a study in karma

7/25/2019 A Study in Karma

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A Study in Karma

By Annie Besant

Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar

(Second Edition, 191!

1 "undamental Principles

# $a%s& 'atural and an)made

* The $a% o+ $a%s

The Eternal 'o%

- Succession

. /ausation

The $a%s o+ 'ature0 A $esson o+ the $a%

9 Karma oes 'ot /rush

12 Apply This $a%

11 an in the Three 3orlds

1# 4nderstand the Truth

1* an and His Surroundings

1 The Three "ates

1- The Pair o+ Triplets

1. Thought, The Builder 1 Practical editation

10 3ill and esire

19 The astery o+ esire

#2 The 5ther Points

#1 The Third Thread

## Per+ect 6ustice

#* 5ur En7ironment

# 5ur Kith and Kin

#- 5ur 'ation

#. The $ight +or a 8ood an# Kno%ledge o+ $a%

#0 The 5pposing Schools

#9 The ore odern ie%

*2 Sel+ )E:amination

*1 5ut o+ the Past

*# 5ld "riendships
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** 3e 8ro% by 8i7ing

* /ollecti7e Karma

*- "amily Karma

*. 'ational Karma

* ;ndiano%ledge o+ >armacomes, perhaps, ne:t in importance to that o+ reincarnation ;t remo7es

human thought and desire +rom the region o+ arbitrary happenings to the

realm o+ la%, and thus places manno%ledge
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# The main conception o+ >arma& CAs a man

so%eth, so shall he also reap,D is easy to grasp But the application o+ this to

daily li+e in detail, the method o+ its %or>ing and its +ar)reaching

conseuences F these are the di++iculties %hich become more be%ildering to

the student as his >no%ledge increases The principles on %hich any natural

science is based are, +or the most part, readily intelligible to people o+ +air

intelligence and ordinary education? but as the student passes +rom principles

to practice, +rom outline to details, he disco7ers that di++iculties press upon

him, and i+ he %ould %holly master his sub@ect he +inds himsel+ compelled

to become a specialist, and to de7ote long periods to the unra7eling o+ the

tangles %hich con+ront him So is it also %ith this science o+ >arma? the

student cannot remain al%ays in the domain o+ generalities? he must study

the subdi7isions o+ the primary la%, must see> to apply it in all the

circumstances o+ li+e, must learn ho% +ar it binds and ho% +reedom becomes

possible He must learn to see in >arma a uni7ersal la% o+ nature, and learnalso, as in +ace o+ nature as a %hole, that conuest o+ and rule o7er her can

only be gained by obedience( C'ature is conuered by obedienceD!

Fundamental Principles

;n order to understand >arma, the student must begin %ith a clear

7ie% o+ certain +undamental principles, +rom the lac> o+ %hich manyremain constantly be%ildered, as>ing endless uestions %hich cannot

+ind +ull solution %ithout the solid laying o+ this basis There+ore, inthis study, ; begin %ith these, though many o+ my readers %ill be

already +amiliar %ith them, through pre7ious statements o+ others and

o+ mysel+

- The +undamental conception, on %hich all later rightthin>ing on >arma rests, is that it is la% F la% eternal, changeless,

in7ariable, in7iolable, la% %hich can ne7er be bro>en, e:isting in the

nature o+ things, in+ormed Theosophists say& CGou must not inter+ere

%ith his >armaD But %hene7er a natural la% is %or>ing, you mayinter+ere %ith it @ust so +ar as you can Gou do not hear a person say

solemnly& CGou must not inter+ere %ith the la% o+ gra7itationD ;t is

understood that gra7itation is one o+ the conditions %ith %hich one has

to rec>on, and that one is per+ectly at liberty to counteract anyincon7enience it may cause by setting another +orce against it, by


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building a buttress to support that %hich other%ise %ould +all to the

ground under the action o+ gra7itation, or in any other %ay

. 3hen a condition in nature incommodes us, %e use our

intelligence to circum7ent it, and no one e7er dreams o+ telling us that%e must not Cinter+ere %ithD or change any condition %hich %e disli>e

3e can only inter+ere %hen %e ha7e >no%ledge, +or %e cannotannihilate any natural +orce, nor pre7ent it +rom acting But %e can

neutralie, %e can turn aside, its action i+ %e ha7e at command another

su++icient +orce, and %hile ; %ill ne7er abate +or us one @ot o+ its

acti7ity, it can be held up, opposed, circum7ented, e:actly according to

our >no%ledge o+ its nature and %or>ing, and the +orces at our disposal

Karma is no more CsacredD than any other natural la%? all la%s o+

nature are e:pressions o+ the di7ine nature, and %e li7e and mo7e%ithin them? but they are not mandatory? they are +orces %hich set upconditions amid %hich %e li7e, and %hich %or> in us as %ell as outside

o+ us? %e can manipulate them? %e understand them, and as our

intelligence un+olds %e become more and more their masters, until the

man becomes superman, and material nature becomes his ser7ant

$A3S& 'AT4=A$ A' A')AE

0

uch con+usion has arisen in this matter, because, in the3est, CnaturalD la%s ha7e been regarded as apart +rom mental and

moral la%s, %hereas mental and moral la%s are as much part o+ natural

la% as the la%s o+ electricity, and all la%s are part o+ the order o+

nature 'atural la% has been, in many minds, con+used %ith human

la%, and the arbitrariness o+ human legislation has been imported into

the realm o+ natural la% $a%s a++ecting physical phenomena ha7e been

rescued +rom this arbitrariness by science, but the mental and moral

%orlds are still in the chaos o+ la%lessness 'ot a di7ine command, but

the immanence o+ the di7ine nature, conditions our e:istence, and%here prophets ha7e laid do%n moral la%s, these ha7e been

declarations o+ ine7itable seuences in the moral %orld, >no%n to the

prophet, un>no%n to his ignorant hearers? because o+ their ignorance,

his hearers ha7e regarded his declarations as arbitrary commands o+ a

di7ine la%gi7er, sent through him, instead o+ as mere statements o+ +act


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concerning the succession o+ moral phenomena in a region as orderly as

the physical

9 $a%, in the secondary social sense, is an enactment laid

do%n by an authority regarded as legitimate ;t may be the edict o+ anautocrat, or the act o+ a legislati7e assembly? in either case the +orce o+

the la% depends on the recognition o+ the authority %hich ma>es itAmong the Hindus %e +ind the ideas both o+ man)made and natural

la% The King, in the conception o+ the anu, is an autocrat, and the

sub@ect must obey? but abo7e the King is a $a% to %hich he in his turn

must be obedient, a $a% %hich acts automatically and is in the nature

o+ things ;n spite o+ his autocracy, he is bound by the supreme $a%,

%hich %ill crush him i+ he disregards it 3ea>ness oppressed is said to

be the most +atal enemy o+ Kings? the tears o+ the %ea> sap the+oundation o+ thrones, and the su++ering o+ the nation destroys the rulerThe physical and the super)physical %orlds interpenetrate each other,

and causes set going in the one bring about results in the other The

King and his /ouncil in ancient ;ndia made the la%s o+ the State, but

these %ere arti+icial, not natural, la%s? they %ere binding on the

sub@ects, and %ere en+orced by penalties, but such la%s di++er %holly

+rom natural la% ;t seems a pity that one %ord should be used +or t%o

things so di++erent as natural and arti+icial la%s, yet they are clearly

distinguishable by their characteristics

12 Arti+icial la%s are changeable? those %ho ma>e them can

alter them or repeal them 'atural la%s are unchanging? they cannot be

altered nor repealed, but lie in the nature o+ things Arti+icial la%s are

local, %hile natural are uni7ersal The la% in any country against

robbery may be en+orced by any penalty chosen by the legislator?

sometimes the hand is cut o++, sometimes the thie+ is sent to goal,

sometimes he is hanged oreo7er, the in+liction o+ the penalty is

dependent on the disco7ery o+ the crime A penalty %hich is 7ariableand arti+icial, and %hich may be escaped, is ob7iously not causally

related to the crime it punishes A natural la% has no penalty, but one

condition +ollo%s in7ariably on another? i+ a man steals, his nature

becomes more thie7ish, the tendency to dishonesty is increased, and the

di++iculty o+ being honest becomes greater? this conseuence %or>s in


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e7ery case, in all countries? and the >no%ledge or ignorance o+ others

as to the+t ma>es no di++erence in the conseuence A penalty %hich is

local, 7ariable and escapable is a sign that the la% is arti+icial, and not

natural A natural la% is a seuence o+ conditions? such a condition

being present, such another condition %ill in7ariably +ello% ;+ you%ant to bring about condition 'o#, you must +ind or ma>e condition

'o1, and then condition 'o# %ill +ollo% as an in7ariable

conseuence These seuences ne7er 7ary %hen le+t to themsel7es, buti+ a ne% condition is introduced the succeeding condition %ill be

altered Thus %ater runs do%n a slanting channel in accordance %ith

the +orce o+ gra7itation, and i+ you pour %ater in at the top, it %ill

in7ariably run do%n the slope? but you can obstruct the +lo% by putting

an obstacle in the %ay, and then the resistance %hich the obstacle

opposes to the +orce o+ gra7itation balances it, but the +orce o+gra7itation remains acti7e and is +ound in the pressure on the obstacle

