Karma

By maintaining the consciousness of your true identity- a peaceful soul - you are able to understand accurately what is right and wrong. This is simply because in soul-consciousness, the soul can only experience peace, happiness and love. So, it can perform actions based on these qualities. These actions will beneficial actions, bringing happiness and positive results. In body-consciousness there is not the pure intention behind action. Our actions are performed with selfish ulterior motives, such as greed, ego and possessiveness, and are therefore non-beneficial actions which give sorrow and bring negative results. It is the consciousness with which we perform action that is important.

The Law of Karma, of action and reaction, is applicable to the spiritual sphere and is absolute. It states : For every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction. Opposite, of course, means opposite in direction. Whatever interactions you have with others, you receive the equivalent in return. This means that, if you have given happiness, you will receive happiness in return, and if you have given sorrow, you will receive sorrow in return.

As you sow, so shall you reap. It is also known as the Law of Cause and Effect. So karma (action) is the cause, and the fruit of karma is the effect. Generally, when you see the fruits of your karma, you might tend to forget that you are responsible for these effects. If the fruit of karma is bitter rather than sweet, you might point the finger of blame at others and say that others are responsible for your suffering. If there is the effect of sorrow, you should understand that you have been responsible for the cause of sorrow. Understanding the Law of Karma makes you take total responsibility for your own situation, your state of mind and indeed your whole life.

Sometimes only half the Law of Karma is understood, that is, the part concerning destiny. Someone may think helplessly: 'Whatever is happening to me now is because of my past actions; so, there is nothing I can do about it. It is my fate.' When there is understanding of the Law of Karma and awareness that you are responsible for your own situation, you will develop tolerance, acceptance and endurance, qualities which may have been missing before.

However, more importantly, the other side of the Law of Karms teaches that, if you perform pure, beneficial actions, you can create your own positive future in the direction of your choice. Not only are you not a slave to destiny, but the understanding of Karma philosophy makes you the creator or master of your own destiny. You may even be able to inspire others to create a positive destiny for themselves through the example of your beneficial actions.

Thoughts For Meditation

I...the soul ... have been performing karma through this physical costume of mine... I carry the imprints of this karma, good and bad ... I have been seeing the results of my karma externally, in the world around me...

And now, I come to the awareness of my eternal state ... a state in which I have no karmic bondage ...

This is the state I want to attain once more ... the state of freedom ... the state of having settled all my karmic debts, and of having created for myself a stock of good karma...

In this awareness of I, the eternal being, I look back at the past and see the entangled threads of karma...

Where did a connection begin ? Where did it finish? The threads are so intertwined ... it's difficult to differentiate ...

The web of karma has been one in which there has been a lot of pain ... a few flashes of light, of hope, of joy... but the negativity of my karma created situations in which there was much suffering...

Now, at this moment, in the presence of the Divine, I let go of my karma of the past...

With God's love, I surrender my past karma to God... and I take light and might from the Supreme... so that my karma today will create a future filled with light...

God's light shows me the path of righteous karma... God's might... God's power... gives me the courage to reject negative karma and even mundane karma ...

I simply do that which is elevated and noble ... so that my present is filled with light and might ... and a future of happiness and love is assured.