Action comes out of conscious decision. Reaction comes out of impulsiveness. Impulsiveness creates a chain of karma.
Reaction and non-action both create karma, but conscious action transcends karma. Although conscious action does not create new karma, non-action can. A soldier shooting in war and a policeman using tear gas do not create karma, but a doctor who fails to give medicine to a patient in need incurs karma.
Through knowledge and devotion, transcend all karma and be free.
When you are on a spiritual path, you are not thankful or obliged to anyone. In the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna says, “na abhinandati na dveshthi” – he is dear to Me who neither goes on thanking people nor hates anyone. Thanking and feeling obliged indicate that you believe in someone else’s existence rather than in the Divine who rules everything. When you feel obliged, then you are not honoring the principles of karma or the Divine plan.
Appreciate people for what they are; do not thank them for what they do. Otherwise your thankfulness is centered around ego. Be grateful, but do not be grateful for an act. Be grateful for what is.
As every individual is nothing but a puppet of the One, thanking and feeling obliged simply demonstrates ignorance. Everything is ruled, controlled and managed by one Divinity. That consciousness has to shine forth in every act of yours; you do not need to make a mood of it.
So, what should you do when you are grateful to the master? When you have a total sense of belonging, then gratitude does not become an obligation. Such gratitude is for the Divine only and this gratitude enhances your strength.
Humor is the buffer that saves you from humiliation. If you have a good sense of humour, you can never be humiliated, and if you refuse to be humiliated, you become invincible.
Humour brings people together while humiliation tears them apart. In a society torn with humiliation and insults, humour is a breath of fresh air. A good sense of humour relieves you from fear and anxiety.
Humour should be coupled with care and concern. Mere humour, without care and concern or appropriate action, can irritate those who come to you with serious problems. Humour can keep spirits high, yet if overdone it leaves a bad taste.
Humour with wisdom creates an atmosphere of celebration, but humour without wisdom is shallow. Humour without sensitivity is satire and it comes back to you with more problems.
The wise use humour to bring wisdom and to lighten every situation. The intelligent use humour as a shield against humiliation. The cruel use humour as a sword to insult others. The irresponsible use humour to escape from responsibility. The fool takes humour too seriously. Humour is spontaneous; to make an effort to be humorous makes no sense!
How does one cultivate a sense of humour? Humour is not just words; it is the lightness of your being. You can cultivate your sense of humour in many ways, like:
It is the intellect that divides the world, and the same intellect can bring it together by soaking itself in divinity. When the intellect discusses mundane things, it starts dividing the existence. When the intellect discusses knowledge, wisdom and truth, then it starts uniting. It brings forth the transcendental. It rediscovers its true nature, which is non-dual. Whether you complain, compose a poem, or speak knowledge, you are a witness to the flow.
When someone complains or justifies, they are simply saying things spontaneously. In the same way, when you speak knowledge of the self, or spontaneously compose a poem aloud, there is a flow from the intellect. Anything can flow from the intellect, and you are a witness to the flow, whether it is garbage or wisdom. All that you can do is pray to the Divine, ‘Let wisdom, divinity and truth flow through this intellect”.
There are 5 factors that influence the mind - place, time, food, past impressions, associations and actions. Every place you are in has a different impact on the mind. Even in your house you can see that you feel differently in different rooms. A place where there has been singing, chanting and meditation has a different influence on the mind. Suppose you like a particular place, you may find that a little later it will not be the same. Time is also a factor. Different times of the day and year have different influences on the mind. Different types of food that you eat influence your mind for several days. Past impressions, karma, have different impacts on the mind.
Awareness, alertness, knowledge and meditation help erase past impressions. Associations and actions, or the people and events you are associated with also influence your mind. In certain company your mind behaves in one way and with others your mind behaves in a different way. Though these 5 factors influence your life and your mind, know that the Self is much more powerful. As you grow in knowledge, you will influence them all.