The +irst condition is called the cause, the resulting condition the e++ect,and the same cause al%ays brings about the same e++ect, pro7ided no

other cause is introduced? in the latter case, the e++ect is the resultant o+

both

11 THE $A3 5" $A3S

1# Karma is natural la% in the +ull sense o+ the term? it is4ni7ersal /ausation, the $a% o+ /ause and E++ect ;t may be said tounderlie all special la%s, all causes and e++ects ;t is natural la% in all

its aspects and in all its subdi7isions? it is not a special la%, but a

uni7ersal condition, the one la% %hereon all other la%s depend, o+

%hich all other la%s are partial e:pressions The Bhaga7ad)8ita says

that none %ho are embodied can escape it F Shining 5nes, human

beings, animals, 7egetables, minerals, are all e7ol7ing %ithin this

uni7ersal la%? e7en the $585S Himsel+, embodied in a uni7erse,

comes %ithin a larger s%eep o+ this la% o+ all mani+estation So long asany one is related to matter, embodied in matter, so long is he %ithin

>armic la% A being may escape +rom or transcend one or other o+ its

aspects, but he cannot, %hile remaining in mani+estation, go outside

this la%

1* THE ETE='A$ '53


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1 This uni7ersal $a% o+ /ausation binds together into one

all that happens %ithin a mani+estation, +or it is uni7ersal interrelation

;nterrelation bet%een all that e:ists F that is >arma ;t is there+ore

coe:istent, simultaneous, %ith the coming into e:istence o+ any special

uni7erse There+ore >arma is eternal as the 4ni7ersal Sel+ Theinterrelation o+ e7erything al%ays is ;t ne7er begins? it ne7er ceases to

be CThe unreal has no being? the real ne7er ceases to beD 'othing

e:ists isolated, alone, out o+ relation, and >arma is the interrelation o+all that e:ists ;t is mani+est during the mani+estation o+ a uni7erse, as

regards that uni7erse? it becomes latent in its dissolution

1- ;n the All e7erything ;S al%ays? all that has been, all that

no% is mani+est, all that %ill be, all that can be, all possibilities as %ell

as all actualities, are e7er in being in the All That %hich is out%ards,the +orth)going, e:istence, the un+olded, is the mani+ested uni7erseThat %hich ;S as really, although in%ards, the in+olded, is the

unmani+ested uni7erse But the 3ithin, the 4nmani+ested, is as real as

the 3ithout, the ani+ested The interrelation bet%een beings, in or out

o+ mani+estation, is the eternal >arma As Being ne7er ceases, so >arma

ne7er ceases, but al%ays is 3hen part o+ that %hich is simultaneous in

the All becomes mani+ested as a uni7erse, the eternal interrelation

becomes successi7e, and is seen as cause and e++ect ;n the one Being,

the All, e7erything is lin>ed to e7erything else, e7erything is related toe7erything else, and in the phenomenal, the mani+ested uni7erse, these

lin>s and relations are dra%n out into successi7e happenings, causally

connected in the order o+ their succession in time, ie, in appearance

1. Some students shrin> +rom a metaphysical 7ie% such as

this, but unless this idea o+ eternal Being, %ithin %hich all beings e7er

are, is grasped, the centre cannot be reached So long as %e thin> +rom

the circum+erence, there is al%ays a uestion behind e7ery ans%er,

endless beginnings and endings %ith a C3hyID behind each beginning;+ the student %ould escape this, he must patiently see> the centre, and

let the concept o+ All sin> into his mind, until it becomes an e7er)

present part o+ his mental euipment, and then the uni7erses on the

circum+erence become intelligible, and the uni7ersal interrelation

bet%een all things, seen +rom the simultaneity o+ the centre, naturally


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becomes cause and e++ect in the successions on the circum+erence ;t

has been said that the Eternal (The Hindu name is Brahman, or more

strictly, 'irguna Brahman, the Brahman %ithout attributes! is an ocean,

%hich thro%s up uni7erses as %a7es The ocean symbolises being

%ithout +orm, e7er the same The %a7e, by 7irtue o+ being a part, has+orm and attributes The %a7es rise and +all? they brea> into +oam, and

the spray o+ the %a7es is as %orlds in a uni7erse

1 5r %e may thin> o+ a huge %ater+all, li>e 'iagara, %here

the mass o+ its torrent is one ere it +alls, and then it di7ides into

innumerable drops, %hich separately re+lect the light? and the drops are

as %orlds, and the rainbo% they ma>e is the many)coloured li+e But

the %ater is one %hile the drops are many, and li+e is one though beings

are many 8od mani+est or unmani+est is one and the same, thoughdi++erent, though sho%ing attributes in mani+estation, and attributes inun)mani+estation? the $585S and His uni7erse are one, though He is

the unity and the uni7erse the di7ersity, He is the li+e and the uni7erse

the +orms 5ut o+ mani+estation >arma is latent, +or the beings o+ the

mani+ested are but concepts in the unmani+ested? in mani+estation

>arma is acti7e, +or all the parts o+ a %orld, o+ a system, o+ a uni7erse,

are inter)related Science declares that no mo7ement o+ a part can ta>e

place %ithout a++ecting the %hole, and scienti+ically all are agreed The

inter)relations are uni7ersal, and none can be bro>en, +or the brea>ingo+ one %ould brea> the unity o+ the %hole The in7iolability o+ natural

la% rests on its uni7ersality, and a breach o+ la% in any part %ould

mean uni7ersal chaos

10 S4//ESS;5'

19 3e ha7e seen that as the mani+estation o+ a uni7erse

implies succession o+ phenomena, so the uni7ersal inter)relation

becomes the seuence o+ cause and e++ect But each e++ect becomes inturn a cause, and so on endlessly, the di++erence bet%een cause and

e++ect not being one o+ nature but o+ relation The inter)relations %hich

e:ist in the thought o+ the Eternal become the inter)relations bet%een

phenomena in the mani+ested uni7erse F the portion o+ the thought put

+orth as a uni7erse Be+ore the mani+estation o+ any special uni7erse,

there %ill be, in the Eternal, the thought o+ the uni7erse %hich is to be,


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and its inter)relations That %hich e:ists simultaneously out o+ time and

space in the Eternal 'o%, gradually appears in time and space as

successi7e phenomena The moment you concei7e a uni7erse as made

up o+ phenomena, you are obliged to thin> o+ these phenomena

successi7ely, one a+ter another? but in the thought o+ the Eternal theyal%ays are, and the limitation o+ succession has there no e:istence

#2 E7en in the lo%er %orlds, %here the measures o+ time are

so di++erent +rom each other, %e catch a glimpse o+ the increasing

limitations o+ denser matter oart tells us o+ a state o+ consciousness

in %hich he recei7ed a musical composition as a single impression,

although in his %a>ing consciousness he could only reproduce that

single impression in a succession o+ notes 5r again, %e may loo> at a

picture, and recei7e a single mental impression F a landscape, a battle?but an ant, cra%ling o7er that picture, %ould see no %hole, onlysuccessi7e impressions +rom the parts tra7elled o7er

#1 By simile, by analogy, %e may gain some idea o+ the

di++erence o+ a uni7erse as it appears to the $585S and as it appears to

us To Him, a single impression, a per+ect %hole? to us an immense

seuence, slo%ly un+olding So %hat is to Him inter)relation becomes

to us succession ;nstead o+ seeing childhood, youth, old age as a

%hole, %e see them successi7ely, day by day, year by year That %hichis simultaneous and uni7ersal becomes successi7e and particular to oursmall minds, cra%ling o7er the %orld as the ant o7er the picture

## 8o up a mountain and loo> do%n on a to%n, and you can

see ho% the houses are related to each other in bloc>s, streets, and so

on Gou realise them as a %hole But %hen you go do%n into the to%n

you must pass +rom street to street, seeing each separately, successi7ely

So in >arma, %e see the relations only one by one, and one a+ter

another, not e7en realising the successi7e relations, so limited is our7ie%

#* Such similes may o+ten help us to grasp the in7isible

things, and may act as crutches to our halting imagination And out o+

all this %e lay our +oundation stone +or our study o+ >arma


10/44

# Karma is uni7ersal inter)relation, and is seen in any

uni7erse as the $a% o+ /ausation, in conseuence o+ the successi7e

appearance o+ phenomena in the becoming, or coming +orth, o+ the

uni7erse

#- /A4SAT;5'

#. The idea o+ causation has been challenged in modern

times, Hu:ley, +or instance, contending, in the /ontemporary =e7ie%,

that %e only >ne% seuence, not causation? he said that i+ a ball mo7ed

a+ter it %as hit by a bat, you should not say that the blo% o+ the bat

caused the mo7ement, but only that it %as +ollo%ed by the mo7ement

This e:treme scepticism came out strongly in some o+ the great men o+

the nineteenth century, a reaction +rom the ready credulity and manyunpro7ed assumptions o+ the iddle Ages The reaction had its use, but

is no% gradually passing a%ay, as e:tremes e7er do

# The idea o+ causation arises naturally in the human mind,

though unpro7able by the senses? %hen a phenomenon has been

in7ariably +ollo%ed by another phenomenon +or long periods o+ time,

the t%o become lin>ed together in our minds, and %hen one appears,

the mind, by association o+ ideas, e:pects the second? thus the +act that

night has been +ollo%ed by day +rom time immemorial gi7es us a +irmcon7iction that the sun %ill rise tomorro% as on countless yesterdays

Succession alone, ho%e7er, does not necessarily imply causation? %e

do not regard day as the cause o+ night, nor night as the cause o+ day,

because they in7ariably succeed each other To assert causation, %e

need more than in7ariable succession? %e need that the reason shall see

that %hich the senses are unable to discern F a relation bet%een the t%o

things %hich brings about the appearance o+ the second %hen the +irst

appears The succession o+ day and night is not caused by either? both

are caused by the relation o+ the earth to the sun? that relation is a truecause, recognised as such by the reason, and as long as the relation

e:ists unchanged, day and night %ill be its e++ect ;n order to see one

thing as the cause o+ another, the reason must establish a relation

bet%een them %hich is su++icient +or the production o+ one by the other?

then, and then only, can %e rightly assert causation The lin>s bet%een

phenomena that are ne7er bro>en, and that are recognised by the reason


11/44

as an acti7e relation, bringing into mani+estation the second

phenomenon %hene7er the +irst is mani+ested, %e call causation They

are the shado%s o+ inter)relations e:isting in the Eternal, outside space

and time, and they e:tend o7er the li+e o+ a uni7erse, %here7er the

conditions e:ist +or their mani+estation /ausation is an e:pression o+the nature o+ the $585S, an Emanation o+ the eternal =eality?

