Karma –3

The source of our Karma is Free Will. All life forms possess it. It is the distinguishing feature of life much more so than ability to reproduce etc. as defined by scientists because after all a sterile person is a life form too. Whenever we exercise our free wills and make a choice or carry out an action based on that choice, it will influence some other life form or some other part of the Universe and most importantly our own soul and it may therefore generate Karma.

I used the word “may” in the last paragraph because karma may not be generated at all. The Universe as a whole has a Will also, but the Universe does not accumulate karma in the exercise of that free will, because it does not influence anyone but itself. We are all parts of the Universe. We may not realize that fully but the universe is never in doubt of that.

It is possible to align one’s free will with that of the Universe in a spirit of service and when we carry out actions based on that we may not accumulate any Karma. The mighty angelic spirits of the Universe do that most times. Therefore, they do not accumulate Karma most times –either good or bad. Good Karma is a reward but it has its limitations. It lasts for a limited duration. When that good karma is exhausted one is at a loss and back to square one. The angels don’t need that. Their needs are met directly by the Universe since they spend their time in sharing the work of the Universal Consciousness. Different Humans do that to different degrees and to that extent do the work of the angels, (gods, devas and the evolved compassionate spirits included) and to that extent the Universe meets their needs directly.

This work of the Universe is different from service for nature and humanity merely in order to be good and not out of compassion, because service is a good deed and generates good karma. The universe does all kinds of things, some that are regarded as bad by beings affected adversely by it such as earthquakes and hurricanes besides sunshine and the music of the birds. How are we to know what the will of the Universe is? That is an altogether different matter and needs a separate discussion some other time.

There are other ways in which significant Karma may not be generated, because the accumulation of Karma depends on the associated intentions, motivations and emotions rather than the action itself. Thus, if you stepped over an insect and killed it unknowingly yesterday while out on a walk, no bad karma is generated for you personally. However if you killed one slowly and derived gleeful pleasure as you watched it writhe in pain, then a similar karma may await you some day. A military man who kills hundreds of enemies in a war on instructions from his superiors for the protection of his country generates no significant bad Karma whereas another who kills a single person out of anger or for gain accumulates bad karma that invites a similar fate for him sometime in the future. It appears that it is not just the action but its impact on our inner self or souls that decides karma. Thus an action committed at the level of thought that impacts deeply on our soul will generate karma whereas another action actually committed unknowingly will produce none.

The universal eye however misses nothing and our record of deeds is written on our souls and the firmament of the Universe. Based on that the Universe will draw out an individual lesson plan for our education, that education is the unfolding of our individual Karma. We could by pass some of that unfolding through self-study such as (meditation, reflection, prayer or service) or by earning extra credits by doing things like forgiving others who have wronged us. Then as a result some of our similar Karma would be forgiven too. However all such karma that needs action by Nature for the evolution of our soul towards knowledge and compassion will be dealt with by nature. In this karmic education there is no canceling of good and bad karma. The results of both have to be experienced separately. One cannot pass the Language exam by getting extra points in Mathematics.

Karma – 2

The comments to the first post on Karma have raised several issues that need elaboration besides several other aspects that have not been touched upon yet. As Hayden has rightly pointed out the goal of the Karmic principle is not punishment, - how can that be, if the very consciousness that maintains this principle, the Universal Consciousness is compassion and love?

We are born from a portion of this Universe and are therefore the children of the Universe. A loving parent punishes or rewards a child from time to time in order that the child will develop into a better individual and punishment is never so damaging that it causes permanent scars. The goal is progress. The role of the karmic principle is precisely that - To nudge us towards progress into compassion and love.

A way to teach a person a lesson in compassion is to make the person see the other side. Thus a child who hurts others by throwing things may be taught not to do that through explanation. If an explanation does not suffice, he may have to be hurt in a similar way. The principle of Karma works something like that. If we can learn our lessons into compassion in a gentle manner then Nature will teach us that way, but if a harder way of inculcating that learning is required then Nature will do that too. What better way to feel the pain of a poor person, by suffering through an episode of poverty and what better way to feel the headache of another than by suffering a headache oneself. Yet if one is compassionate enough to feel the pain of another without personally undergoing a similar pain then it is not quite necessary to undergo a similar pain. One may like to argue that we are not children any more, but that argument is meaningless when we stand in front of the vast Infinite Intelligence of the universe.

