The 12 Laws of Karma

1.THE GREAT LAW – As you sow, so shall you reap. This is also known as the Law of Cause and Effect. Whatever we put out in the Universe is what comes back to us. If what we want is happiness, peace, friendship, love…Then we should BE happy, peaceful, loving, a friend. Negative energy sent out to others will come back to you 10 fold

2.THE LAW OF CREATION – Life doesn’t just HAPPEN, it requires our participation. We are one with the Universe both inside and out. Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner state. BE and DO yourself what you want to have in your life.

3.THE LAW OF HUMILITY – What you refuse to accept, will continue for you. If what we see is an enemy, or someone with a character trait that we find to be negative, then we ourselves are not focused on a higher level of existence.

4.THE LAW OF GROWTH – Wherever you go, there you are. For us to GROW in Spirit it is WE who must change and not the people, places or things around us. The only given we have in our lives is OURSELVES, and that is the only factor we have control over. When we change who and what we are within our heart, our life changes too.

5.THE LAW OF RESPONSIBILITY – Whenever there is something wrong, there is something wrong in me. We mirror what surrounds us and what surrounds us mirrors us: we must take responsibility for what is in our life.

6.THE LAW OF CONNECTION – Even if something we do seems inconsequential, it is very important that it gets done as everything in the Universe is connected. Each step leads to the next step and so forth and so on. Someone must do the initial work to get a job done. Neither the first step nor the last are of greater significance-they were both needed to accomplish the task. Past, Present, Future…they are all connected…

7.THE LAW OF FOCUS – You can’t think of two things at the same time. You should climb up a ladder on step at a time. When you lose your focus you let in insecurities and anger.

8.THE LAW OF GIVING AND HOSPITALITY – If you believe something to be true, then sometime in your life you will be called upon to demonstrate that truth. Here is where we put what we SAY that we have learned into PRACTICE.

9.THE LAW OF HERE AND NOW – Looking back to examine what was prevents us from being totally in the HERE AND NOW. Old thoughts, old patterns of behavior, old dreams…Prevent us from having new ones.

10.THE LAW OF CHANGE – History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.

11.THE LAW OF PATIENCE AND REWARD – All Rewards require initial toil. Rewards of lasting value require patient and persistent toil. True joy follows doing what we’re suppose to be doing, and waiting for the reward to come in it’s own time.

12.THE LAW OF SIGNIFICANCE AND INSPIRATION – You get back from something whatever you’ve put into it. The value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it. Every personal contribution is also a contribution to the Whole. Lack luster contributions have no impact on the Whole or work to diminish it.

What are the types of Karma?

Karma means to do” or “to make” or more simply, “action”. The deeper meaning of Karma can be described as an infinite chain of the results of action that is perceived and performed. When we talk about “Our Karma” we’re talking about the actions we’ve “sown” or performed in the past (including our past lives) that are the cause of what we “reap” in our current life situation. This either becomes our Karmic Burden or Karmic Baggage or our Karmic Blessing depending on whether we’ve performed positive or negative actions in the past.

Every action, either physical, emotional or mental, every movement occurring either on the plane of gross matter or on the astral planes, causes an emission of Energy. In other words, it produces a Seed. Being a Seed, Karma fructifies or does not fructify immediately after it is sown. The innumerable Karmic Seeds we produce by our various actions – desire, aversion, love, hatred, happiness, etc. will undoubtedly produce, sooner or later, a positive or negative result according to the nature of the seed, if not in this life, then in some future one.

The Vedas propound, “Here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will. As is his will, so is his deed. Whatever deed he does, that he will reap.”

Karma should not be confused with Fate. Fate is the notion that man’s life is preplanned for him by some external power, and he has no control over his destiny. Karma on the other hand, can be corrected. Because man is a Conscious Being and he can be aware of his Karma and thus strive to change the course of events, with the help of superior powers.

Karma is primarily of four kinds…

1. Total Karma (Sum, Sanchita Karma or “Accumulated actions” or the Arrows in the Quiver)

Total Karma is the vast store of piled-up Karma accumulated in the preceding and in all other previous births and yet to be resolved. In other words, it is the aggregate sum of yet unseen Karma’s committed during innumerable previous existences. This is your total cosmic debt. Every moment of your every day, you are either adding to it or you are reducing this cosmic debt. It is waiting to be fulfilled in your future births. So unless and until the Total Karma of a Soul is zeroed, it keeps on birthing in new physical bodies, in order to exhaust it’s balance Total Karma.

