Commentaries by Vee Jay Attri during the Book Study - Secrets of Karma
We were having a very interesting study. This is on the three types of karma we talked about. We were reading about the prarabdha karma. We were saying that if somebody is carrying a good prarabdha karma or positive prarabdha karma; Prarabdha karma means fructified karma, karma that is ripe to reap.
That means out of the sum total of the karma that you have generated for eons of time, we call it the Sanchita Karma. You bring part of it, a portion of that in a particular lifetime to be worked out. This prarabdha karma can be a good or not so good or a mixture of both.
It is impossible that life will be all the time the same. It is impossible that there will be all the time only good things, which we want to be but the reality is what you think is bad is really not bad. Here, I remember a very beautiful and an amazing quotation from a very great Saint, Saint Emblicious. What he said was very profound.
What appears to us to be an accurate definition of justice does not also appear to be so to the Gods, for we looking to that which is most brief, direct our attention to things present and to this momentary life and the manner in which it subsists but the powers that are superior to us know the whole life of the soul and all its former lives.
Saint Emblicious
You have to understand this very deeply. That means there is always something good, no matter what is happening to you or to people. There is always a perfect justice that is existing in all the situations.
So, by virtue of you carrying some negative prarabdha karma, if you are tormented over and over again despite all the good things that you are trying to do to people, people stab you, people give you lot of pain, there is again perfection in this.
There is perfect justice because you do not know what is happening. You do not know what you have done in the past. There are so many complex activities happening every moment and that is the reason why, you have to respect the laws of nature. You have to respect the divine force or the divine law.
Never ever ask questions: Why me? Why this? Why that? This question mark as you can see is not so straight like the exclamatory mark which is straight. You should be happy about every situation. The question mark is always crooked even in appearance. It doesn’t help you to move forward.
That is why, rather than complaining, say, “God, I am so grateful. Maza agaya! Whatever that you are giving me is so perfect, it is wonderful. I accept it wholeheartedly.” It is easy to say but you have to practice it. Why? Because there is always a play of many factors that is happening moment to moment, which is filled with so much perfection and so much of goodness.
On the strength of that, learn to accept things as they are. So, if you are being challenged repeatedly despite all the good things, understand that part of the negative prarabdha karma is being worked out.
Once you refuse to react internally, and you learn the lessons that are offered by the situation or people perfectly, the karma that is connected has to be neutralized, has to become zero. The situations will have to transform, this is the promise of the masters. That is the reason why you have to embrace all the situations happily.
One great master said very beautifully:
Learn to bear with your karma cheerfully. Do not sow a new seed while you are reaping the old.
Dr. Annie Besant, the second President of the Theosophical society.
The moment you react, you are actually sowing a new seed. Then, you are actually trapped in the action-reaction, and eternally you are trapped in the life and death cycle. You are unable to get out of it and that is the reason why, no matter what is happening, let us embrace every situations including people in our life cheerfully, without asking any questions.
Let us continue:
Hence, there is perfect justice in ‘bad people’ having a good time and ‘good people’ having a bad time, each reaping the fruits of the respective good or bad prarabdha karma.
While you cannot avoid bad prarabdha karma or negative prarabdha karma meant for you to experience in this lifetime, the positive karma that you generate through your benevolent actions can act as a shock absorber, thereby reducing its impact upon you.
That is the reason why you have to focus on generating good karma. You have to focus on the light. You have to completely ignore the dark or the darkness. Focus on the light and focus on doing good. Progressively, when you follow this simple instruction, life will have to transform. You will find a mighty shift in every aspects of your life happening automatically.
So, many at times, you would have experienced especially, for those who have been generating amazing good karma, there are actually many other factors, which of course I am going to deal with in other chapters but together with generating good karma when you are progressing spiritually, there is a tendency for acceleration of karma.
This inevitably happens, and that is the reason why, spiritual discipline is extremely important in the life of an aspirant. So, together with the good karma, ensure that you got disciplined spiritual practices. All are extremely important.
Everything is going hand in hand. So, together with your spiritual development, you have to be so careful in development of the virtues. So, while you are generating good karma, also focus on developing virtues.
Virtues include for example, love and kindness, generosity and so on and so forth. Most importantly, truthfulness and honesty. When you start focusing on developing the virtues together with generating good karma and also accepting whatever that comes to you cheerfully, fearlessly, progress will have to happen. That is the promise of the masters.
Let us proceed:
Laws of Karma
There is a very beautiful cartoon. it says:
Why did the apple fall?
Isaac Newton
Actually, the cartoon is about Isaac Newton, who discovered gravity. This is an extremely important virtue, a trait that you need to develop. Rather than simply witnessing things around, you have to ask questions. Understand the root cause of why it is happening, what could be the cause of this condition of my life?
Like Isaac Newton wanted to know why did the apple fall? If he did not enquire, probably we would not known about gravity today. In the same way, many situations of your life are happening and you are peacefully ignorant about the root cause of them.
You have a tendency to react in the same way over and over again, completely ignoring to do a self analysis, understanding the cause of whatever that is happening to you. You have to ponder deeply upon that. Contemplation is very important.
Like gravity, the laws of karma have an effect on you, irrespective of your knowledge of it.
There are 3 fundamental laws of karma:
First law: Law of harvest
Second law: Law of lag time
Third law: Law of multiplier effect
These 3 laws of karma influence all that you attract, people, events, health, wealth and happiness. The moment you set an action, the laws are put in force and you realize the effect of your action, as and when the conditions are conducive for it to mature.
Conducive for it to mature, extremely important sentence. What do we mean by that? We have already discussed that laws of karma are not punitive; they are not there to punish you. The laws of karma are there to simply help you to realize your lessons but realizing the lessons cannot happen all the time and therefore, there is the principle of lag time.
Though you set an action in force but the effect of that action comes to you only at a time when you are ready to learn your lessons. That is why we use the word, when the conditions are conducive for learning your lessons. If the conditions are not conducive for you to learn your lessons, the karma does not manifest also.
That is why, many a times, people are thinking “that whatever I am doing I am okay, nothing is happening to me” but what they do not realize is that the conditions are not conducive. There is a principle of lag time that is simply waiting for the right time.
When the right time comes, no matter what you do, no matter how smart you are, you will be facing the realities as it should be and therefore, if ever you are already in a situation where repeatedly you are getting the lessons after the lessons, take the extra courage, cultivate fearlessness, cultivate cheerfulness.
Most importantly, you have to learn to bear your karma cheerfully, It is not from me, it is again from Dr. Annie Besant. She said it so profoundly, learn to bear your karma cheerfully. That is very important. Why? Because if there is a slightest reaction happening, even internally, you will be bound to that karma, bound with the situation, with the people in some form or the other. It will have a tendency to recur over again.
That is why you need to muster extra courage in facing realities cheerfully and fearlessly. Keep these key words: Fearlessness and Cheerfulness
Further reading: Secrets of Karma, Laws of Karma, Page 12
