Due to loss of self-awareness there’s been a decline from our once natural state of all positive qualities. So now our thought-decision-action cycle now includes negativity and the experience of pain. One’s actions are no longer elevated and accurate. These “inaccurate” actions affect others as well as the self. Human life is characterized by awareness, relationship and expression. These cannot happen in the silent, still world of souls; they require action and a stage on which to act. Actions are ‘Karma”. “Karma” means action. Actions are like seeds. Physical seeds grow and bear fruit according to the laws of nature. In a similar way, the seeds of human action and interaction are subject to the Law of Karma. This universal law of cause and effect brings self-justice to the soul. This means that whatever we do, think or speak (positive or negative) will come back to us with the same energy. What goes around comes around. There is no other reward or punishment and this law cannot be adjusted, circumvented or manipulated.
The invisible actions of thought affect the visible, and this is why we don’t often see connection between karmic cause and effect. Also, the time between sowing and reaping is different for each action, just as physical seeds take different amounts of time to germinate, grow and produce fruit. [Examples: mango tree / coriander.] The seeds of certain actions bring instantaneous results; others take years, even lifetimes to bear fruit.
Types of Karma
Actions are basically of three types:
Positive or Su-karma: Such karma arises from being soul-conscious. The action is purely benevolent and there is no motive or desire for any return. Actions carried out in soul consciousness help others rediscover their own soul consciousness. Such actions bring only happiness to the self and others. Even in body consciousness, souls perform what seem to be good actions; however, the return is limited. For example, if a soul gives money to the poor he will be wealthy in his next birth, but not necessarily peaceful and happy. If he endows a college, he’ll be highly educated, but perhaps he could be sick. If he builds a hospital, he’ll be healthy but could still experience some other form of suffering.
Negative or Vi-karma: Actions performed to gratify the senses or to develop or sustain a relationship with another human being often fall into this category. They include all actions done in the consciousness of ‘I and my’, ‘I want’, ‘I need’, ‘I possess’. These actions sooner or later result in some kind of loss of health, wealth or happiness—either one’s own or someone else’s. Negative karma is motivated by body consciousness. In body consciousness one is influenced by the vices of lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego, fear, slander, jealousy, laziness and carelessness. In this state one seeks self-gratification or gets angry at someone because one’s desires are not met. Self-centered actions over time eventually cause loss. Anger can even create a ripple effect and pass from one to another—the person who started it bears some responsibility for the whole chain.
Neutral or A-karma: Does not exist in today’s world because it is characterized by a completely equitable exchange of energy, no gain or loss It is a action with neither positive nor negative effect and is possible when we have no sense of give and take, only of sharing.
In body-consciousness, soul performs good actions, but the return is limited. As we sow, so shall we reap, We reap as much as we sow. Quality of the seed of action sown determines Quality of Fruit, which takes time to reap.
Premises of Karmic Law
The Law of Karma is based on freedom, choice, responsibility, motivation and consequences. Human souls have the freedom (internally if not externally) to act as they wish. Even God can’t intrude on that.
- Freedom of thoughts/feelings/actions/experience- we have the freedom to think, act, and feel the way we want to
- Choice- we have the choice on how to feel, think and act and respond
- Total responsibility for every action chosen to perform falls entirely upon our shoulders
- Consequences are to faced based on choices made
- Motive plays a role in determining the fruit of the action based on its intent
- Ignorance of the Karmic law is no excuse to be exempted from the consequences of the action performed
Freedom is essential for changing karmic patterns. To be a master of the self, one has to understand that one is free—no matter what may be happening from the past. We are free. Once we accept this we can choose to act in a different way. If we feel we are a victim of our country, parents, spouse, employer—we will feel trapped. However, no one can create our thoughts or feelings. We are the creator of our experience. However, the illusion that others are the cause is very powerful and we often succumb to this false belief.
