reincarnation,karma & disease book 1986 energy medicine seminar val morin,canada

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A Compilation bYSwami Vishnu Devananda

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Reinciunation,Kanna & Disease

A Compilation

bySwami Vishnu Devananda

A Compilation from various sources,including Ancient Scriptures,writings of Swami Sivananda,

talks by Swami Vishnu Devananda,lvfedical Texts, et alia.. by the Author of

the Complete Illustratcd Book of Yogaand Meditation and Mantras

tO- Lohrs Publicationsj

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By the author ofThe Conplete lllustrated Book of-yoga

Mcditation andMantrasSivananda Upanishads

Hatha Yoga Pradipilci te Commentary)

First PrintingCopyright 1989

Intemational Sivananda Yoga Vedanta CentresHeadquarters:

Sivananda Ashram yoga Camp8th Avenue, Vai Mori& Quebec, Canadi IOT zRO

TEL (8191322-3226FAX (819)322-s876

Printed in the United States of America

OM Lotus Publishing CompanyA nonarofitcompanyowned and operated by the

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Cenler243 West 24th Street,New York, f\ry 10011

. TELQI2)25545&' FAX Q7D727-ng2

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE 8

SCRIPTTIRAL SELECTIONS

Sources of Diseasesfrom LaghuYoga Vasishta 10

Swarni SivanandaKarmas &Dseasesintroduction 15

List of Karmas & Diseases 20Karmas & Births

from theGaruda Purana 28Karmas & Hells

from Srimad Bhagavatam 32

' Story of King Bharatafrom Srimad Bhagavatam 36

WORKS BY SWAI!fl SryAIVAIVDA

IGrma & Freedom 42Karma & Reincarnation 52

What becomes of the Soul After Death 68

TALKS BY SWAMI VISHNU DEVAAIAI{DA

Samadhi, Rebirth & World lGrma 85Never Say Karma 94

Karma &Purushartha 100When Karma Afflicts You 106

Swamiii's Own Karma 110

BIO GRAPI{ICAL SICETCTTES

Various Personalities 116

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The Space ShuttleA Rocket Ship demonshates the lawof Action & Reaction. The amount of

energy thnrst in one direction,propels the rocket in the other

direction.

PREFACE

"Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man issowing, this he will also reap."To the Galatians 627 Nant WorldTranslation of the HoIy Saiptura"Ma n canbecompared to a plant. He grows and flourishes like a ptant andin the end dies, but not completely. The plant grows and flourishes anddies, -leaving behind it the seed, which produces a new plant. At deathman leaves behind his Karma - thegood and bad actioniof his life. Thebody may die and disintegrate but the impressions of actions do not die.He has to take birth again to enioy the fruits of these actions."Swami Sivannanda

"According to the seed that's sown,So is the Fruit ye reap therefromDoer of good (will gather) good.Doer of evil, evil (reaps)Sown is the seed, and planted well.Thou shalt enioy the fruit thereof."SamprttaNikaya'$rhere there is power and position, you cling to your power; you clfuigto your position, to yourmoney"to your job. tt has come, aftei all, fromyour desire. All will disappear Iike a bubble. Nobody eversurvived hig power"Swami Vishnu Devananda

PREFACE

This publication is a compilation from various sources to investigate the naturallaws of Reincarntion and karma and how they affect us in our daily lives. For manvyears swami vishnu Devananda has been touring the world, sernessry tvi;g;ihl',enefry, to help humanity come to a greater realiiation about the inneri"rf"nt"itheirsubconrious minds.Swamiji is-presentlywrapping up t ir o*r, r"ril"iin"earth plane. He reminds u.s again ind again that welre Iimoral i" T.tth;b"t th"t,F:"d in a temporary limi ta 6lon of bod| and mind, we must use our discriminationin thought and action_or bear the consequences. Karma is both good and bad, oras Swamiii tells us ..- "Good" or "Pleasanti. The so<alled pleasant actions evenhrallygnd_in pain and suffering- The so-called good actions *in t*a ", to iiu"oi;;.'-Each of us is free to choose. If we carcfull| investigate the writings of thesages andthe historical events of various p"oonulitius *J witl be able come to a clearerunderstanding of how our actions lead to reactions, rebirth ar,a further;;j#;theinfinitecycleof birthsand deaths. Wewill alsobeabletopercive ttr"tttuf"lJiof passing glamour, such as power, name, fame, wealth, etc., almost inevitaury reaasto comrption and destructio-n, usualty by those very same things that we so vainlyfugh1. Except in the case of the rare few great renunciates sucir=;ilil;,;;;;Swami Sivananda and others. These spiitual giants were able to renounce thetransi tory pleasures and a ttain the ul tima te. I t is S-wami ji's urgent wish that we learnfromthem; andthatb.ytookingatthedestnrctivecotlapseof"thosethatclingt"ih";which must pass we tiarn

