us.

Move forward. Find a new path. Let what is gone, go. Ask Bholenath — what next?? He has shown you the way, and He will show you again.

— Divine Answers by Hitesh Chawla