Because each soul is free each soul is also totally responsible for its actions. Freedom and responsibility are two faces of the same coin. We can’t be free if we’re not responsible. An irresponsible person is never free—s/he is still bound to the consequences of her/his thoughts, words and actions.
Responsibility implies consequences. It’s not that one’s sorrow is caused by someone else. Those around us may be negative, but we have the freedom to choose how we respond to their negativity. We can stay peaceful and in our dignity. This doesn’t mean being passive and letting others do what they want. Rather it means choosing to not go down to the same level; because once we go to the same level of negativity as the other person, the result is an escalation of negativity, possibly even to the point of violence. One’s world becomes hell on this basis.
Motive is accountable in the result. It is not only the act that determines the return; the quality of intention behind it is also a factor. In the simple task of brushing the body’s teeth the intention can be varied. “I need to clean them well; I don’t want cavities.” (care & concern) “What terrible teeth! What am I going to do?” (anxiety) “I have the most splendid teeth in the world.” (vanity) However, even the road to hell can also be paved with good intentions. (Example, giving $ to a beggar may not have a good result if he uses it for alcoholic drink and ends up in a brawl.) So we need to foresee the consequences of actions as well as the motives.
All suffering is due to inaccurate or negative actions or to actions performed in an incorrect state of consciousness (ignorance, body consciousness). There is a cumulative effect. In ignorance, we have performed actions that go against universal and divine laws. But ignorance of these laws does not absolve us from reaping the consequences of our actions.
Understanding The Law of Karma
The understanding of the karmic process is fundamental, if we want to:
- Reduce the burden of the past
- Eliminate any type of suffering
- Modify the course of our life to bring positive change in our life
- Start to experience a positive return from our spiritual efforts
- Understand all the “whys” which surround our daily life., understand many of life’s questions such as Why do things happen the way they do? Why do bad things happen to good people and vice versa? What did I do to deserve this? How can this be?
The Law of Karma is the silent thread of justice running through all of life for every human being. The aim of this subtle, divine justice is to preserve respect for all beings and sustain their right to exist, play their part in the drama of life and fulfill the purpose of their existence. When injustice occurs, it upsets the natural balance and order of things. Then universal law of karma works to redress that imbalance. Suffering is due to inaccurate or negative actions performed in an incorrect state of consciousness. Ignorance of these laws does not absolve us from reaping the consequences of our actions.
The Law of Karma teaches us that ‘I am in some way responsible for whatever is happening to me — I caused it at some point in time’. Although this can be a bitter pill to swallow—particularly if one doesn’t like what’s happening—the knowledge of karma is the pathway to real freedom. When we understand that nothing can happen without having had a just cause in our past or in that of others, life becomes much easier to face with responsibility and courage.
When we accept that the responsibility for whatever has happened to us up to this moment cannot be attributed to any another person, to our ancestors, to the government or even to God—it is ours and ours only— then only can we change things. If we are blaming something or someone else, we are a victim and have no power to change. When we accept responsibility for our own karma and personality traits we develop response-ability, the ability to respond with karmic appropriateness. (It’s important to see and accept responsibility for good karma, as well as for negative karma. It’s also important to realize that we can only be responsible for our own karma—we cannot protect others from their karma.)
Karma teaches that each one of us is the creator of our own little world. Whatever one chooses to do at the moment is already creating one’s destiny for tomorrow. If we choose to exchange love and peace in our interaction with others, we create relationships based on those qualities. On a greater level we become a co-creator with God of the world of tomorrow. We shouldn’t forget that the only real time we have for creating the future is now, in the present.
Whatever we are experiencing at present is a result of what we have expressed in the past. Whatever we do, think, or speak will come back to us with the same energy. What goes around comes around, there is no other reward or punishment. This universal law of cause and effect brings self-justice to the soul. This law can not be adjusted, manipulated or circumvented.
