Karma

What goes around comes around , they say . So does Karma .

Karma is a boomerang and it comes back to you exactly from where you had catapulted it . Karma is defined in Hindu philosophy as a relation between a person’s mental , verbal or physical action, (Manasa mind, Vacha speech, Karmana action ) and the consequences that follow. The evil that we perpetuate is returned back and bestowed with evil, and the goodness paid back in the same coin, with goodness . The concept, of you reap what you sow, is the principle of Karma , which should not be mistaken as life’s revenge on you. It’s more of a punishment or reward that you earn for your own actions during your phase on this life .

We tend to curse life during our lows and tend to curse God for our miseries, not realising that the miseries are realisation of our own self inflicted afflictions, based on our actions in this current life, or the previous one ( if you believe in the concept of rebirths )

Karma need not be instant ,in terns of punishment or reward for your actions, as and when you commit them. Karma is a patient ombudsman or regulator of events, and decides as to when you need to be reprimanded or rewarded .

The good that you do today, may be rewarded at a time when you need it most in your life to help you., and the evil that you perpetrated could be revoked when you need to be reprimanded in life as decided by Karma’s justice system which transcends lives and birth cycles .

When and how Karma would strike is Gods best kept secrets . If you have wronged someone , Karma would want to strike back at a time and place when, you would feel he same intensity of pain , which was felt by the person on whom you had inflicted the pain . Hence it could be in the current birth or the next birth. Karma decides at what age , time, place, and life cycle, you would feel that intensity of pain, similar to the pain you had inflicted. .

The good and the bad actions are recorded in a register by Chitragupt who is the record keeper of Yama the lord of death. It’s recorded like in a current day blockchain technology mechanism , which is not immutable . It is carried forward along with Smriti across life cycles and birth . Karma settles scores either in the current birth or in the next.

Karma of this birth determines the nature of our next birth, or if one is ready to attain Moksh . The form and shape of our next birth is dependent on the actions of this birth. The ledger maintained by Chitragupt has a complicated balancing system recording our evils debi ) and document our good deed ( credit ).

It’s a detailed almanac of our deeds in this birth . The form of our next birth is dependent on the debit or a credit balance of our current lives . A credit balance could ensure a better life form in the next birth and a debit balance could ensure a lesser life form in the next birth, compared to what we are in the current birth .

The question that is often asked is ‘ can I atone for my sins ‘? The myth that exists amongst a certain section of Hindus is the fact that, if they immerse themselves in the holy waters of the Ganga then they can be absolve themselves of all the sins committed in this birth. This is a myth and needs to be interpreted in a proper manner . A person who has sinned may feel remorseful of his actions and wanting to atone for them . The act of going to the river Ganga and having a dip in its holy waters is an act of remorse that the individual feels. It’s an act of admission of wrong doings and a sense or remorse which cautions him to lead the rest of his life in a more devout manner . His karma scores remain untouched but the dip in the Ganga changes his life course to lead a more sagacious and religious life .

It’s unlike the box confession made to a Father in Christianity where you are absolved of all your past doings by the church. Karma cannot be bought off like the letter of indulgence which was practiced by the church . Karma has to be endured either in this birth or the next .

One cannot stop the accumulation of karma as it adds to the ledger every second of our existence . It’s only while in yog session and when you have achieved a stage of neutrality of the mind , that karma stops its addition subtraction of its ledger. But for the neutrality of the mind , body and breath needs to be in composite dynamics .

Although you cannot wish away karma or buy it off , one can cushion the effect of Karma to a large extent by adopting and following a religious path, – Adyatma (spirituality) . Attending satsang and following the path of Adyatma one can cleanse one from within, which will be credited to our good Karma . Satssanga insulates and makes us well prepared to face the effects of our bad karma when life throws its challenges One is well prepared to face the punishment meted on us due to our bad karma and make us stronger to weather the storm of bad karma .

Adyatma is not there to thwart our sorrows

Prarabdha Karma

Prarabdha Karma are the part of Sanchita Karma, a collection of past Karmas, which are ready to be experienced through the present body. Prarabdha is that portion of the past karma which is responsible for the present body. It can be exhausted only by experiencing it , as you pay your past debts and ends only after we have experienced its consequences . It can be termed as the residual of the previous life’s Karma which needs to be netted off during the course of this life .

Prarabdha Karma cannot be changed, it has to be endured but the intensity of Prarabdha Karma could be reduced if one chooses the path of Adyatma . The path of Adyatma will ensure that one would not be swayed into the path of Adharma which would perpetuate more sins which would be debited to our bad Karma . Adyatma provides a protective sheath around us to ensure that we follow the path of righteousness .

Karma strikes without a notice and the how, when , what of its strike timing can never be predicted . Its consequences can be curtailed and scaled down , by preparing ourselves mentally and by transforming ourselves into stronger beings by devoting and embracing the path of spirituality .

Adyatma teaches us themes and ways to face challenges in life , as you experience challenging times , you are able to understand that the challenging times are a retribution of our karmic dues that we owe . It ensures that we handle these challenges with courage and as a part of life cycle and ensure that we refrain form committing the same mistakes in our present life.

The challenges that we face in our current life , and the actions that we initiate are accumulated in our Smriti (memory or remembrance ) which is carried to our next birth . Hence there are a lot of things that you may not comprehend in this current life , but it stays in your Smriti .

Prashant sir’s Yog philosophies at times are difficult to comprehend (due to our immature comprehension of the subject ) , and is often heard saying ‘ My teachings may sound gibberish to you today , but i am training you for your next birth ‘ , meaning that my teachings are being accumulated in your Smriti which and in the next birth you may be able to comprehend them .