Desire, action and awareness of the Self are all manifestations of the same energy that is you. Among these three, one dominates at any one time. When you have many desires, you are not aware of the self. When desire dominates, self-awareness will be at its lowest and that is why philosophers all around the world have advocated renunciation and dropping desires. When desire dominates, stress and sorrow result. When action dominates, restlessness and disease are the result. When awareness dominates, happiness dawns. When your desires and actions are sincerely directed to the divine or welfare of society, then consciousness is automatically elevated, and self-knowledge is sure to be attained.
An example inspires and brings confidence in the application of knowledge, and the visible sign of it is an undying smile. The self knows neither sorrow nor death, yet in it flow all relative events. It is easy to be detached when you are not in love. Being in utter love and yet undisturbed, caring yet not worried, persistent yet not perturbed all are the obvious signs of the Self shining through.
Ten people were walking on foot from one village to an other. On the way, they had to cross a river. Reaching the other shore, they wanted to be sure all had crossed safely. Each one started counting but counted only nine. They became distraught and began to cry for the loss of the tenth. A wise man came along and asked them, “Oh, my dear friends, why are you crying?”. We were ten but now we are only nine” they replied. The wise man saw they were ten, so he asked them to count. Each counted nine but left out himself. Then the wise man made them stand and count off, one by one, and he said to the last person, “You are the tenth”. And they all rejoiced for having regained the tenth.
Some karma can be changed, and some cannot. When you prepare a dessert, if sugar or ghee is too little, you can add more. If some other ingredient is too much, it can all be adjusted and repaired. But once it is cooked, it cannot be reversed. Milk can become sweet yogurt or sour yogurt, and sour yogurt can be sweetened. But neither can be reversed back to milk.
Sanchita karma can be changed and adjusted by spiritual practices. Prarabdha karma cannot be changed. And satsang burns the seed of all negative karmas before they are given a chance to sprout. Strange are the ways of karma. The more you understand it, the more amazed you become. Karma brings people together and separates them. It causes some to be weak and some to be strong. It makes some rich and some poor.
All the struggles in the world, whatever they may be, are the bondage of karma. It cuts across all logic and reasoning. This understanding lifts you and keeps you from getting stuck in events or personalities and helps you in your journey to the self.
So, can a thief say it is my karma to steal? Yes, and then the police have the karma to catch him, too. Only human life has the ability to be free from karma and only a few thousand aim to be free from it. Performing actions cannot eliminate karma. Only through grace can the bondage of karma be burnt.
Compassion can be of 2 types. One is the compassion of the wise, one is that of the ignorant. An ignorant person’s compassion is toward the fruit of an action to alleviate the sickness or suffering that he witnesses. But a wise person’s compassion is toward the lack of knowledge to remedy the underlying reason for sickness or suffering. Compassion for suffering shows ignorance.
Suffering comes because of karma and if you believe in karma, where is compassion? You reap the fruit of your actions. If a judge has compassion for offenders, then the jails will be empty. But are judges cruel to offenders? No. The judge’s compassion is for the lack of knowledge he sees, not for the suffering of the criminals. It is the criminals’ karma.
Often people think compassion is an act, an action. Know that compassion is your very nature. Then you will see that karma and compassion are not contradictory but rather complement one another. Suppose two people come to a hospital. One is suffering from starvation, the other is ill from overeating. What type of compassion should the doctor have toward each of them? This is a riddle for you to solve.
When you are in a harmonious environment your mind picks up any excuse to be in conflict. Often, small things are enough to create a big turmoil. When your survival is at stake, you do not complain that nobody loves you. But when you are safe and feel secure, you start demanding attention. Many people create conflict in order to get attention.
Ask yourself this question. Do you seek harmony in every situation or do you seek to widen the differences and prove your righteousness?
The seed of negativity and the tendency for conflict in you can only be annihilated by sadhana, i.e. spiritual practices. Only speak knowledge. Do not repeat anything bad that someone tells you about someone else. When someone comes to tell you negative things, discourage them. Do not believe it. If someone blames you directly, do not believe it. Just know that they are taking away your bad karma and let it go.
If you are one of the master’s close ones, you will take all the blame of the world with a smile. When you blame someone, you take on their bad karma, when you praise someone, you take on their good karma. Surrender both good and bad karma to the Divine – and be free. Conflict is the nature of the world, comfort is the nature of the Self.