If we have hurt someone and we repent, then it means that it may not be necessary for us to undergo a similar suffering in order not to cause a similar intentional suffering again and we may then be excused a similar reaction. This and other ways that undesirable Karma can be dissolved shall be discussed again in a later post on Karma.

Karma arises from an exercise of our free wills but let us leave that aspect for the third post on Karma. At this stage it is essential to emphasize that the essence of the Karmic principle is love in a Universe where life thrives on the principle of love.

Karma -1

The principle of Karma is a central part of spiritual philosophies. Karma is a Sanskrit word used in eastern philosophies of Hinduism and Buddhism. In Islam and Christianity different words are used to describe the same principle.

Basically the principle of Karma implies that everything we do, good or bad is recorded by the Universal Intelligence and causes a reaction similar to our deed. It is the principle of retribution. As you sow so shall you reap!

The main difference between Christianity and Eastern religion as regards this principle is that in prevalent mainstream Christianity the actions and reactions take place over two lives (this one and the next) whereas in eastern philosophy it is something that can be executed over several life times with a soul taking birth repeatedly.

The principle of Karma is applicable even if one does not believe in more than just one life i.e. this one. All it means then is that it would be executed within this life because as such the principle of Karma has nothing to do with the number of lives a person believes in.

The principle of Karma extends not only to our actions but also our thoughts. According to this principle nothing escapes the attention of the Universal Eye. Everything is recorded and taken into account.

Any person who believes in doing good should have no difficulty in accepting this principle. All it means is that his or her good deeds will be rewarded.

The evildoer who is afraid of the result of his evil would like to deny it vehemently. However he too need not be afraid of this principle because within the principle of Karma are means to wash of that evil.

For those who believe in this principle, its proper understanding can lead to minimizing effort in whatever it is that we have to do with excellent time management. Hayden has been discussing this issue with her readers in her blog and it does seem that most of us suffer from a sense of futility in not being able to achieve all that we wish to do and not being able to manage our time properly. An understanding of this principle will lead to minimising that sense of futility. An understanding of this principle also leads to great contentment with the ensuing happiness.

It is my intention to discuss this principle in more detail in two, three or more posts in small bytes beginning with this one. Putting it down all at once would be too much for a reader who is getting to understand the workings of this principle for the first time.

A Simple Technique for Empowerment – Mindful Breathing

Yesterday while visiting my own blog and that of Hayden and Trish besides an earlier visit to that of Vincent, the realization has dawned upon me that while the various debates on spirituality, life, nature and everything else are enlightening and needed, quite often, there is something else that is needed even more.

Humans in the modern world have to deal with a host of negative influences on a daily basis while trying to get on with their lives. All of us are in need of simple techniques that can empower us to deal with and remove these negativities so that we can do, whatever we have to do, most effectively and joyously.

So here it is, the ancient technique that I have learnt from ancient Buddhist sources - interpreted with further information and personal experience. The technique is mindful breathing. It is free of any philosophical baggage and very easy to practice. It is available from many sources on the Internet today with slight variations including an inspiring variation by Trish called the White Tornado (A link to it is in the comments section of the previous post).

Just observe your breathing, the inward breath brings with it life and energy that is carried to every cell of your body, energizing and cleaning every cell. The same blood that carries this breath to every corner of the body from head to toe is like a good friend of the cells. - A friend that comes in with a gift and leaves with the waste to be released into the atmosphere for recycling.

Watch the outward breath as it carries away the waste and the negativities from your body. While observing the breathing process try not to think of anything at all, just observe, but if you must think of something think of the empowering role of this inward and outward life force.

After inhalation, stop for a moment, locking the indrawn air inside to prevent the two roles of breathing from getting confused with each other. After exhalation, stop again for just a moment so that the stale air goes away and is replaced by fresh air for the next inhalation and so that you can identify distinctly the inward and outward portions of the cycle.

