The Laws of Karma (5) : Are Misfortunes always the result of Bad Karma?

This article is a continuation of our very popular series titled :" The Laws of Karma".   All articles on The Laws of Karma are abbreviated excerpts from Acharya Shriram Sharma 's writings. 
So far in our Karma series we have discussed 'Who Keeps a Record of our Good and Bad Deeds', "How are deeds categorised as wrong or right", "Types of Sufferings and their underlying causes", and also "Types of Karma". In this chapter from the book "The Absolute Laws of Karma' we discuss whether misfortunes are always the result of Bad Karma?

The Karma theory is not fatalistic ,instead  it recognises and emphasises "free will" of individuals and their ability to overcome all situations in life.

The Laws Of Karma: Are Misfortunes always the result of Bad Karma?

"Misfortunes are an unwelcome event in our lives. Misfortunes  are popularly believed to be the result of past sins and signal the displeasure of God. However, this view is only partially correct. It is true that one of the reasons for unhappiness is past sins, but all unhappy events do not necessarily have their roots in past misdeeds. 

It may appear paradoxical, but at times misfortunes may also befall us because of the grace of God and the accumulation of past virtues. Unhappiness may also be felt while undergoing hardships in course of virtuous activities. When God shows his benevolence  towards a highly evolved soul and wills to release that soul from the bondage of  everyday living, HE may create distressful situations in that person's life where the individual is forced to make a specific  choice. Such unhappy events jolt the individual out of his slumber and help him to realize the futility of attachment to worldly things. The shock of unhappiness in such cases serves as a Divine Wake-Up-Call. 

Our addiction to worldly attachments, infatuations and passions is so strong and alluring that we cannot be easily de-addicted. There are fleeting moments of wisdom in life when man thinks that life is extremely valuable and must be used for achieving some lofty objective, but soon thereafter attractions of the world sway him from achieving this aim . Through misfortunes, God exerts a strong pull to extricate the devotee from the self-created quagmire of worldly attractions.

Unpleasant, heartbreaking happenings, such as a near fatal accident or disease, death of an intimate friend or relative, sudden financial loss, humiliation, or treachery by a trusted friend, may occur to give a strong shock treatment so that one may course correct his or her life or understand the gravity of purposeful living. 

Sometimes, the virtuous samskaras accumulated on account of our past Karma's can also produce unhappy events. Virtuous karma's also act as shields to ward off sinful temptations. The former do not permit the sinful tendencies to dominate and offer stiff resistance. Many a time, commitment of a sinful act - is foiled by some unforeseen obstacle. If a thief breaks his leg while  attempting thievery, it should be taken as a consequence of his past virtuous Karma's. 

Those who work hard for moral or social upliftment of society and meticulously follow their course of duty, face stupendous problems, hardships , including  lack of resources in their work. They also have to face antagonism of people who find such activities detrimental to their vested interests. Persons treading the royal highway of righteousness have to face hardships at each step. Misfortunes are like a goldsmith’s furnace, in which the validity of past virtues and tolerance to hardships undertaken for virtuous deeds are tempered. After going through misfortunes, the character and personality of an upright person becomes all the more lustrous.

Hence while going through misfortunes, do not be under the impression that you are a sinner and a wretched person deserving Divine wrath. It could be that the distress is a blessing in disguise, with hidden boons, which you are unable to foresee at the moment because of limited vision. 

Innocent persons may be found suffering because of unfair ideologies or oppression by others. Any of us can  become a victim of exploitation, suppression and injustice. The exploiter has to face the consequences of his Karma's in due course of time, but the sufferer should not take such trials as outcome of his Prarabdha. 

A student has to face many hardships in the course of his education. A mother suffers hardship while bringing up a child. Ascetics, social reformers and righteous persons undergo unbearable hardships while working for reformation of the society and evolution of the human soul. Such voluntarily undertaken hardships, confrontations, and problems faced in the course of fulfillment of self-assumed responsibilities also cannot be considered as consequences of past misdeeds. 

At the same time, it would not be appropriate to regard every “happy-go-lucky” person as a virtuous person in his past life or every sufferer as a sinner of his past birth. Such a concept would be unjustified and misleading. There is no reason for someone to have self-pity or feel remorseful on such a false premise. The course from committing an action / Karma to its fruition as Prarabdha follows an occult and mysterious process known only to the Creator. 

