The purpose of our life here on Earth is to gain the right knowledge and a new, deeper vision. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity and remain ignorant, then after death we will have to return to this world in a new body in order to cleanse ourselves of all our “dark” karma
Consciousness is present in all that exists; it is the fundamental force of the universe that vibrates in every atom. The development of consciousness begins at the level of a stone and continues in metals, crystals and plants. Plants already have the ability to feel, but they cannot express their feelings or communicate them to others.
At the next level of development are life forms such as sea polyps, which look like plants but are actually part of the animal kingdom. Then there are fish, birds, mammals and, finally, humans as the most highly evolved creatures on Earth.
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Some animals at a higher stage of evolution have already developed some ability of discrimination, but people are the only living beings on Earth who are capable of conscious perception of differences and are free to choose their actions. Only we humans are capable of consciously planning and changing our lives.
Since we are aware of our “I” and perform actions of our own free will, then we are responsible for our behavior. That is why the cosmic law of karma acts on us, people.
Karmic law
The karmic law says that any of our actions will sooner or later return to ourselves. Therefore, you should adhere to the most important rule of conduct: Do not harm anyone with your thoughts, words or deeds. We generate karma in four ways:
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With your thoughts;
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In your own words;
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Actions that we perform ourselves;
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Actions that we force other people to do.
“Discrimination” ¹, or “discrimination” (Skt. Viveka), is an important concept of Indian philosophy: the ability to distinguish the invisible spirit from the visible world, reality from illusion. Sometimes the word “wisdom” is used as a synonym.
In other words, everything we have ever thought, said, or done or caused is karma.
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After death the physical body remains on Earth and disintegrates; the primary elements are separated from each other and return to their source. We again find ourselves on the astral plane as incorporeal, spiritual beings, since our “thin shells” – the astral, mental and causal (causal) bodies – continue to exist. All our feelings, knowledge and memory remain in them.
The main thing that we lose after death is kriya-shakti, the ability to act. Only in the physical body are we able to do good or bad. After death, we can no longer do anything. Everything that we owned on Earth, all our ranks and titles no longer have any meaning. What level of the Cosmos we will get to depends only on our karma.
There are three types of karma:
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Sanchita Karma is karma accumulated in all previous lives. It would be impossible to get rid of all the karma we have accumulated in one life. Therefore, at every birth, only a small part of the sanchita karma comes into play.
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Prarabdha-karma is a “ripe” part of accumulated karma, which manifests itself as a specific problem in a given life.
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Kriyamana Karma is everything that we generate in our life today. This karma merges into sanchita karma and thus shapes our future.
Kriya – deed, action; shakti is strength. ² Sanchita – accumulated. ³ Prarabdha – begun. Kriyamana – created.
If we plant an apple seed in the ground, then naturally an apple tree will grow from it. We can expect from this tree only the harvest of apples, and certainly not other fruits. Likewise, the seeds of our actions always lead to predictable results.
The law of karma says that those energetic vibrations that arise with each action, sooner or later return to the source that gave rise to them, either with an equal intensity of qualities, or with an even stronger one – due to the interference of other influences.
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Our actions are the seeds of our future destiny. Therefore, everything that happens to us is only the fruit of our own past.
When we think and act negatively, we reinforce the factors that bring unhappiness in our destiny. Positive thoughts and deeds, respectively, contribute to attracting happy events into our life.
There are two types of unfavorable deeds: committed unconsciously and committed consciously, through mature reflection. Without a doubt, the latter are much more difficult. The one who makes a mistake out of ignorance does not incur such heavy karma as one who intentionally causes harm and pain.
But the suffering that we cause unintentionally and unconsciously also gives rise to the corresponding karmic effect. It is like the action of a poison: it is poisonous, even if we took it by mistake.
The great sage and poet Sri Tulsidas said: “Our destiny is predetermined long before the body is born.”
Sri Tulsidas (1487-1623) is the author of the epic poem Ramacharitamanasa (The Sacred Lake of Rama’s Deeds).
As a farmer who, before harvesting, first cultivates his field, so we first “sowed” our destiny and, according to a certain plan, created the conditions in which it could be realized.
We are able to change the course of our destiny
But if fate is set in this way, is there any point in our efforts? Are we just puppets in the hands of inevitable fate? Not at all! We can make an effort and change the course. This can be compared to a target that has already been fired at. The trajectory of its flight can be predicted, but only on the condition that in flight it will not be influenced by new forces that deflect the arrow from the course or even direct it in the other direction.
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And although the events of our life are indeed the result of our previous actions, we, nevertheless, have the opportunity to prevent or at least weaken the blows of fate thanks to our current behavior.
So, we are able to change the course of our destiny, but only if we do something for this. And not just “something”, but the right things at the right time!
With the help of good deeds, pure thoughts, prayers, mantras and meditation, we can “dissolve” the influence of our karma, from which we suffer in this life, and thus gradually turn our destiny for the better. Our spiritual master helps us in this. He knows the “formula of karma” and understands in what order our past and present actions will bear fruit. That is why he can tell us and show us how we can partially or completely change the flight of the arrow of our karma and save ourselves from those suffering that can be avoided.
What is karma like? No one can touch or see her
When happy or unhappy events happen to us, we say that we are “lucky” or “unlucky.” But in fact, it was our own vibration that drew happiness or sorrow to us. It is she who rocks us from side to side, like a boat on the waves. Karma is the vibration that surrounds our subtle “phenomenon”
This subtle vibration of the phenomenon does not find any obstacles in space and accompanies us everywhere. The action of our phenomenon can be compared to a dynamo that generates two types of energy: negative and positive.
Positive karma – love, forgiveness, help, selfless service, mantra recitation, prayer and meditation – generate positive, healing energy that purifies and enlightens our phenomenon. If a human being is filled only with the radiance of positive and divine qualities, his phenomenon is completely filled with light. Such a person is called “enlightened,” or one who has united with God, for God is love, light, harmony, knowledge, reality, truth and unity.
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“Phenomenon” (German: Phanomen) is the energetic “glow” that surrounds us; the general manifestation of our personality, the sum of our subtle sheaths-kosh.
Negative thoughts, words and actions, as well as such pernicious properties as anger, hatred, jealousy, dependence, passion, greed, fanaticism and selfishness create destructive energies that obscure our phenomenon. We generate negative karma because we lack knowledge and clear vision.
The purpose of our life here on Earth is to gain the right knowledge and a new, deeper vision. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity and remain ignorant, then after death we will have to return to this world in a new body in order to cleanse ourselves of all our “dark” karma.
Believe it or not, soul reincarnation is a fact. As humans, we are endowed with the ability to move faster towards the light thanks to the accumulation of good karma. Therefore, we must not miss the precious chance that human life gives us! We are travelers who only stayed for one short night at the Zemlya Hotel. Soon a new day will dawn and we will have to hit the road again. We cannot take anything with us; everything will stay here except the quality of what we did.