Commentaries by Vee Jay Attri during the Book Study - Secrets of Karma
We shall continue with our study from the book Secrets of Karma. Many of you might have read the book several times including myself; I have read this book several times, maybe over 100 times.
Definitely, I must say that every time I read a particular paragraph or a chapter, the understanding is much deeper than what it was previously.
So, it is not about the words contained in the book but it is about the level to which you are able to be in tune with all the teachings of karma coming from great ascended masters. For us to interpret the deeper meaning contained in every passage or sentence or word is indeed, a very challenging activity.
To translate the essence that are contained in the teachings demands the purest of the purest vehicle. Hence, the purity of the vehicle and purity of the soul will automatically result in understanding of higher levels of esoteric wisdom.
There is a very beautiful saying in the east; it says that the lion’s milk can only be kept in a golden vessel, symbolically trying to indicate that the highest of the highest levels of wisdom cannot be contained in ordinary vehicles.
Though you might be listening to the same word, but all these words can have a completely different level of understanding as you progressively purify your vehicles and grow spiritually. That is a reason why it is so important to pay attention while reading the book.
Nature of Karma
Karma is action and the consequence of action. It is the force of nature that balances a cause with the corresponding effect. Kind actions and activities that benefit all, generate good karma and accumulate as karmic income.
On one level of understanding, it is very true but here, just because you’re having a kind action or activity that is benefiting a larger population, it cannot be interpreted as elevated actions. So, there are so many levels of kind actions and activities.
We took the example of the butterfly that tries to come out of a cocoon. It is only during the moment when the butterfly is trying very hard to come out of the cocoon, it spreads the wings and that gives power to the wings to fly. If you are a kind person, and you happen to help the butterfly struggling to come out easily of the cocoon, by gently cutting the cocoon, it will cripple the butterfly.
The same thing happens spiritually. What is kindness to you need not be kindness to spiritual masters. While kind actions and activities that benefit all generate good karma and accumulate as karmic income, this is not applicable everywhere.
Similarly, what is unkind actions and activities according to you need not be so in all the cases, especially when it concerns great spiritual masters who are extremely unkind towards close disciples. The closer you are, the greater is the harshness you feel.
If you’re going to visit a great spiritual master, you will be treated like a king but for a disciple who is serving the master very close, only they know what it means to stay with a spiritual master. This is the truth. What you call unkind actions, is actually the most compassionate action.
Unkind actions and activities that are harmful to people and other beings, create bad karma adding up to cosmic debt.
Generally, good things in life are the results of accrued karmic income while pain and miseries are often the effects of karmic debts that one must pay.
The word often is used here, not always because sometimes, you might experience pain and miseries not because of the accumulated karmic debt, but could be because of other factors, including a spiritual muscle that needs to be strengthened.
So, it is like going to a gym when you’re familiar with a few workouts, and suddenly your gym instructor pops in, and he asked you to do something else. That something else gives you excruciating pain. Why? Because that muscle is not been developed.
Therefore, spiritually speaking, a condition may persist, not because you have to neutralize the karma, which could be one of the factor but more importantly, a spiritual muscle is not fully developed. That is why, we have used the word often.
Sometimes, actions that may appear to be unkind can be good karma. In the great epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna narrated the story to the Pandavas:
A hunter by name Valaka shot an arrow at an animal that was drinking water from a lake. Later, he realized that it was blind and regretted much for his act. However, the deities showered flowers upon him and thanked him as the beast was a great demon that was planning to destroy the world. Thus, Lord Krishna said, ‘actions that we think are bad, can be good.‘
On the other hand, actions that may seem to be kind can be bad karma as shown in the story below:
Long ago, there lived a widow with her young son. Being the only son, she gave all her love to him, and never corrected him when he misbehaved or stole petty things from his friend’s place. Finally, the boy grew to become a notorious robber, who one day was caught and condemned to death.
Before he was hanged, the judge asked if he had any wish, and he replied, ‘I wish to say something to my mother in her ear.’ When she came close to him, he seized her ear with his teeth, and bit it off. The judge was shocked and asked him why did he do this to his mother . He said: ‘she never corrected me when I was wrong and because of her, I am being punished today.‘
This is an important aspect if you look into the condition of the youth today. Even children for that matter, it is so difficult for us to manage them. Unfortunately, the training has not been given from childhood.
So much of pampering keeps on happening and over a period of time, the child that gets used to this kind of pampering all the time needs or demand that.
Consequently, what we do not realize is that we actually had caused much harm to the children from helping them to grow, from helping them to realize the right conduct, the right way of living. That is why, a very great master said so beautifully, ”do not prepare the road for them; instead, prepare them for the road.”
I have seen repeatedly in my own life, parents who have been extremely harsh, had actually made the children progress so wonderfully, though it is not applicable in all the situations. Sometimes, parents could be unkind, even when the children are correct.
However, there are certain cases where I had witnessed that because the parents were so strict, the children shaped up into something superior. This is compared to the parents who have been very easy going and not actually helping the children to learn the right path. They did not prepare them for the road, they simply prepared the road for them, pampering them all the time.
This is not basically an act of kindness. So, that is exactly what we need to get from this important passage:
Love and kindness without discrimination and inaction when right action is needed make you incur karmic debt. Even if you do not sin but encourage others to do wrong actions, it is still bad karma.
Further reading: Secrets of Karma, The Universal Law, Page 6