" grLt lessor,.

The incrediblebeauty of this fullblooming LotusFlowerwill soonfade.---*

If there be nothing nau, but that which is!:r! !r:f before,how are our brains beguiled,Which labouring for inoention, bear aiissThe second burthen [bearingl of a formt child!...t'ron Sonnet 59William Shapespear'e

DISEASE

S CRIPTTJRAL S ELECTIONS

SOURCES OF DISEASESfrom Laghu Yoga Vasishta

Publ.: Adyar Library and Research centre, Madras,3rd Edition 197s,pp.393-395.

Rarna intelposed and said:Please enlighten me as to the origin and destruction of mental and bodily disease.

In answer to this Vasishta continued:The pains that afflict the body are called the secondary diseases, whilst the Vasanasthat affect the mind are termed mental or primary diseases. We have reached ourPresent state through the absence of the transcendental Jnana, want of mastery overour sense organs, and the perpetual growth of desire and egoism in the mind. Andour delusion becomes intensified in us by forgetting the d-esradation of our statethrough such causes. With the growth ol suctr dehision, thE menat disease alsocongeals in us like the snows of winter. When the intense desires of a person beginto manifest themselve externally and the Ajnana in him preponderates, he frr-forms fearful Karmas and these in their turn breed bodili diseases. The-body isfurther subject to diseases through such actions as the eatini of unwholesome fdod,living in unhealthy_countries,-doing things at unseasonable-hours, iniuries inflicted,association with the wicked, longing after improper things, evil desires, badthoughts, thedistentionand contraction of the oriiices of theliadis in the pints, etc.and.the intern:gted flowof the beneficial Pranas throughout thebody- tfr"*"""ruthe body to wither. These flourish in the form of diseales in the bdy,waxing andw-aning like the floods- in a river during the different seasons. The'body att"ractseffects to itself according to the naturi of its countless affinitio, god or bad,whether in previous births orthe-present one. Thus we see diseases,-primary andsecondary, arise through the fivefold Bhutas (elements).

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SCRTPTURAL SEIJCTIONS 11

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Now listen o Rama, to the manner in wfuch the two forms of disease, primary andtTolg"ry, are destroyed in two ways. The wise say that primary disease tras twosubdivisions: samanya (ordinary) ind sara (essential). ihe foimer i""ruj"r iiudiseases incidenal to ihe body, wirite the latter the rebirth to which me;";-G;.If the diseases which afflict this body return to their primal source, then thev aredestroled.r -ft.9ir q:*.y ca.llses being (bad) thoughts, if th;;;-th;;;;r;;J ;;stroyed,allbodilydiseaseswillvanish. Butthediseaseofrebirth,.ot"iij"J"rin"head of sara, will neve'end- except through Atma-jnana. Is it possibleio supposethat the misapprehension

^ofa serpent in a-rope can'b" retnorr.d'u*."pt1irofifi;;;dirovery of the real rope? But those grievous diseases of the uoay'wnicrr d; ;;;arise through the original cause c"r, be extirpated by Mantras, medicine and themany means used by men well versed in medical lore- I need not expiate o" tniisubicrt any further here.