Karma and Sanskars (Habits)
Everything one does registers within the self as an impression or habits. Habits are not only the basis of our talents, personalities and propensities but also of our karmic accounts. Karma is written in one’s consciousness, embedded in the habits like an ‘energy graphic’ and it acts like a magnet that pulls a soul to wherever it has debts to pay, whether to persons or situations. There’s no running away from it. In the impossibility of complying with karmic obligations in one life, we take a new body to guarantee that all beneficial and negative actions receive their due return. Looking at the process of human existence stretching back into the past and continuing on into the future helps us understand personal affinities and aversions. The feeling of having met someone before or having passed by a specific place are so common that the idea of cosmic randomness just cannot remain.
Karmic Accounts
Karma is very complex. The simple act of buying a toothbrush involves us in a huge long chain of karmas. It is as though we’re caught in a huge web from which there’s no escape. In other words, we are not just individuals acting alone. We act in this extraordinary play of existence with other actors, with matter and nature. Everything is interconnected. Relationships can’t exist without karma or interaction. In every relationship there are exchanges of energy— actions of giving and taking. We therefore have karmic relationships with everything, not just with other souls: with the elements of nature, with our own body, with our government, our religion and culture.
Complexity of Karmic Accounts can be understood by the appropriate use of resources available to us. Each time we waste or abuse any of the following we are creating karmic debt. There are basically five relationships in which karmic accounts or imbalances can be created and they must always be put right. They are the relationships with one’s mind, one’s body, with others, with matter or material possessions and with time.
Mind
The mind is made to think—peacefully, creatively, positively. It is the subtle foundation of action because everything begins in the mind—even feelings like love, hate, respect, anger. Creation begins with thought. When there’s a value system based on greed, ego and ambition then it will create stress in the mind because the value is to get more and more—and it will seem there is never enough. So many people today think that the more (houses, cars, status) I have, the more I am. Such materialistic value systems create wasteful and negative thinking. What is needed is a spiritual value system that redirects the energy of the mind towards being more peaceful, compassionate, forgiving and tolerant. Powerful, positive thoughts are always slower, fewer and empowering. Really powerful and peaceful thoughts make me strong and stable internally and then I am not influenced so quickly by the moods, words or actions of others. When the mind is weak thoughts are faster, uncontrolled and they drain the soul of energy. Most people don’t have good karma with their minds. They’ve forgotten how to be kind to their minds.
There’s a lot of imbalance in the mind these days due to the misuse of thought power. People are not aware of how strong thought power is and they don’t use it responsibly. I have to be careful with the thoughts I create, but generally I’m not, I’m careless about them. Another type of thinking that creates imbalance and that is very common today is ‘sticky’ thinking. People’s minds get stuck to certain thoughts and feelings which keep circulating in the consciousness. This can lead to insomnia and bad feelings that don’t go away—they remember things that happened 15, 20 or 30 years ago. The mind keeps focusing on what went wrong or what is wrong, and when there’s an over-focus on negativity, the balance is lost. To be aware of what is wrong is a different thing, but I shouldn’t be over focused on it.
An extreme aspect of mental imbalance is when people become obsessive about things, very fixed on the idea that they are right and they start to excuse even violent behaviours, because they feel they’re right. Fixation on an idea colours our vision and damages our attitude. Some people are like walking volcanoes – they just erupt all the time whenever something doesn’t suit them. How can someone like that make right effective decisions? They’ll be very biased – and that, of course, has consequences. If decisions are made based on emotional reactions and bias, the people who are at the receiving end of this could have a lot of enmity and animosity towards me.
Meditation means putting our mind every day in a quarantine of silence, discerning and removing ‘germs’ of negativity so as to avoid negative accounts with myself and with others. If I don’t take care of my mind, what will happen? Just as a snowball going down a mountain picks up speed and collects other things before it crashes into something, so the mind picks up speed along with more waste stuff and eventually collides with others.
Sometimes people deliberately create little ‘bombs’ in their minds when they have dislike or animosity towards others, and then at the right time they throw such bombs with their eyes or drop them with their words.
