Don't you just love the concept of karma? Mess with me and the world will get even! Poetic justice at it's greatest. But what is karma, really?
Karma is the sum total of our actions and consequential results of those actions, both in the present life and preceding ones. The Doctrine of Karma can be broken down into three laws; the law of action and reaction, the law of compensation, and the law of retribution.
We all remember Newton's law of motion; every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies not only to physical actions, but to thought, desire, imagination, and sentiment. Karma also includes a law of compensation which keeps balance and establishes peace, equilibrium, and harmony. Fuel burns and is destroyed, but there is heat. Give and take. And finally the law of retribution (everyone's favorite). Each wrong action brings its punishment. (ref. Tirisula Yoga's, Yoga Philosophy Manual)
Put simply, everything happens for a reason; a reason which only you are responsible for. All of this can seem rather depressing at times, but part of the journey of yoga is overcoming and transcending past karma. Yoga Sutra II.14 says, "According to our good, bad or mixed actions, the quality of our life, its span, and the nature of birth are experienced as being pleasant or painful." This sutra is about perception. If you perceive the events of your life as generally ‘good’, then the quality of your life will seem pleasant. If you perceive the events of your life as generally ‘bad’, then the quality of your life will seem painful. But yoga teaches us to remove duality from our perception. Experiences are neither good, nor bad. They are just experiences, opportunities to clear our karma.
Past life karma must be lived, there is nothing you can do about that. But, you can alter your thoughts and actions now and secure a destiny of your choosing.
Think happy thoughts! =)
No comments:
Post a Comment