Here Rarna asked vasishta how mental diseases arise and how they are destroyed.Vasishta proceeded:When the manas is agitated, then this body also follows in its wake. And when thebodyisagitated then-thereis noproperperceptionof the things tr,"t"reii.";,;;";and Prana flies from its even path tou bid road, staggeringlifeananimal woundedb.y ":.3rto1. Through such igitation, prana, insteii of frrvading the whole bodvs,teadily and equally, vibrateslveqywhere at an unequai rate. rr,lrefore ,h; N"d;oo not marntain a steady position, but quiver. Then to the body which is thereceptacle of food digested-partially or completely, the Nadis "d si*piy ;""4because of the fluctuation of itre ponur. The food which settles down in this bodvamidst such comrnotion is transfbrmed into incurable diseases. rn"t ttr-"Li tn'.plT? cause (the mind) the disease of the body is generatd. rr *,is ;;;""; "'-oase gold which, when placed in the cmcible, ii ransmuted through'alcheriricatProcesses in-to pure gold, the mind is rendered unfailingly prrr" -thro.rgh

true,virtuo.us andpure actions and by serving the wise. ln ttre riinapurified this tnereis unalloyed bliss- Is not the whole *otl-d exhilarated with ioy when the soft anddelicious moon begrns to shed its silvery light? If the mind bu"o*", purified witht ru e Sa t tvagu na, then Pra na-vaFu w i I I begiri to ci rcrr la te freely throu ghbu t trre Uoay,the food taken will be digested properlyind hence no disease will aise. i tave tr,,isdescnbed to you the path by whicir the two kinds of diseases "* u" JLrt oil. -"

Lingual Dennoid

'ra, I

Mental 'Agitations

UnstableNadis

tlaphaz:rad Flow ofP rana

rnatvaaUnder Digestion

Ajirnatavam,

9{ro'ng':'oideition "". Kg-jirnatvan '-_'

VgzadhSPhysical Ailnents

MA}TOMAYA KOSIIALEVEL

PRA}TAITAYA KOSSALEVEL

A}TNAI."IAYA KOSIIAI.EVEL .

SCRIPTURALSELECTIONS 13

Iulia Pastrana'The Ugliest Woman in the World'

t------Ovarian CYst

His SkeletonThe ElePhantMan

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:,, :,,,, Swami Sivananda"":": 6 6rga1 Modern Renunciate

SCRIPTIIRAL SELECTIONS 15

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I(AR|V{AS & DISEASESSri Swami Sivananda

INTRODUCTION

It is common nowadays to hear it said that the Puranas are very unreliablescripturesand thattheyindulgeinunlimited exaggerationaboutverymanythings.Critics say that the Puranas contain gross overstatements and preposterouslypuerile attempts to caicle or to cow down the reader with citations like thegrandiose descriptions of heavenly regions and their ioys as also of the awfulpictures of hellfire and its torments. To criticize a subject requires very little wit or/rrJuvri& . -. -....r..j :.:.--. -.!reCi cot'rdemnatiC:i rvithOut Caring tO COnSider the prOSand cons of a matter is the inborn nature of the human mind. But even to thesebiased ones a little thoughtful c::::{a:atirn '.'ill fnrthwith reveal that the sagelywriters of the Puranas had a special purpose in writing certain things in the mannerthey did. They deliberately emphasized and laid particular stress upon somesubiects with a definite end in view. Underneath these graphic and detaileddescriptions of the Karmas and their consequences there is a shrewd psychologyand insight being put to use for a practical purpose.

Until and unless Self-realization is attained and Knowledge-Absolute isgained, there is ever the ebb and flow, the constant seesaw between the animal andthe man in every human being. The beast, or the brute, is never completely absentor overcome except through a final Divinisation of the individual. As long as thereis the human, sidl by side there will be the animal also, now the one having theupper hand, now the other. It is only when the ]iva gets above and beyond b-tl;;theseand gets transformedandistabiished inthe thirdlnd hitherto dormantasPegl-S

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of his nature, namely the Divine aspect, that he becomes 'Mriga-Nata-Atita.' Fromthen onwards there is no more of this tug-of-war between the animal and mannatures to gain precedence and dominate over the field of Jiva-consciousness. For' now the Divine Kshetrajna Himself reigns supreme over the Kshera.