Our work in meditation is to diffuse and disarm the creation of such things. Our thoughts are very, very powerful—much more powerful than words or actions—because our thoughts penetrate the being of another, flooding their consciousness with whatever’s in them. This is also why thoughts of love, or peace, or real sweetness work very powerfully. When thoughts are very strong and positive they flood others with uplifting experiences and they like to be with us or in a place where there are these uplifting thoughts and vibrations.
Therefore always keep the mind clean, clear, simple, healthy, light and peaceful. Just think “past is past.” Never keep in mind the past of others or of ourself. Learning from yesterday, but not to carry the burden of it. The more we remember with anger the negative things of the past, the heavier we feel. The proof of karma with the mind is no clarity nor contentment. Such a person tends to be very complicated and easily disturbed, which affects daily life. If the mind is not clear, how can we make right decisions?
Body
The body is the instrument of the soul, the spirit. A characteristic of a truly spiritual person is that they respect their body. A materialistic person will often drink or eat anything, do anything—this is not the sign of freedom or enlightenment. Some think “I can do what I like with the body” but no, I have to respect it in the way a violinist has to respect his instrument. If he plays it and throws it in a corner very soon it will not function properly when he tries to play it.
The lungs, for example, were made for breathing and bringing oxygen into my blood stream so it reaches the brain and keeps me alive—and constantly at that. Breathing is something that keeps me alive and conscious. So my lungs were obviously not made for smoking. Someone who is smoking is interfering with the body’s natural functioning and this will inevitably cause difficulties at some point. If we break the natural functioning of the body there are definite consequences. When we consume unclean water, breath impure air or eat too much processed food which has little nutritious value, we inevitably suffer the consequences.
The soul and body have an intimate and deep relationship with each other. Though they’re separate and distinct, they work together. What I take into my body will affect my mind and vice versa. If someone drinks too much the mind and body both feel it the next morning. When there’s a physical addiction, the first thing people lose is their logic, their reason. They become a slave to compulsive desires and that is very destructive to the self. This is a karmic account, an imbalance, and it happens because of the misuse of the body in some way. Of course the misuse of the body is tied to the consciousness of the person.
The mind affects the body too, which is why certain sicknesses and diseases are considered psychosomatic. A person who has feelings of animosity and resentment for 20-30 years in a bad marriage can develop certain cancers because that negative energy is stored inside each cell of the body and there’s no ability to tolerate, forgive, forget, let go. Once I realise this partnership of spirit and matter, then I develop the aim to make the partnership as harmonious as possible.
Relationships
Human relationships are our source of greatest happiness as well as of our greatest sorrow. Humans are meant to relate, to come into interaction.
Love and happiness are the highest expressions and experiences of human life. When there is no love it is as if there is no life. Spiritual love is the expression of purest feelings for others and happiness is the expression of the joy of being alive and of sharing. Happiness can come through other people, looking at the beauty of nature and genuine achievement, but it becomes real happiness when it is shared. When there isn’t love and happiness in life, there starts to be psychological breakdown. In cultures where family traditions have been broken the sense of alienation and loneliness is resulting in high levels of suicide.
The reasons for a specific relationship going well or not are in the karmic ‘account’ that I have accumulated with the other person. The souls that play the parts of parents, husbands, wives, children, friends, colleagues and acquaintances form a network for the giving and receiving of happiness and sorrow from this account which was either established in the past or is being created in the present. My reactions are a mirror into my karma. The strongest relationships I have now were established previously, in other lifetimes. As long as the account exists, the interchange of actions together continues. When there is nothing more to give or receive, the paths separate by death, divorce or simply by the loss of contact.
The basic thing that maintains and sustains good and harmonious relationships is respect. These days respect is more important than love. Respect is not possessive, emotional or tied to specific individuals as love can be—it’s more universal.
