THEORIES OF KARMA, DEATH AND ATMA

KARMA THEORY

What is Karma? Karma is an activity, which all the human beings
have to perform, until death releases them from this body prison.
Man cannot live for a moment without doing Karma. Even while he is
sleeping, the breathing process becomes his Karma. Karma is the
cause of man's bondage to the cycle of birth and death. The life
has been given to man to sort out the consequences of the previous
Karma deliberately done, in many past lives, as well as in present
life. Man cannot be liberated, until and unless he has sorted out
and neutralized all effects of past and present Karma, and bringing
the Karmic balance to nil.

Many times Kriya (natural activity), is being considered as Karma.
Kriya is a natural activity, which we perform in our day-to-day
life, without thinking, questioning or seeking anybody's advice. If
you get a nature's call, you would immediately run to the toilet,
without thinking or consulting anybody. Every morning we get up,
brush our teeth, take bath, wear clothes and go to work, or go to
the garden, take some exercises, and do many more such acts. Such
acts are known as Kriya. They do not bind us to the `Law of
Karma'. Karma is the action or activity, deliberately done, with
full knowledge and intention of the doer, and also in expectation of
certain results in consequences thereof. This kind of Karma binds
man to the causes and effects of the `Law of Karma'.

There are three types of Karmas. Instant Karma, which brings
instant result. (Such as when you slap someone in the face and he
slaps you back, or you offer a glass of water to someone and
somebody else offers you a glass of water. They are action and
reaction is instantly neutralized leaving no balance behind).

The Mass Karma (Natural calamities like a plane crash, train
accidents, earthquake, floods or cyclone, etc.) and the Delayed
Karma, which baffles the human beings most because its consequence
is not instant and immediate, but takes a much longer time to
appear. The seed needing to be planted, the soil to get fertilized,
and the tree to grow before its fruit can ripen. By the time this
whole process gets over, the past actions are totally erased from
the memory, and the person is confused when he gets the fruit of his
past actions. But be very sure that whatever you shall sow, so you
shall reap. The same theory applies to the `Law of Karma'.

When you sow a seed of Karma and whenever it yields the result and
become the fruit, whether it is sweet or bitter, rest assured that
you and you alone will have to eat it, whether you like it or not,
and no one else will be able to eat it on your behalf, even if
somebody volunteers to do so. Most of the people are under the
mistaken impression that after doing one bad Karma and at the same
time by doing another good Karma, they can mitigate the result of
the bad Karma. If one does something bad to someone, he is sure to
get it back, in the same manner, today or tomorrow, from that very
person himself or by any other person. By the same token, if one
does good to somebody, he is also going to benefit in a similar
manner. Karma is not a bank account. You deposit Rs.5000/- today,
withdraw Rs.3000/- and the balance is Rs.2000/-, so when you again
deposit Rs.1000/-, it becomes Rs.3000/-. Karma theory is not adding
and subtracting like a bank account. It is `tit for tat, blow
for blow, help for help'. It is same like Newton's 3rd
law, `Action and reaction are always equal and opposite'.

In Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna has clearly declared about the
Karma theory. He cautious, "Do the action but do not keep the
desire of any fruit". He further asserts "Dedicate all the actions
to Me". Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba also preaches the same, but
with a little difference. He says, "By doing any action, you may
have a desire, but that desire should be to find God and to realise
and know that you are God". He further guides us by telling us that
whatever work we are doing and in whatever capacity we are doing it,
we should keep in mind, that it is an act of God, done for the sake
of God, and dedicated to God, and whatever the results, are gladly
acceptable to us. By feeling thus, we will not be bound by the cause
and effect of the Karmic Law. Baba will take everything on Himself
and set us free and help us to progress towards liberation.

Baba has given us two paths by which we can cleanse our mind and
make it subtle and pure, so that we are able to understand, the
simple way to liberation. Baba tells us to do Namasmarana every day
(singing the glory of the Lord) with pure and dedicated mind and to
do Seva (service) to the poor and the needy, to the disabled and the
crippled, to the sick and suffering, to the healthy and humble and
to the good and the Godly people. This will illumine our mind, and
we will be able to understand ourselves more clearly.

Baba says that man has unlimited potentialities to realise and
know himself. In one of the recent discourses on Ugadi day, He
said, "Embodiment of love: You can not find in the entire Cosmos
any place or object in which God is not present. The divine is
present on the mountains. The divine dwells in villages and cities.
The Divine is Omnipresent.

