I am very much inspired by one talk delivered at UCC 2022 by Dr. Vikrant Singh Tomar on “Law of Karma”. This Law of karma is the key to understanding and living life and achieving our purpose of life.
Q. Did you ever suffer something that you don’t think you deserve?
Q. Did you ever get something that you thought you would never get but somehow by God’s grace you got it?
Q. Did you ever think this thought came to you about why bad things happened to good people?
Q. Have you ever thought that why an infant child died of disease, what wrong he did ever for getting the disease and dying out of it?
Q. Why do I attract this abusive relationship or these difficulties or these patterns again and again in my life?
If you have ever thought of these questions, then the answer lies in the Law of Karma. To understand this, we need to understand, “What is the purpose of life”? The answer is the elevation for liberation. What is liberation? Liberation means freedom from all types of fear! Why do I fear? Because I do not know my true divine nature! Why I don’t know my nature? because of Avidhya, Ignorance. What to do now? Get Vidhya, the right knowledge (Para Vidhya i.e., knowledge about true nature)…“Sa Vidhya Ya Vimuktye…!” This means true Vidhya liberates us so get Vidhya and direct experience. With Vidhya and experience, to realize our true nature. To learn or to get Vidhya we need to go to University, the university is the “Universe!” And that’s why we come to the universe to learn. But the moment when we enter into university, act to get the direct experience. This Karma has two meanings – one is, every thought, feeling, word, and action is karma, which is also called Purusharth (my efforts), second is the results of karma also called Karma (whenever I do something we get results). Results can be Visible and Invisible. Visible results can be seen, I didn’t study I get failed but the invisible results of my good deeds are called Punnyam will fructify later and the invisible results of my bad deeds are called Papam I also get later. Invisible results of positive deeds and negative deeds are called invisible variables. All my deeds come back to me and this Papam and Punnyam get accumulated which is commonly called Akashik Records or Sanchit Karma. So, this accumulation of all my deeds ever is called sanchit karma and the particular part of that sanchit karma will be fructified in this birth which is called Prarabdha karma. So Prarabdha karma is those choice-less situations in which I find myself as a result of all the accumulated karma that I had many of my lifetimes. Whenever I am in front of these choice-less situations, Prarabdha, am I helpless?? No! I don’t have a choice of what situation will come but I have certainly a choice that how will I respond! So my response to this situation is called Kriyamaan Karma i.e., Purusharth! Now, how will I respond? This will decide whether we learned in this University called the “Universe”. So what are the basic rules here if I want to deal with the Laws of Karma?
There are four Laws of Karma we need to remember:
- “Every Karma will have an effect”, whatever I think, act, speak, or feel will have an impact back on me. i.e., whatever goes around comes around. Swami Vivekananda said – “Good -Good Bad – Bad and non-escape the Law”. Do good get good and do bad get bad!
- “Law of Karma is more Powerful than Law of Land”. The law of the land i.e., rules and regulations may leave you but the Law of Karma will never leave you ever. Many people are experts in the documentation. How much corruption they do no matter, they make documents clear. They will never be caught in the eye of law of land on the basis of the paper. If the law of land could not seize them, it does not mean that the law of karma will also not seize them. As long as Yudhishthira remained on earth, he remained the king, but he too had to go to hell, even the Pandavas went to hell Law of karma is more powerful than the law of land because it is accounting from the Antahkaran (subtle body).
- “Law of average does not work here”. It means I did a bad deed and I did a good deed, they won’t get equal or nullified. There is a separate punishment for a bad deed and there is a separate prize or reward for the good deed. Just like the judiciary system, if you did good deeds you will be applauded and if you did bad deeds, it won’t be nullifying if you did good deeds, separate punishment for the bad deeds. Yes, it may happen that if we have done a lot of good deeds, then when the adverse situation comes in the form of papam, we will get some courage to bear them.
- “Three Factors theory”. The results of any work depend on 3 things – Drishyakaraka (visible), Adrishyakaraka (invisible – Punny and Paap), and Purushartha (effort). So whatever results are coming in your life, they are coming out of these three things only.
Now the question comes, who is this doer? Our body cannot be a doer, because it is just an instrument. The hand itself doesn’t do wrong things, but when the mind says, then the hand moves towards doing wrong. The Causal body (Vasana) is dormant, so the rest of the subtle body i.e., (mind, intellect, chitt, ahamkara) means our Antahkaran is the real doer. So Law of Karma will apply to the doer.
Remembering these four laws, now let’s we understand how will I know whether I have learnt here in this University to realize myself.
- Lesson No.1– My present is the result of the past and my future is the result of the present. Understanding this, we are in such an encouraging situation that the Law of Karma tells us you take charge if we are really learning here. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future! So, need to understand this and take charge and act now!
- Lesson No.2– Whenever you get confronted by negative or problematic situations or people, call them learning opportunities, because never forget we have come here to learn, it is a University. Difficult times difficult people, these people are the people who you really need it. And at times the person whom you needed the most will teach you a lesson that you need actually nobody! So every person and situation is there to teach us something provided if you focus on learning rather than blaming people. The Law of Karma is not a punishment system it is our evolutionary plan.
- Lesson No.3– Remember “there is not a single blow undeserved!”, Swami Vivekananda said. This means we deserve it for our improvement. So take charge of it.
- Lesson No.4– Accept all choice-less situations, Tathata! Means things are such! So complete acceptance.
- Lesson No.5– Things will repeat, situations will repeat, patterns will repeat till we don’t learn the lesson.
We need to learn the lesson from University called the Universe, and the degree is called Moksha, situations are test papers, people are teachers, some people are really tuff teachers, they really check your patience and see whether you really learned something. So have gratitude to those masters who are creating difficult situations for you. Remember Universe is infinitely compassionate. We are not doomed for our bad deeds to have been born here, we are not original sinners, we are sent with love to learn that all material elements are subject to decay and strive diligently.
Next time whenever you fail tell yourself it’s never too late to start, next time whenever somebody hurts you say thank you, next time, whenever you face a difficult situation, see it as a tuff paper and an opportunity to learn, next time whenever you meet difficult people call then a tuff teacher checking your real merits, next time whenever you in choice-less situation accept it fully, next time when you get a blow call it journey of life and when we leave life with this awareness, we won’t accumulate new karmas because this we will remember our purpose of life that to realize the true nature then we become fearless., because nothing to worry we came here learn and go.
— Dr. Vikrant Singh Tomar