Karma and Reincarnation: Understanding the Twists and Turns of Life

Excerpt from a talk at 2008 Convocation by Brother Vishwananda

Kriya Yoga Burns our Past Karma

Those who are willing to apply Guruji’s teachings in their daily life are nearly at the top of the evolutionary ladder. We have earned this through our previous efforts.

We need to understand we are the soul - not a human being bound by senses. Make the ordinary everyday Divine. Remind ourselves constantly of what we are.

All karma, good or bad, binds us to being humans - it is all the same.

Introspection is a key tool to finding out our karma and how to deal with it.

When I was first in India Daya Ma and Ananda Ma were visiting. In the main hall there were many pictures of saints but they were hung crookedly and at different levels. Ananda Ma asked me to help her in getting them all hung evenly. I was really excited to be spending the day in her presence. But she kept getting me to go up and down the ladder all morning adjusting the pictures and I started to get really impatient. After lunch Ma came up to the room and said what a wonderful job Ananda Ma had done, but didn’t she think it would be even better if they were all a ½ an inch higher? So I then spent all afternoon going back up and down the ladder readjusting the pictures. I realised one of my big life tests is to develop patience!

These issues pop up in our life to show us our deep samskaras. We have to work on them with diligent effort. Kriya Yoga burns our past karma when practiced deeply. But then we run outside and make more karma if we are not making a conscious effort to control it!

We have to deal with our karma with enthusiasm and determination. Just keep trying and believing we can overcome it. A test to see how well we are doing is to reflect on the 8-fold path of Patanjali - consider the Yama and Niyama principles:

YAMA
Ahimsa - abstain from injury;
abstain from falsehood;
abstain from stealing;
continence / moderation;
abstain from covetousness;

NIYAMA
purity of body and mind;
contentment;
self-discipline;
self-study; and
devotion to God and guru.

Study these basic fundamentals to see how we are doing with our karma. Self reflect.

Ma says our spiritual strength is based around many daily victories. Guruji said, “We die every night, and are reborn every morning”. We practice in the ordinary situations in life the attitudes and acts needed to be in harmony with our Higher Self.

Be aware of self-created destructive mantras - negative self-talk.

Ma says:

Be aware of the second thought.

That is, we have the first good intention then our negative habit springs up. We have to learn to catch and control these second thoughts.

We cannot overcome our karma alone. It is too ingrained. God has given us the Guru. God saw we are ready to follow him and have the ability to do it. It takes a very refined, devoted and disciplined attitude to take advantage of the true Guru. He has given us the teachings - we need to study and apply them. The first voice we hear is the Guru (our conscience). The second voice is our ego.

If we love God enough He can wipe out all our karma instantly! Guruji said, “love God like a drowning man”. What greater way to love God and Guru than to be loyal and trust the Guru and apply his teachings. Fill your life with love and apply it in your ordinary daily activities.

Story:
My soap had nearly all run out and it was a tiny wafer size, because I was too busy for a few days to go and buy another bar. One morning I was called to the front desk as Ma had left a package for me. It was a bar of soap! And not only that it was also my favourite brand (which I had not told anyone about).

When we have a problem chant, "Aum Guru". There was a man doing some work high up on a ladder and it started to fall backward. It had gone beyond the point it could normally right itself and he called out, “Aum Guru”, and it righted itself.

This life is our most important incarnation. Can we have any better karma than to be brought to this path where the only thing we have to achieve in this life is to find God! Any situation that confronts us is only an opportunity to seek and love God and Guru.