Amidst conflict, find the comfort. When you are tired of conflicts and the games of the world, get into the comforts of the Self. When you are bored with comfort, get into the games of the world. If you are one of the Master’s close ones, you do both simultaneously. People who love peace do not want to fight, and those who fight do not have peace. What is needed is to be peaceful within and then fight.
Just trying to end a conflict only prolongs it. Instead, face the conflict while seeking the comfort of the Self. This is the whole message of the Bhagvad Gita. Krishna tells Arjuna to be centered in peace and to fight at the same time.
God is alive in the world and has been putting up with all conflicts throughout the ages. If God can put up with all these conflicts, you can too. And the moment you agree to be with a conflict, it no longer appears as a conflict to you. The nature of this world is that once you resolve one conflict, another arises. For example, Russia is solved and then Bosnia is in trouble. Or you get a cold, then you get better, then your back hurts, then it gets better. And when your body is fine, then the mind goes. Things in this world run this way, don’t they?
Without any intention, misunderstandings simply happen and conflicts arise. It’s not up to you to resolve them. Just be with them and be alive.
What is health? Health is having all these – a disease-free body; a quiver-free breath; a stress-free mind; an inhibition-free intellect; an obsession-free memory; an ego that includes all, and a soul that is free from sorrow.
Only a healthy bud can blossom into a beautiful flower. In the same way, only a healthy being can achieve the goal they want to achieve. The Sankrit word for health is ‘swastha’, which means to be established in one's self. The ancient scriptures mention that our body has five levels of existence – the environment or the atmosphere: our physical body; life force or prana; mind, which includes our thoughts, ideas, memories and emotions; and the intuitive body, which subtler.
Illnesses manifest in the body either when you violate a natural law, or as a release of past impressions or karma. Karma is nothing but the impressions in the consciousness that can get released through some illness. Another cause of illnesses is violation of the laws of nature. For example, you know you should not eat something at certain time and yet you do. Or, you know you should not let stress collect in your system and yet you overwork.
The capacity of our senses to enjoy or experience objects is limited. When we overdo it, then sickness manifests. When there is an imbalance between the food intake, exercise, and rest, then also chances are we might get sick.
An often overlooked aspect of health is the connection between breath, life force, and wellbeing. Breath is synonymous with life. The primary aim of practices like meditation and pranayama is to enhance prana, the subtle life force energy. Our life force is subtler than emotions. By focusing on the subtlest aspects, you also take care of the gross ones. When you manage your breath and life force, your body also gains strength.
Ninety percent of the impurities in the body are released through the breath, yet we typically utilise only 30 percent of our lung capacity. The breath holds profound and transformative secrets for staying healthy. For instance, each emotion corresponds to a particular rhythm in the breath, which directly impacts specific parts of the body.
By simply observing, you can understand this connection. When we are happy, there is a sense of expansion, and when we are miserable, there is a sense of contraction. Although we experience these emotions and sensations, we often overlook this correlation. When you find it challenging to manage your mind directly, you can do so indirectly through your breath.
You receive energy primarily from four sources: food, sleep and rest, breath (which can be learned through specific exercises), techniques like sudarshan kriya that can energise every cell of the body, and a pleasant state of mind that is achievable through meditation. All these are crucial for our overall wellbeing. Presently, there is research showing how sudarshan kriya and pranayama influence the immune system, indicating that attending to the breath and mind can boost immunity.
Food is a key source of energy for the body and mind. Like breathing, we also need to look at what we are putting in our body. We have a prayer – “annadata sukhi bhava” which means, may the one growing our food; one who is bringing it to our homes and one cooking it be healthy and prosperous. If the farmer is unhappy and unhealthy, then the country cannot be happy and healthy. Jaisa ann waisa mann – we become as the food we eat. Healthy food is not just a commodity but a prescription for a healthy life. Natural farming is not just a way to grow food, but a way to respect and nurture the Earth. Our over 22 lakh farmers, trained in natural chemical-free farming, have proved that natural farming can be just as profitable; reduce the input costs for the farmers, produces healthy crops, and keep the farmer as well as consumer healthy too.
