Karma

IV

There are two karmic laws: one is the Law of Karma; the other is the Law of Grace. If you come to the feet of the Masters, there the Law of Grace works, I tell you. Your present karma is also softened down – and they give a diary for that. The sanchit karmas are burnt away by giving a contact with the Sound and Light Principle within you. And, while no power can withstand the pralabdh karma, what the Master gives you is to rise above body consciousness daily, so that the pinching effect is lessened. How fortunate we are! That is why it is said it is a great blessing to have a living Master. Don’t you realise that? Even the incarnations undergo the law; they are not exempt from the law of cause and effect – what to speak of the average man.

These are things that are prescribed by the Master. Ever since They have been coming They have been telling us what to do.

Be born anew.

You follow what is the basic teaching behind it? Be reborn. I have been explaining to you in my talks what is meant by being reborn. One birth is into this human body, another is into the beyond. If you are reborn daily – die daily, take cross daily – then? All these should naturally follow. Then you escape the effect of the wheel of life, of karma. Now do you see how important it is to do the practices as prescribed by the Masters? Masters don’t spare anybody.

Guru Nanak says,

Look here, oh Master, what is the use of coming to Your Feet if the Law of Karma is not satisfied?

He gives an example:

What is the use of going to the feet of a lion if the jackals are still howling at you?

It is a great privilege to sit at the feet of a Master, I would say.

So what is meant by being born anew is rising above body consciousness – and that is also what is meant by being twice born. And in ancient India these things were given to children of five, seven, or nine years, when they were initiated. What is learned in childhood, I would say, what is learned in the womb of the mother, that will last forever. We should be very careful how we bring up children, mind that – whether they are in the womb or outside.

So this is what is said: to be born anew, to die daily.

Learn to die so that you may begin to live.

Then you will have Everlasting Life; you will escape – evade – the circle of births and deaths. You follow me? Very delicate point it is; but we must understand it and live by it. How is that done? By the Grace of the Master! If by the Grace of the Master we learn to die while alive, then you know the other law – the Law of Grace – is working, you see. When grain is poured into a grinding machine, those grains which are put in between the blades will be ground; but if some grains stick to the handle of the machine, they will be saved.

So it is said that it is a great blessing to have a Living Master and to keep His commandments. That’s the main thing. So one has therefore to forsake the flesh for the spirit if one is anxious to escape from the perpetual wheel of life on earth. I’m quoting from the Bible; there are similar quotes in other scriptures like that. But if one, under the guidance of a Master, learns the practical process of self-analysis at will and rises into the beyond – death in life – the whole angle of vision is changed. The result is that after that one continues to live on earth without attachment. When you rise above body consciousness daily, all your attachments are gone. You may have hundreds of thousands of dollars with you, or no money at all; you don’t care. You won’t try to usurp the rights of others; you won’t try to squeeze the blood of others – because you will know that you will incur karma, and you won’t want those actions to go along with you. So when you rise above body consciousness daily, the whole angle of vision is changed. You won’t do anything unbecoming because you won’t want to carry it with you – ill gotten, ill spent.

Christ said,

He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me.

You follow my point?

He that findeth his life shall lose it …

Just follow the meaning: very clear, very simple words. If you rise above outer life then you’ll have Everlasting Life.

Learn to die so that you may begin to live.

He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

What life? The one outside which we withdraw from. You see? It is not dying, but withdrawing your attention from all outside and rising above body consciousness. He said, if you do it for my sake, you will find it.

Then again you will find that in the Bible it is said,

If any man will come after me – 

hear, please, what He says

– let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

What is taking up the cross daily? The cross is the symbol of the human body standing with outstretched arms; we are to rise above it. Then we can follow Him. Once we rise above our whole angle of vision is changed, as I said before: you won’t torment anybody; you won’t squeeze the blood of anybody; your whole outer contact with the world will be above-board, fair, honest.

How can we ever expect to be saved from the wheel of coming and going if we don’t keep the commandments of the Master? Saying ‘we have got no time, we have this and that obligation’ won’t do; after all, we are sowing seeds further from day to day.