With regards to the Laws Of Karma -we have to remain ever vigilant towards our duties and responsibilities and leave the rest to the Impartial and Supreme Justice of God. Let us face the misfortunes and good fortunes of life with equanimity. God has made us responsible only for our duties as human beings. There could be many reasons for successes-failure and happiness- unhappiness. Only the Creator knows their purpose in His Absolute Wisdom. Let us entirely offer ourselves to the Divine to be used for the free and unobstructed flow of His Will through us."

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Credits and Source of the above article:
To read the book "The Absolute Law Of Karma" click  link below:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/56439617/The-Absolute-Law-of-Karma-by-Pandit-Shriram-Sharma-Acharya

To know more about the author -Shriram Sharma Acharya please click the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma

The Laws of Karma (4): Types of Karma and the importance of past life or Prarabdh Karma!

Many times we are unable to explain agonies in our current lives in the context of our current actions- what then causes this pain and suffering! Can it be our  past life Karma(or  Prarabdh Karma)? 
In the enclosed article , we  try to understand the three broad types of Karma ..Kriyaman Karma, Sanchit Karma and Prarabdh Karma.
We also try and understand a related point :Is there a time lag  between deed and results of the deed ? If yes why does this time lag exist? 

The below mentioned article explores these points  in detail and is an excerpt  from the immensely popular book "The Absolute Laws of Karma" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya.(This book excerpt has been condensed, adapted and rewritten in places  for simplicity of understanding )

Quoted Text : Types of Karma and the importance of Past Life Karma's!

Under the Laws of Karma, a person can feel the consequences of his actions either immediately or with delayed effect. The immediacy of the fruit of actions is defined by the type of Karma and whether there is any underlying emotional intent attached to the actions. 
There are three broad categories of Karma, namely: (i) Sanchit Karmas (ii) Prarabdha Karmas and (iii) Kriyaman Karmas. Let's explore them in the order of complexity of understanding them, starting with the simplest type of karma first.

Kriyaman Karmas:
(Refer to our simplest bodily actions.These actions  are defined by the absence of any emotion, intent  or thought, like acts of eating food, drinking etc).As a background to understanding Kriyaman Karmas we already know that the human body is made up of five base elements.The Laws of nature govern the  interactions between these base elements and these interactions define the physiological functioning of our body.

Laws of Karma (3)- Three types of sufferings and what they imply?

The enclosed is an adapted article  from the book " The Absolute Laws Of Karma" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya. According to  the universal Laws of Karma , there are  three types of sufferings that we can undergo in our lives . These are broadly categorised as  mental sufferings, physical sufferings  or sufferings from natural disasters. 
The enclosed article  also explains why we need to go through these sufferings and  what the experience of suffering signifies to us. It also indicates how to resolve the sufferings. The Laws of Karma  also elaborate upon the concept of individual karma, and the concept of collective karma's of societies and nations.

Quoted text: Types of Individual Pain and Suffering
"Sudden happenings of good fortune and misfortune are a part of life and there is no escape from that. Indian saint and poet Soordas has rightly stated that the effects of actions (Karma's) cannot be avoided even with the best of guidance from an enlightened and experienced person. It would not be proper to assume that misfortunes are punishments given by an angry God to chastise an erring person. Rather The Epic Ramayana (Indian spiritual text) states that each individual is himself personally responsible for his happiness and his misery . 
All beings reap the fruits of their own Karma's.They rejoice or wail, weep and suffer because of their own doings. With each living being, God has provided an unerring and intelligent mechanism, which determines the fruits of his actions. Like a fish swimming in the water or a snake moving on sand leave a trail,  we as human beings leave behind footprints of our own Karma's. These impressions are known as “Samskaras” in Indian spiritual parlance. 

Happiness and peace are the natural states of mind. Man is instinctively inclined to act in  the welfare of the self and others and this  naturally results in a state of peace and joy. In the Karma parlance- a person is known to be suffering when he or she  becomes  mentally disturbed. All human beings  dread mental turbulence, sorrow and grief. Hence in this article we will explore the causes of unhappiness, the different types of sufferings and how they are intricately  linked to our own individual Karma's. 

Medical science has two independent streams, one for promotion of health and another for treatment of diseases.  In the same way there are two branches of spiritual science – one for promoting happiness and the other for resolving or treating unhappiness. Righteous living is essential for our inner peace and happiness just as nutritional food is essential for our  health. In therapy it is necessary to first have a diagnosis and then look for treatment. The same holds true for unhappiness. By putting right  the Karma's that cause our unhappiness  we can get rid ourselves of unhappiness,  suffering and pain.