When there’s respect, there’s harmony and peace and space can be given to express the self and allow others to respect themselves. When there’s not, there’s repression, aggression, anger and conflict. We often are not respectful because we think the person doesn’t have much worth, is stupid or old-fashioned or this way or that way. We feel that we are superior or better in some way (“My way of thinking is better”)—there are many reasons for lack of respect and they always provoke reactions. When there’s no respect, disrespect and disrespect create imbalance.
The law of karma works to bring the balance back, to ensure respect for the rights of all things to be. If I’m very angry and I hurt someone, I create an imbalance with that person and until there is either forgiveness from the other person or until I say I’m sorry or make some effort for peace, that imbalance continues. But it has to come back to balance eventually and either I volunteer to make it come back in to balance or the drama of life will make it come into balance.
Right relationship with others is based on right relationship with the self. The more empty a person is the more demanding they’re going to be, and they’ll have lots of anger, because the basis of anger is “I expect……”i.e. someone to behave in a particular way and they don’t. The more content I am with myself, the more I’m living from the inside, in touch with and valuing my inner qualities, the more my relationships with others will be peaceful and fulfilling. A lot of relationships are very dependent and parasitical and thus selfish, rather than loyal and mature. They can’t find love and don’t feel they deserve it. They don’t feel they deserve to be happy, therefore they can’t be optimistic; they lose enthusiasm for life and faith in themselves. Such people will say that nothing ever shocks them because they always expect the worse. What a miserable way to live!—surrounded by defense mechanisms to keep the self from hurt and disappointment. Such a person never recognizes what he or she is doing to bring about such disappointments.
The basis of good relationships with others starts with seeing them as souls, actors in the drama of life, having a right to be here—relating to them on that level rather than on the basis of gender, the past, their nature, their role with respect to us (mother, father, etc.). Relatives are not extensions of me—they have their own right to be, they’re also children of the Supreme and are unconditionally loved and appreciated by God. They have their own unique speciality. Have I recognised that? To see the specialty of others, go within ourself, open our heart and silently observe them. For as soon as we see others as souls we are released from a lot of unnecessary thinking about them.
Only if I’m happy with the self will I have the optimism and courage to see others as souls, and for this I need to review my vision of the self and others daily. This is not just a conceptual point of knowledge, but a matter of experience. I must experience that others are eternal, original, loved by the Creator and that the universe is also co-operating with them.
To live well, one has to be positive and thankful for all of life.
Many times we want to take revenge on people that have hurt us. With human relationships it is a little more difficult to withdraw words or retract actions. In moments of retribution it is best to take a few quiet moments with the self before proclaiming the ‘punishment’.
A moment of self reflection will reveal that in times of hurt, the only thought that will bring peace of mind is to learn from the lesson, forgive and move on. When one has been around the circles of hurt, pain, revenge, hurt, pain, revenge, one realizes that there is no end. It is an infinite creation of waste and negative thoughts, most likely to ultimately destroy us than the other party. Revenge only boils the blood of hatred and creates an upheaval and restlessness in the mind, inhibiting the healing process. So although it may seem they have won the battle we are winning the war.
This week let us ask ourselves, which path we are following; reconciliation or revenge? Let us fill our hearts with mercy and compassion and we will arrive at peace, there is no third choice. Forgiving is really for our own healing and the healing of the relationship, but we don’t really have the authority or the power to forgive others. The law of karma is absolute, so whether somebody forgives or not, the outcome will be sorted out in the right way at the right time.
Material Possessions and Facilities
Money and material possessions are not inherently bad or evil. The problem that has created karmic accounts in this area is that people have become very dependent on material things and have allowed the pursuit and possession of them to replace their higher values. People without money and possessions are unhappy but people with money are just as unhappy. Sometimes people even base their sense of security on what they have and when it’s taken away they can become quite violent.
Everything depends on the consciousness with which one uses material things. Learn to have the attitude that ‘whatever I have is enough’ and use our resources in a worthwhile way to help others. To be spiritual doesn’t mean I have to give everything away. It means I have to use everything in the right way.
