Secrets of Karma

Secrets of Karma

Karma means actions that may be good, bad or neutral. Good actions are the rights actions to perform. Bad actions are the wrong actions performed. But how do we define what is right and what is wrong especially when our actions are determined by our state of mind and the situations we find ourselves in.

Different cultures and religions, for example, hold different definitions and throughout history we have seen a changing pattern of acceptable behaviour.

Quite often, our religion, gender, age, culture and colour dictates our thoughts, judgement and actions.

Even within a day, what we felt was right in the morning can sometimes seem wrong later in the day when we become influenced by other people or events.

The law of Karma

This is the Law of Action and Reaction that is similar to Newton's Law of Motion that states that, in our physical world, for every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction.

The law of Karma states that for every action, there will be an equal and opposite reaction in a spiritual rather than the physical sense to mean that when we give happiness, we receive happiness in return. If we give sorrow, we can expect to receive sorrow in return.

This is a universal law understood by most religion as the law of cause and effect. In Christianity, we have the saying "As you sow, so you shall reap". For every karma ( action ) we perform, we either enjoy or suffer the effects of that action.

Yes, we shall have to suffer the consequences of our bad actions but we can equally reap the benefits of good actions performed. If we performed pure actions now we shall create a better destiny. Not only can we create our own destiny, we can inspire others to achieve an elevated destiny though our own example and actions.

Karma is similar to a seed. Just as a seed will grow into a tree to bear flowers and fruits, actions will lead to inter-related actions to create a positive or negative situation.

How can we benefit from an understanding of the Law of Karma?

Understanding the Law of Karma will make us realise that each of us are totally responsible for our situations. Instead of accepting responsibility, we often blame others and even God for our suffering.

Just as the understanding of Newton's Law of Motion has enabled us to benefit with our physical inventions, understanding the Law of Karma will help us to be free from the bondage of Karma that lead to unhapiness and sorrow.

Our aim must be to be happy. Since our karmic accounts create unhappiness, we must avoid increasing our negative karmic accounts that are like debts that must be repaid.

Pure Karma are the actions we perform to fulfil our responsibilities as the instruments of the Supreme Being, God.

Avoid increasing our negative karmic accounts.

We must avoid being Body Consciousness where we regard ourselves only as the physical being - man or women, young or old, black or white, etc that all lead to actions of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. Body consciousness always lead to impure actions that will create sorrow for self and others.

Reduce our past negative karmic accounts.

Any actions performed in Soul Consciousness that will help bring happiness to self and others. This presents a problem of how can we give happiness to others when we ourselves have a limited amount of happiness. Where do we find happiness?

We can gain an unlimited amount of happiness from the Supreme Soul.

The greatest service we can do for others is to perform actions that help other souls to get closer to the Supreme Soul and obtain their own unlimited happiness.

Build a stock of positive karmic accounts.

With power, inspiration, renunciation and dedication we can begin to perform such actions that will guarantee that our future births will have purity, health, wealth and happiness.

When the soul experience a link with the Supreme, it is inspired to share that which it has received from the Supreme with others. This is the Fire of Yoga that annuls our past sins, changes our negative sanskaras (habits) and gives us the strength to perform pure actions and build our stock for the future.

At a human level, any action we perform is will be on a one-to-one basis due to our physical limitations. With the link with the Supreme, a thousand-fold return is possible.

Any action performed in the remembrance of the Supreme Father will benefit everyone.

Trustee

Being Soul Consciousness and performing right actions can be easy if we ealise that we are souls in a human body. We, the soul, must take good care of our human body which is the physical vehicle or instrument through which we can serve our Supreme Father.

Everything we need, including our body, is given to us by our Supreme Father, in trust, to perform our roles. We are performing His work and not our work.

We must treat our body with care and perform only the right actions.

We also have a responsibility to others who are the Supreme Father's sweet children. Greed, anger and attachment must be avoided. Actions must not be motivated by more money and comforts but rather to inspire others to remain peaceful, pure and positive by bringing other souls closer to the Supreme.

Food must be prepared with the realisation that it is provided by God. So any food that is prepared must be offered to our Supreme Father before being shared by members of the family. This way, the food will nourish both our physical body and spiritual soul. Nourishment for the soul is love and purity.

Love and happiness lies within the Soul. It cannot be achieved merely on a physical sensuous level.

What is Charity?

Anything that we do at a physical level is limited, cannot be sustained and only addresses the effect rather than the cause.

Giving medicine to a sick person is a limited charity to relieve symptoms but it does not cancel their past karmic debts. The medicine will help during the immediate moment but not for all time.

It is the sharing of spiritual knowledge that will help the sick patient to settle their karmic account by linking with the Supreme.

We cannot take responsibility to feed a hungry person for life. But by explaining the philosophy of karma and, by helping the person come closer to the Supreme Being, the person can obtain the assistance of God to help them feed themselves. This way the person may also become an instrument to feed others.

The Four Categories of Actions

Survival actions are those that we need to perform daily like eating, sleeping and working to sustain ourselves. If we do not do these, we create karmic bondage on others that increase our karmic debts.

Responsibility actions are those actions we must perform to fulfil our personal responsibilities.

Leisure activities are actions that, though unnecessary, are performed as mere diversions of the mind.

Service actions are those actions that are performed for others, especially to help them realise and get closer to the Supreme. Unfortunately, this area of service is minute and often neglected.

Meditation - For Elevated Action - Pure Karma

Suggested Thoughts

My thoughts - my consciousness - gathered to a point … I, the soul,

The radiant light, sit in this body … my costume for action … my costume For happiness …

The things of the world drop away … I fly to the world of light … To the Supreme Regions … my Home …

Within I, the soul, are my sanskaras … my tendencies … my latencies … These are the record of my past karma.

I realise that I am carrying negative and positive sanskaras … negative and positive karma residues …

I meet my Father, Baba … the Ocean, the Shining Star, the Benevolent Friend … I am saturated, drowned in His Light … in His Divine qualities … of Supreme Love … Supreme Bliss … Supreme Peace … Supreme Joy.

My old negative forces are submerged … the hand of the loving Father caresses and soothes my troubled soul … and slowly emerges my real, my original nature of love … peace … bliss.

I am filled with contentment …

Now I journey back to the world of action. I am full … overflowing with the power of Truth, so that now I can perform actions that are true, that are pure, that can uplift my brothers.