Now until this stateis attained we find thatmanis in turn animal and humanaccording to theVritti thatpossesses him. Heshows himself alternately tobenobleand petty. He swings betrareen the sublime and bathos. His two different aspectsreacttoexternalstimuliintheirowndistinctivemanners. Andequallylikewisebnlyparticularmodes of extemal approach succeed in evoking the desired response fromthese dual aspects in man's consciousness. Thus it is that we find in persons whohaveevolved themselves tosomefairextentand acquired agood measureof Sattwa,of refinement, culture and character, that the purely grosg and degenerate impulsesand temptations fail to have effect They succeed only in exceptional sihrationswhen the person unfortunately happens to be in some rare moment of weakne s duetoarevivalofSamskaras, whereasingrossnaturessuchtemptationsreadilyandim-mediately wreak havoc. Likewise, noble impulses immediately influence a finenature but fail to evoke any response in a gross person of low animal mentality. Thishasgiven rise to theproverb in the Marathi language "To thecobbler/s deityworshipis by shoes," or again the current Tamil syrng "Without the cane the monkey wiilnotdance." Thesameis thecase withnoblesentiments, asisamplyexemplifiedbytheovercareful psychologyapplied by thefamous Dr. Arnold of Rugbyin appealingto the worthier instincts in his boys. No less striking is the historic example of MarkAnto{ty skillfully exercising his persuasive and provocatory eloquence upon hisRoman audience, first to evoke compassion by playing subtly upon its human side,and then rousing a frenzy of revengeful violence by inflaming its strong animalpassion of anger.

It is this deep human insight and admirable penetrating psychology that isat the basis of the Hell and Retribution ideas in the Puranic Hindu Religion. Thesages knew thatsweetwhistlingwill not make thebuffalo move, whereas whippingwill. We know how on the eve of building the great bridge to Lanka, when requestsfailed to make the Ocean-King behave suitabln Rama took out an arrow in anger.The very next instant had the Sagara-Raja pleading with folded hands before Rama.Likewise to goad man on to noble deeds, high aspiration and righteous conduct, thePuranic sages held out before him bright prospects and extolled the untold benefisand blessings of a good life. Here thev tried to appeal to man's human side. Butwhen he indulged in extreme sin and bestial acts of gross sensuality, they knew itwas not the occasion for mincing rnatters. The beast could only be chastenedthrough a true and vivid description of the inevitable results of his actions. Herc wemust note that they did not exaggerate or utter any falsehood, but gave a specialimportance to and emphasized the matter by dilating upon it in graphic detail andspared no pains in doing this. They therefore confronted theJiva with a terrific arrayof dire consequences that would inevitably accrue to the evil actions of the sinner.They gave graphic descriptions of the various punishments awaiting the wantontransgressor of moral and spiritual laws. They vividly related past instances oftransgressors and the retribution that overtook them to testify to this truth. ThePuranas abound in fearful examples of life'long sufferings in lower wombs sufferedby people like Nahusha, Jaya and Vipya, the well-known Gajendra and manyothers.

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SCRIPTURALSELECTIONS 17

Theydonotstopwiththat.Asthoughitwerenotenoughtogiveinstancesof the ?halls" of positive sinful actions ani.crimes, they cite certain cases when

even the ina.rtgence-in "-.L*p"tutively hannless, good-emotion' like affection'

bringsaboutgravesuffeJ"!-"gi"t*n. thewarningimpliedinthestoryof th:Pa.st

lives of Sage iadabhaiia is a'n i'nstance in point. AlsJtheaccidental participation ina seeming falsehood viaJ;;;h to sen'd a soul to take a sight, though !:t fo.t u

moment, of the "*frrif,"fffi*. "ff,u incident of the great Yudhishthira's Naraka-