Time
Time is very valuable because it’s the one thing I can never get back once it’s gone. The more I value time, the more I’ll receive the fruit of planting the correct thoughts and actions at the correct time. In order to yield the proper results, in order to achieve success in any effort, it’s just as important to plant the right thoughts, words and actions at the right time as it is to sow seeds in the garden at the right time. But one great thing about time is that it keeps giving opportunities—if I’m aware and sincere I can correct many things. For this I have to be master of the self and master of the moment. I have to be able to say, “Do it now.”
When we blame circumstances, we miss the opportunity which is presenting itself in the present moment. Usually we complain about the past when we don’t want to change. It becomes an excuse—“this happened when I was very young and now look!” The main reason people don’t want to change is fear—they feel they’ve failed in the past and lack confidence in the self, or feel the burden of karmic accounts is too big.
When we become a master of time then we don’t blame the past or fear the future because we have understood the reality of the present: the present is an opportunity. The power of faith together with my understanding of the power of time can create miracles. Each second is like a silent seed and if I can open it up there’s beautiful fruit waiting.
Individual vs. Collective Karma
When a plane crashes or when an earthquake occurs, many are affected collectively, but they are affected differently according to their individual karma. Our races, nations, cultures, religions, etc. carry collective karma. Because people lack love, the cycle of ‘paying back’ keeps going in the direction of increasing violence. The ethnic clashes and various other upheavals that are happening in the world today are evidence that we are passing through a time of unprecedented karmic reckoning.
In the course of our relationships, our exchanges create accounts of karmic debt and credit that become the basis of further relationship. Of course the greatest amount of interaction takes place with those who are closest to us, and we generally have the largest accounts of karma with our significant ‘others’.
Karmic Debt
Accounts of karmic debt occur when we disrespect people or things, when we misuse or abuse them, when we blame others for our experience or when we tempt them to engage in actions that are harmful to themselves or others. This creates an imbalance, an indebtedness or loss which needs to be settled. Negative karma is basically a state of imbalance—mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically.
Karmic Credit
Creating an account of karmic credit is also possible. Charitable acts may give us some temporary credit, but the highest positive karma is spiritual: giving peace, happiness and love through thoughts, words and actions. If a soul teaches someone to be peaceful, love-full and blissful and directs a soul to the permanent Source of happiness, then the fruit of this service will be reaped for lifetimes to come. Baba as our teacher, teaches us how to perform the highest karma. If one creates only positive karma from now and settles all negative karma, then a happy future is guaranteed.
Settling Karma
Settling of Karma can happen is various ways:
- Suffering the Hard way
- Physical Illness
- Emotional or Mental pain
- Financial means
- Upheaval in Relationships
Better ways to settle karma are:
- Soul consciousness
- Conscious service
- Yoga power
The question now arises about how can we settle our karmic debts? The hard way to do this is through simply reaping what we’ve sown, i.e., through suffering—whether in the form of physical illness, mental or emotional problems, financial crises or upheavals in relationships. Often, however, reaction to suffering increases rather than settles karma. Note that karmic debt cannot be settled on the principle of ‘an eye for an eye’. This does not settle the score; it increases the account. Fortunately, there are positive ways to settle our debts and set ourself free.
Firstly, there needs to be a clear understanding and experience of the difference between soul consciousness and body consciousness. Actions done in a state of body consciousness, actions which create debt, can be stopped. With controlling power, we can renounce doing anything that harms or hurts another and refrain from ‘taking’ (things, money, sorrow, etc.) from others. We can begin to perform actions in soul consciousness. Actions performed in the elevated awareness of the eternal nature of the self not only benefit us, they give happiness to others.
Secondly, to settle karmic accounts it is essential to connect with The Supreme, because God’s purifying and cleansing energy releases us from the negative habits that perpetuate our negative accounts. If we are very angry or get angry easily, or if we are sensitive and hold things inside, then this connection with divine energy will ultimately enable the release the account. To do this, we need to stay silent and still, and with faith and trust offer our karma to the Supreme. The Supreme Soul sees us with unconditional and pure love—we simply have to remain open and trusting, then God’s power can fill us. Just be still, open and absorb. Don’t think “I have to get rid of this or that…”
God definitely helps. God never gives sorrow—this has never happened and never will—God is the remover of sorrow. Connection with God, together with our own attitude and attainments will help us settle our accounts. We become free from being influenced, free from our old self.