%here7er there is interrelation in the Eternal %hich demands succession

+or its mani+estation in time, there is causation

#0 THE $A3S 5" 'AT4=E

#9 5ur ne:t step in our study is a consideration o+ the C$a%s

o+ 'atureD The %hole uni7erse is included %ithin the ideas o+

succession and causation, but %hen %e come to %hat %e call the la%so+ nature, %e are unable to say o7er %hat area they e:tend Scientists

+ind themsel7es compelled to spea> %ith greater and greater caution asthey tra7el beyond the limit o+ actual obser7ation /auses and e++ects

%hich are continuous %ithin the area o+ our obser7ation may not e:ist

in other regions, or %or>ings %hich are here obser7ed as in7ariable

may be interrupted by the irruption o+ some cause outside the C>no%nD

o+ our time, though probably not outside the >no%able Bet%een 10-2

and 1092 there %ere many positi7e statements as to the conser7ation o+

energy and the indestructibility o+ matter ;t %as said that there e:istedin the uni7erse a certain amount o+ energy, incapable o+ diminution oro+ increase? that all +orces %ere +orms o+ that energy, that the amount o+

any gi7en +orce, as heat, might 7ary, but not the total amount o+ energy

As #2 may be made up o+ #2 units, or o+ 12 t%os, or o+ - +ours, or o+

1#J0, ! and so on, but the total remains as #2, so %ith the 7arying +orms

and the total amount 3ith regard to matter, again, similar statements

%ere made? it %as indestructible, and hence remained e7er the same in

amount? some, li>e $ud%ig Buchner, declared that the chemical

elements %ere indestructible, that Can atom o+ carbon %as e7er an atomo+ carbon,D and so on

*2 5n these t%o ideas science %as built up, and they +ormed

the basis o+ materialism But no% it is realised that chemical elements

are dissoluble, and that the atom itsel+ may be a s%irl in the ether, or

perhaps a mere hole %here ether is not There may be atoms through


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%hich +orce pours in, others through %hich it pours out F %henceI F

%hither I ay not physical matter become intangible, resol7e itsel+ into

etherI ay not ether gi7e birth to ne% matterI All is doubt+ul %here

once certainty reigned Get has a uni7erse its C=ing)Pass)'otD 3ithin a

gi7en area only can %e spea> %ith certainty o+ a Cla% o+ natureD

*1 3hat is a la% o+ natureI r 6' "aruhar, in the/ontemporary =e7ie% +or 6uly, 1912, in an article on Hinduism,

declares that i+ Hindus %ant to carry out re+orms, they must abandon

the idea o+ >arma As %ell might he say that i+ a man %ants to +ly he

must abandon the idea o+ an atmosphere To understand the la% o+

>arma is not to renounce acti7ity, but to >no% the conditions under

%hich acti7ity is best carried on r "aruhar, %ho has e7idently

studied modern Hinduism care+ully, has not grasped the idea o+ >armaas taught in ancient scripture and in modern science

*# A la% o+ nature is not a command, but a statement o+

conditions This cannot be repeated too o+ten, nor insisted on too

strongly 'ature does not order this thing or the other? she says& CHere

are certain conditions? %here these e:ist, such and such a result %ill

in7ariably +ollo%D A la% o+ nature is an in7ariable seuence ;+ you do

not li>e the result, change the preceding conditions ;gnorant, you are

helpless, at the mercy o+ natureno%ledge is necessary +or utilising her

po%ers

** 3ater boils at 122 degrees / under normal pressure This

is the condition Gou go up a mountain? pressure diminishes? %ater

boils at 9- degrees 'o% %ater at 9- degrees %ill not ma>e good tea

oes 'ature then +orbid you to ha7e good tea on a mountain)topI 'ot

at all& under normal pressure %ater boils at the necessary temperature+or tea)ma>ing? you ha7e lost pressure? supply the de+icit? imprison

your escaping steam till it adds the necessary pressure, and you can

ma>e your tea %ith %ater at 122 degrees ;+ you %ant to produce %ater

by the union o+ hydrogen and o:ygen, you reuire a certain

temperature, and can obtain it +rom the electric spar> ;+ you insist on

>eeping the temperature at ero, or in substituting nitrogen +or


13/44

hydrogen, you cannot ha7e %ater 'ature lays do%n the conditions

%hich result in the production o+ %ater, and you cannot change them?

she neither supplies nor %ithholds %ater? you are +ree to ha7e it or to go

%ithout it? i+ you %ant it, you must bring together the necessary things

and thus ma>e the conditions 3ithout these, no %ater 3ith these,ine7itably %ater Are you bound or +reeI "ree as to ma>ing the

conditions? bound as to the result, %hen once you ha7e made them

Kno%ing this, the scienti+ic man, +ace to +ace %ith a di++iculty, does notsit do%n helplessly? he +inds out the conditions under %hich he can

bring about a result, learns ho% to ma>e the conditions, sure that he can

rely on the result

* A $ESS5' 5" THE $A3

*- This is the great lesson taught by science to the present

generation =eligion has taught it +or ages, but dogmatically rather thanrationally Science pro7es that >no%ledge is the condition o+ +reedom,

and that only as man >no%s can he compel The scienti+ic man

obser7es seuences? o7er and o7er again he per+orms his testing

e:periments? he eliminates all that is casual, collateral, irrele7ant, and

slo%ly, surely, disco7ers %hat constitutes an in7ariable causati7e

seuence 5nce sure o+ his +acts, he acts %ith indubitable assurance,

and nature, %ithout shado% o+ turning, re%ards his rational certainty%ith success

*. 5ut o+ this assurance gro%s Cthe sublime patience o+ the

in7estigatorD $uther Burban>, in /ali+ornia, %ill so% millions o+

seeds, select some thousands o+ plants, pair a +e% hundreds, and

patiently march to his end? he can trust the la%s o+ nature, and, i+ he

+ails, he >no%s that the error lies %ith him, not %ith them

* There is a la% o+ nature that masses o+ matter tend tomo7e to%ards the earth Shall ; then say& C; cannot %al> up the stairs? ;

cannot +ly in the airDI 'ay, there are other la%s ; pit against the +orce

that holds me on the ground, another +orce stored in my muscles, and ;

raise my body by means o+ it A person %ith muscles %ea> +rom +e7er

may ha7e to stay on the ground)+loor, helpless? but ; brea> no la% %hen

; put +orth muscular +orce, and %al> upstairs


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*0 The in7iolability o+ $a% does not bind F it +rees ;t ma>es

Science possible, and rationalises human e++ort ;n a la%less uni7erse,

e++ort %ould be +utile, reasons %ould be useless 3e should be sa7ages,

trembling in the grip o+ +orces, strange, incalculable, terrible ;magine a

chemist in a laboratory %here nitrogen %as no% inert, no% e:plosi7e,%here o:ygen 7i7i+ied today and sti+led tomorro% ;n a la%less

uni7erse %e should not dare to mo7e, not >no%ing %hat any action

might bring about 3e mo7e sagely, surely, because o+ the in7iolabilityo+ $a%

*9 KA=A 5ES '5T /=4SH

2 'o% Karma is the great la% o+ nature, %ith all that that

implies As %e are able to mo7e in the physical uni7erse %ith security,>no%ing its la%s, so may %e mo7e in the mental and moral uni7erses

%ith security also, as %e learn their la%s The ma@ority o+ people, %ithregard to their mental and moral de+ects, are much in the position o+ a

man %ho should decline to %al> upstairs because o+ the la% o+

gra7itation They sit do%n helplessly, and say& CThat is my nature ;

cannot help itD True, it is the manarmaD But by a >no%ledge o+ >arma he can change

his nature, ma>ing it other tomorro% than it is today He is not in the

grip o+ an ine7itable destiny, imposed upon him +rom outside? he is in a%orld o+ la%, +ull o+ natural +orces %hich he can utilise to bring aboutthe state o+ things %hich he desires Kno%ledge and %ill F that is %hat

he needs He must realie that >arma is not a po%er %hich crushes, but

a statement o+ conditions out o+ %hich in7ariable results accrue So

long as he li7es carelessly, in a happy)go)luc>y %ay, so long %ill he be

li>e a man +loating on a stream, stuc> by any passing log, blo%n aside

by any casual breee, caught in any chance eddy This spells +ailure,

mis+ortune, unhappiness The la% enables him to compass his ends

success+ully, and places %ithin his reach +orces %hich he can utilise Hecan modi+y, change, rema>e on other lines the nature %hich is the

ine7itable outcome o+ his pre7ious desires, thoughts, and actions? that

+uture nature is as ine7itable as the present, the result o+ the conditions

%hich he no% deliberately ma>es CHabit is second nature,D says the

pro7erb, and thought creates habits 3here there is $a%, no


15/44

achie7ement is impossible, and >arma is the guarantee o+ manyard %hen he understands the relation bet%een dirt

and disease? but he lea7es his mental and moral bac>yards uncleansed,

because he sees no relation bet%een his mental and moral de+ects and

the 7arious ghastly a+ter)death e:periences %ith %hich he is threatened

by religions Hence he either disbelie7es the threats and goes carelesslyon his %ay, or hopes to escape conseuences by some arti+icial compact