Only those who recognise this truth can redeem their lives; they
alone can achieve the goal of human existence. The powers of the
Divine are limitless. Every living being in the world is governed by
some limitations. Birds, beasts and insects are all taken care of by
the Divine in respect of their essential needs like food and drink.
Among all living beings, however, the life of human being is supreme
as it is governed by morality and the good conduct. The Divine has
placed some limitations on the physical powers of man but has set no
limits to the mental powers. Man can achieve whatever he resolves to
achieve. He can even realise God. This Divine power is only given to
human beings.

Ignorant of his limitless divine potentialities, man suffers from
various disabilities by considering himself as human being.

Man today is soaring in the sky as a bird and moving in the ocean
like a fish. He has been able to land on the moon. But unfortunately
he is not able to live like a true human being on earth. This is
indeed a matter of shame.

Man can accomplish anything if he surrenders to God. When he
submits himself to the Will of the Divine, there is no task he
cannot accomplish.

Not realising the true nature of the Divine principle, man wastes
his time on rituals and religious practices of various kinds. God
cannot be realised through such practices. It is only by loving God
and getting close to Him that one can realise one's aspiration.
Swami does not disapprove of Sadhana practices. They are good
activities for using time sacredly. But without service to Godly
persons, they are of no use for realising freedom from the cycle of
mundane existence.

People aspire for liberation (Mukti). They have no idea what
constitutes liberation. Man seeks liberation from the ills of the
body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the Anthakarana
(internal motivator). All these are no doubt necessary. But
liberation in the ultimate sense consists in liberation from the
cycle of birth and death. This means that one should redeem one's
present life so that one is free from rebirth.

Men should pray to God for freedom from rebirth so that they will
not have bodies which are bound to be afflicted with diseases.
People have no clear idea of what Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha
(the four goals) mean. They think that Moksha (liberation) is
something, which you attain after death. But, in fact, liberation
can be attained here and now. Moksha means "Moha-Kshayam" the
elimination of "Moha" (or attachment). People are not ready to
give up attachment to wife, children, property etc., you have a duty
to protect your family. But you must not be immersed in concerns
about them. Realise that love is the most important quality in human
life. It is not love for kith and kin that is precious. It is love
for God that is more valuable".

(Extracts taken from Sanathana Sarathi, April 1998)

KARMA AND GRACE

There are three types of Karma : Past, Present and Future. Present
Karma must continue. It is like the carriage behind which is a trail
of dust. If the carriage stops, the dust will settle on it. A doubt
might be that the carriage cannot forever continue so as to be ahead
of its dust. But the carriage need not always travel on a dusty
road. It can get on the surface highway where there is no dust. The
highway is equivalent to the Grace of God. There is a difference
between the benefit of Grace and the benefit of the Bhakti, or
devotion. A patient with pain is given a sedative, which dulls the
pain. But Grace is an operation that does entirely away with pain.
Make no mistake; Grace does entirely away with Karma. It is like a
medicine which is labeled, `good until 1968'. If used in 1973, the
medicine is entirely ineffective. The body is the bottle, the karma
in the body is the medicine, God puts a date on the `medicine'; so
it is not effective.

(Taken form Sanathana Sarathi, April 1998)

WHAT IS DEATH?

The word `death' creates a fear psychosis, in the mind of human
beings. You tell a person that such and such person has died; it
will produce a wave of shock, in the mind of the listener. When
death occurs in the family, it is announced in the papers `SAD
DEMISE'. According to Author's own understanding, he explains
death as follows:

Death is re-union with God.
Death is like changing clothes and wearing new clothes.
Death is getting merged in God.
Death is to achieve Eternity.
Death is a realisation, that one is not the body, but the Atma
(soul).
Death is attaining a Blissful state (Sat-Chit-Ananda).
Death is to break all the ties that bind, and be permanently
released.
Death is the only certainty.
Death is understanding and experiencing the difference between the
transient and the permanent.

Anybody and everybody, who is born in this world, in any form, has
to meet with death sooner or later. Hence, death should be accepted
as boldly and cheerfully as we accept life. That will help us in
eliminating the fear of death, which has held most of us so tightly
in its grip that we can hardly breathe. In fact, any human being who
has taken a birth in this world may not be re-born again, if he
attains Moksha (Liberation) in this present life. But on the other
hand, each and every human being, who is born in this world, is
bound to die. So death is the only certainty.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, has taken this human form, to
explain to the people and make them understand the secret of life
and death, by proclaiming that each and every human being,
irrespective of any caste, creed or colour, is the Atma (the Eternal
soul) and not the body, He further explains that the Atma does not
die. It is the body, which decays, and is declared dead, when the
Atma leaves it. The Atma is neither born, nor does it die, it ever
remains. On the other hand, the body, which is changeable, perishes
and dies. Anything, which is changeable, is not real. Anything,
which is permanent, is the truth. The Atma is permanent and Eternal.

