KARMA #1

In the last blog we mentioned the principles of Karma only briefly. In this series we will go more deeply into it. From what I can understand from the Ancestors and ancient wisdoms, these are the main tenets.

                                     

                                            Generally speaking 

“This is what God asks of you, only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill, keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt, chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench, care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back, the only way to serenity."  Tao Te Ching

Peace of mind can often be a measure of one's karma.

Without light and dark, good and evil, the sacred and the profane, life would present no challenge. If everything was sweet and good, life would be like spiritual diabetes, spiritually deadly and boring. There must be conflict and tension between the Good Inclination and the Shadow for spiritual growth.

 

Merit on a judgmental level is the balancing of evil and good deeds.
Merit is the credit we receive on the side of good.

 

Karma is about spiritually attaining merit. According to both yoga and kabbalah everything we do is recorded in the Akashic records or the Book of Life. We get away with nothing on the other side. 

The higher we get up the “rungs” to God, the more we will encounter, the challenges to our karma not only from the Shadow, Ego and Monkey Mind but also the Tricksters appointed to sabotage our path. To them, spiritual transcendence is anathema and a reproach to their mission to sabotage anything of the light.

Karma is about subordinating our Evil inclination or Shadow to our inclination to do good, subordinating Monkey (Narrow) mind to Spacious mind and subordinating Ego to the Higher Self. Tricksters or dark forces need to be subordinated to our Good Inclination, Spacious mind, our Higher Self, all with the help of our guides. 

…Love nurtures you, gives you safe haven but you decide, you choose, you are responsible. The consequences are yours. There is wisdom; there is folly; there is love; there is lust; there is surrender; there is willfulness.

Karma depends not only on what we do but how we do it, why we do it, and how we feel about it. If the last is grudgingly or because it benefits us materially there will be a karmic consequence or it will be karmically passive. It is better to give charity - even if it is to get our face in the media or for a tax deduction - than not to give it but the act may not have spiritual merit depending on our intent. 

The Talmud says of someone who has sinned in the worst way but then Repents or "Returns to his or her Higher Self ... 

 

"... This person stands higher in heaven than a righteous one. Their degree is above the degree of those who have never sinned because it is more difficult for them to subdue their passions than for the others."

Those that have risen up from the bottom of the barrel in spite of all the odds against them are looked on favorably from above. 

Karma is built in as a default into the soul. God does not play favorites - S/He loves us all and hopes that the prodigal son or daughter will eventually redeem themselves and return to the Father/Mother.

God is not a test of love, God's love is not a test. 

Like a loving parent the Creator loves us all and all of creation. The Talking Beings, however, are bound to the laws of karma. All the other Beings are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing and have no such requirement.

Everyone will ultimately achieve the spiritual perfection for which we are created and this may take many lifetimes because of free will. 

Karma occurs as a backdrop to free will and impermanence. Free will rules and nothing last forever except love and the soul. We need to be in the moment with all the gifts given to us with gratitude. The Ancestors live in the moment and teach that we should take only what we need from the past and leave the rest behind.

“One day the people came to the master and asked: “How can you be so happy in a world of such impermanence where you cannot protect your loved ones from harm, illness and death.” The master held up a glass and said. Someone gave me this glass and I really like this glass. It holds my water admirably and glistens in the sunlight. One day the wind may blow it off the shelf or my elbow may knock it off the table. I know this glass is already broken so I enjoy it incredibly.” 

Achaan Chah Subato

Akiva taught;
"Everything is given on loan (impermanent),

 a net is set out for the living (the net of samsara, being bound to and tempted by a sentient existence,)  
... and free will is given."

Attachments also hamper our crossing over to the right vibration at the time of death.

God most delights when you are most you, when you are being most yourself.

We need to see ourselves as the Creator wants to see us rather than those who may be more interested in our personas than our soul. The sages teach that it does not necessarily get any easier as we advance with our practice. The Ego is like a chameleon changing colors and the Shadow will tell us that the means justifies the end.

The light and the dark each exist. We may choose to go towards either and will always be pursued or lured by the other.
The ambushes, the side paths, the pot holes are all clearly marked and may be guarded against if you choose to read the map, scope the terrain, plot the journey.
The contest is fiercest when the stakes are high and so we may expect to be challenged, tempted and dissuaded in any and all manner of our weaknesses - be they physical, mental or emotional - all of which are attributes of the spirit.

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” Patanjali

Click on the link, play and meditate.

Everything we do is a test of our karma. We need to be resolute and hold fast to our potential to gain merit.

15_Do_Not_Bend.mp3