%ith the authorities ;n either case, he does not cleanse his %ays 3henhe realies that la% is as in7iolable in the mental and moral %orlds as in

the physical, it may %ell be hoped that he %ill become as reasonable in

the +ormer as he already is in the latter

* MAN IN THE THREE WORLDS

an, as %e >no%, is li7ing normally in three %orlds, the

physical, emotional and mental, is put into contact %ith each by a body

+ormed o+ its type o+ matter, and acts in each through the appropriate

body He there+ore creates results in each according to their respecti7e

la%s and po%ers, and all these come %ithin the all)embracing la% o+

>arma uring his daily li+e in %a>ing consciousness he is creating

C>arma,D ie results, in these three %orlds, by action, desire and

thought 3hile his physical body is asleep, he is creating >arma in t%o%orlds F the emotional and the mental, the amount o+ >arma then

created by him depending on the stage he has reached in e7olution

- 3e may con+ine oursel7es to these three %orlds, +or those

abo7e them are not inhabited consciously by the a7erage man? but %e

should, none the less, remember that %e are li>e trees, the roots o+

%hich are +i:ed in the higher %orlds, and their branches spread in the


16/44

three lo%er %orlds in %hich d%ell our mortal bodies, and in %hich our

consciousnesses are %or>ing

. $a%s %or> %ithin their o%n %orlds, and must be studied

as though their %or>ings %ere independent? @ust as e7ery sciencestudies the la%s %or>ing %ithin its o%n department, but does not +orget

the %ider %or>ing o+ +urther)reaching conditions, so must man, %hile%or>ing in the three departments, physical, emotional and mental,

remember the s%eep o+ la% %hich includes them all %ithin its area o+

acti7ity ;n all departments la%s are in7iolable and unchangeable, and

each brings about its o%n +ull e++ect, although the +inal result o+ their

interaction is the e++ecti7e +orce that remains %hen all balancing o+

opposing +orces has been made All that is true o+ la%s in general is true

o+ >arma, the great la% /auses being present, e7ents must +ollo% Butby ta>ing a%ay, or adding causes, e7ents must be modi+ied

A person gets drun>? may he say& Cy >arma is to get

drun>DI He gets drun> because o+ certain tendencies e:isting in

himsel+, the presence o+ loose companions, and an en7ironment %here

drin> is sold $et us suppose that he %ishes to conuer his e7il habit? he

>no%s the three conditions that lead him into drun>enness He may say&

C; am not strong enough to resist my o%n tendencies in the presence o+

drin> and the company o+ loose)li7ers ; %ill not go %here there isdrin>, nor %ill ; associate %ith men %ho tempt me to drin>D Hechanges the conditions, eliminating t%o o+ them, though unable

immediately to change the third, and the ne% result is that he does not

get drun> He is not Cinter+ering %ith >arma,D but is relying on it? nor is

a +riend Cinter+ering %ith >arma,D i+ he persuades him to >eep a%ay

+rom boon companions There is no >armic command to a man to get

drun>, but only the e:istence o+ certain conditions in the midst o+ %hich

he certainly %ill get drun>? there is, it is true, another %ay o+ changing

the conditions, the putting +orth a strong e++ort o+ %ill? this alsointroduces a ne% condition, %hich %ill change the result F by addition

instead o+ elimination

0 ;n the only sense in %hich a man can Cinter+ereD %ith the

la%s o+ nature he is per+ectly at liberty to do so, as much as he li>es and

can He can inhibit the acting o+ one +orce by bringing another against


17/44

it? he can o7ercome gra7itation by muscular e++ort ;n this sense, he

may inter+ere %ith >arma as much as he li>es, and should inter+ere %ith

it %hen the results are ob@ectionable But the e:pression is not a happy

one, and it is liable to be misunderstood

9 The la% is& such and such causes bring about such and

such results The la% is unchangeable, but the play o+ phenomena ise7er)changing The mightiest cause o+ all causes is human %ill and

human reason, and yet this is the cause %hich is, +or the most part,

omitted %hen people tal> o+ >arma 3e are causes, because %e are the

di7ine %ill, one %ith 8od in our essential being, although hampered by

ignorance and %or>ing through gross matter, %hich impedes us until

%e conuer, by spiritualising, it The changelessness o+ >arma is not the

changelessness o+ e++ects but o+ la%, and it is this %hich ma>es us +reeTruly sla7es should %e be in a %orld in %hich e7erything %ent bychance But according to our >no%ledge are our +reedom and our sa+ety

in a %orld o+ la% ;n the iddle Ages, chemists %ere by no means +ree

to bring about the results they desired, but they had to accept results as

they came, un+oreseen and +or the most part undesired, e7en to their

o%n serious in@ury The result o+ an e:periment might be a use+ul

product, or it might be the reduction o+ the e:perimenter into

+ragments =oger Bacon set going causes %hich cost him an eye and a

+inger, and occasionally stretched him senseless on the +loor o+ his cell?outside our >no%ledge %e are in peril, and any cause %e set going may

%rec> us, +or %e are mostly =oger Bacons in the mental and moral

%orlds? inside our >no%ledge %e may mo7e %ith +reedom and sa+ety,

as the %ell)trained chemist mo7es today ;t is true in all the three

%orlds in %hich %e li7e, that the more %e >no%, the more can %e

+oresee and control Because la% is in7iolable and changeless, there+ore

>no%ledge is the condition o+ +reedom $et us then study >arma, and

apply our >no%ledge to the guidance o+ our li7es So many people say&

C5h ho% ; %ish ; %ere good,D and do not use the la% to create thecauses %hich result in goodness? as though a chemist should say& C5hho% ; %ish ; had %ater,D %ithout ma>ing the conditions %hich %ould

produce it


18/44

-2 Again, %e must remember that each +orce %or>s along its

o%n particular line, and that %hen a number o+ +orces impinge on a

particular point, the resultant +orce is the outcome o+ all o+ them As in

our school days %e learned ho% to construct a parallelogram o+ +orces

and thus +ind the resultant o+ their composition? so %ith >arma may %elearn to understand the con+lict o+ +orces and their composition to yield

a single resultant 3e hear people as>ing %hy a good man +ails in

business %hile a bad man succeeds But there is no causal connectionbet%een goodness and money)getting 3e might at %ell say& C; am a

7ery good man? %hy cannot ; +ly in the airID 8oodness is not a cause o+

+lying, nor does it bring in money Tennyson touched on a great la%

%hen, in his poem on C3ages,D he declared that the %ages o+ 7irtue

%ere not Cdust,D nor rest, nor pleasure, but the glory o+ an acti7e

immortality Cirtue is its o%n re%ardD in the +ullest sense o+ the%ords ;+ %e are truth+ul, our re%ard is that our nature becomes more

truth+ul, and so seuentially %ith e7ery 7irtue Karmic results can onlybe o+ the nature o+ their causes? they are not arbitrary, li>e human

re%ards

-1 4'E=STA' THE T=4TH

-# This seems to be ob7ious& %hence then arises the general

instinct that success in li+e should accompany goodnessI 3e cansuccess+ully combat an error only %hen %e understand the truth %hichlies at the heart o+ it, gi7es it its 7itality, and leads to its spread and its

persistence The truth in this case is that, i+ a man puts himsel+ into

accord %ith the di7ine la%, happiness is the result o+ such harmony The

error is to identi+y %orldly success %ith happiness, and to disregard the

element o+ time A man going into business determines to be truth+ul,

and to ta>e no un+air ad7antage o7er others He sees those %ho are

untruth+ul and unscrupulous going ahead o+ him? i+ he is %ea>, he

becomes discouraged, e7en, perchance, imitates them ;+ he is strong,he says& C; %ill %or> in harmony %ith the di7ine la%, no matter %hat

may be the immediate %orldly resultsD& inner peace and happiness are

then his, but success does not accrue to him? ne7ertheless, in the long

run e7en that may +all to him, +or %hat he loses in money he gains in

con+idence, %hereas the man %ho once betrays may at any time betray


19/44

again, and none %ill trust him ;n a competiti7e society, lac> o+

scrupulousness yields immediate success, %hereas in a cooperati7e

society conscientiousness %ould CpayD To gi7e star7ation %ages to

%or>ers +orced by competition to accept them may lead to immediate

success as against business ri7als, and the man %ho gi7es a decentli7ing %age may +ind himsel+ outpaced in the race +or %ealth? but, in

the long run, the latter %ill ha7e better %or> done +or him, and in the

+uture %ill reap the har7est o+ happiness %hereo+ he so%ed the seed3e must decide on our course and accept its results, not loo>ing +or

money as payment +or goodness, nor seeing in@ustice %hen

unscrupulous shre%dness reaches that at %hich it aimed

-* An instructi7e, i+ not 7ery pleasant, ;ndian story is told o+

a man %ho %ronged another, and the in@ured man cried +or redress tothe King 3hen the punishment to be in+licted on his enemy %as gi7eninto his hands, he prayed the King to enrich his +oe? as>ed +or the