The fourth source of energy is rest. Allocate one week every year for yourself, just how you would service your car. During this time, align yourself with nature, rise with the sun, practice yoga and breathing techniques mindfully, eat moderately, chant, observe silence, and witness creation. Sit for a silence programme. This practice rejuvenates our entire system and fills us with enthusiasm and clarity. It brings a smile from within.
Understanding a bit about our mind, consciousness, and the root of distortions is helpful. Each individual is inherently good; these virtues are simply obscured by stress and misunderstanding. All we need to do is uncover these virtues – much like a room that has been dark for years can be illuminated in an instant with a lamp.
When you have judgement or labels against people, your behaviour starts getting disturbed. You become stiff because of the seeds of negativity you are carrying against others, and your vibration becomes negative. You don’t even realise that you are carrying negativity within you.
Negativity is such that you get sucked into it without being conscious of it. When your intellect becomes sharper and more soaked in knowledge, you will immediately be able to rise above negativity. That is why we need to develop our awareness. To begin, ask yourself these four questions:
1) Are you wasting mental energy paying attention to things that don’t matter?
When the mind expands and recognises its vastness, then trivial matters don’t bother you. Otherwise, you tend to get so stuck in the small things. Every now and then you think: He said so and so to me, she said that to me, that person did not even look at me, that person spoke so harshly to me, and so on. You waste so much of your mental energy paying attention to these useless things. This happens because you have not broadened your vision.
My dear, life is so temporary and fleeting. Your life is short. Where in this short life do you have the time to bother about who said what and why? Why then get stuck in this mess? I tell you, even if God Himself comes and says a few harsh words to you, you should remain smiling and be centred. Think of that as a gift, as a Prasad (blessing or sacred offering).
You should make your mind highly centred and unshakeable within yourself, like a pillar. Do not get carried away or troubled by trivial occurrences around you. Otherwise, you get so troubled by trivial and temporary things. Not only do you get troubled, you also trouble others around you. In fact, we end up disturbing others twice or thrice as much.
Again and again, you must remind yourself to wake up. Come back to awareness and realise that “I am full and content in every way. God is with me at all times, and whatever is required for me will happen at the right time.”
2) Are you blaming or criticising the people around you? Do you harbour any hate?
You are not going to gain anything by blaming or criticising others. And to whatever extent possible, see that you do not create enmity or hatred with anyone. Think deeply and go within your own mind; ask yourself whom you have hatred for. When you realise that, then strive to drop that hatred from within. In fact, I would say that not only strive, but you should also completely do away with hatred and cleanse yourself. Otherwise, there can be no real progress in life.
See, whatever you are to receive, you will surely get it, through someone or the other. When your karma is such that you are to receive something in life, I tell you, even Lord Brahma or Ravana cannot come in the way of that. But if your karma is to receive hurt or discomfort, then whether it is your enemy or your close friends and family, it will come to you and you will have to go through it. Having aversion towards something or someone and avoiding them is a sign of an ignorant person. It is not the quality of a true seeker. A true seeker is happy at all times.
3) Do people feel a sense of peace and calm in your presence?
Once, when I was in college, a person came and stood before me and started yelling at the top of his voice. He was yelling so loudly and angrily that every vein of this throat could be seen visibly. There was so much hatred and anger in his eyes. Why so? It so happened that I became popular with the students and many of them held me in high regard. This person did not like that and became very uncomfortable with all the attention I was getting. He was around 50 or 60 years in age, and the thought of an 18- to 20-year-old boy getting so much attention and following troubled him a lot. He shouted so much and even used very harsh words at me. I did not pay attention or listen to all that. Instead, I felt concerned that something should not happen to him because of all this anger welling up in him. So, I quickly stepped inside and brought some water for him. Seeing the glass of water in front of him, he suddenly became quiet. I asked him to relax and sit down.
