KARMA #4

 “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”            C. Jung

DESTINY

"Kabir says; friend, there are very few who find the way."

This is an entire blog on its own so I will just summarize the main principles. For those who want more check out the earlier blogs.

It can be extremely hard to find out who one truly is and this is why we all come back again and again until we manifest our own soul's true purpose.

“Everyone has in him/her something Divine, something his/her own, a chance of perfection and strength, however small, a sphere which God offers him to take or refuse. The task is to find, develop and use it.” Sri Aurobindo

We are given a special gift by the Creator which no one else has. We are all unique in this way. Some have been given bigger destiny 'cups' to fill and to whom much is given, much is expected. Others are given smaller cups and their task may be easier.

We are obligated to fulfill our potential to the best of our abilities. We also have to carry it out with the right intention. With it, we are meant to try and help heal the planet. It also matters not only what we do, but why we do it, and how we do it. It must be with integrity and in line with universal spiritual principles. Some are lucky and know exactly what that gift is but they may fail karmically with the way they practice it.The Creator wants to co-create with and through us. There are things S/He cannot do that we can.

You are much more than you know but only what you have learned with your heart does God manifest in you.

God does not judge us by results or 'numbers' - only by our intention (for its own sake and not for reason of outcome) and the fervor of our efforts.

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

If we are lucky we may be able to manifest our destiny through a Hero/ine's journey, where we obtain the grail or an aha experience.

"May the hero awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow." Upanishads

There is a direct link in the search for the Self and the Hero’s search for his/her archetype. They are shades of the same thing. Destiny is part of the soul’s journey. We cannot separate the Soul from our destiny path.

“…put out to sea! Save your boat’s journeying Soul and your own pilgrim Soul, cost what it may.” Dom Helder Camara

“It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my Soul.” William Ernest Henley

Fate differs from destiny. Fate is the cards we are dealt with in life. We cannot make excuses for what we have been given. We are meant to rise above our fate. This is another reason for the continual cycle of birth, death and reincarnation. Buddhists yearn to inherit the Pure Land (the Causal Realm) or at least return the next time where they can continue their practice at a higher level. The situation in which we are reborn might be a reflection of our prior karmic profile. We are born into a family that is best suited to teach us the lessons we need to learn. This not always fun.

If you do not be you, then whoever will be?

There are basically four original primal archetypes; Healer, Teacher, Warrior (leader,) and Visionary (artist, musician, poet, author, priest, shaman ...) Each of these can be expressed in many ways in our modern society. A film maker could be a teacher or a visionary or even a warrior. Many are gifted and have strengths in all four archetypes and for them the path can be more challenging. There is only one of these that is the main archetype. We need to fully use the power of that one! The others must serve the one.

“All the talents of God are within you.
 How could this be otherwise when your soul is derived from His genes!”  Hafiz

 

We are meant to co-create with the Divine – His/Her creation cannot fully manifest without our help.  

"Lad of Athens. Faithful be to thySelf and mystery - all else is perjury." Emily Dickinson

For those who have difficulty finding out who they are, the Four Yogas may be the way to a fruitful karma.

Karma or service oriented yoga of selfless action - the Mother Theresa archetype.

Bhakti yoga - devotional yoga - the Sufi poets, David the psalmist. Jnana yoga - wisdom, and the intellectual path of the scriptures.

Raja yoga - the most difficult - the path of the Buddha - meditation and control of the mind.

For those who are confused, Karma yoga can help us find the way - taking one's core strength and helping others can be a joyful and meaningful path and may eventually lead to one's true destiny by a process of elimination. Like the story of the three bears - when the 'bed' starts to feel like it no longer fits we advance to the next step with the knowledge gained - there is no loss.

The search for one's destiny is like a treasure hunt where we look for the clues along the way. We mostly go wrong and self-correct which is part of a tedious process. It works a bit like a cybernetic negative feedback system which is how the bodies hormonal system works - constantly self-correcting. Its also similar to a San Bushmen tracking an animal on a hunt. He often loses the spoor and has to go back to find it and start again.

The search for one's destiny is the hunt of one's life

- stay on the scent, stick to the spoor.

Finding that gift will give us meaning in our lives as well as happiness or equanimity. It is not easy - the Creator does not want us to have a copy cat destiny path. We are meant to find our own way. To dance to the beat of our very own drum and no one else's.

"To thine own Self be true." Shakespeare

The focus is on becoming more of who you are.

You must free yourself to be yourself.
Do not take on what is not yours to take on.
If you will not be you who then will be? 

By going back to our earlier, especially our teenage years, or some prior warrior journeys we may discover that the dream or that aha we wanted for ourselves was put aside because of external financial or parental pressures. That dream could well have been connected to our destiny and our heart’s desire.

The sages teach that all that happens; happens as it must.
What occurs cannot occur contrary to the conditions of its occurring or contrary to its nature.
A cedar tree does not spring from an acorn.

