I have come to understand that while karma does play a role in our lives and throughout our Earth experience which may well encompass as many as 8 time 32 life aspects to be finally integrated into the one.
Thus we net out from perhaps 256 full life experiences. Pretty hard to take any particular experience as problematic..
Karma then becomes convenient book keeping to allow communication regarding goals.
.
Karma: Not The “Mainstream” Version – The Real One
by Arjun Walia
http://www.riseearth.com/2015/01/karma-not-mainstream-version-real-one.html
Karma is a concept taught by various cultures throughout human history,
and is an idea that dates back thousands of years. Despite its
proliferance, the idea of karma seems to be generally misunderstood and
frequently tossed around without any real understanding of its true
meaning.
What is Karma?
In the Bhagavad Gita (one text out of many from multiple cultures that
speak of karma), there are constant dialogues about how to attain what’s
referred to as “moksha”. Moksha is the release from the cycle of
rebirth; a sort of transcendent state or freedom from the world we
currently know – a world in which our senses deceive us. It’s a state of
bliss that can only be attained when we have freed ourselves from the
web of Karma. Once we reach that point our soul is ready to move on to
another experience that goes beyond rebirth.
According to Hindu philosophy, the only “higher”
activity one can engage in other than performing selfless, fruitful
action is the quest and cultivation of spiritual knowledge,
contemplation and truth.
Let’s take a look at what karma really means:
“The Principle of Karma requires that the experiences of the individual being, based on his actions during the lifetime, are imprinted in the subtle body, which will therefore have to possess some organized structure of fine matter as mental state within it, and will accordingly be impelled to move to specific locations for rebirth. The principle of Karma is fundamentally based on this very concept that the deeds of today shape the future events for man – the most intelligent of beings is gifted with the discriminating ability in addition to the instinctive habits that all other creatures possess.” – Paramahamsa Tewari (source)
The general idea is that every time we perform an action a cause is
created that will have corresponding effects. Again, Karma literally
translates to “action” or “deed” and included within that action are
your thoughts and intentions. The karma principle makes it clear that
the universe will respond to you in this life and/or the next. Actions
have “consequences,” and thoughts do as well.
I personally like to leave out “good” and “bad” when it comes to the
consequences of our actions. For example, a human being can have what we
call a “good” experience or what is perceived as a “bad” experience.
The truth of the matter is that they are experiences, regardless of how
we perceive them and choose to label them. We can either choose to grow
from these experiences and learn from others, untangling ourselves from
the web of karma, or we can continue viewing them as “bad” (for example)
and prevent ourselves from moving forward.
According to some Indian philosophies, like Jainism, Karmas are
invisible particles of matter existing all around us. Our souls attract
these karmas through various actions. For example, every time we get
angry we attract karmas, just as when we are deceitful or greedy.
Likewise, every time we kill or hurt someone we attract karmas.
According to Janism these karmas form layers upon layers over our souls
and keep us from realizing our true potential and our ability to hear
our soul’s voice.
I find it very interesting that the philosophy and concept of karma is
discussed in various ways by multiple cultures, religions and
philosophers over a period spanning thousands of years.
Karma Yoga
Again, karma is all about action. In Hindu philosophy, it’s believed
that purified minds will be the ones to partake in jinana yoga, what is
also known as the yoga of knowledge. As mentioned earlier, this quest
for truth and contemplation was believed to be a superior act of being
as opposed to performing karma yoga (good deeds without care for their
rewards or consequences, selfless acts), but both are paths to the same
destination.
Performing karma yoga is all about performing acts that can benefit the
planet(s), acts that stem from the heart’s intent strictly for the
benefit of the world(s) or others. This is important to remember,
because many can perform good deeds in order to benefit themselves, reap
the rewards, get to a specific destination or to “look good” in the
eyes of others. Performing acts from an incorrect place within your
heart is not “doing your karma,” but rather, performing a selfish act
in the disguise of good deeds – something that might actually cause you
to accumulate more karma instead. Karma is all about the place you are
coming from within, which brings me to my next point.
