EP21: Subtle Traps

Commentaries by Vee Jay Attri during the Book Study – Secrets of Karma

Chapter 2

Let us prepare ourselves for the study from the Secrets of Karma. We are coming to Chapter 2, which is subtle traps. The word subtle trap has been deliberately used. This is just to make a spiritual aspirant vigilant. Many at times, people live a life unaware of what is happening to the activities.

Most importantly, what is happening in the invisible world, in the energy world? If you are not cautious about what is happening in the inner world, that includes the energies as well as whatever that is hidden, by way of your lessons, you can fall over and over again.

So, this chapter is actually focusing on what kind of traps an aspirant will face on their path. Only a few of them have been taken. So, let us have a look at it and you will notice that more often, the traps are born out of carelessness.

In reality, you are actually setting your own trap and you get caught in that. It is like a spider web. It is said that the spider which lays the web eventually gets caught in it, it cannot come out of that, somewhat like that.

So, let us read the chapter very carefully. Try to see how far it is applicable to your own life. You don’t have to simply go by the traps that are explained here. Ask yourself, what kind of traps that you have set for yourself?

For example, expectation is a kind of trap. You want people to recognize you, you want people to give you love, you want people to give you attention, you want people to give praises. All these are a form of trap. Without your knowledge, you are caught in them.

So, over a period of time, you did not realize that you had actually become a puppet in the hands of people, that if somebody is talking lot of good about you, you are happy and the next moment when somebody is not so good to you, not so nice to you, you feel morose, you don’t feel good.

These are all actually a form of trap. So, you have to check what kind of trap that you have actually set for yourself. This is very important. That means, to a great extent, the traps that are being discussed here are laid by yourself and you need to be careful and vigilant about it.

Let us read a very profound proverb here:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the Kingdom was lost…and all for the want of a horseshoe nail!
^Anonymous

So, because somebody did not pay attention to a horseshoe nail and they were careless about it, eventually, as horse was engaged in the fierce battle, the horse’s shoe was removed and consequently, the horse did not perform the way it had to perform and it could not actually maintain its pace, its speed.

That’s exactly how the story goes and eventually, the soldier was defeated, the kingdom was defeated and so on. So, everything began with a simple act of carelessness, and that is exactly the point that you need to be watching for.

So, the first trap is gossip and slander.

Gossip and slander

Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
^{Holy Bible.}

So, there is a beautiful cartoon here, Petty action, mighty reaction! A man is throwing stones at the beehive. That is why, it is said: Do not throw stones at the beehive, it is dangerous.

Gossip and slander cause much pain and often produce irreversible effects.

Once upon a time, there lived a man who was a notorious gossipmonger. He wanted to change this bad habit and asked a Rabbi for advice. The Rabbi wanted to teach him a proper lesson and said, “Go and get a fresh chicken from the market and bring it to me as quickly as possible while plucking off all its feathers as you run.”

This is just a story, right!

The man did as instructed, plucking the feathers as he ran and throwing them on the way until not a feather remained. He handed the plucked chicken to the Rabbi who then said, “Now, go back and gather all the feathers you had plucked ad bring them back to me.”

The man retorted, “It is not possible now. The wind must have carried those feathers in all directions.” The Rabbi said, “That is true, and that is also how it is with gossip. One rumor can spread to many places, how can you ever retrieve all of it? It is better not to gossip in the first place!”

So, you have to remember, this is actually one of the worst things that can happen; gossip, talking about somebody else. Sometimes, you have to do it, that is basically because of certain precaution you can call it or also discovering ways by which you can improve a particular situation.

So, there is basically a difference between discernment which actually leads to having a problem discussed in a healthy manner and a gossip which is to belittle people. The idea is not to belittle people but to discover ways how the situation can be improved and how the person can be healed in the first place.

So, this is a very profound statement. All our sufferings have a corresponding cause. So, if you ponder deeply into your life and start thinking or contemplating, what could be the probable cause of what I am experiencing now? Gradually, you will start receiving plenty of insights.

I promise you, this has happened to me several times and I had seen this happening to people. How dramatically, many conditions that seemed to be practically impossible to recover have improved because the person started having realization, realization born out of contemplation!

When there is realization or awakening happening in the soul and the lessons are properly learned, no matter what is the challenge, those challenges will definitely change. That’s a promise of the masters. So, you have to now peacefully ponder upon your life, contemplating on what could be the probable cause of different situations for challenges that you are facing in your life.

Again, connected with gossip, there is a very profound quotation from the Buddha:

It is little harm if one loses money in gambling with dice, even losing everything, including oneself. But if one talks ill of others, it is of greater harm. Insulting people of real worth and bearing ill-will in thought and speech lead to eons upon eons of misery and pain.
^{The Buddha}

Very profound statement. So, Buddha reminds you that it is better that you lose everything in gambling, better to lose even yourself but avoid talking ill of others, especially people at a certain level of spiritual advancement. Be very careful not to use any slanderous talks about them.

This is going to have a very disastrous effect. I did mention to you about one of the experiences of a so called student who had been making fun of the name of a great spiritual Master and eventually, that person working in a multinational corporation lost his job in a very senior post.

He lost the job and for several years, he could not find another job. So, this kind of slander and gossip about great souls, you have to be so careful about. We did talked about this , I think a couple of days before.

It is wise to think twice before you speak anything. Here, a Master gives the invaluable guidance:

It is well to speak little, better still to say nothing, unless you are quite sure that what you wish to say is true, kind, helpful. Before speaking, think carefully whether what you are going to say has those three qualities; if it has not, do not say it.
^{-Holy Master Kuthumi to Alcyone, At the feet of the Master.}

Alcyone was supposed to be the earlier reincarnation of a very great Master by name J. Krishnamurthy. Many of you might be knowing him as J.K. That is I think, amply said about one of the most important traps that people again and again fall into; that is gossip.

How to balance the karma of gossip and slander?

Further reading, Secrets of Karma, Page 41