reason o+ his strange beha7iour, he grimly said that %ealth and %orldly

prosperity %ould gi7e him greater opportunities +or %rongdoing, and

%ould thus entail on him bitter su++ering in the li+e a+ter death 5+ten

the %orst enemy o+ 7irtue is in easy material conditions, and these,

%hich are spo>en o+ as good >arma, are o+ten the re7erse in their

results any %ho do +airly %ell in ad7ersity go astray in prosperity,

and become into:icated %ith %orldly delights

- $et us no% consider ho% a man a++ects his surroundings,

or, in scienti+ic phrase, ho% the organism acts on its en7ironment

-- MAN AND HIS SRRONDIN!S

-. an a++ects his surroundings in innumerable %ays, %hichmay all be classi+ied into three modes o+ sel+)e:pression& he a++ects

them by 3ill, by Thought, by Action

- The de7eloped man is able to dra% his energies together

and to +use them into one, ready to go +orth +rom him, and to cause

action This concentration o+ his energies into a single +orce, held in

suspense %ithin him, in leash ready +or outrush, is 3ill? it is an interior

concentration, one mode o+ the triple Sel+)e:pression ;n the subhuman


20/44

>ingdoms, and in the lo%er di7isions o+ the human, the pleasure)gi7ing

and pain)gi7ing ob@ects around the li7ing creature dra% out its energies,

and %e call these multi+arious energies brought out by e:ternal ob@ects

its desires, %hether o+ attraction or repulsion 5nly %hen these are all

dra%n in, united and pointed to%ards a single aim, can %e term thissingle energy, ready to go +orth, the 3ill This 3ill is Sel+)e:pression,

ie, it is directed by the Sel+? the Sel+ determines the line to be ta>en,

basing its determination on pre7ious e:perience ;n the subhuman andlo%er human >ingdoms, desires are an important +actor in >arma,

gi7ing rise to most mi:ed results? in the higher human, 3ill is the most

potent >armic cause, and as man transmutes desires into 3ill, he Crules

his starsD

-0 The mode o+ Sel+)e:pression called Thought belongs tothe aspect o+ the Sel+ by %hich he becomes a%are o+ the outer %orld,the aspect o+ /ognition This obtains >no%ledge, and the %or>ing o+

the Sel+ on the >no%ledge obtained is Thought This, again, is an

important +actor in >arma, since it is creati7e, and as %e >no%, builds

character

-9 The mode o+ Sel+)e:pression %hich directly a++ects the

en7ironment, the energy gi7ing +orth +rom the Sel+, is Acti7ity, the

action o+ the Sel+ on the 'ot)Sel+ The po%er o+ concentrating allenergies into one is 3ill? the po%er o+ becoming a%are o+ an e:ternal%orld is /ognition? the po%er o+ a++ecting that outside %orld is

Acti7ity This action is ine7itably +ollo%ed by a reaction +rom the

outside %orld F >arma The inner cause o+ the reaction is 3ill? the

nature o+ the reaction is due to /ognition? the immediate pro7o>er o+

the reaction is Acti7ity These spin the three threads o+ the >armic rope

.2 THE TH=EE "ATES

.1 C8od created man in His o%n image,D says a Hebre%

Scripture, and the Trinities o+ the great religions are the symbols o+ the

three aspects o+ the di7ine consciousness, re+lected in the triplicity o+

the human The +irst $ogos o+ the Theosophist, the ahade7a o+ the

Hindu, the "ather o+ the /hristians, has 3ill as predominant, and sho%s

+orth the po%er o+ so7ereignty, the $a% by %hich the uni7erse is built


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The Second $ogos, ishnu, the Son, is 3isdom, that all)sustaining and

all)per7ading po%er by %hich the uni7erse is preser7ed The Third

$ogos, Brahma, the Holy Spirit, is the Agent, the creati7e po%er by

%hich the uni7erse is brought into mani+estation There is nothing in

di7ine or human consciousness %hich does not +ind itsel+ %ithin one orother o+ these modes o+ Sel+)e:pression

.# Again, matter has three +undamental ualities responsi7e

se7erally to these modes o+ consciousness, and %ithout these it could

no more be mani+ested than /onsciousness could e:press itsel+ %ithout

its modes ;t has inertia (tamas!, the 7ery +oundation o+ all, the stability

necessary to e:istence, the uality %hich ans%ers to 3ill ;t has

mobility (ra@as!, the capacity to be mo7ed, ans%ering to Acti7ity ;t has

rhythm (satt7a!, the eualiser o+ mo7ement (%ithout %hich mo7ement%ould be chaotic, destructi7e!, ans%ering to /ognition The Gogasystem, considering all +rom the standpoint o+ consciousness, names

this rhythmic uality Ccognisability,D that %hich ma>es that matter

should be >no%n by Spirit

.* All that is in our consciousness, a++ecting the

en7ironment, and all the en7ironment a++ected by our consciousness,

ma>e up our %orld The interrelation bet%een our consciousness and

our en7ironment is our >arma By these three modes o+ consciousness%e spin our indi7idual >arma, the uni7ersal interrelation bet%een Sel+and 'ot)Sel+ being specialied by us into this indi7idual interrelation

As %e rise abo7e separateness, the indi7idual again becomes the

uni7ersal interrelation, but this uni7ersal interrelation cannot be

transcended %hile mani+estation endures This specialiing o+ the

uni7ersal, and the later uni7ersaliing o+ the special ma>e up o+ the

C%orld


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.. Thus %e ha7e three +actors in spirit +or the creation o+

Karma, and three corresponding ualities in matter, and %e must study

these in order to ma>e our Karma that %hich %e %ould ha7e it be 3e

may study them in any order, but +or many reasons it is con7enient to

ta>e the cogniti7e +actor +irst, because in that lies the po%er o+>no%ledge and o+ choice 3e can change our desires by the use o+

thought, %e cannot change our thoughts, though %e may colour them,

by desire? so, in the +inal analysis action is set in motion by thought

. ;n the earliest stages o+ sa7agery as %ith the ne%ly born

in+ant action is caused by attractions and repulsions But almost

immediately memory comes in, the memory o+ an attraction, %ith the

%ish to re)e:perience it? the memory o+ a repulsion, %ith the %ish to

a7oid it A thing has gi7en pleasure, it is remembered, ie, thoughtabout, it is desired, action to grasp it +ollo%s The three cannot really beseparated, +or there is no action %hich is not preceded by thought and

desire, and %hich does not again set them going, a+ter it is per+ormed

Action is the outer sign o+ the in7isible thought and desire, and in its

7ery accomplishment gi7es birth to a +resh thought and desire The

three +orm a circle, perpetually retraced

.0 TH548HT, THE B4;$E=

.9 'o% thought %or>s on matter? e7ery change in

consciousness is ans%ered by a 7ibration in matter, and a similar

change, ho%e7er o+ten repeated, brings about a similar 7ibration This

7ibration is strongest in the matter nearest to you, and the matter

nearest to you is your o%n mental body ;+ you repeat a thought, it

repeats the corresponding 7ibration, and, as %hen matter has 7ibrated in

a particular %ay once it is easier +or it to 7ibrate in that same %ay again

than to 7ibrate in a ne% %ay, the more o+ten you repeat a thought the

more ready the 7ibrationary response Presently, a+ter much repetition,a tendency %ill be set up in the matter o+ your mental body,

automatically to repeat the 7ibration on its o%n account? %hen it does

this F since the 7ibration in matter and the thought in consciousness are

inseparably lin>ed F the thought appears in the mind %ithout any

pre7ious acti7ity on the part o+ consciousness


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2 Hence %hen you ha7e thought o7er a thing F a 7irtue, an

emotion, a %ish F and ha7e deliberately come to the conclusion that it

is a desirable thing to ha7e that 7irtue, to +eel that emotion, to be mo7ed

by that %ish, you uietly set to %or> to create a habit o+ thought

1 Gou thin> deliberately o+ it e7ery morning +or a +e%

minutes, and soon you +ind that it arises spontaneously in the mind (bythe a+oresaid automatic acti7ity o+ matter! Gou persist in your thought)

creation until you ha7e +ormed a strong habit o+ thought, a habit %hich

can only be changed by an eually prolonged process o+ thin>ing in the

opposite direction E7en against the opposition o+ the %ill, the thought

recurs to the mind F as many ha7e +ound %hen they are unable to sleep

in conseuence o+ the in7oluntary recurrence o+ a harassing thought ;+

you ha7e thus established the habit, say, o+ honesty, you %ill acthonestly automatically? and i+ some strong gust o+ desire s%eeps youinto dishonesty on some occasion, the honest habit %ill torment you as

it %ould ne7er torment a habitual thie+ Gou ha7e created the habit o+

honesty? the thie+ has no such habit? hence you su++er mentally %hen

the habit is bro>en, and the thie+ su++ers not at all Persistence in

strengthening such a mental habit until it is stronger than any +orce

%hich can be brought to bear upon it ma>es the reliable man? he

literally cannot lie, cannot steal? he has built himsel+ an impregnable

7irtue

# By thought, then, you can build any habit you choose to

build There is no 7irtue %hich you cannot create by thought The

+orces o+ nature %or> %ith you, +or you understand ho% to use them,

and they become your ser7ants

* ;+ you lo7e your husband, your %i+e, your child, you +ind

that this emotion o+ lo7e causes happiness in those %ho +eel it ;+ you

spread the lo7e out%ards to others, an increase o+ happiness resultsGou, seeing this and %ish+ul +or the happiness o+ all, deliberately begin

to thin> lo7e to others, in an e7er %ider and %ider circle, until the lo7e)

attitude is your normal attitude to%ards all you meet Gou ha7e created

the lo7e)habit, and ha7e generalied an emotion into a 7irtue, +or a

7irtue is only a good emotion made general and permanent (See

Bhaga7an as< The Science o+ Emotions!