2. Fructifying Karma (Praarabdha Karma or “Actions began; set in motion” or Arrows in Flight)

That portion of the Total Karma destined to influence human life in one or the present incarnation is called Fructifying. In other words, Fructifying Karma is Karmic Template (of that portion of Total Karma) that is ripe enough to be experienced by you and allotted for this lifetime for you to work on. If you work down your agreed upon debt in this lifetime, then more past debts will surface to be worked on. And that much Total Karma gets dissolved.

3. Current Karma (Instant, Kriyamana Karma or “Being made” or Arrows in Hand)

Current Karma is the daily, instant Karma created in this lifetime and that we create in our life because of our free actions. It refers to those which are currently in front of us to decide or act on. This contributes to our Future Karma in a big way. They can also be worked off immediately. These are debts that are created and worked off – i.e. for example, you park your vehicle in a ‘No Parking Space’, you get caught and you are fined (punished) immediately.

While some Current Karma’s bear fruit in the current life, others are stored for enjoying in future births. Thus the Current Karma is classified into two sub-categories: Arabdha Karma – literally, ‘begun, undertaken;’ the Karma that is ‘sprouting’ and Anarabdha Karma – ‘not commenced; dormant’ or ‘The Seed Karma’. An example : two persons commit a theft and one of them get caught – Arabdha Karma – and the other one got away – Anarabdha Karma. The thief who got caught, immediately starts to feel the effect of the cause or the reaction to his action; he gets caught and goes to jail. The other robber who escaped, will have to experience, in this life or in a future one, the effect of this wrongful action.

4. Future Karma (Aagami Karma)

Future Karma is the Karmic Map that is coming, as a result of the merits and demerits of the present actions of your current birth. In other words, it is the portion of Karma that is created because of the actions in the present life and that will be added to your Total Karma. If you fail to work off your debt, then more debts are added to Total Karma and they become more Karmic Seeds and are served to you in more future lives.

In Vedantic Literature, there is a beautiful analogy. The Archer has already sent an arrow and it has left his hands. He cannot recall it. He is about to shoot another arrow. The bundle of arrows in the quiver on his back is the Total Karma; the arrow he has shot is Fructifying Karma; and the arrow which he is about to shoot from his bow is Current Karma. The result of the arrow that he is about to shoot is the Future Karma.

Here is a modern example : You go on a motor bike ride and get into an accident. The accident is your Fructifying Karma – your allotted Karma for this life out of the entire Total Karma of your Soul. To bandage the wound in order to minimize your suffering would be your Current Karma. To set an intention to be more careful in the future would be your Future Karma. To buy a bike light and reflectors in order to avoid future accidents would also be your Current Karma.

Reference

Four Types of Karma & Soul Energy Correction By Janarrdhana Guptha, http://EzineArticles.com/174142

Like-Dislike and Karma

Like-Dislike in the mind is the real Karma. It is the original action. When the mind is set in motion or vibration through the currents of Like-Dislike, real Karma’s begin. Real Karma originates from Impressions of the mind. It is the actions of the mind that are truly termed Karma’s. External actions manifest later on. It is desire that sets the mind in motion. When there is a desire, Like and Dislike exist side by side in the mind. Desire is a motive force. Emotions and impulses co-exist with desire.

From Ignorance emanates non-discrimination. From it originates Ego and Perception. From Perception emanates Like-Dislike. From Like-Dislike comes Karma. From Karma comes the body. From body comes misery. This is the chain of bondage with seven links. This is the chain of misery. If you do not want misery, do not take up the body. If you do not want body, do not do Karma. If you do not want to do Karma, give up Like-Dislike. If you want to give up Like-Dislike, give up Perception. If you want to give up Perception, give up non-discrimination. If you want to give up non-discrimination, give up ignorance. O God! If you do not want ignorance, get Supreme Knowledge.

This world process is kept up by the six-spoked wheel, viz., Like, Dislike, merit, demerit, pleasure and pain. If the root cause, the original ignorance, is destroyed by attainment of Knowledge of Supreme Soul, the whole chain of Perception, Like, Dislike, Karma, body, merit and demerit, pleasure and pain will vanish. One link hangs upon another. All the links will be broken totally on the advent of Knowledge. Sruti says: “Liberation comes from knowledge of Supreme.”

Absence of Like-Dislike = Freedom

That Yogi or Wise person who has destroyed these two though waves of Like and Dislike is the highest man in the three worlds. He is the real King of kings, Emperor of emperors. The chief Linga or distinguishing mark of a liberated soul is freedom from Like-Dislike. Even if a Yogi sometimes exhibits traces of anger, it is a mere appearance. Just as the impression made in water with a stick passes away soon, as also the anger will disappear in the twinkling of an eye, even though it manifests. This can hardly be understood by worldly people.