Observe the movements of your body as you breathe. If your thoughts tend to wander away as they will, gently bring them back. Your breathing will soon become deeper, slower and more even, increasing the beneficial affect.

Please do ensure that the entire process is very gentle and natural. Exert no special strain to control the breathing and stops (inhale-stop-exhale-stop-inhale -)

You may do this mindful breathing exercise at any time of the day as often as you wish. It is best done when you are not doing anything else and the body is still, sitting or lying down in bed. It will change your idle moments with empowering ones and fill your heart with joy.

If you can accept the inward breath in an attitude of gratefulness to nature and the universe that provides this air, the benefits will be greater. And nature too will accept your waste outward breath with thankfulness carrying it to the fields, forest and oceans as gifts for other parts of nature, where it becomes in combination with light, the life force of the green side of life, so that the fields, bushes and trees are lush green and gentle bees and butterflies can play amongst the flowers. The very air we breathe is thus recycled over and over again for all eternity.

We can survive without food for a few weeks, without water for a few days and without air for a few minutes. Mindful consumption of food empowers. Mindful drinking of water empowers more and mindful breathing empowers the most.

UPDATE April 25, 2013: Mindful breathing may be regarded as the essence of what has been described as Pranayama in other Sanskrit literature. However the latter word has also been used to describe many modern versions that are not in conformity with the original, therefore the new term is preferred, While mindful breathing and its advantages are described here, it is only a step towards even more advanced spiritual practices. The next step is to combine this breathing with Mantra Jap i.e the repetition of divine words focused on the Universal Consciousness or the Supreme Being. The present post is too brief to include that here. The text on Yoga by Patanjali is the recommended reference for associated details by advanced seekers since it is a difficult text not easily understood by most readers.

From Birds to Telepathy

Love of a Mother

In response to comments by Vincent earlier and Hayden recently, I mentioned about a proposed post regarding my experiences in communicating with birds. A classmate and dear friend of mine Sudheer Pimputkar (an accomplished scientist) who now lives in the US had inquired about it years ago and I shall refer him to this post as well.

The house that I live in presently was built in stages by me beginning in 1991 during my vacations and other breaks in my career. By 1995, the ground floor of the house was more or less complete except for some finishing that continued later. In the center of the roof of the living room was a hole meant for a center light. To hide the protruding wires a small round plastic sheet covered it with another circular hole in the center of it for the light. A similar one existed in the front porch of the house.

I lived in the house through most of 1995 with frequent visits of three or four days to Delhi. At this time a pair of house sparrows occupied the porch roof cavity and made it their home. I had no complaints about that since I did not intend to fix a light there in a hurry. Sparrows are cute little birds anyway and I often leave seeds out for them in the garden.

Sometime later the female of the pair moved into the living room cavity and began nesting there. Perhaps she felt that it would be a safer place to breed. She had noted my timings. Every morning I got up at around seven in the morning and moved outdoors with a cup of tea. This was the time it would follow me and move outdoors too. In the evening I would come out into the front garden again from the front door and it was at that time the sparrow would return to its nest in the living room seeing that the front door was open.

Some mornings, I was late in getting up. The sparrow had scouted the home and found how to reach my bedroom. It would sit on the bedroom curtain rod, patiently wait for me to get up and let it out. If I was especially late in getting up on some days, it would beat with its beak on the metal rod and wake me up. It was a wonderful morning alarm of bird knock that prevented me from getting up very late every morning.

One evening as I was sitting in the front porch with the front door closed. A neighbor dropped in and we began to chat. I forget the topic of conversation but it must have been an engaging one because soon it was beginning to get dark. The poor sparrow must have been waiting patiently somewhere in the front garden for the front door to open and for her to return to her room in the living room roof. When I failed to notice her and continued to chat, she suddenly flew over my head ruffling my hair. I immediately realized her need and responded “ Hang on, I will just open the door”

Later I wondered about this episode and it had seemed to me that the bird had actually spoken to me, “ Come on, open the door, I am late”. But, the sparrow had not made any sound and I wondered if the sparrow had communicated telepathically and I had become receptive to that communication. As our relationship progressed I began to worry about my forthcoming visit to Delhi. I usually caught the morning bus from Jaipur to Delhi and decided that I must ensure that I do not leave the bird locked indoors while away for a few days. I packed my bag for the visit early in the evening and went outdoors waiting for the sparrow to enter inside for the night. To my surprise it refused to come indoors on that day. Therefore next morning I left for Delhi, secure in the knowledge that I had not locked in the bird. After my return the bird returned to her older practice of moving outdoors in the morning and returning in the evening. How did the sparrow know about my visit? Did she read my mind? I believe the answer is yes.