Not only does the power we gain from connection with The Supreme Soul transform old habits which created the debts in the first place, but the accumulation of yoga power is also like an income which we are earning that can be used to pay off our debts comparatively quickly in the following ways:
- At the level of thoughts: The effort to have a meeting of minds with The Supreme Soul goes a long way to settle the negative thoughts one has had for self and others.
- Words: Sharing words of upliftment and encouragement goes a long way toward settling the slander & gossip one has engaged in.
- Acts: When we remember we’re a child of God, we pay attention to the quality of our actions. We develop the attitude of serving the souls with whom there are karmic accounts. The purest karma is to bring ourself and those around us close to God. One needs daily commitment to this. By settling karmic debts it’s possible in one lifetime to become Karmateet—free from effects or bondages of action, completely liberated from cause and effect. A state of achieving true freedom from Karmic Bondages
Karma Yoga
Raja Yoga meditation is much more than sitting in silence every now and then to dialogue with the self and the Supreme. Maintaining the connection with our true self and with God whilst performing action is also important. With practice, this link becomes part of our life and is apparent in everything we do. What we do is less important than how we do it. This is why Raja Yoga is also called Karma Yoga, which means performing actions while linked with God.
Karma Yoga thus comprises soul conscious action,
conscious service and connection with the Supreme. It’s possible to maintain this link while walking, talking, and working— while doing anything. Karma Yoga is therefore about maintaining the spiritual consciousness experienced in meditation in everyday actions. Gradually the difference between how we experience ourself in meditation and the way we express ourself in everyday life will diminish. A karma yogi has learned to keep a state of soul consciousness anywhere and everywhere.
It’s important to realize that our attitude and expressions reveal the degree of spiritual consciousness we have attained. Our underlying thoughts and feelings are revealed through our vibrations. We cannot hide these vibrations; they are something that others feel. If our words are positive but our inner attitude is negative, people will sense the vibration behind our words.
By maintaining the elevated consciousness of a positive inner attitude, we add quality and value to our actions. We can do something with joy because we want to do it, or we can do the same action with complaints because we resent it. In both cases we accomplish our task, but the result is very different. Cooking is a good example. We can literally taste whether a meal was made with love, or with compulsion, or in haste. Karma Yoga even helps cleanse the senses of greediness, attachment and desire.
The actions of a person in spiritual consciousness are essence-full. Such a person knows the art of keeping expansion to a minimum, of leaving out unnecessary things. Check our words and gestures. How long do we take to get to the point? Another aspect of being essence-full is seeing others in their essential form as souls. As a Karma Yogi, we learn to distinguish form from content. The form might be of anger or rude behavior, but inside there is a being that might be frightened or distressed. Perceiving the essence of things is the art of living!
With the right consciousness we add something of value to everything we do. Feelings of boredom, uselessness and frustration then begin to disappear, making life more meaningful and fulfilling. We don’t have to do great or important things for this: vacuum-cleaning, washing up, driving, running an office, directing a company—all reveal our state of consciousness. This transforms ones life and that is what helps transform the world. We also see the results of our yoga through our karma. If we are experiencing a link of love with Baba, then God’s peace, light, love and purity are going to manifest themselves in our actions. If our actions are still aggressive or motivated by greed, our relationship with Baba needs to be nurtured and strengthened so we can receive the help and support we need to bring change. Karma Yoga means living in the world while maintaining the link of yoga. This transforms one’s life and that is what helps transform the world. In this state of mind, we are completely liberated from the cause and effect of karma.