Darshan is referred to here.Fortunately Jr "Jotru"ately,

out of the numerous Puranas very few are

srudied by the vast;;toltnowadays. Those few devoted people wJro.1e1d tfepuranas br listen to ttrir ruiital rarely go beyond the four or five classical Saivaite

and vaishnavaite Puranas that are currently popular throug-hout the country' wenury say that Puraru P;;l;t generally;ti*i"".a io tlt.:!"da' Markandeya'Vishnu or the Srimad'ffragavatal It is not the scholar or the orthodox Brahmin

section that is meant here 6ut the common man-in-the-street who toes-to form adistinct and imporantlart of the population. Thus the whip-o'ack of the Karma

"iJ f""*-pf',"ia.it"ti'5iao"t t ottound nowadays to chasten the sensualbeastinman. Andasaresultof thisthebeas tisrunningamokasneverheretofore' But

iaws, be they mundane or divine, arc inexorable. ignorance of the Penal Code does

not lay a premium oii"J"ig"nce in-crime nor dds the offender go scot-free' Hg

Urrrgfi, .ira n. gets jailed. Iie murders and is hanged.. Likewise also he sins and

he suffers. lr tnis truih- or ttr"inut.tpuule order of c6smic Law is placed be-fore himin unvarnishcd and distinct outline it may scrve iust a little bit to Persuade him togive up vice and folloi,v virtue, to renounct Adharma and embracc Dharma' To do

3;i; "t ;;ry"* oJinir little tract on Karma and diseases. It has Pu-rPrcse::,::ftTl

-ui"fy tb tnl pnysical and mental forms that this heavenly retribution takes' ancl

alsototheformsittakesufonthisearth-plane. Formodernmanisheldbythemotto,;r.,.ing is bclieving', an'd he hardly requires to give-a second glance to see.the

terrible truth of trro price r"u" puyt it hospitals and clinics for the crimes against

Dharma.The diseases we suffer from, the births we get here on earth are all products

of actions done by rrs ir,lreuiotts times. Every action has its reaction and no action

loor rrr,t.*ardci i" u triiAUfu m:rnner. Evil ictions do not go without their bitterErr*tt upon the doer. Here are given so-me of the many pitiable conditions of lifeir. .vhici'. :nan has to live due to lt^ cT reless 5ip'fr-r! deeds'

Hells are not "ni-uginurr' .:tiion as thcl'are ordinarily conceived to bc by

the modern rationalistic -ir?. The empiricist bclieves only in cxperience of sense-

contactandfcretstrimscifunabletoriseibovethedictatesof theintcllect' Butitdoesnot mean that man h", ,"u*r, to overlook facts bcyond his comprch-ension' .wehave no right to "rt"ii1i"i Gis globe of earth is the most concretc reali ty and tha t

others are mere app"ri,i.*. Th"e stars do not become m€re sPots with a twinklinglighi in tl:e sky m!isi;, for tb.e reason that rve Perceive them to be so' If I have not

seen America I have'no right to deny the exiitence of such a country' There are

"io"gt evidences, bo,1 ir,",rritional and rational, for us to accePt the existence of*ortis beyond, which are entirely different both in nature and size' The Yogava-

sisn*ra says thatourearthisonlyanatomamonglrurnyotherlarger worlds eitjt:Fbeyond.our perception and is of o,'" partiorlar-variety among rnany others whi.ch

differ from it in every way. We have no authority to discard the accoun-t given byvasishtha thatthere6xistilorlds whicharemadeof differentmaterials likecopper'

KARMA & DISEASE

iron, gold, etc., filled with watet milk, and the like, and inhabit"d by serpents,animals, devils, and so on. It is not necessary that human beings alone sirouldinhabit all worlds and that the same earthly conditions should prevail in all planesof existence. The universe is a gradual revelation of the Infinite Absolute in variousdegrees of Consciousness, whichisinclusiveof everysortof lifeandexperience. TheInfinite is a great Wonder and we cannot say what things are thriving in its womb!We and our world are but one among the many in it. There are many families inInfinily, and earth, hell, heaven, mcn, animals, gods and dcvils are all Its childrtnwith varying temperaments. The Absolute ranges from lowest mattcr to Pure Blissor Ananda, and bctwecn these exist the countless universcs with their contents.They differ both in their individual nature and in the nature of thcir contcnts. It issaid that beings take birth in onc or the other of these worlds in accordancc with theiractions, which bear fruits of a kind that can be reaped only in that partictrlar world.Only fire can give heat and only food can appease hunger. Even so, onlya particularcondition and environment can enable us to reap the fruits of a speciiic action.lno.urlnunishments need not necessarily be due to the wrath of any personalDivine Being, it can be asserted that it is necessary, by the very law of narure, thatthe soul should manifest itself with a body suited for its experience determined byits Past actions. As such, it is not unreasonable that variety in the nalure of worldsshould bc real. We have to remember that the real is unseen.