He who has no Like but possesses power of endurance can do anything. He can move about wherever he likes. He is as free as the atmospheric air. His happiness, freedom and peace are unbounded. Their extent can hardly be imagined. The freedom and joy of such Yogis is beyond the common man’s imagination. It is Like and luxury that have enfeebled the householders.

Essence of Spiritual Practice

Amongst the several waves in the mind, Like-Dislike and Attraction are very deep-rooted. They demand strenuous and persistent efforts for their eradication. In your mental lives, you can either keep hold of the rudder and so determine exactly what course you take, what points you touch or you can fail to do this and, failing, you drift and are blown hither and thither by every passing breeze, by every emotion, by petty Like-Dislike currents.

The gist or essence of spiritual practice is to remove the true modifications of the mind, Like-Dislike, by right thinking and meditation. Go beyond the pairs of opposites. You will get eternal, infinite bliss and peace. You will shine in Supreme glory. You will become Supreme Soul. YOU ARE SUPREME SOUL!

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda

Life, Karma, Destiny!!!

Nature does not absolutely determine our life. Karma is a condition, not a destiny. It is only one of the five factors involved in the accomplishment of any act, which are 1) the basis or center from which we work, 2) doer, 3) the instrumentation of nature, 4) effort and 5) fate. The last is the power or powers of other than human, the cosmic principle which stands behind, modifying the work and disposing of its reward.

There are certain factors in our lives which are determined for us forces beyond our control. We do not choose how or when or where and in what condition of life we are born. On the theory of rebirth even these are not chosen by us. It is part of our Karma that determines our ancestry, heredity and environment. But when we look from the stand point of this life, we can say that we were not consulted about our nationality, race, parentage or social status. But subject those limitations, we have freedom of choice.

Our life is a mixture of necessity, and freedom, chance and choice. By exercising our choice properly, we can control steadily all the elements and eliminate altogether the determinism of nature. While the movements of matter, the growth of plants and acts of animals are controlled more completely, man has understanding which enables him to co-operate consciously with the work of the world. He can approve or disapprove, give or withhold his consent to certain acts. If he does not exercise his intelligent will, he is acting in a way contrary to his humanity. If he acts blindly according to his impulses and passions and passions, he acts more like an animal than a man. Being human he justifies his actions.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, “The Supreme dwells in the heart of all beings revolving them all by His mysterious power, Maya (Delusion).” The Supreme, however, does not control living entities as a puppeteer controls puppets. The control is through a subtle mechanism that works under material nature. The Gita says, “Everywhere, in all the material universes, the dispositions of nature perform all works. But deluded by egoism, man thinks, ‘i am the doer’.”

Man is born with impression, or tendencies, that he acquires commensurate with his activities karma in previous lives. These impression are made up of the three gunas (nature or character): sattva (spiritual desire), rajas (material desire) and tamas (physical desire). The proportion of each guna in an individual is what makes his character. All his thoughts and actions are then dictated by his impression because nature compels him to act according to his character. The Gita says, “Not even for a moment can man remain without performing any action. Everyone is forced to act according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature or gunas.”

Laws of Karma were only applicable as long as a person imagined that he was separate from the Self. At this level (the level of the ignorant), he said that individuals will pass through a series of pre-ordained activities and experiences, all of which are the consequences of previous acts and thoughts. As the blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all actions to ashes. We must raise our ego and grow into the Supreme Self of which the ego is an expression. When we make our individual being into one with the Supreme, we rise above nature with its modes and freed from the bonds of the world! 🙂

 Reference

1. http://soulfullymindless.blogspot.com/2007/03/gita-xvi-karma-and-destiny.html
2. http://www.hinduism.co.za/karma&.htm
3. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-08-19/vintage-wisdom/27915022_1_gunas-act-nature

Karma and After Life

The gross body and the mind have, on account of your past Karmas, a tendency to act in a certain way and you act just in accordance with that tendency like a machine. You wrongly impute to yourself the authorship (agency) of these actions and thus make the matters worse. Most of your actions are done more or less automatically.

After a life, all earthly experiences of the mind are sorted and analyzed The essence is taken. The Soul is born again in the physical universe with a new frame and bent of mind according to the nature of the essence extracted in the mental plane.

When you are writing a drama, if sleep comes in, you stop writing and retire to bed. As soon as you get up, you continue to write from where you have left the previous night. Even so, when you take up a new incarnation, you begin to continue the work which you had left unfinished in your previous life in accordance with the current of latent subtle desires of your past life.