24/44


25/44

Gou are born %ith a gi7en character, but you can change it Kno%ledge

is o++ered to you as to the means o+ changing, and each must put that

>no%ledge into practice +or himsel+

0 3;$$ A' ES;=E

9 esire and Acti7ity remain to be considered 3ill is the

energy prompting to action, and %hile it is attracted and repelled by

outside ob@ects, %e call it desire, the lo%er aspect o+ 3ill, as thought is

the lo%er aspect o+ /ognition ;+ a man, con+ronted by a pleasure)

gi7ing ob@ect, grasps it %ithout thought, he is mo7ed by desire? i+ he

holds himsel+ bac>, saying& D; must not en@oy it no%, because ; ha7e a

duty to per+orm,D he is mo7ed by 3ill 3hen the energy o+ the Sel+ is

controlled and guided by right reason, it is 3ill& %hen it rushes outunbridled, dra%n hither and thither by attracti7e ob@ects, it is esire

02 esire arises in us spontaneously? %e li>e one thing, %edisli>e another, and our li>es and disli>es are in7oluntary? are not under the

control o+ the 3ill nor o+ the reason 3e may ma>e up reasons +or them

%hen %e %ish to @usti+y them, but they are elemental, non)rational,

precedent o+ thought 'one the less may they be brought under control, and

changed F though not directly

01 /onsider physical taste? an oli7e, preser7ed inbrine, is o++ered to a child, and is generally re@ected %ith disgust But it is a

+ashionable thing to li>e oli7es, and your people perse7ere in eating them,

determined to li>e them, and presently they are +ond o+ them They ha7e

changed their disli>ing to li>ing Ho% is the change o+ taste brought aboutI

By the action o+ 3ill, directed by the mind

0# THE ASTE=G 5" ES;=E

0* 3e can change desires by thought The desire

nature %ith %hich %e are born is good, bad, or indi++erent, and it +ollo%s itso%n %ay in early childhood Presently %e e:amine it, and mar> some

desires as use+ul, others as useless or e7en no:ious 3e then +orm a mental

image o+ the desire nature %hich %ould be use+ul and noble, and %e

deliberately set to %or> to create it by thought)po%er There are some

physical desires %hich %e see %ill bring about disease i+ le+t uncontrolled&

eating too much, because o+ the grati+ication o+ the palate? drin>ing alcoholic


26/44

liuors, because they e:hilarate and 7i7i+y? yielding to the pleasures o+ se:

3e see in the persons o+ others that these cause obesity, sha>en ner7es,

premature e:haustion 3e determine not to yield to them? %e bridle the

horses o+ the senses %ith the bits and reins o+ the mind, and deliberately hold

them in, although they struggle? i+ they are 7ery re+ractory %e call up the

image o+ the glutton, the drun>ard, the %orn)out pro+ligate, and so create a

repulsion +or the causes %hich made them %hat they are And so %ith all

other desires eliberately choose out and encourage those %hich lead to

re+ining and ele7ating pleasures, and re@ect those %hich result in coarseness

o+ body and o+ mind There %ill be +ailures in your resistance, but in spite o+

+ailures, perse7ere At +irst, you %ill yield to the desire, and only remember

too late that you had resol7ed to abstain? perse7ere Presently the desire and

the memory o+ the good resolution %ill arise together, and there %ill be a

period o+ struggle F your Kuru>shetra F and you %ill sometimes succeed and

sometimes +ail? perse7ere Then successes %ill multiply, and +ailures be +e%?perse7ere Then desire dies, and you %atch beside its tomb, lest it should

only be entranced, and re7i7e "inally you ha7e done %ith that +orm o+

desire +or e7er Gou ha7e %or>ed %ith the la% and ha7e conuered

0 T35 5THE= P5;'TS

0- Students are sometimes troubled because in their

dreams they yield to a 7ice %hich do%n here they ha7e conuered, or +eel

the stirring o+ a desire %hich they thought long slain Kno%ledge %ill

destroy the trouble ;n a dream, a man is in his astral body, and a stirring o+desire, too %ea> to cause physical matter to 7ibrate, %ill cause a 7ibration in

astral matter? let the dreamer resist, as he soon %ill i+ he determines to do so,

and the desire %ill cease "urther, he should remember that there %ill be le+t

+or some time in the astral body e++ete matter, %hich %as +ormerly used

%hen the desire arose, but %hich is no%, +rom disuse, in process o+

disintegration This may be temporarily 7i7i+ied by a passing desire)+orm

and thus caused to 7ibrate arti+icially This may happen to a man %hen he is

either sleeping or %a>ing ;t is but the arti+icial mo7ement o+ a corpse $et

him repudiate it& C Thou are not +rom me 8et thee goneD And the 7ibration%ill be stilled

0. The %arrior %ho is battling %ith desire must not let

his mind d%ell on the ob@ects %hich arouse desire Again, thought is

creati7e Thought %ill a%a>en desire, and stir it into 7igorous acti7ity 5+ the

man %ho abstained +rom action but en@oyed in thought, Shri Krishna sternly


27/44

said& CThat deluded man is called a hypocriteD 'ourished by thought,

desires cannot die They %ill but become stronger by physical repression

%hen +ed by thought ;t is better not to +ight desire, but rather to e7ade it ;+

it arises, turn the mind to something else, to a boo>, a game, to anything

%hich is at once pure and attracti7e By +ighting it, the mind d%ells on it,

and thus +eeds and strengthens it ;+ you >no% that the desire is li>ely to

arise, ha7e ready something to %hich to turn at once So shall it be star7ed

out, ha7ing no nourishment o+ either act or thought

0 'e7er let us +orget that ob@ects are desirable

because o+ the immanence o+ 8od CThere is nothing mo7ing or unmo7ing

that can e:ist bere+t o+ eD At a certain stage o+ e7olution, the attraction to

them ma>es +or progress 5nly later on, are they superseded The child plays

%ith a doll? it is %ell? it dra%s out the germinal mother)lo7e But a gro%n

%oman playing %ith a doll %ould be pitiable 5b@ects o+ desire dra% outemotions %hich aid in de7elopment, and stimulate e:ertion They cease to be

use+ul %hen %e ha7e gro%n beyond them, and in ceasing to be use+ul they

become mischie7ous

00 The bearing o+ all this on >arma is sel+)e7ident

Since by desire %e create opportunities and attract %ithin our reach the

ob@ects o+ desire, our desires no% map out our opportunities and our

possessions herea+ter By harbouring none but pure desires, and %ishing +or

naught that cannot be used in ser7ice, %e ensure a +uture o+ opportunities +or

helping our +ello%s, and o+ possessions %hich shall be consecrated to theaster

09 THE TH;= TH=EA

92 3e ha7e no% to consider ho% >arma %or>s in

relation to acti7ity, the third aspect o+ the Sel+ 5ur acti7ities F the %ays in

%hich %e a++ect the outer %orld o+ matter F spin the third thread o+ our

>arma, and in many respects this is the least important 5ur thoughts and our

desires so soon as they +lo% out%ards, by producing 7ibrations in the mental

and astral matter surrounding us, or by creating speci+ic thought)+orms and

desire)+orms, become acti7ities, are our action on the outer %orlds o+ li+e

and +orm, o+ consciousness and bodies The moment they speed out%ards

they a++ect other things and other people, they are the action, or the reaction

as the case may be, o+ the organism on the en7ironment The reaction o+ our

thoughts on oursel7es, as %e ha7e seen, is the building o+ character and o+


28/44

+aculty? the reaction o+ our desires on oursel7es is the gaining o+

opportunities and ob@ects and o+ po%er? the reaction o+ our acti7ities on

oursel7es is our en7ironment, the conditions and circumstances, the +riends

and enemies, that surround us The nearest circumstance, the e:pression o+

part o+ our past acti7ities, is our physical body? this is shaped +or us by an

elemental specially created +or the tas>? our body is naturearma %e bring %ith us F

our thought)nature and our desire)nature, the germinal tendencies %e ha7e

created in our age)long past? the third part o+ >arma %e are born into? that

%hich limits our Sel+)e:pression and constrains us? our past action on the

e:ternal %orld reacts upon us as the sum o+ our limitations F our

en7ironment, including our physical body

91 ;t is probable that a close study o+ past acti7ities

and present en7ironment %ould result in a >no%ledge o+ details that at

present %e do not possess 3e read in Buddhist and Hindu Scriptures a mass

o+ details on this sub@ect, probably dra%n +rom meticulous care+ul

obser7ation At present, %e modern students can only a++irm a +e% broad

+acts E:treme cruelty in+licted on the helpless F on heretics, on children, on

animals F reacts on inuisitors, on brutal parents and teachers, on

7i7isectors, as physical de+ormity, more or less re7olting and e:treme,

according to the nature and e:tent o+ the cruelty

9# PE="E/T 64ST;/E

9* "rom the physical agony in+licted results physical

agony endured, +or >arma is the restoration o+ the euilibrium disturbed

oti7e, in this region, does not mitigate, any more than the pain o+ a burn is

mitigated because the in@ury has been sustained in sa7ing a child +rom the

+ire 3here a good moti7e e:isted, ho%e7er intellectually misdirected F as

the sa7ing o+ souls +rom the torture o+ hell, in the case o+ the inuisitor, or

the sa7ing o+ bodies +rom the torture o+ disease, in the case o+ the 7i7isectorF it has its +ull result in the region o+ the character Hence %e may +ind a

