NINE-KARMA 9-KARMA.TXT *********************************************************************** [tEXT EDITED AND REFORMATED BY DAS] When the soul leaves the physical body when the body dies, the soul does not die but lives on in another subtle body called the astral body. The astral body lives on another plane of consciousness called the astral plane. Here we continue to have experiences until we are reborn again in another physical body as a baby*. [* Editors note:or as another living creature...] The soul chooses a home and a family which can best fulfill its next step of maturation. [Editors note: This statement is often taken to mean that a soul makes "conscious decissions" on these matters....that is totally incorrect... the karma seeds inside the soul determine these things..this is a consistant declaration of all the eastern scriptures and the teachings of the enlightened beings on the planet. Until a soul becomes enlightened there can be no consciounsess decisions made by a soul not in a body.] Hindus understand the natural growth of all humans as they experience evolution because they know these facts. After enlightenment, however, we do not have to re-experience the baseness of human existence but go on in evolution in our other bodies. As an example: After we graduate from school we don't have to-nor do we want to-re-enroll in the fifth grade. We are beyond that in understanding. 3) What is karma? Introduction: Karma is another word we hear about quite often on television. "This is my karma." or, "It must have been something I did in a past life to bring such good karma to me." In more liberal schools of Hinduism, karma is looked upon as something bad. Just two days ago a Hindu guest from Guyana in South America came to visit us in Hawaii and mentioned that karma means "sin," and that this is what the Christians in his country are preaching that it means. Karma actually means "cause and effect." Here is an example: I have a glass of water sitting in front of me on a table. Because the table is not moving, nor is the glass, the water is calm. Shake the table, the water ripples. This is action and reaction, the basic law of nature. The process of action and reaction on all levels-physical, mental and spiritual-is karma. Here is another example: I say kind words to you, you are peaceful and happy. I say harsh words to you, you become ruffled and sad. This is karma. It names the basic law of the motion of energy. An architect thinks creative, productive thoughts, and draws plans for a new building. But were he to think destructive, unproductive thoughts, he would soon not be able to accomplish any kind of positive task even if he desired to do so. This is karma, a natural law of the mind. We must be very careful about our thoughts because thought creates and thoughts also make karmas, both good, bad and mixed. Here are three answers to memorize and later explain to beautiful souls who are seeking higher consciousness and look to you for mystical knowledge of the Far East. [Editor's note: example.. If its my karma to be married to a woman, have children with her and later in the marriage go through a divorse and have her take my children away from me, and in my current life I have no children, that karma can not manifest in my current life, so it will have to do so in another life.] Answer #1: Karma is one of the natural laws of the universe. It simply means "cause and effect." Our religion is made up of many natural laws of the universe. Karma is just one of them. (This is a simple answer for a casual seeker. After you have said this, smile and ask if they want to know anything more.) [Editors note: karma is not reward and punishment, its the universe's way of bringing everything in the universe to balance.] Answer #2: Karma is basically energy. I throw energy out through thoughts, words and deeds, and it comes back to me (in time) through other people. We Hindus look at time as a circle. I think professor Einstein came to the same conclusion. He saw time as a curved thing and space as well. This would eventually make a circle. Karma is a very just law, too, as it is equal in re-payment. Like gravity, it treats everyone the same. Answer #3: God does not give us karma. We create our own. Bad karma is because we have done something bad in the past to someone, and now someone is doing something bad to us. Good karma means that we have done something good in the past and now others are doing something good to us now. Because we Hindus understand karma, we do not hate or resent the people who do us harm. We understand they are giving back the effects of the causes we set in motion at an earlier time. At least we try not to hate them or hold hard feelings, by reminding ourselves of the law of karma. Summary Answer #2: All of our priests and religious leaders are definitely vegetarian, because they have to awaken the more refined areas of their nature in order to perform their work. Our soldiers and law-enforcement people are generally not vegetarians. This is because they have to keep alive their aggressive forces in order to perform their work. To practice yoga and be successful in spiritual life it is advisable to become a vegetarian. It is a matter of wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge at any given moment. Through my forty years of presenting the eternal Truths of Hinduism, I have found that families who are vegetarian have fewer problems than those who are not. This is because when we eat meat, fish, fowl and eggs, we absorb the vibration of the instinctive creatures into our nerve system and this amplifies our own lower nature. Our lower nature is prone to fear, anger, jealousy, confusion, resentment and the like. We advise all members of my Saiva Siddhanta Church to be well-established vegetarians prior to initiation into mantram and then remain vegetarian afterward. However, we don't insist upon members becoming vegetarian if they are not seeking initiation. Mantrams are different. They are sound vibrations seen in the inner astral atmosphere as light and color. Mantrams awaken latent brain cells. Some mantrams such as AUM can be said before initiation and others should not be used. The simple yet powerful mantram Aum harmonizes the physical forces with the emotional forces with the intellectual forces. When this happens, you begin to feel like a complete being. There are different mantrams taught within the four major sects of Hinduism. Mantrams are most generally given by the Sat Guru. Many of the most powerful mantrams need no translation. They are what they are. Their power is supreme. There is one great mantram at the very center of the Vedas which has the five syllables: "Na ma si va ya."Memorizing slokas and repeating mantras definitely is a vital part of our personal religious life. They should be memorized for a mystically, profound purpose. A mystical Hindu places stress on quality and not quantity. There are Sanskrit scholars who believe that their salvation lies in the numbers and complexity of the mantras and slokas they have at their command. Among themselves, they judge that those who know the most verses are necessarily the most enlightened. The mystical Hindu knows that this is a false concept. He comprehends that a devotee can know but a single mantra, use it perfectly and wisely to reach God consciousness. Under no circumstances should we judge a person's attainment by how many verses he has memorized. Rather, we should judge it by how he uses the verses that he knows. Some of the greatest of all Hindus did not know a single syllable of Sanskrit or any other sacred language.