Mental Suffering:                                        

All types of sorrows, qualify as mental suffering, and are the results of  negative acts of thought committed by our mind. Mental sufferings arise out of an incorrect or less than optimal way of thought and when we overcome  this deficiency (an  improper way of thinking) we can address and reduce our mental sufferings.

Worry, anxiety, anger, humiliation, animosity, separation from a beloved one, fear, grief, etc. are overt signs of divine justice for our negative mental actions . Negative mental actions (mental sins) can be defined as  those wilful Kama's (deliberate acts) of the mind, which are carried out under the influence of strong negative emotional stimuli. We may categorise  mental sins as corrupt functions of the mind. 

Acts of  jealousy, perfidy, deception, annoyance, cruelty, etc, pollute the environment around our inner psyche. Mental sins like these   do not provide any physical gratification instead they create a circumstance  where we feel the need to escape from the situation . If we find ourselves in  a  smoke-filled room , the smoke suffocates us and we try to escape from that room- in the same way an environment created by pollutants of the mind suffocates our  soul and we then try to move away from the situation we have created.  

The soul,  being  a  portion  of  the omnipresent Divinity, is intrinsically pure. It does not like the  accumulation of sinful thoughts around itself and is always eager to push out the  pollutants in the same way  as the human body reacts to expel the presence of harmful food. The soul is meticulously careful about its purity. The moment it finds  mental sins polluting its environment, it feels uncomfortable and immediately reacts to discard the pollutants. Though our external conscious  mind  is  hardly  aware of this discomfort,  the  inner, subtle  mind  is  always  seeking  the opportunities to throw off this burden. 

Death of a beloved  person, loss in  business  and property,  public-defamation, poverty etc. are types of  mental agonies. Such situations bring out the inner pain to the surface and the aggrieved person weeps, wails and is reminded of the futility of worldly attachments and impermanence of material things. Situations creating acute mental unhappiness bring out a greater awareness of the need for righteous living. Man is motivated to refrain from committing sinful deeds in the  future and to  follow an upright path in life. While attending funerals, people are reminded of the urgency of living a purposeful life,  and when the intoxication is over the drunk begins to talk sense.

The only purpose of mental distress is to cleanse the mind of garbage of mental pollutants and overcome thoughts like jealously, ingratitude, selfishness, cruelty, heartlessness cunning, hypocrisy and egoism. Through suffering, the intelligent divine mechanism ensures removal of Samskaras created by Prarabdha Karma's (discussed later). Pain and anguish spring forth to wash out the Samskars generated by Prarabdha Karmas. While  sins like theft, burglary, robbery, adultery, kidnapping and violence are categorized as  physical sins or physical acts of crime but as these acts  are basically outer manifestation of negative mental stimuli, they  fall in the category of mental sins.

Physical Suffering:

The cause of congenital deficiencies and genetic diseases is the mis-utilisation of the corresponding organs in the previous life–cycles. After death, the soul discards the physical body but carries forward the astral body (Sookshma Shareer) to the next life. In the succeeding birth, the new body is shaped by this astral body. The astral body carries with it nuclei (seeds) of Samskaras of earlier physical existence to the next reincarnation. 
The corresponding components of physical organs, which were not correctly used in the previous life, lose their vitality in the astral body but manifest as malfunctioning organs in the physical body of the next birth. Thus it is possible for a sexually indulgent person to be born with congenital impotence or with imperfections in sexual organs in the next life. Giving exemplary punishment for over- indulgence in this manner, the divine justice also provides the being an excellent opportunity for self-upliftment.

The temporary period of non-function or malfunctions of the affected faculty serves the purpose of caution as well as rejuvenation for the next life. That is to say whichever organ of the body is recklessly misused for a sense of gratification is deemed to be engaged in a physical sin. In the next life that organ is either found missing or appears as a congenital defect. Thus congenital physical deformities or diseases are for remission of sins. (ref. Absolution –Roman Catholic Theory.) The compulsive rest rejuvenates the organ of the body and also relieves the burden of sin from the mind through repentance. When a mental sin is intermixed with a physical sin and it has not been neutralized in the present life by punishment by the state, society or by atonement, it is also carried over to the next life.

However, if the sin is basically physical with little or no input of mental sin (deliberate intention), the biological system immediately takes care of it. For instance- a man gets intoxicated upon taking drugs, or he falls sick because of dietary irregularities or dies on consuming  poison. This is a physical punishment for a physical sin. The body cleans itself of the small physical sins speedily and these are neutralized in this very life. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, serious physical vices, which are also associated with mental stimuli, are carried over by the astral body for being worked out in the next life.