Baba further explains the reason, why a person is reborn and the
Atma in his present body takes a new body. He says that Karma and
desire are the cause of the rebirth of man. The Atma takes a new
body for the sake of unfulfilled desires and in order to sort out
the balance of one's Karmic effects or the deeds done in many
previous lives. Until and unless man has sorted out all his Karmic
effects, he cannot be liberated and be free from the cycle of birth
and death. Baba says, "Man - Desire = God". Baba teaches us in
many ways, how to control our desires and be desireless. He
says, "The only desire one should have, is the desire to know
himself - that is who am I? Where have I come from? Where have I to
go? This will give one the self-realisation".

Baba says that mind is the cause of all the desires, and the cause
of the downfall of man. If one can learn the art of controlling the
mind properly, rather than taming the mind, one has won half the
battle. Unfulfilled desires give rise to anger, and anger boosts the
ego in man, and then man loses himself. Many times, Baba calls the
mind as `monkey-mind'. Baba says, "If you can make your mind a
die-mind, you can also shine like a diamond. He even gives a
therapy, how to make your mind a die-mind. He says, "If a person is
really dead, does it bother him, if he is being garlanded, or is
being beaten by chappals (Foot wear). He is not affected either way.
Similarly, while you are alive, let your mind not get agitated or
disturbed under any circumstances. Be calm and serene. Act like
a `sooka Patta' (a dried leaf), which is being pushed this way or
that way with every movement of the wind. This will enable you to be
the master of your mind and the mind will stop dictating to
you, instead it will start obeying you". Baba says, "Man's ego,
desires, attachments and sense perception to the worldly objects,
are the cause of man's bondage to the cycle of birth and death".

A scientist created a scientific luxurious cage, with all the
modern amenities, and put a number of mice, male and female inside
the cage, but deliberately kept the door of the cage open. He also
installed, two electrical gadgets, one of red colour and the other
of green. The mice while playing, if they touched the green colour
gadget, they got a piece of cheese, and if they touched the red
gadget, they got a shock. The mice were very happy in the cage,
dancing and playing and making merry, sometimes getting the cheese
and other times getting the shock. Surprisingly in spite the door of
the cage being open, none of the mice would attempt to get out of
the cage, to freedom!

The same is the fate of we human beings. We are so engrossed in
our day-to-day routine involvements, that we accept both happiness
and misery, but would not like to get out of this body prison to
free ourselves in spite of the fact that Baba is here and He has
kept the door open for us, to be liberated, yet we are clinging to
our bodies, love life immensely and are afraid of death. How foolish
of us!

Baba has given us two simple methods of getting Moksha
(Liberation) in this age of Kaliyuga. He says that Namasmarana
(reciting the name of the Lord) and doing Seva (service) to the
fellow beings (Manava Seva is Madhava Seva) will get us the required
liberation, in this present life itself. Let us take advantage of
Swami's assurance, and act as per His Will and Commandments and
earn His Grace, to win our coveted goal, Moksha (Liberation), which
is our sole purpose of being born as human beings.

WHAT IS SOUL (ATMA)?

Many people are perplexed when they try to fathom the meaning of
the word `Soul' or `Atma'. They assure and presume the meaning,
according to their own intellectual wavelength and remain contended
and satisfied.

The definition of the Soul or Atma is as follows:

Soul = Spiritually Oriented Universal Light.
Atma = Automatic Timely Moving Aspect.

In truth, the Atma is that supernatural power (The Inertia)
created by God with His Sankalpa (Will and Command), which always
was, still remains, and will always be present. The Atma never
perishes, nor it ever dies. It always remains because it is the
Truth. It is God.

Electricity is supplied from the power house to all the inanimate
objects, all over the world, known as various gadgets, such as
Ovens, Cookers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, Washing machines,
Televisions, Theaters, Automobiles, Computers and many more such
gadgets. Though the supply of the electricity is the same, yet the
functions of each and every individual gadget are entirely
different.

In a similar manner, the Atma is the supernatural power or the
energy created by God and supplied by God, not only to all the human
beings all over the world but even to the birds, bees, plants,
inanimate objects, planets and to the entire Universe. Without this
Atmic power or energy, the entire Cosmos will come to a standstill,
just as in the case of electricity, when the supply is cut off,
nothing functions and there is chaos and turmoil all over.

Now the difference between the electrical supply from the power
house and the Atmic energy from the source of God is that the
electricity is generated and produced through the human intellect
and resources, and can also be destroyed through the human
resources, like a sabotage operation or by waging a war. But the
Atmic energy cannot be destroyed, unless God Himself as per His Will
or Command withdraws it. Because Atma is God.

