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Definition of Karma
Definition of Karma
Karma is the belief that all that has occurred in the past is affecting the current condition.
Definition of Karma
Sri Aurobindo calls karma the past initiated act and its momentum. (MSS)
What You Sow is What You Reap (i.e. Law of Karma)
The energy we give out comes back to us. Life never fails to return good for good, bad for bad, truth for truth, and falsehood for falsehood'in its own time and manner. This principle is otherwise known and often misunderstood as karma. Karma in Sanskrit means 'work'. Every act represents an energy directed toward some purpose or goal. The nature of the energy expressed in an act is defined not only by the physical action, but more essentially, by the motive, attitude, idea and intention expressed in the action.
We Reap What We Sow in Ways that Defy Human Logic
It is not easy to see how one's indulgences come back to haunt one at another time. One idealist lecturer allowed students to pass who were not even close to passing, and should have failed. Many years later his own son became a loafer. The father one day begged him to take an examination in order to rise in life, but he refused. How could the idealist know that when he was indulging his students, he was setting in motion a vibration that would return on him as it totally spoiled the whole career of his own son? Life responds this way, which we sometimes call the "law of karma" or the idea that "what you sow is what you will reap." That law holds true as Nature brings circumstances that substantiate this in ways that defy our ordinary perceptions of cause and effect, and space and time.
All Acts Have Consequences Sooner or Later, and Positive Life Response
Every act that is done has a consequence sooner or
later. Often negative things occur to us because of an action taken a
while ago. This can account for a
negative situation occurring for no particular reason. The same
for
positive outcomes.
LIFE RESPONSE EXAMPLES
-In Pride and Prejudice Mrs. Bennet, the mother of five daughters, is
trying to get them married off. She takes initiatives into arranging for
potential suitors to meet her daughters, without consulting the
daughters about their interest. Her meddling actions lead to
continuously negative reactions, i.e. life responses, in the days that
followed her self-centered, shameless initiatives. Events occurred that
prevented and were against the very possibility of her daughters being
approached in a positive way.
Karma and Life Response
-Much of the world's wisdom has come to us from ages long forgotten.
-One particular insight from the ancient past is the notion that how you act towards life is how life will act towards you.
-In the West, it is captured by the aphorism 'what you sow is what you reap,' while in the East it is expressed by the 'law of karma.'
-Despite the complexity of circumstance, and the long arc of time separating the initiating actions and the returned positive or negative result, there is a flow of events that are logical in sequence, and that lead to a reasonable and just end.
-And yet, a shift in one's consciousness -- such as a change in attitude -- can also bring about instantaneous results, not waiting for the exigencies of life to unfold; not waiting for a to-be-expected lengthy or complex chain of events to run their course.
-In this modified view of things, the principle of sow/reap, law of karma is expanded to also include the subtle movements of life that do not conform to our traditional - i.e. linear, consequential, time-bound - experiences.
Overcoming Karma
Karma is Not Fixed; It Can be Overcome by the Spirit
The belief that we are locked into and are bound by our past karma is a false one. The way out is by opening that karma to the Force of the spirit, which dissolves it.
On Karma
No Karma need bind him if he is willing to give up those habits through which Karma has a hold on man. (MSS)
Spirit Overcomes Karma
If we open to spirit, i.e the Force -- e.g. related to a problem -- the Karma can be dissolved. Thus in this sense he determination of our past karma is not absolute. We can overcome our negative past actions.
Being/Spirit Can Cancel Karma
Being can cancel "what is written" (i.e karma). (Paraphrase of Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Book II, Chapter 22)
Consciousness-Will is Greater than Karma
Karma, and Consciousness-Will working through mind, life, and body are two instruments. The latter is a greater instrument. (Paraphrase of Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Book II, Chapter 22)
The West's Disregard for Karma is a Reason for Its Progress
To a Westerner, the idea of karma is alien to his way of thinking. It is one reason for his endless progress. (MSS)
Seeing Beyond the Morality of Karma through Yoga
Alexander Dumas knew every secret of life and reveals LIFE to us through Dantes [in The Count of Monet Cristo]. Here a moral aspect of life is portrayed. We Indians will call it karma. To see beyond morality and karma is philosophy. To live that is yoga.
Overcoming Karma by Offering to Divine MotherOffering the karma: If the devotee knows now that his past actions have led to the present situation, he should offer to Mother the original acts so as to dissolve the karma at its roots. A father whose son had run away from home acknowledged that in his youth he had run away from home as a truant. His offering of his earlier actions now to Mother brought his son back to him exactly at the moment when his mind repented.
Offering of the propensities that have created the karma: This is the same as offering of karma but is deeper and has a greater purifying effect.
Invoking the Supramental Force Overcomes the Karmic Rules of Life
The rules of life are rigorous and inexorable. ... When the Force of Supermind is invoked, it has the power to go beyond the rules of life which we call karma. (MSS)
Overcoming Habits that Create Karma
No Karma need bind him if he is willing to give up those habits through which Karma has a hold on man. (MSS)
Karma Not Sole Determinant
The mechanical law of karma cannot be accepted as the sole determinant of circumstances, and the whole machinery of rebirth and our evolution. (Paraphrase of Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, Book II, Chapter 22)
Invoking the Supramental Force Overcomes the Karmic Rules of Life
The rules of life are rigorous and inexorable. ... When the Force of Supermind is invoked, it has the power to go beyond the rules of life which we call karma. (MSS)
TO BE CATEGORIZED
Karma
Karma that Issues
from Force, Not Consciousness !
It is true there is
no remedy from Karma in the traditional
ways of worship. Spiritually the Cosmos
is created by the Force that issues out
of Consciousness. The Force accumulates
Karma, the effects of past actions, not
the consciousness from which the Force
issues. Consciousness is a whole and
cannot be divided. It does not
accumulate Karma. Consciousness emanates
from Being which is the Spirit. Spirit
is not governed by Karma, as it is
Timeless. In the plane of Time, cause
leads to effect. Hence Karma can
accumulate. In the Timeless plane of the
Spirit, action is instantaneous. It
leaves no room for the play of cause and
effect. The touch of Rama's foot
relieved Akalya of her sin as Rama, the
Avatar, is not bound by the rigid rules
of the plane of Time.
The Rishi in his
tapas enters the Timeless plane when he
is lost in dhyana. One who believes in
his own Spirit and invokes it calls the
Timeless plane to act on the plane of
Time. Hence Karma dissolves. (Sri
Karmayogi)
Karma
The Law of Unintended Consequences
Often the results that Life brings forth
are opposite of our intentions. It
happens to individuals as well as
collectives, such as nations. It often
occurs because a consciousness lower
than what the Truth of the situation
required was brought to bear. Here are a
few examples from history:
In trying to help the Mujahedeen in
their fight against the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan, the US, particularly
under Reagan, in effect helped give
birth to the Taliban and Al Qaida, which
attacked the US on 9/11.
In trying to stop the Russian Revolution
in 1917, the West in effect radicalized
the leaders into what became the Soviet
Empire that stood against the West
during the Cold War, which led to the
threat of annihilation of life on earth
through nuclear confrontation of the two
sides.
By not throwing the British out when he
had the chance to on several occasions,
Gandhi instead practiced non-violence,
which enabled the British to stay for a
long while, leading to the eventual
partition of India and Pakistan,
millions dead in the aftermath, and two
nations standing against one another
with nuclear weapons. Sri Aurobindo and
The Mother indicated that his Ahimsa was
a fad and disastrous for the country,
even as they deeply admired his works.