person born de+ormed, %ith a gentle and patient character, sho%ing that in a

past li+e he stro7e to see the right and did the %rong The Angels o+

6udgment are utterly @ust, and the golden thread o+ completely misdirected

lo7e may gleam beside the blac> thread %o7en by cruelty? none the less %ill

the blac> thread dra% to the doer o+ cruelty a misshapen body 5n the other


29/44

hand, %here lust o+ po%er and indi++erence to the pain o+ others ha7e

mingled their bale+ul in+luences %ith the in+liction o+ cruelty, there %ill be

+ound also a mental and emotional t%ist? a historical case is that o+ arat,

%ho, instead o+ e:piating the cruelty o+ the past, intensi+ied it by ne% cruelty

in the 7ery li+e in %hich he %as reaping the har7est o+ pre7ious e7il

Hereditary and congenital diseases, again, are the reaction +rom past

misdeeds The drun>ard o+ a pre7ious li+e %ill be born into a +amily in %hich

drun>enness has le+t diseases o+ the ner7es F epilepsy and the li>e The

pro+ligate %ill be born into a +amily tainted %ith diseases %hich spring +rom

se:ual 7ice A Cbad heredityD is the reaction +rom %rong acti7ities in the

past 5+ten the man %ho is reaping these sad har7ests sho%s in his moral

nature that he has purged himsel+ +rom the e7il, though the physical

har7esting remains A stead+ast patience, a s%eet enduring content, tell that

the e7il lies behind, that 7ictory has been gained, though the %ounds

sustained in the con+lict smart and sting So may a soldier, sorely maimed ina +ierce battle remain mutilated +or the rest o+ his physical li+e, and yet not

regret %ith any >eenness the anguish and the loss %hich mar> that he has

gloriously discharged his duty to his "lag And these %arriors %ho ha7e

conuered in a greater battle need not lament too bitterly o7er the %ea>ness

or de+ormity o+ a body %hich tells o+ a stri+e %hich is past, but may %ear

patiently the badge o+ a struggle %ith an e7il they ha7e o7ercome, >no%ing

that in another li+e no scar o+ that struggle shall remain

9 54= E';=5'E'T

9- The nation and the +amily into %hich a man is born

gi7e him the +ield suitable +or the de7elopment o+ +aculties he needs, or +or

the e:ercise o+ +aculties he has gained, %hich are reuired +or the helping o+

others at that place and time Sometimes a strenuous li+e passed in the

company o+ superiors, %hich has stimulated latent po%ers and uic>ened the

gro%th o+ germinal +aculties, is +ollo%ed by one o+ ease amid ordinary

people, in order to test the reality o+ the strength acuired and the solidity o+

the apparent conuest o7er sel+ Sometimes, %hen an ego has de+initely

gained certain mental +aculties and has secured them as part o+ his mentaleuipment by su++icient practice, he %ill be born into surroundings %here

these are useless, and con+ronted by tas>s o+ a most uncongenial nature A

man ignorant o+ >arma %ill +ret and +ume, %ill per+orm grudgingly his

distaste+ul duties, and %ill thin> regret+ully o+ his C%asted talents, %hile that

+ool 6ones is in a place %hich he is not +it to +illD? he does not realise that

6ones has to learn a lesson %hich he himsel+ has already mastered, and that


30/44

he himsel+ %ould not be e7ol7ing +urther by repeating o7er again that %hich

he has already done ;n a similar situation, the >no%er o+ >arma %ill uietly

study his surroundings, %ill realise that he %ould gain nothing by doing that

%hich it %ould be easy +or him to do F ie, that %hich he has already done

%ell in the past F and %ill address himsel+ contentedly to the uncongenial

%or>, see>ing to understand %hat it has to teach him, and resolutely settling

himsel+ to learn the ne% lesson

9. 54= K;TH A' K;'

9 So also %ith an ego %ho +inds himsel+ entangled

%ith +amily responsibilities and duties, %hen he %ould +ain spring +or%ard

to ans%er a call +or helpers in a larger %or> ;+ ignorant o+ >arma, he %ill

+ret against his bonds, or e7en brea> them, and thus ensure their return to the

+uture The >no%er o+ >arma %ill see in these duties the reactions +rom hiso%n past acti7ities, and %ill patiently accept and discharge them? he >no%s

that %hen they are +ully paid, they %ill drop a%ay +rom him and lea7e him

+ree, and that mean%hile they ha7e some lessons to teach him %hich it is

incumbent upon him to learn? he %ill see> to see those lessons and to learn

them, sure that the po%ers they e7o>e %ill ma>e him a more e++icient helper

%hen he is +ree to ans%er to the call to %hich his %hole nature is thrilling in

response

90 Again, the >no%er o+ >arma %ill see> to establish

in his nation and his +amily, conditions %hich %ill attract to each egos o+ anad7anced and noble type He %ill see to it that his household arrangements,

its scrupulous cleanliness, its hygienic conditions, its harmony, good +eeling,

and lo7ing)>indness, the purity o+ its mental and moral atmosphere, shall

+orm a magnet o+ attraction, dra%ing to%ards it and into relationship %ith it

egos o+ a high le7el, %hether they be see>ing embodiment F i+ young parents

are members o+ the household F or be already in bodies, coming into the

+amily as +uture husbands and %i7es, +riends, or dependents So +ar as his

po%er e:tends, he %ill help in +orming similar conditions in his to%n, his

pro7ince, his country He >no%s that egos must be born amid surroundingssuitable +or them, and that, there+ore, by pro7iding good surroundings he

%ill attract egos o+ desirable type

99 54= 'AT;5'


31/44

122 3ith regard to national en7ironment, the >no%er o+

>arma must care+ully study the national conditions into %hich he is born, in

order to see %hether he is born therein chie+ly to de7elop ualities in %hich

he is de+icient, or chie+ly to help his nation by ualities %ell de7eloped in

himsel+ ;n times o+ transition, many egos may be born into a nation, %ith

ualities o+ the type o+ reuired in the ne% conditions into %hich that nation

is passing Thus, in America, %hich %ill presently de7elop the beginnings o+

a /ommon%ealth in %hich cooperation shall replace competition, there ha7e

been born a number o+ egos o+ 7ast organising ability, o+ highly de7eloped

%ill po%er, and >een commercial intelligence? they ha7e created Trusts,

organisations o+ industry built %ith consummate ability, mani+esting the

economical ad7antages o+ doing a%ay %ith competition, o+ controlling

production and supply, o+ meeting, but not o7er)meeting, demand They

ha7e thus opened the %ay to cooperati7e production and distribution, and

prepared +or a happier +uture Soon %ill be born the egos %ho %ill see in thesecuring o+ the com+ort o+ the nation a greater stimulus than personal gain,

and they %ill complete the transition process? the one set ha7e gathered into

a head the +orces o+ indi7idualism? the other set %ill bend these +orces to the

common good

121 Thus is en7ironment go7erned by >arma, and by a

>no%ledge o+ la% the desired en7ironment may be created ;+ it grips us

%hen once called into being, it is none the less ours to decide %hat that

being shall be 5ur po%er o7er that +uture en7ironment is no% in our hands,

+or its creator is the acti7ities o+ the present

12# THE $;8HT "5= A 855 A'

12* Here is the light +or a good man %ho +inds himsel+

surrounded by unhappy conditions He has made his character, and he has

also made his circumstances His good thoughts and desires ha7e made him

%hat he is? the misdirection o+ them has created the en7ironment through

%hich he su++ers $et him, then, not be satis+ied %ith being good, but see to

it also that his in+luence on all around him is bene+icial Then shall it reacton him as good en7ironment "or instance& a mother is 7ery unsel+ish, and

she spoils her son by yielding, at her o%n cost, to all his %hims, aiding him

not at all to o7ercome his o%n sel+ish inclinations, +ostering the lo%er

nature, star7ing the higher The son gro%s up sel+ish, uncontrolled, the sla7e

o+ his o%n %hims and desires He causes unhappiness in the home,

perchance brings upon it debt and disgrace This reaction is the en7ironment


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she created by her un%isdom, and she must bear the distresses it brings upon

her

12 A sel+ish man may, on the other hand, create +or

himsel+ in the +uture an en7ironment regarded as +ortunate by the %orld

3ith the hope o+ gaining a title, he builds a hospital and euips it +ully?

many su++erers therein +ind relie+, many sic> unto death ha7e their last

moments soothed, many children are lo7ingly nursed bac> into health The

reaction +rom all this %ill be easy and pleasant surroundings +or himsel+? he

%ill reap the har7est o+ the physical good %hich he has so%n But his

sel+ishness %ill also so% according to its >ind, and mentally and morally he

%ill reap that har7est also, a har7est o+ disappointment and o+ pain

12- K'53$E8E 5" $A3

12. The >no%ledge o+ >arma %ill not only enable a man

to build, as he %ills, his o%n +uture, but it %ill also enable him to understand

the %or>ings o+ >armic la% in the cases o+ others, and thus more e++ecti7ely

to help them 5nly by >no%ledge o+ la% can %e mo7e +earlessly and

use+ully in %orlds %here la% is in7iolable, and, secure oursel7es, enable

others to reach a similar security ;n the physical %orld the supremacy o+ la%

is uni7ersally admitted, and the man %ho disregards Cnatural la%D is

regarded not as a criminal but as a +ool Eual is the +olly, and more +ar)

reaching, o+ disregarding Cnatural la%D in the %orlds abo7e the physical, and

o+ imagining that, %hile la% in the physical %orld is omnipresent, the mentaland moral %orlds are la%less and disorderly ;n those %orlds, as in the

physical, la% is in7iolable and omnipresent, and o+ all is it true&

12 Though the mills o+ 8od grind slo%ly, yet they grind e:ceeding

Small?