See, our presence should be such that no matter who comes to us, they should feel a sense of peace and calm. No matter what kind of person they may be, whatever kind of outward behaviour they may have–remember that is their problem and they would have to pay the price for that. You should pay attention to how you are behaving with others. You should ask yourself this question again and again—is my behaviour loving and cordial with everyone? When I am loving and cordial with everyone, then the entire World is with me and will support me—you should remember this.
4) Do you feel that you need to be treated properly?
You should think, “I do not need any special treatment; I do not expect anything from anyone. I am seeped in love and I will be loving and peaceful with everyone.” When you establish yourself strongly in this belief, then you will see that everyone in the world will be your friend. But if you think, “Oh! This person was so rude and disrespectful to me. Why should I be good and respectful to him?”, tell me, who is really at loss here? Then there has not been much real progress in your life. It would mean you are still stuck in the old patterns of your mind; you are still swimming in the small and dirty pool of your narrow mind. You end up thinking that this is all there is to the world.
My dear, just come out of all this. There is sweet nectar flowing all around you. Imbibe and fill your life with that sweetness instead. What great enmity can you have with someone else? Why do you keep your mind so strained and troubled with such negativity? This causes a lot of stress and damage to your brain.
Yes, one should definitely take the right action at the right time as is required. I am not saying that you do something foolish like handing over your purse to your enemy. But what you can surely do is look at everyone with a smile. You can at least cleanse your own mind and get rid of whatever garbage and negativity are present in the mind.
There is a verse by Kabir: “I went to find a bad person in the universe, and I found none.” All human beings are good! There are negative tendencies in people but that is not the basic human nature. That is only on the circumference.
Why do we behave negatively? Because we are hurt. A happy, joyful person will never do harm to anyone.
Antidote to jealousy is the knowledge that everybody is going to die. You and the person, whom you are jealous of, are both going to die. It is better to compare yourself with your own self. How you were 10 years or five years ago and what you can be yet tomorrow. The fact that you are a sane human being is enough.
What to do if you are jealous of other people? 1. Know that the person has done some good karma in the past and they are now reaping the fruit. 2. Take it as an inspiration to gain merit now. 3. Create a sense of belongingness with them. See that they are a part of you. 4. Think of all you have that they don’t have and feel grateful. 5. Think of so many others who have much less than you have.
What to do if others are jealous of you? 1. Praise them in superlatives. 2. Create a sense of belongingness in them by your kind actions. 3. Know that their feelings are temporary. 4. The best is not to recognise their envy or jealousy at all. If you recognise a feeling as a reality, it only makes your ignorance grow. 5. Know all feelings and emotions are just like passing clouds.
In the Geeta, Krishna talks about all the good qualities. And then He adds that they are already in you. Just like in an atom, the core is positive and the negativity is peripheral. Don’t ever think deep inside you is all sorrow or anger or jealousy. Know that it’s not in the core.
Karma and its consequences are eternal and beyond comprehension. There are some actions whose consequences are immediate and there are some actions with a delayed outcome. If you stick your hand in a fire, you get burnt instantly. However, if you sow a mango seed, or a coconut seed, it takes 4-6 years to grow into a fruit-bearing tree. Some karma can be resolved only by dealing with the consequences, whereas the outcome of some karma can be modified.
For example, while preparing sooji (semolina) halva, the proportion of ingredients can be adjusted with respect to one another. However, once cooked, sooji cannot be reverted back to its uncooked state. That is why doing dhyaan (meditation), japa (chanting), yagna (sacrificial fire), and daan (charity) helps change karma. Our scriptures recommend sharing a few grains of rice from our meal with birds and other creatures; having an attitude of gratefulness for all we have received in life also resolves karma. Do not criticise or condemn anyone. However, on the path of self-knowledge forget about your sins and merits, and just relax and be happy. The more relaxed we are, the more spontaneously things get done.
If we listen to our consciousness, our intuition, we will function in accordance with nature. Everything will be okay. From intuition, from this consciousness of the spirit, the knowledge of Vaastu, Ayurveda, dance, music, art and science, have all emerged. All this will manifest when you meditate. Intuition means that which is right. This power to know is within.