Your next life will depend very largely upon the Karma you perform in this birth. There are probably many things which the man of the world does constantly and may do without much harm resulting in any way; if these things were done by those sincere aspirants who are treading the path of Realization, they would be decidedly harmful.

The Chains of Impressions

Mind exercises its rule through Impressions. From Impressions emanate subtle desires like swarms of locusts. From latent subtle desires flows the stream of desire and from enjoyment of objects of desires arises internal craving (intense longing). Internal craving is very powerful. The Impressions are embedded in the mind. There arises a memory of pleasure in the mind. Then the mind thinks of objects. Maya(delusion) has her powerful seat in the imagination. There comes attachment. The mind plans and schemes. You are swayed by the passions. You exert yourself physically to possess those objects and enjoy them. In your efforts, you favor some and disfavor others through like and dislike. You will have to enjoy the fruits of your virtuous and vicious actions. Through this six-spoked wheel of like and dislike, virtue and vice, pleasure and pain, this wheel of birth and death moves on without stopping from beginning-less time.

Thoughts and Desires depend upon Impressions

The nature of desires and thoughts depends upon the nature of your Impressions. If you have good Impressions, you will have good desires and good thoughts and vice versa. Even if you have indulged in vicious actions up to the age of forty, begin practicing virtuous actions such as charity, meditation, service of the poor and the sick, service of elders, etc., from this moment and these Impressions will prompt you to do more virtuous deeds. They will stimulate good desires and noble thoughts.

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda

Do we have a Past Life?

Knowledge of Impressions

All the Impressions are stored in the Subconscious mind. Impression is known as “residual potency” also. When all thoughts die away, the frame of the mind remains with the Impressions. This is termed the Potential Mind. A Yogi brings into direct consciousness (conscious mind) the previous life-states by getting direct knowledge of their Impressions.

Like forces, Impressions aid or inhibit one another. When you see a man in serious sickness and when the feeling of mercy arises in your heart, all the Impressions of your previous merciful actions coalesce together and force you to serve and help that sick man. Similarly, all the Impressions of charitable actions come forth to the surface of the conscious mind when you see a man in a serious distress and in straitened circumstances and they force you to help this man. You begin to share with him your physical possessions.

When one Impression or virtuous action comes into play, another Impression of dissimilar nature may emerge out and come in the way of its fulfillment. This is fight between a virtuous and a vicious Impression.

Past Impressions in Subconscious Mind

When you are born, the mind is not a smooth or blank tablet or a blank sheet of white paper. It is a storehouse of Impressions, predispositions, predilections, etc. A child is born with his Impressions. A child is born with his past experiences transmuted into mental and moral tendencies and powers. By experiences, pleasant and painful, man gathers materials and builds them into mental and moral faculties. The earthly experiences are worked up into intellectual faculty. The mind evolves through the impressions received from the universe through the senses. It will take many bodies till it gathers the complete experience of the world. Every man is born with his inborn or inherent Impressions and these are embedded, lodged or imprinted in the Subconscious mind. In earthly life, he gains many more Impressions or experiences through actions and these are added to the original store and become the future accumulated actions (Karma).

All Impressions lie dormant in the subconscious mind as latent activities, not only of this life but of all previous innumerable lives from beginning-less time. The Impressions of animal life, the pleasureful life, the kingly life, the life of a peasant, are all hidden there in the Subconscious mind. In human life, only those Impressions which are appropriate to that particular type of birth will operate and come to play. The other kinds of Impressions will remain concealed and dormant.

As a merchant closing the years ledger and opening a new one, does not enter in the new all the items of the old but only its balances, so does the soul hand over to the new brain his judgments on the experiences of a life that is closed, the conclusions to which he has come, the decisions to which he has arrived. This is the stock handed on to the new life, the mental furniture for the new dwelling real memory.

 
Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda

Karma – The Newton’s third law of motion

What is Karma?

The word Karma literally means action. It may appear that Karma is happening to us, as if some outside force is causing good things or bad things to come to us. However, it is really our own inner conditioning and processes that are leading us to experience outer effects or consequences in relation to our own actions.

Karma is like a dust that covers the soul. In spiritually scientific terms, it’s karmic particles. When the soul is in the grip of karmic particles it is difficult for the soul to feel free and happy, because the karmic particles are blocking it.