Sufferings arising out of natural calamities :

Of late, science has begun to appreciate the impact of lop-sided human activities on the global life-sustaining elements of nature. For example, indiscriminate use of chloro-flouro carbons by some developing countries is damaging the global atmosphere for entire humankind by producing the greenhouse effect. 
Reckless deforestation in certain parts of the world is creating worldwide ecological imbalances. Such examples illustrate that basic elements of nature are globally interdependent and local changes in them have universal implications. The following observations bring out this eternal truth.

“Pran”- the universal life force, is one of the vital elements of nature, which is an integral constituent of all animate beings. The entire human race is inter-connected with this all-pervasive element. Each spark of life in the individual animate being, which is known as “Atma” in spiritual parlance, is part of the omnipresence of THAT universal life force. 

The science of spirituality maintains that Karma's and Samskaras of all living beings are mutually interactive. In a social milieu these reactions are quite prominent. A criminal brings shame to himself as well as  his parents and family.The latter too  suffer  disgrace  as it could be that  they did not exert enough  influence  to make the person a  good citizen. 
The responsibility for spiritual development of the child (a virtuous Karma) lies with the parents and other adults of the family. Hence, while in the material world only the offender receives the punishment from the law enforcers and the society, in the spiritual world the souls of the parents and other family members too have to suffer partially for  dereliction of duty -which the divine jurisprudence considers to be  a sin. 

When the neighbor’s house is on fire, you cannot remain a silent spectator, because soon you may also become a  victim of the spread of that fire.  If    we are  capable  of preventing, certain sinful acts and yet we look indifferently upon  acts of theft, burglary, rape, murder etc in the hope  that social justice will take care of the same, OR if we  avoid individual responsibility OR ignore  our ability to have intervened to prevent sinful acts  and instead place the burden on the courts of justice and the framework of law- Then the Laws of divine justice do not recognise this path.

Instead,Divine law expects man to abide by time-tested moral codes of conduct and to also make the maximum possible endeavor to prevent others from violating these codes. If some country or community or race does not make an effort to prevent or dissuade others from committing wrong deeds in spite of being in a position of leadership  to do so; or it does not promote morality and ethics despite having the means to do so then the former too has to suffer the  consequences of its inaction's. Such collective   sins   of   inactivity   or   indifference   invite   combined punishment from divine justice.

Earthquakes, deluges, drought, famine, world wars are consequences of collective sins of humanity, in which Karma's for selfish vested interests were given priority and welfare of the rest of the humanity was ignored. Examples are - widespread prevalence of AIDS in certain geographies , drug abuse and alcoholism, disintegration of families, juvenile delinquency, terrorism, environmental pollution etc. Most of the developed nations today suffer from some kinds of these problems and it could be that the developed countries are suffering consequences of their smug indifference towards the welfare of the underprivileged masses in nations  elsewhere."

We are accumulating karma's at three levels. We accumulate as an individual, as a society and as a Nation. Like individuals have Karma's, societies and Nations have their Karma's too. This tells us is that not only are we individually responsible for doing good but we are also collectively responsible as societies and nations to do good and make the world a better place to live in. If we simply look around us and see the problems afflicting both the developed and under developed nations - this statement or Law of Karma seems to be telling nothing but the truth!

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References and Source to the above article:

To read the Book "The Absolute Law of Karma" please click the link below:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/56439617/The-Absolute-Law-of-Karma-by-Pandit-Shriram-Sharma-Acharya
To read more about the author Shriram Sharma Acharya, please click the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Sharma
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The Laws of Karma (2): Categorising a deed as Good or Bad Karma !

To discuss 'The Laws Of Karma' further we now explore  the basis of categorizing a deed as right or wrong- or good karma v/s bad karma. 
In an earlier article on the blog ,we discussed the deity of Chitragupta (Chitragupta is defined as  the Universal life force that is present in all of us, it is an impartial deity that categories deeds as right and wrong based on the motives of the doer). To discuss The Laws Of Karma further we now explore  the basis of categorizing a deed as right or wrong. 

Here we discuss -How does Chitragupta define a deed as wrong or right /good or bad? Is it the deed that is the basis for evaluation or is it the motive and emotion behind the deed? Do circumstances behind the deed play any role in its evaluation? Under The Laws Of karma -is an illiterate peasant treated the same way as an educated millionaire? Is it more charitable to give away ten bucks or is giving away a million a greater act of charity? Does occupying a leadership position come with greater responsibility in the Theory of Karma and Divine Justice?