Two things that prevent us being karma yogis and devalue our actions are time-consciousness and action- consciousness. Time consciousness brings pressure. Thoughts created under the pressure of time create haste, tension, stress and impatience through which actions lose quality. Often while we’re doing things under pressure, we’re thinking of what we have to do next. Or maybe we’re thinking of what we have just done. We’re not living in the present; we’re not ‘here’. Thus we lose the opportunities offered by the present.
Action-consciousness means getting too caught up in the action itself, which makes us forget to be light and peaceful. When we learn to pay more attention to our thoughts and motives, we get less tangled up in the action itself.
Through meditation, we can develop the consciousness of being a ‘detached observer’. We can learn to be aware of our own thoughts and feelings without getting too caught up in them. We learn to look at others without experiencing negative feelings. Being a detached observer makes it possible to work with the details without losing sight of the big picture. We are not any less engaged, but there is more balance of inner awareness in our life.
Awakening the conscience
Understanding karma gives one a solid criterion for knowing the basis of right and wrong actions. Through the link with Baba, one’s conscience awakens. We perceive the repercussions of positive and negative actions more clearly. The conscience is the voice of the original state of the soul. When awakened, the original qualities of peace, love, purity and power emerge and operate within the self. The quality of our personality begins to change and develop in a positive direction.
However, it should be obvious by now that karma and sanskars are very closely connected. Even after realizing the difference between right and wrong, being able to disentangle oneself from one’s own web of negative vicious cycles, requires spiritual power. Attaining inner strength and an experience of God’s pure love is the purpose of meditation. In meditation we receive the wisdom to make the right choices and the strength to follow them through. The quality of our karma changes as a result.
Changing Deeply Ingrained Sanskars
It is a simple law that we either influence the circumstances, or let the circumstances influence us. If we feel controlled by a situation, we tend to react negatively. Instead of being able to contribute something positive, we feel angry or apathetic, a victim of circumstance; or we feel afraid or useless, that we have nothing of value to offer. These and other body conscious sanskars are deeply ingrained and difficult to change. Karma Yoga fills the self with spiritual power; thus transformation of action is possible. As we perform elevated actions, this in turn brings about change in one’s sanskars. By drawing directly on the qualities of the Supreme Being, one’s sanskars also change. The karmic law is that whatever we have done, we have to receive the return for that. However, the fire of God’s love is able to absolve or lessen the impact of past actions by giving us the spiritual strength to respond in an elevated way.
This creates new sanskars and new personality traits. We become whole (healed). This is why yoga, the link of love with God is so essential. Karma Yoga deepens our self-respect to the point where we neither give nor take sorrow; we give and take only happiness. As we develop all relationships with Baba, we are freed from karmic bondages and old sanskars.
Let’s meditate … Om Shanti…I am peace…I am the creator of peace…In this new awareness…from the heart of my being…I the soul…give peace…As I move…as I talk…I am consciously peaceful and loveful…I radiate peace towards other souls…I the invisible entity…I the soul…change in each moment…to bring benefit…to transform…to hear…My mind becomes an instrument to serve…I remain aware of myself as a soul…I remember my Guide, the Ocean of Knowledge…I remain connected to the Source of unlimited spiritual power…I play my part with confidence and accuracy…giving and receiving blessings and good wishes…destroying any obstacles or negativity before it has a chance to come into expression…I experience a life of liberation from bondage…a life of contentment and service.
Therefore we need to understand the basic concept of the Law of Karma and appreciate the different ways to settle karmic accounts. We must realize the deep aspect of creating positive accounts through positive consciousness while doing actions. We also need to understand that the quality of one’s actions makes one responsible for the future. Therefore, we must pay attention to the following:
- Observe the karmic seeds we are planting
- Try to perform actions in soul consciousness
- Check Time and Action consciousness
- Intensify our yoga practice to burn or erase negative karma
- Understand that we solely are responsible for our sorrow or happiness
- Confusion arises in our life when we are seeing only the present moment and not considering the karma accumulated from our past