Listen to your own conscience, your gut feeling, and don’t do anything which you don’t want others to do to you. We should do that which brings long-term benefits, even if it is at the cost of some short-term unpleasant situations. We should not do that which gives short-term pleasure but problems in the long run. This is the criteria for karma.
Now you may ask, how does one get rid of negative karma? I want to ask you a question. When the lights were not switched on in the room, there was darkness here, right? When the lights came on, where did the darkness go? Did it go to the other room? Did the darkness escape through the window? In the same way, if negative karma is there, see it as little darkness; there is no light there. Flip the light on and darkness vanishes. How to get rid of negative karma? By meditation, service and knowledge. Serve the needy. Know that it (the negative karma) does not touch you, even shadow cannot touch you.
Reincarnation is coming again into the body. Our mind is energy and, by the law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be destroyed. So, what happens to this energy when someone dies?
Death is almost like sleep. If you understand sleep, you’ll understand death also. While sleeping, the whole consciousness, attention, mind shrinks and one is shut off from outward experiences and moves inward into a void. When you wake up in the morning, the same energy, the same consciousness starts expanding and you wake up. If you carefully observe the mechanism, the last thought that you get just before falling asleep becomes the first thought when you wake up. This gives you a clue to reincarnation.
The mind that is full of different impressions leaves the body. But the impressions remain with the mind and wait for a proper situation for the same mind to come down. So it is the last thought that is more important. If you are happy the last moment before you leave the body, then you get a better body the next time. Karma is that which propels reincarnation. Stronger the impression, the nature of next life could be that, predicted by that.
You might have heard of a tradition in many countries where people would name their grandsons or great-grandsons the same name as that of the grandfather. And you will find in many cases that the grandchildren behave in the same way as the grandfather, even though they are born several decades apart.
This is because when someone dies, the strongest impression in their mind is of their children or grandchildren. This strong impression creates such a karma. So, often you become like the person you hate, and you also become like the person you love. This is because love and hate are the same, one standing upside down. Distortion of love is hate. And the way to get beyond love and hate is through knowledge, through awareness. That something, which is beyond hate, is true love.
Life and the Guru are inseparable. Life itself teaches so many things. When you consciously reflect on it you can distinguish the things you have done right and those which were clearly wrong. The wisdom that allows you to differentiate is the guru principle that resides in each one of us.
What is the role of a Guru? Doing all that you can for someone else’s growth and development without expecting anything in return is being a Guru. Have you played this role to at least one person with a pure heart and clear mind? When you are guiding someone not wanting anything in return from them know that the Guru Tattva or Guru Principle is working through you.
There are three aspects of the Guru principle or Guru Tattva. The first one is in its absolute form which is all-permeating and exists beyond time, then it is in the form of knowledge and the thirdly in the physical form.
When we are ignorant of our true nature we become miserable. When our mind is miserable we look for the cause, which could be a situation, a person or an attitude. This is a cycle of ignorance. Our identification of the Self is limited by thoughts or emotions. So instead of blaming a situation or person for your misery wake up and see that you are caught up in small things, having forgotten who you really are. The knowledge of the Self burns down all karma and brings you closer to the cause of all the causes which is your being. Experiences keep changing but the unchanging experiencer remains at the centre. Again and again, make the effort to know the one who is experiencing.
A Guru’s job is not to fulfil materialistic desires. These are just accessories of life that will happen effortlessly when you have your eyes on the real goal, which is to seek liberation and which is not possible without a Guru. Only he can make you recognise the beauty of inner freedom and the light within.
In Sanskrit, a disciple is called antevasi - one who dwells within a Guru and in whom the Guru resides. The one who has realised that there is nothing other than the all-permeating Guru principle that surrounds him is called a disciple. This ‘feeling of connection’ with the infinite is made possible by the presence of a Guru alone. When you feel connected to knowledge, wisdom and to the Guru, there is no lack in life, celebration happens instantaneously.
There have been many great souls who have walked the path of true knowledge and have shown that it is possible to attain the pinnacle of life’s purpose through surrender and devotion. Their lives serve as an example for humankind.