My later experiences, improved my communications with birds, ants and dogs and a variety of animals (Patanjali too suggests that when such abilities are awakened they get awakened for any life from ones attention is directed to). I noted that bird communications consisted of brief sentences ( that they can repeat near endlessly like a small human child) and sometimes paragraphs of two or three brief sentences. Perhaps birds have no need for long paragraphs like humans. I attributed this new found power to a blessing from the ancient King Soloman the Wise whose works I read frequently with utmost respect. He was known to have this ability as well and it has been mentioned in ancient spiritual texts that one tends to acquire the powers of one’s spiritual teachers if the devotion is strong enough. Since then I have read carefully the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali and he too has explained how this power may be acquired by some through certain yogic practices. This and another magical effect of another yogic exercise described by Patanjali, the ability to cross great distances on foot at great speed without tiredness (something that ants do all the time) have helped to affirm my belief in ancient yogic practices and their validity even in the modern scientific world. I must admit that at first although I read the yog sutras with respect I also had disbelief in the stated words until this personal experience. I have included some of these effects in a recent novel (nude besides the lake, available at amazon) although I must say that the effect is very rare and with me occured only on rare occasions. I did ensure that both these experiences were no trick of the mind through whatever method that were available to me. But then I have not been steadfast in my practice. I believe if I repeated the intense practice they can be made to reoccur but I have no desire for that being reminded by a story of an ancient Sage Shankracharya - when he met another sage who had practiced for dog years in the Himalayas and then learnt to fly as a bird - Shankracharya remarked, " what a pity, had you devoted as much effort to your liberation you would have achieved Nirvana." There is another older post in this blog that explains why such powers are not common amongst humans and that explanation has been included in the novel just mentioned too.

The following year, I returned to Delhi to a busy professional appointment in a very crowded city. During the first few months of my visit, I realized that I could read the minds of my professional colleagues realizing what they had to say, before they had said it. Not just face to face but also on phone. Apparently the telepathic ability is not limited by distance. Gradually though, I found the ability fading as I continued to live on in Delhi for nearly four years. It seems that the existence of the ability requires serene, lonely surroundings for it to function. Much interaction with other humans and life in a busy city causes the ability to vanish, at least for me. Since that time the ability has come and gone several times according to my life style that has varied.

My experience with birds is that they communicate with sounds and even gestures but this is the least part of their communications. Most of it takes place by telepathy. That is the reason members of a bird family can locate each other even when they fly apart in dense cities and dense forests. In comparison, human children are lost easily in a crowd.

I have now realized that it is not just animals that can communicate telepathically. Another life form does it much more often because it has more need of it. That is trees, bushes and plants of all kinds. The rose bush in my garden communicates with the bee and the tree with me when it needs water. One of the visitors to this blog had pointed out that plants do not have a brain therefore they cannot feel pain. My response was that the brain is not required for feeling pain but consciousness is required for it and all life possesses that and it is the consciousness that communicates telepathically. In fact it is precisely the reason why most humans cannot communicate telepathically because they suppress their sixth sense through much use of the brain.

PS: This note was updated recently in 2012 to include reference to novel and Yog Sutras by Patanjali and to add the picture of birds from publicdomainpictures.net)

Before writing this post I briefly googled the search term bird telepathy to check out if others had noted the same phenomenon. For sure there is a lot on it in on the Internet. The first site I opened, http://www.abcpsychic.com/pets.html , has a beautiful piece of music as background. I did not linger though, afraid that I would lose the thought chain or time to complete this post. I shall return to it now for that delightful piece of music.