 

Of all the teachings the Ancestors have given us, many focus on our being true to our Self’s preordained mission. Others may want to tell you to be an "oak tree" which bears fruit rather than the "cedar tree" that you were created for.

Anything or anybody who does not make you more of who we are makes you less of who we are.

And as for your power what are you doing in the wrong circle.

We must beware of distractions especially worthy compelling attractions that may be appealing to the ego.

Are you nibbling on the apples of the Tree of Knowledge or are you nurturing whatever proud plant or humble weed which is your present entrustment? It is that which you are to make glorious.

Be patient with yourself, kind to yourself and release yourself from what you are not accountable. Do not be captive to the demands of false duty.

 

Look carefully to what you aspire, cherish and guard so as not to squander your gifts nor lose your heritage.

Many of us will have to learn to live in two worlds. The one that pays the rent and the other that is our true mission which may not sustain what modern life demands.

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."  W. Churchill

 

 

 KARMA #3

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 simply are consequences – natural cause and effect, often not immediate but always inescapable. 

Karma is about spiritually attaining merit. According to both Eastern spirituality 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. We will be accountable to spiritual laws whether or not we know about them, believe in them or do anything about them.

Chitragupt

who is supposed to be writing out our deeds in an account book is no other than the conscious and unconscious parts of our mind. The Lord of Law, to whom we have to render the account is the Soul within us.” Gopal Singh

Karma is built in as a default into the soul. God does not play favorites – S/He loves us all and hopes, like the prodigal son or daughter, that we will all eventually be redeemed and return to the Father/Mother. This love is not the test - karma is the test.

The higher we get up the “rungs” of the Tree of Life, or the Yoga Chakras the more the challenges we will encounter, not only from the shadow, ego and monkey mind but also the tricksters or dark forces who want to sabotage our path. To them, anything of the light is a reproach to their mission which is to sabotage good.

Without light and dark, good and evil, positive and negative, the sacred and the profane, there would be no challenge. If everything was sweet and good, life would be spiritually insipid. There must be tension for perfection. The challenge is to find the balance between the polarities of the negative and the positive. Peace of mind can often be a measure of one’s karma.

We build on the experiences of our past incarnations. Without the sum total of all our prior life-time experiences we could not be where we are now, in a sentient body, hopefully facing the challenges at a higher level.

Herein also resides the Buddhist concept of Store Consciousness and our 'Soulular' memory that sometimes surfaces as a kind of de ja vu awareness. We know much more than we think we know and are much more than we believe ourselves to be. We just need to remember.

"May the hero/ine awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow." Upanishads

The Ancestors live in the moment and teach that we should take only what we need from the past and leave the rest behind. Also that in order to remember we need to get spiritual knowledge with all our strength.

In addition, ego, shadow, and our tricksters can tempt us to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Karmically, the means never justifies the end.

 

“The last temptation is to do the right thing for the wrong reason.” 

T.S. Eliot

 

“Give all thou canst; high heaven rejects the lore of nicely calculated less and more.“ W. Wordsworth

We need to do things for their own sake and not because of any ego driven agenda – hidden or otherwise. If rewards were only immediate there would be a huge incentive to always perform correctly.

God wants us to do things for the right reasons and not out of fear of damnation and inheriting a fiery hell.

Karma depends not only on what we do, but how we do it, why we do it and how we feel about it. If it is grudgingly or because it benefits us only materially there will be a karmic consequence or it may be karmically neutral.

Emperor Wu asked, “I’ve built temples and ordained monastics; what merit is there in this?”
Bodhidharma replied, “No merit.”

However, ulterior motives can be underrated. 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. Merit depends on whether we subordinate our Evil inclination or Shadow to our Inclination to do Good, Monkey (Narrow) mind to Spacious mind and Ego to the higher Self. Tricksters or dark forces need to be subordinated to our Good Inclination, Spacious mind, our Higher Self, with the help of our Guides. 

Everyone is worthy of redemption no matter how heinous their action/s. We, however, have to do due diligence on our own behalf in order to be released from our malignant actions.

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 council that it gets harder as we advance with our practice, not easier.

The contest is fiercest when the stakes are high and so you may expect to be challenged, tempted and dissuaded in any and all manner of your weaknesses – be they physical, mental or emotional – all of which are attributes of the spirit.

 

The main principles determining karma and which challenge our free will and that will be covered in the future blogs are:

Fulfill your destiny.

Correct injustice – heal the planet.

Do no harm

(to any of the Four Beings of Nature - not just the Talking ones.)

Subordinate Ego to the Higher Self

(as well as Monkey Mind and Shadow.)

Practice love.

Be in Joy, and responsibly

Savor the opportunity of being in a sentient body.

These quotes below are all embracing guidelines.