120 Though %ith patience He stands %aiting, %ith e:actness 8rinds

He all

129 3e ha7e seen that our present is the outcome o+ ourpast, that by thought %e ha7e built our character, by desires our

opportunities o+ satis+ying them, by actions our en7ironment $et us no%

consider ho% +ar %e can modi+y in the present these results o+ our past, ho%

+ar %e are compelled, ho% +ar %e are +ree

112 THE OPPOSIN! S"HOOLS


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111 ;n the thought o+ the outer %orld, uite apart +rom

the ideas o+ reincarnation and >arma, there has been much opposing opinion

=obert 5%en and his school regarded man as the creation o+ circumstances,

ignoring heredity, that +aint scienti+ic re+lection o+ >arma? they considered

that by changing the en7ironment the man could be changed, most

e++ecti7ely i+ the child %ere ta>en ere he had +ormed bad habits? a child

ta>en out o+ e7il surroundings and placed amid good ones %ould gro% into a

good man The +ailure o+ =obert 5%en


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that +rom the modi+ications ne% actions and reactions arise, and so on

perpetually, ta>es in that %hich is true in each o+ the earlier 7ie%s? it only

needs to be e:panded by the recognition o+ an enduring consciousness

passing +rom li+e to li+e bringing its past %ith it, e7er)gro%ing, e7er)

e7ol7ing, and %ith its gro%th and e7olution becoming an e7er more and

more potent +actor in the direction and control o+ its +uture destiny

11- Thus %e reach the Theosophic standpoint? %e

cannot no% help that %hich %e ha7e brought %ith us, nor can %e help the

en7ironment into %hich %e ha7e been thro%n? but %e can modi+y both, and

the more %e >no%, the more e++ecti7ely can %e modi+y

11. SE$")EA;'AT;5'

11 The +irst step is deliberately to e:amine %hat %emay call our Cstoc> in tradeD ? our inborn +aculties and ualities, good and

bad, our po%ers and our %ea>nesses, our present opportunities, our actual

en7ironment 5ur character is that %hich is most rapidly modi+iable, and on

this %e should set to %or>, selecting the ualities %hich it is desirable to

strengthen, the %ea>nesses %hich +orm our most pressing dangers 3e ta>e

them one by one, and use our thought)po%er in the %ay be+ore described,

remembering al%ays that %e must ne7er thin> o+ the %ea>ness, but o+ its

corresponding po%er 3e thin> that %hich %e desire to be, and gradually,

ine7itably, %e become it The la% cannot +ail? %e ha7e only to %or> %ith it

in order to succeed

110 The desire)nature is similarly modi+ied by thought,

and %e create the thought)+orms o+ the opportunities %e need? alert to see

and to grasp a suitable opportunity, our %ill also +i:es itsel+ on the +orms our

thought creates, and thus dra%s them %ithin reach, literally ma>ing and then

grasping the opportunities %hich the >arma o+ the past does not present to

us

119 Hardest o+ all to change is our en7ironment, +or here

%e are dealing %ith the densest +orm o+ matter, that on %hich our thought)

+orce is least potent Here our +reedom is 7ery restricted, +or %e are at our

%ea>est and the past is at its strongest Get are %e not %holly helpless, +or

here, either by struggling or by yielding, %e can conuer in the end Such

undesirable part o+ our surroundings as %e can change by strenuous e++ort,

%e promptly set to %or> to change? that %hich %e cannot thus change, %e


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accept, and set oursel7es to learn %hate7er it has to teach 3hen %e ha7e

learnt its lesson, it %ill drop a%ay +rom us, li>e an out%orn garment 3e

ha7e an undesirable +amily? %ell, these are the egos %e ha7e dra%n around

us by our past? %e +ul+ill e7ery obligation cheer+ully and patiently,

honourably paying our debts? %e acuire patience through the annoyances

they in+lict on us, +ortitude through their daily irritations, +orgi7eness

through their %rongs 3e use them as a sculptor uses his tools, to chip o++

our e:crescences and to smooth and polish a%ay our roughnesses 3hen

their use+ulness to us is o7er, they %ill be remo7ed by circumstances, carried

o++ else%here And so %ith other parts o+ our en7ironment, %hich, on the

sur+ace, are distress+ul? li>e a s>ill+ul sailor, %ho trims his sails to a %ind he

cannot change and thus +orces it to carry him on his %ay, %e use the

circumstances %e cannot alter by adapting oursel7es to them in such a

+ashion that they are compelled to help us

1#2 Thus %e are partly compelled and partly +ree 3e

must %or> amid and %ith the conditions %hich %e ha7e created, but %e are

+ree %ithin them to %or> upon them 3e oursel7es, eternal Spirits, are

inherently +ree, but %e can only %or> in and through the thought)nature, the

desire)nature, and the physical nature, %hich %e ha7e created? these are our

materials and our tools, and %e can ha7e none other till %e ma>e these ane%

1#1 54T 5" THE PAST

1## Another point o+ great importance to remember isthat the >arma o+ the past is o+ 7ery mi:ed character? %e ha7e not to breast a

single current, the totality o+ the past, but a stream made up o+ currents

running in 7arious directions, some opposing us, some helping us? the

e++ecti7e +orce %e ha7e to +ace, the resultant le+t %hen all these opposition

ha7e neutralied each other, may be one %hich it is by no means beyond our

present po%er to o7ercome "ace to +ace %ith a piece o+ e7il >arma +rom the

past, %e should e7er grapple %ith it, stri7ing to o7ercome it, remembering

that it embodies only a part o+ our past, and that other parts o+ that same past

are %ith us, strengthening and in7igorating us +or the contest The presente++ort, added to those +orces +rom the past, may be, o+ten is, @ust enough to

o7ercome the opposition

1#* 5r, again, an opportunity presents itsel+, and %e

hesitate to ta>e ad7antage o+ it, +earing that our resources are inadeuate to

discharge the responsibilities it brings? but it %ould not be there unless our


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>arma had brought it to us, the +ruit o+ a past desire? let us seie it, bra7ely

and tenaciously, and %e shall +ind that the 7ery e++ort has a%a>ened latent

po%ers slumbering %ithin us, un>no%n to us, and needing a stimulus +rom

outside to arouse them into acti7ity So many o+ our po%ers, created by

e++ort in the past, are on the 7erge o+ e:pression, and only need opportunity

to +lo%er into action

1# 3e should al%ays aim at a little more than %e thin>

%e can do F not at a thing %holly beyond our present po%ers, but at that

%hich seems to be @ust out o+ reach As %e %or> to achie7e it, all the >armic

+orce acuired in the past comes to our aid to strengthen us The +act that %e

can nearly do a thing means that %e ha7e %or>ed +or it in the past, and the

accumulated strength o+ those past e++orts is %ithin us That %e can do a

little means the po%er o+ doing more? and e7en i+ %e +ail, the po%er put

+orth to the utmost passes into the reser7oir o+ our +orces, and the +ailure o+today means the 7ictory o+ tomorro%

1#- 3hen circumstances are ad7erse, the same thing

holds good? %e may ha7e reached the point %here one more e++ort means

success There+ore did Bhishma counsel e++ort under all conditions, and utter

the encouraging phrase? CE:ertion is greater than destinyD The result o+

many past e:ertions is embodied in our >arma, and the present e:ertion

added to them may ma>e our +orce adeuate +or the achie7ement o+ our aim

1#. There are cases %here the +orce o+ the >arma o+ thepast is so strong that no e++ort o+ the present can su++ice to o7erbear it Get

should e++ort be made, since +e% >no% %hen one o+ these cases is upon

them, and, at the %orst, the e++ort made diminishes that >armic +orce +or the

+uture A chemist o+ten labours +or years to disco7er a +orce, or an

arrangement o+ matter, %hich %ill enable him to achie7e a result at %hich he

is aiming He is o+ten th%arted, but he does not ac>no%ledge himsel+

de+eated He cannot change the chemical elements? he cannot change the

la%s o+ chemical combination? he accepts these ungrudgingly, and there lies

Cthe sublime patience o+ the in7estigatorD But the >no%ledge o+ thein7estigator, e7er increasing by 7irtue o+ his patient e:periments, at last

touches the point %here it enables him to bring about the desired result

Precisely the same spirit should be acuired by the student o+ >arma? he

should accept the ine7itable %ithout complaint, but untiredly see> the

methods %hereby his aim may be secured, sure that his only limitation is his

ignorance, and that per+ect >no%ledge must mean per+ect po%er


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1# 5$ "=;E'SH;PS

1#0 Another +act o+ the greatest importance is that %e

are brought by >arma in touch %ith people %hom %e ha7e >no%n in the

past, to some o+ %hom %e o%e debts, some o+ %hom o%e debts to us 'o

m

a study in karma

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