Long ago the term Karma has made its way to the western slang vocabulary. From a Yogic perspective though, understanding Karma is important, but even more we should get familiar with the concept of Dharma. Here is a short introduction of this vast philosophic topic by means of a toy train set.
KARMA AND DHARMA
While Karma is the law of cause and effect - applied to our mental, moral and physical actions, Dharma is the path of life above the wheel of karma, aligned with our souls mission and destiny. In the dharmic way of life our actions are towards the Infinite, they don't generate reactions, or karma.
Reincarnation can be viewed like the application of Newton’s Third law of motion in the realm of the soul. At one second in time, at a certain longitude and latitude of space, when you create a cause and do not complete or experience the effect of it, you have to incarnate again to complete it. Liberation is the release from the cycle of birth and death. When our actions no longer create karma, when we live in dharma, rather than karma, we are said to be liberated.
THE GIFT OF A HUMAN BIRTH
Before a soul can have the chance to be liberated, it needs to have the opportunity of being incarnated in a human body. According to the ancient yogic teachings, it takes 8.4 million lifetimes in other forms of existence before taking a human incarnation. It can also take many incarnations as a human being to come to the point of liberation.
“The doctrine of reincarnation is exceedingly unpalatable to many people because it makes each one of us directly responsible for his present condition. We all dislike having to face this responsibility, and some of us prefer to blame God, or our parents, the existing political system or anything outside of ourselves for making us what we are. (...) This doctrine of reincarnation, which at first seems so grim and heartless, actually implies a profoundly optimistic belief in the justice and order of the universe. If it is we — and not God, or our parents, or our fellow men — who have made our present situation, then it is we who can change it. We have no excuse for self-pity and no reason for despair. We are not helplessly doomed. We are under no mysterious prenatal curse. All we need is courage and a determination not to give up the struggle.”
Yogi Bhajan
Recently I found this way of illustrating the life and death cycle by Jivan Joti Kaur Khalsa. It is so beautifully simple, but so incredibly deep that I would like to share it with you. Look at the picture of the toy train set and imagine the following:
"We are the train, with the engine our soul and the attached cars our accompanying physical body, mind and emotions for that lifetime. Also attached is our baggage or karmas for the trip. We encounter challenges along the tracks - opportunities for growth and erasing our karmas. If we pass the tests, we may be able to drop baggage/karma along the way. If not, we may need to pick up additional baggage. The only thing that is constant is the engine, our soul, traveling with us from one incarnation to incarnation. The ultimate mission of the journey is to pay off one's karma, so that the soul can consciously merge with the Infinite."
Jivan Joti Khalsa Kaur PhD D
Would you like to know how to get rid of some of your karmic luggage? Would you like to live aligned to your soul? Please don't hesitate to contact me for further Yogic advice. I am happy to assist. <3