The Difference Between Karma and the Mainstream Idea of It
When I refer to the “mainstream idea of karma” I am more so referring to
the idea and energy behind the statement “they’ll get what’s coming to
them” as well as the idea that performing good deeds will provide you
with good rewards.
Although “good” deeds might come full circle and have positive fruition,
just as “bad” deeds do, karma has absolutely nothing to do with people
“getting what’s coming to them” as a result of their “bad” actions.
It’s about learning from your experiences, not about receiving the
consequence of your negative action for the sake of receiving it. The
focus needs to be on achieving personal growth as a result of your
deeds; even if we are not consciously aware of it, there is growth
occurring at the soul level. Karma is an opportunity to move forward. If
you see somebody hurting another person and then you see that aggressor
hurt or suffer afterwards, it’s not your place to point your finger and
say “karma,” or “they got what was coming to them.” Karma is
accumulated so we can eventually rid ourselves of it, learn what we need
to learn from this human experience, and move on. It has nothing to do
with the energy of judgement and blame.
Furthermore, if you do good deeds while under the belief that good deeds
will be reciprocated, you are completely contradicting the idea of
Karma. Why? Because performing karma is all about action that comes from
a selfless place within your heart, for no reward, for the good of the
world. If you have the idea in your head that you will somehow be
rewarded, or you are engaging in acts of good will for others to see, or
trying to move forward in your career or other aspects of your life,
you might in fact be wrapping yourself up in even more karma. The most
important thing to consider is the intent and the reasons behind your
actions.
“Actions performed without desire for rewards with spiritual
consciousness contribute to the fulfillment of liberation. When
fulfillment is achieved one attains the ultimate consciousness and
liberation is automatically included. By performing actions in this
manner a living being becomes verily a being of non-action. Renunciation
is relinquishing the desire for rewards attached to appropriate
actions. Performing actions in spiritual consciousness without desire
leads to liberation.” (source)
There is a quote I saw that was floating around the internet not long ago that stated:
“Karma, no need for revenge. Just sit back & wait, those who hurt
you will eventually screw up themselves & if you’re lucky, God will
let you watch.”
The idea that one can take joy in another persons misery is not at all
indicative of the theory of karma. Judgement has no place with regards
to the theory of karma. It’s all about lessons and opportunities for
spiritual growth.
Collective Karma
“The universe that we inhabit and our shared perception of it are the
results of a common karma. Likewise, the places that we will experience
in future rebirths will be the outcome of the karma that we share with
the other beings living there. The actions of each of us, human or
nonhuman, have contributed to the world in which we live. We all have a
common responsibility for our world and are connected with everything in
it.” – The 14th Dalai Lama
Just as we accumulate karma as individuals, we do it on a collective
level. Our actions as one giant human race will have consequences, and
we’ve seen that time and time again. One of the biggest examples is how
we are operating here on planet Earth, as well as our relationship with
the environment and other life forms that share the planet with us.
I think it’s important to question what exactly we are doing here – what
we are thinking and how we are acting, and to then examine what type of
reality we are manifesting as a result of those thoughts and actions.
After all, quantum physics is shedding light on just how important human
consciousness is, and how factors associated with consciousness are
affecting our physical material world. You can read more about that here.
I will leave you with this quote, as it is a completely separate topic yet still related to the idea of karma in some way.
“Broadly speaking, although there are some differences, I think
Buddhist philosophy and Quantum Mechanics can shake hands on their view
of the world. We can see in these great examples the fruits of human
thinking. Regardless of the admiration we feel for these great thinkers,
we should not lose sight of the fact that they were human beings just
as we are.” – Dalai Lama (source)
**This is a very brief, condensed explanation of Karma according to
Hindu Philosophy. Please keep in mind that the idea of Karma is present
in various ancient cultures that have roamed the Earth through various
stages of human history.
About the author
Arjun Walia - I joined the CE team in 2010 and have been doing this ever
since. There are many things happening on the planet that don't
resonate with me, and I wanted to do what I could to play a role in
creating change. It's been great making changes in my own life and
creating awareness and I look forward to more projects that move beyond
awareness and into action and implementation. So stay tuned :)
arjun@collective-evolution.com
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