The following article explains all this and more and is an adapted excerpt from pages 7-11 of the immensely popular book " The Absolute Law of Karma" authored by Shriram Sharma Acharya.

Quoted Text : How is a deed or action categorised as right or wrong, good or bad?
"Let us now discuss the working of Chitragupta. Chitragupta as we already know is the inner mind/ inner conscience  that is a component of the Universal Life Force of creation and is  present in every human being. It is impartial and judges our deeds based on the motives and intent on the person. Now let us discuss why and how this deity evaluates the deeds of a person and what are the yardsticks of this evaluation?

In an earlier  discussion, the reader has been introduced to the concept that our sub-conscious mind, itself operates as the deity Chitragupta. It keeps a continuous micro-record of our good and evil deeds in a condensed form, and like the recordings on a small compact disc, the details of our virtuous and sinful deeds get registered microscopically and subtly on certain neurons on the inner chambers of mind. In this way the writings of Chitragupta could be regarded as shorthand notes taken by the divine stenographer (Chitragupta) for presentation as testimony for objective evaluation of the total span of our life.

The Laws of Karma (1) : What is Karma? Its meaning and significance?

"The Sanskrit term "Karma," is derived from the root verb "Kri," that is to act. Taken in its literal sense, therefore, Karma signifies action, and refers to all actions whether of mind or body. Wherever there is activity of any kind, it is Karma.

In this sense devotion, love, worship, meditation, concentration, discrimination are all Karma; as are also, for the same reason, eating, drinking, walking, talking, or performing any organic function.

Again, every action, as we are aware, is followed by reaction. No action can be separated from its result, as no cause can be absolutely disconnected from its effect. Consequently the secondary meaning of Karma embraces all reactions or results of actions. The chain of cause and sequence, known as the "law of causation," is also called Karma; and every action of body and mind is governed by the Law of Karma or of action and reaction. Being subject to this natural law, we have been working in this world from the beginningless past, and reaping the results of our efforts, whether pleasant or unpleasant, good or evil.

When, furthermore, we consider that the effect of each action leaves its impression on the mind-substance, which impression becomes the seed of a fresh action of a similar nature, we understand the third meaning of the term. In this sense the word Karma includes the accumulated results of past actions or rather the seed forms of future activities. Hence the character of an individual, which is the aggregate result of the works of his previous life may be called Karma. In the same way, the future life will be the sum-total of the results of the mental and physical actions of the present life."......

(The above definition of "Karma" is a quote from Swami Abhedananda's writings on Karma Yoga  . Swami Abhedananda  is  direct disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa and a Gurubhai of Swami Vivekananda)

In continuation of the Karma  theme , Acharya Shriram Sharma takes us through simple explanations that govern the Laws of Karma, in a fascinating book titled "The Absolute Laws of Karma". The enclosed quoted text below are from this book (refer pages 5-7) and the writings  explains to us how the good deeds and bad deeds in our lifetime get recorded, and who exactly documents these records and how these records are maintained and managed?

Quoted Text:

"A verse in the Hindu scriptures (Garura Purana) states that a suppressed conscience takes one to hell and an awakened conscience leads to heaven. This statement tries to explain the enigma of Heaven and Hell, i.e. an individual himself is responsible for creating heaven and hell in his life. 

The Hindu scripture (Garura Purana) describes this phenomenon metaphorically. It is mentioned that in the astral world (Yamlok) there lives a deity named Chitragupta, who maintains the record of good and evil deeds of a sentient being. When a living being dies and its soul enters the astral world, this deity presents the record of its good and evil deeds and, based on this account, the soul is assigned to live in either heaven or hell. Common sense would not accept the existence of a deity like Chitragupta.

The number of human beings inhabiting this earth itself is in billions. If we take into account the other living beings of millions of non-human species, the total number would be beyond mathematical calculation. It would be an impossible task for an individual to work day and night without rest for millions of years maintaining records of each moment of life of innumerable beings of the cosmos. Impracticability of maintenance of such a stupendous record puts a question mark on the very existence of Chitragupta.

However Modern Science substantiates the existence of Chitragupta .Modern science, today explains    the   reality   underlying the metaphorical descriptions given in the scriptures. Science has now established that all mental, verbal and physical activities carried out by an individual having a discriminative mind leave subtle impressions on the deeper levels of the psyche.