For example, if you wear eyeglasses, you know how important it is for the lenses to be clean, because it helps you see the world clearly. BUT, if your glasses were just dipped in mud, and you wore the glasses, the world will seem quite distorted. And then, if no one taught you how to remove dirt from your glasses, you could never really see the truth about the world or life. In this case, you suffer because you are not able to see clearly as you should. You didn’t even know it was possible to even have clean glasses.

SAME WAY, with karma. Karma covers the soul and keeps it in illusion. Soul knows the truth deep down, but the karmic particles cover it, so the soul then experiences pain and suffering.

Truth Seekers and spiritual practitioners, like yourself, dedicate their life to removing as much of the karmic mud and dirt from their soul because they want to see truth, the clear-cut and beautiful truth.

Law of Karma

The law of Karma is a universal process, whereby causes lead to effects. This is something that all of us are already familiar with, whether or not we use the word Karma to describe it. Newton’s third law of motion, that every action leads to a reaction, is an application of the law of Karma. Whether we are talking about physics or daily life in the world, it is extremely useful to understand the law and process of Karma so that we may regulate or direct the process. We can soften the impact of the playing out of our past Karma’s, and can choose our own future Karma if we are willing to put in the effort to learn how to do it.

As You Sow, So Shall You Reap

Types of Karma

There are two kinds of karma: good karma and bad karma. Good karma is collected when your intention is pure and good. Bad karma is collected when your intention is bad or violent. If you are angry, you are collecting bad karma (ugh, I know!!!!) and when you are helping other people selflessly, you collect good karma (YAAY!!!!) There is a huge science to karma, and they’ll be explained in the future, but the main way to collect any kind of karma is based on intention and mental activities.

The goal of the truth seeker is not to collect anymore karma: good or bad. The goal of the truth seeker is to dissolve all the karma. So as long as you have karma, whether good or bad, you will always remain in the cycle of birth and death. A truth seeker wants to be liberated.

How Karma Affects You

There are several ways karma can affect you: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. If you are confused, karma is affecting you mentally. If you are rich or poor, healthy or sick, karma is affecting you physically. If you are depressed or have conditions of your love, karma is blocking you emotionally. If you are trapped with not so good spiritual teachers and gurus, karma is affecting you spiritually.

Karma SHOULD not control your life.

There are 5 things that affect your present life: they are destiny, karma, nature, time and efforts. Basically the strongest degree of any of these 5 things are controlling your life in each moment. Do you allow destiny to control you? Karma to control you? Nature or time? Or your efforts?

If you are not taking any responsibility for your life, you are letting your destiny (which can be good or bad), karma (which can be good or bad), nature (which can be good or bad), timing (which you already know what I’m going to say here) control you. BUT, there is one thing you have control over that can change everything, and that is, YOUR EFFORTS.

Unless you put efforts in your life and spiritual path, karma and all those things will continually affect you. You become its puppet. You are not in control of your life and path, you are in their control.

Break Karma = Spiritual Efforts

Efforts means doing your spiritual practices (sadhana), whether you feel like doing them or not is not the question. But doing them IS. You have to put efforts on your spiritual path. Learn how to clean your muddy karmic eyeglasses and begin to see the light. Begin to see the truth.

If you believe in God, God is not going to clean your glasses. You have to purify them yourself. God helps those who help themselves, right? You can pray to God all morning and night to clean your glasses, but if it is telling you to go get a washcloth, dip it in hot water, and clean it yourself, why aren’t you?

Ignorance? Laziness? Or, maybe you like having muddy glasses.

I doubt it. And I hope not. But let’s get real here.

You need to put efforts to change and improve your life. Happiness and peace are not going to just fall on your lap. Anger is not going to dissolve if you just sit there and do nothing. You have to put efforts to change your life

A Lesson on Karma

There’s always a reason behind the pain and suffering we experience in our life. BUT, it is in our hands to reduce the effects. No matter what, it is the universal law, that karma must take its effect – both good and bad. We can reduce the negative effects by doing mantras, meditation and soul prayer daily. Your life is in your hands, don’t rely on God or Guru or anyone else to help you, they can only help, when you help yourself.

Take a lesson from experience, reduce your karma and do sadhana daily, this way the karmic results that will take place in your life are not as bad as what it could be. Clean your glasses, purify your soul.

Remember, to give a different perspective in a positive way for your life, maybe you think you have the worst life now, but actually because of your practices, your life is actually better than what it could’ve been. Be grateful.

Be in control of your life. Do your practices. Help others selflessly.
Never hurt. Never hit. Never be violent.
Love. Help. Be Spiritual!

References:

http://siddhayatan.org

http://www.swamij.com/