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