Heaven, Scientifically Speaking

In an earlier post the hypothesis of Pansmeria (Pansmeria is this author's version of the widely discussed theory of Panspermia, discussed in greater detail in alienaccount.blogspot.com) was mentioned briefly. It is a theory that more and more scientists, including Stephen Hawking, have come to accept as the mechanism for creation of life on earth. It is not possible to go into the details of this hypothesis here. The interested reader may refer to panspermia.org for a scientific explanation of it.

Here, we will touch on a few of the aspects of this theory. According to it, life evolved on earth due to the genetic code that arrived from other parts of the universe. It takes many millions of year for advanced life forms to develop while this code is installed in small steps. I almost wrote advanced life like humans but then checked myself. Widely prevalent beliefs, human ego and the fact that human life is the most advanced one intellectually on our planet has led to the widespread perception that humans are the most advanced life forms in the universe. This can hardly be so given that life has been evolving for millions of years on our planet and there is absolutely no justification or evidence for the belief that it will not evolve further into more advanced species. The appearance of humans is relatively recent on our planet. To believe that humans are the most advanced form of life in the universe is like an ape or chimp thinking (if they are capable of thinking that far) that they are the most advanced beings at a time when they were around, but humans had not yet to appeared on earth. One of the corollaries of Pansmeria (or panspermia) is that species atleast as advanced as humans must exist in the universe and probably more advanced species exist.

By an advanced being is implied a being that is not only more advanced then humans spiritually and intellectually (i.e. with higher average E.Q. and I.Q.) but also perhaps in certain physical aspects. We know that humans excel on earth as far as some of the abilities of their limbs and vocal chords are concerned. To guess what other physical abilities may be possessed by species more advanced then humans, we may look at other life forms on earth. There are species that excel in one ability or other, indicating that genes for such availability exist in the physical universe. Birds can fly and ants can lift enormous weights as well as climb enormous heights at great speed (in proportion to their size). There are insects with several limbs. Thus it is possible to imagine that there might be beings with more than two hands, wings etc. along with intellectual, spiritual (i.e. emotional ) and vocal abilities that are superior to humans.

I wonder sometimes what a human-like being with wings would use for clothes or furniture since wings would get in the way. Nevertheless, the question that is more relevant is that except for its fantasy and entertainment value what use it is to even think about such beings, since planets in the universe are situated too far apart for any feasible interaction with such advanced beings ? The laws of physics make travel between habitable planets more or less impossible for all life except bacteria that can hibernate inside a frozen comet.

Communication, especially telepathic one is more feasible than actual physical travel. Further, if all beings possess a non-material spirit or consciousness (it is my belief they do) then travel as spirit may be possible by advanced beings that have greater control over their spirits.

If we accept for a moment that consciousness or spirits can travel through the universe (more or less instantaneously) then many advanced spirits (whom we may term as angelic) probably do travel to earth from their planets. We may term these latter planets as heavenly planets. Such angels in spirit form would not have the physical abilities to move an object but they could create such impressions in the mind of a receptive subject by acting on their thoughts and senses. Perhaps one could develop association with such advanced beings in the interest of one’s own spiritual development. Such an association may explain the prevalence of belief in gods, devas and angels amongst many humans.

A type of physical travel is however possible, if a spirit could occupy another body on earth. But it is not likely that the ethical code of advanced beings would permit taking over the body of another being without their full understanding and explicit acceptance for the act. A simpler and ethical route would be to be born as a new human on earth. That is provided an angelic being gains control over the process, grows up and lives amongst humans for a while possibly as a missionary who has ventured abroad for universal good, while not forgetting its heavenly origin or heavenly parents - Father and Mother in heaven. He may continue to maintain contact with his father in Heaven through telepathic communication (prayer)

Paul Brunton, a renowned Journalist, author and Mystic of the last century believed that Jesus was one such being and that he had identified the star system from whence Jesus came to earth to harvest souls from amongst the Jews, at least initially, for his planet after physical death of the earthly body and rebirth of converted souls on the heavenly planet. One cannot enter heaven unless one leaves this body and is born again. How can a spirit enter a mother's womb unless the older body is relenquished first and how will humans who do not even know where the next wind will flow from understand this in all its details.