Many people always quote and it is also firmly believed
that, "Not even a leaf moves without the Will of God". Bhagavan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba also confirms this statement, in His present
human form. But people try to mis-interrupt the above statement and
put the blame on God for everything they do whether good or the bad.
God is only a witness to the circumstances. He is not the doer of
all the actions committed by the human beings. The fact of the above
statement is that the Atmic power, which is God who resides in our
hearts, prompts us through His energy to act this way or that way.
Without that energy, we will not be able to perform any action but
will be like a dead log. So, Atmic energy is the Will of God, and
not the actions deliberately done by the human beings could be
considered as the Will of God. This illusion is the cause of the
greatest error on the part of the human beings. God is Love. God
cannot hurt anybody or harm anyone. God is Caring, Consoling and
Healer of the all the wounds. How can He ever be revengeful? It is
a bad and vicious judgment on the part of the human beings to hold
God responsible for all their deeds and actions.

The most oft-used question of all the human beings today is, "Why
God created this Universe, with all the misery, agony, hatred and
confusion?" The answer is, "God never Willed it this way. It is we
human beings, who are the cause of all this turmoil in this
beautiful creation of the Loving God, who is so Compassionate and
Perfect".

As the story goes. God was all alone and He felt the urge of
loving Himself. He could not do it single-handed. If one wants to
express love or experience love, one needs at least two people. So
God said, "Let Me become many". This He did in order to experience
to love Himself. As per His Will He became many. Then He thought of
the pleasure and comfort of so many people created by Him. So He
created the entire Universe, with the intention to provide all the
comforts and happiness to them, because everybody was Him and Love
was the Source. He then implanted the secret knowledge in the mind
of human beings, to enable them to come back to Him, as and when
they so desired. Along with this true knowledge He also gave them a
little of free will, to enable them to know and understand the
purpose of their creation and ultimately to go back to the final
source that is Him. The human beings used this little free will for
their own benefit and physical comforts and got themselves so
entangled in the graph, they themselves planted around them that
they forgot the way back to their true home land and are wandering
hither and thither aimlessly and are constantly blaming God for
taking their memory away as they are not able to find the way to
their true home land.

The Merciful God is now caught up, in His own plight of creating
this wonderful Universe, which has now become a vicious circle. He
even cannot undo now what He has already Willed to do. But still out
of His own Compassion, He has been kind and generous enough to take
this human body as Sri Sathya Sai Baba and is doing His utmost to
revive the memory of all the human beings after entire world and is
personally guiding them and showing them the way to reach their true
destinations, the aboard of Eternal Peace that is Bhagawan Baba
Himself.

He says, "As you eat nourishing food to sustain your body and
keep it healthy, so that you can enjoy life, you must also give
proper food to your Soul (Atma) to remain fit and trim and that food
for the Soul (Atma) is doing Namasmarana (Singing the glory of the
Lord through the Chanting of the Bhajans) every day. This will
sustain your Soul (Atma) and keep it healthy". He further says that
it is only through the healthy body and the purified Soul (Atma)
that you can reach your destination - that is you can get Moksha
(Liberation).

Let us all resolve today and put an effort to lead our lives and
move to the path as shown by Bhagawan Baba, so that we all the
individual Atma can get merged with Parmatma (The Power House of all
the Atma).

I cannot refrain but to mention here a small story about the Love
and Compassion of the Lord, which I read somewhere, and cannot get,
it erased from my memory.

There was a man who always believed in God. Since the very young
age, he trusted God, and was sure that God was all the time moving
along with him walking, talking and guiding him all the time. When
he became old, he tried to recollect all his past thoughts. He saw a
vast forest and could always see the two pairs of footsteps
imprinted on the sand of the forest; only to find out that act the
fag end of his life, when he was passing through a desperate
situation of his life, he could notice only one pair of footsteps on
the sand. He then cried and prayed to God and said how can He the
all Merciful Lord leave him alone when he needed Him the most. There
came the reply from the God, "Oh, my dear precious child, when you
see the one pair of footsteps on the sand they are my footsteps
because during that period of time, you were so exhausted that I was
carrying you in my lap". This consoled the man and tears came to
his eyes.

Let us also learn to cry for the mercy of the Lord. We cry for so
many things in life; whenever desires are not satisfied, or when
something we want, we do not receive. But have we ever cried for the
God Himself? Cry for the Love of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Tell
Him that your eyes are yearning to see Him, and to have His Darshan.
Cry out to Him that you cannot live without Him. And see the Miracle
of all the Miracles to happen.

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