When we are ignorant of our true nature we become miserable. When our mind is miserable we look for the cause, which could be a situation, a person or an attitude. This is a cycle of ignorance.
Our identification of the Self is limited by thoughts or emotions. So instead of blaming a situation or person for your misery wake up and see that you are caught up in small things, having forgotten who you really are.
The knowledge of the Self burns down all karma and brings you closer to the cause of all the causes which is your being. Experiences keep changing but the unchanging experiencer remains at the centre. Again and again, make the effort to know the one who is experiencing.
Sometimes you feel that you have not harmed anyone in your present life, or even thought ill of anyone, yet you are suffering and going through misery. This question is very common. We often have a very limited understanding of our own life, and think that life is just this short time span of 50-60 years.
You should always remember that people’s ideas, emotions and opinions keep on changing. Everything changes. Many friends become enemies and enemies become friends. You are friends with somebody and suddenly for no obvious reason they become your enemy. You have not done anything wrong to anyone, yet they turn out to be unfriendly towards you. Sometimes people who you do not even know will come to your help. You have not done them any great favour, yet they help you. This friendship and animosity works on a deeper principle called karma.
If your time is good, your worst enemies also start behaving like your friends. And if your time is not good, then your closest friends too will misunderstand you and start behaving like your enemies. If you look back, you will realise that somewhere you have sown the seeds for a tree of thorns. So today, or sometime later, you will surely have to reap the thorns of that tree.
There are two types of karma: one that immediately gives fruit and second, one that yields fruit sometime later. For example, if you place your hand in a fire, you will immediately get burnt, right now, not tomorrow or any time later. But if you sow a mango seed today, it will take a few years for it to grow into a tree. In the same way, some karma yields their fruits almost instantly, while some take time to bear fruit.
Look back at your own life and see how many challenges you have had and how you have sailed through them and come out. This will give you confidence. The other option is to realise that you have to pay some debt, and so you are undergoing what you are undergoing. But do not think that every problem or suffering that you go through is only because of your actions from past lifetimes. Some of it also comes because of the foolishness and ignorance from the present lifetime also.
You cannot simply say that the people who are good keep suffering, or keep going through difficult times. People also suffer because of their own foolishness, and because of their ignorance. If someone says, ‘I am very good and noble’, and then goes and puts his hand in fire, then he is bound to get burnt. You should also have a presence of mind and use your intelligence before you act. To free yourself from the results of past actions, you should be regular with sadhana (spiritual practices).When you see this from a bigger perspective, great inner strength dawns within you and you are able to smile through any situation.
Do not have any hatred towards anybody. Do not hate even the worst enemy, reach out to him. If you can’t reach out, never mind. At least in your heart do not hate anybody. Don’t hate any living being for that matter, not just people. What holds you back is your hatred. More than your love, your hatred holds you back. Because whomsoever you hate, you live with them, you eat with them, you bear with them mentally.
The person whom you hate occupies your upper chamber, your middle chamber and any other chamber left, everywhere they occupy. They occupy all of your time, your life, your thoughts, your emotions your mind, everything. So, if not for their sake, for your own sake better don’t hate anybody.
There are such people who are obnoxious, who you cannot stand, yes. But by hating them, you are destroying your beautiful mind, you are destroying your most precious brain and you are inflicting pain to your delicate heart.
Now how to get rid of it? Friendliness and compassion. People who are ahead of you, be friendly with them. Otherwise, you will feel jealous. And people who are behind you, who are hopeless, who are trouble- makers, have compassion for them. If you don’t have compassion for them, you will be angry and upset. And anyone who you find in between, kshama, forgive them.
Whenever you are disturbed, doesn’t matter about what, ask yourself this question “Did I let it go, or are am I holding on to it?" That determines your state of mind, that determines your peace or lack of it. By letting go you will get deep peace.
Better than the practice is knowledge or wisdom; and better than wisdom is deep meditation and letting go of the fruit of action. Because, when you let go, you renounce the whole past. What is karma? The whole past, that burden we are carrying in our mind. When you let go of that, you get eternal peace, the peace that you are craving for.