FREE WILL AND KARMA # 4
IMPERMANENCE
Impermanence is the backdrop for Free Will and Karma. All we take with us when we die and cross the veil between the worlds are our experiences and our karma. Some live irresponsibly as if there is no tomorrow fully believing that we only live once. They immerse themselves in sensory pleasures and the material pursuits required to fulfill them, imagining that there is no reckoning when they get to the other side or even if there is another side of the veil between the worlds.
The three deadly sins of karma - ego (the self -cherishing of the persona,) desirous attachment and judgment have no hold over them. Judgment of others who have more than they do gives them impetus for gaining more "stuff," power, prestige, fame and the sexual favors that accompany these attributes. Some wear greed as a badge of honor.
"Know not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for you." John Donne
If we want to cross over to the elsewhere easily we need to practice non-attachment and go into an existential free fall, letting go of everything without fear. Attachments to things, work, loved ones etc. or to the fear of dying can cause an unskillful traverse. One could land up in an undesirable vibration or even become earth bound, stuck between the worlds. Being earth bound impedes the journey of ones soul.
Once we cross over the veil we will all face a spiritual tribunal who judge our skillfulness or unskillfulness navigating samsara (the relentless cycle of birth and rebirth) and the challenges as well as the gifts of being in a sensory body. The consequences of disobeying the laws of spirit are immutable - karma is not negotiable - one's lawyer cannot help us there. Spiritual laws differ to those on the earth plane. These are binding whether you know about them believe in them or understand them or not. Being ignorant of them is no excuse. That is one of the reasons why the Ancestors say' "With all your strength get knowledge."
Everyone can ultimately achieve the spiritual perfection for which we are created. This can take many life times because of free will.
But ...
"Free will is always neutral, motivated and catalyzed by desire. and
You cannot say, the devil made me do it."
The Ancestors
Free will is the cosmic law. We are free to screw up our karma as much as we choose or take heed of ancient wisdoms.
"Merit on a judgmental level is the balancing of evil and good deeds. Merit is the credit we receive on the side of good."
"Consequences are neither reward nor punishment, they are simple consequences - natural cause and effect but always inescapable."
Karmic laws are similar to the laws of physics. If you jump out of a building you are going down not up.
"The results of cause and effect are often not immediate because that would influence free will. God wants us to do things for the right reasons, not out of fear or shame and because of what may result but out of love and justice."
The Ancestors
The Creator does not want us to do things because of the fear of hell and damnation. We must have right intention. Fear driven good intention is better than negative intention but will still have a karmic consequence. We need to do things for their own sake.
Disobeying karmic laws will earn us another life time. Buddhists practice to inherit a life time better than the present one, where they can continue their spiritual endeavors at a higher level or better still inherit the Pure Land of the enlightened.
Those who misbehave often reincarnate into the family constellation that best suites them for learning the lessons of their past mistakes. This can be challenging and even more difficult that the previous incarnation depending on the karmic sins.
Nothing is preordained because of free will
but;
"Everything is foreseen."
"A net is spread out for the living, free will is given, everything is on loan (impermanent) and all is preparation for a grand celebration." Rev Akiva
The net is the net of samsara, being bound to the cycle of reincarnation that challenge us as sentient beings. If we are skillful there will be a great celebration.
We are always free to change coarse. If we were not there would be none of the tension required for our victory and fulfillment. There can be no growth without conflict and everything is a test. The light or dark, good or bad, sacred or profane are all necessary and part of the conundrum. We are meant to coexist but not assimilate with the dark. The only way to overcome evil is with good.
"Remember that good prevails by being what it is, not by dispossessing, defeating or winning but simply being more and more of what it is."
"If you would dispel the darkness, seek the sacred."
"What you resist with persist, what you defeat, defeats you, what you destroy destroys you, what you sanctify, sanctifies you." The Ancestors
All these polarities are a template for spiritual perfection. The Supreme Being doesn't not micromanage. Karma is set as a default into the soul.
We can think of it as enlisting for the "spiritual" special forces. The task is just as difficult although not life threatening. Everyone is welcome to enlist and each of us has the potential for success but it is not easy.
Once we pass over, most of us will go to one of the multiple vibrations in the Astral realm where we lose free will. Our karma is cut in stone but can be redeemed in certain circumstance by forgiveness by the living. Unfinished business is best resolved with forgiveness before someone departs. However, skeletons in the closet can still be released after death by those skilled in spiritual work but will require special rituals. Forgiveness, if sincere, will erase that particular karmic sin and make for a better reincarnation especially if the action was heinous.
Moreover, for the living;
"with right understanding and action we can create the conditions for transgressions to become merits."
The Ancestors
Everyone can be redeemed. Those that have reached rock bottom but then still emerge like the Phoenix out of the fire, their efforts are particularly meritorious. They will usually be more powerful spiritually than others that may have had lesser challenges.
"...what counts is to restrain the blaze in the hours of desire and let it flow into the hours of prayer and service." The Talmud
Below are the basic principles of what we will be asked when we cross over and meet with a spiritual tribunal. It is done lovingly. There is no judgment day as such but consequences are consequences.
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