“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

 

KARMA #2

NEUTRALIZING KARMIC SINS

Karmic Sins to God (or One's Higher Self)

and Sins to others

"To err is human, to forgive, divine."

 

"What are the ways of the Holy One. A God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving, iniquity, transgression and sin.” Exodus

God’s love is not a test. God is not a test of love.

(Karma is the test.)

God's love does not seek worth, God's love creates worth.

I thought it opportune since the High Holy days for Jews is now that I would share some insights especially from Maimonides about how to clean the slate and "Return" to our Higher Selves.

The mantra that is said for this day is; "May you be inscribed in the Book of Life." This endorses the idea that karma is relentless and we don't get away with anything. In yoga the Akashic Records are the equivalent of the Book of Life - everything is recorded in some way.

We probably all need a dedicated day at least once a year where we exam our failings and take accountability so that we can return to our True Selves. To repent and make amends is to heal the soul.

This is also the parable of the prodigal son or daughter returning to the Creator to be made whole. God will forgive us for anything we have done to Him/Her (that part of us made in the image of the Divine) and Jesus died for our sins. These are the sins we have done to our Higher Selves that part of us made in the image of the Divine. However, according to Maimonides we are not forgiven for those sins we have committed to our fellow humans. For those we have to make amends.

When we cross over the veil between worlds we will be accountable to a spiritual tribunal who will lovingly show us the errors of our ways. There is no stern, judgmental day as such but we will continue to come back again and again until we reach a certain level of spiritual excellence - the ongoing wheel of Samsara - death and rebirth. Forgiveness can mitigate some of these errors.

“And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, “I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?”  Nietzsche

God will forgive us for those sins but not the sins to any of the Four Beings of nature - Talking, Wild, Growing or Still. Hence Buddhists also make painstaking efforts not to harm Nature.

When it comes to the sins we have done to other humans (the Talking Beings) we need to make amends. When it comes to the other Beings we need to do the best we can.

Maimonides five steps can guide us.

STEPS TO ASKING FORGIVENESS

 

It is important to accept total responsibility. Do not comfort your conscience with high-minded excuses, reasons or assurances.
Acknowledge the pain you have inflicted.

 

Consider

Is it how you would desire being treated?

If your answer is no, then the next step is how do you make this known to all who have been hurt, scandalized and diminished by this action.

  

1. Be aware of the action, admit to it and sincerely feel regret and remorse. If the apology is not heart felt it is karmically neutral or even negative.

2. Confess and ask forgiveness unconditionally without any excuses as to the why. Rationalizing one's action negates the intention.

If appropriate it may have to be a communal apology.

If it is an illicit relationship, it is discontinued; if it is stolen property, it is restored.

3. Return what was taken or compensate in some way if possible.

4. Picture a better way to have handled the incident.

Kabbalah first teaches that you determine whether or not given the same situation you would do it again – not because of the eventual consequences that may have turned out badly

but because of your assessment of the “rightness” of your actions.

Understood of course, is that the offense is not continued or repeated.

5. Determine never to repeat the action.

If the sin/s are repeated it may compound the karmic effect.

One must confess, admit, acknowledge any wrong

without justifying the action.

To ask forgiveness for it, is to repair in full

whether or not the pain is removed or the forgiveness granted.

When asking, allow the other to be where they are. Regrets may not be accepted especially if the damage cannot be repaired or allowing of compensation. At least show willingness to do so. If done with good intent it should unite and not divide.

As you assess and attempt to make amends you will risk ridicule, rebuff and refusal.

Maimonides adds that for complete karmic resolution – if the apology is not accepted – it should ideally be repeated. If a sincere effort has been made to ask for forgiveness, more than once and this is denied, the karmic burden shifts to the one holding a grudge.

If the person rejects your offer nothing is lost.

 

“… What you give to, if not received, is still not lost. Not getting back what you give, and or, not having what you give being received – neither way is a waste or loss.” John O’donahue

  

The Ancestors teach that we should

repent with joy and forgive with joy because we are returning to the Self and are back on the path.

In addition we need to forgive ourselves and ask for forgiveness from others.

Giving or asking for forgiveness does not have to be associated with any obligation to return to the relationship.

Especially when it comes to our parents, grandparents and loved ones it is always best to ask or give forgiveness before death.

Sangoma wisdom and Kabbalah imply that if someone is forgiven sincerely for a sin commit to him/her they are released from that particular Karmic sin. The onus is on us to forgive our parents because they gave us life. Hence the commandment "Honor you father and mother ..." (with forgiveness.) It does not state love or even like them, just honor them with this. The mandate should be extended to the grandmothers and grandfathers because they also had a hand in our existence.

This is why our dead loved ones sometimes haunt the living hoping for forgiveness since this will somewhat improve their karmic profile as well as the next incarnation.

Forgiveness not only mitigates against bad karma but also facilitates healing by enhancing our immune systems and releasing the 'albatross' hanging around our necks.