. Hells, therefore, are as much real words as the regions of Indra or this mortalearth of ours. They arc rcgions with diffcrcnce only in the subtlety of the plane ofthcirmanifestation. Theydifferinthedegrceof thestateofConsciousnessievealedthroughthcm. Thcsufferingsinflictcdonthcsinncrsascnumeratcdhereundermaybe taken to meaneitheran actual birth in such regions, oran experience of sufferingequal to that enumerated hcrein in any othcr state of existence, or a life on earth withsuch entanglements, where one will undergo such pain either directly or throughthe agenry of others.

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SCRTPTURAL SELECNONS 19

Illustrations from the Classical Medical Text,,Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine' by Ceorge M. Gould and Walter L' Pyle'

These illustrations from doctor's rePortsshow cases similar to the ones described inthe various ancient Puranic Scriprureswhich Swami Sivananda Presents on thefollowing Pages.

Three Headed Monstor

Man with Parasitic BodY

\,\ir:- -1 .r'ith eXEarunctional m:rmmae

(on thigh)

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ixosteses of Skeleton

20 REINCARNATION. KARMA & DISEASE

I(ARMAS & DISEASES

Karmas:.

Diseases

Who insults another, breakspromises, causes great dis-appointment to i4o.ther,deprives one of his prpperty, disgraces another inpublic,

gets mental agony anilpain.

Who plugs up orblocks upthe hole of a rat or a snake,who catches fish and causesthem to die by suffocation,who stifles the life of anycreature,

gets asthma, Iung diseases,pleui sy, bro ndtitis (s o erc),pneumonia, etc.

Who kills orinjures anotherby means of poisoned in-struments,

suffas from scowion-stingand snake-bite.

SCRTPTURALSELECTIONS 21

Who oppresses others andkeeps them in Permanentslavery through excessivevanity and pride,

gets elephantiasis.

Who is a miser and moneY-lender, who ruins, imPover'ishes and drives his debtorsto starvation through rackrenting and abnormalinterest,

suff ers fr o m c onsumP ti on.

Who indulges with Prosti-tutes, commib adultery,and leads an imPure life,

gets leprosY.

Who is proud of his PhYsi-cal srrength and misu'ses hispower in opPressing andfighting with others,

suffers fr o nt ePiI eP s Y.

Who casts lustful looks onwomen, who eYes others'properties, whose heartburns at another/s well-being, who visits nautch-parties,

gets permanent rye dis-eases.

Who sets fire to a house andcauses others'deaths,

gets erysipelas and fatalhot boils.

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22 REINCARNATIoN, KARMA & DISEASE

Who poisons others with ir-ritating, fiery and corrosivefoods, who adds chunam inrice and serves it in hotels,who adds water to milk andsells it for a high pricgpassing it for pure milk,

gets colic and gastritis.

Who is hypocritical, whounder the guise of goodnessand virtue continuouslytorments others *ith pe$tyrannn who constantly ill-ftab,beas and dealsharshly with little children,

gets bad itches anil skindiscases.

Who ii,rdulges in gossip,who likcs to hear Paraninda(abusing others) and Para-dooshana (insul ting o thcrs),who hears obsccne songs indancing shows, etc.,

grt" "or-rore attd a painful .

httmming sounil in the ears,and suffers from ear inflam-mation.

larvycrs and advocates whotwist tmth and falschood incourt-cases,

gct color blinrlness, SaintVitus's clancc, squifi-eyeanrl cataract; are bornzuithileformeilbodies andafflicteiluith loss of,nentory.

Scientists who invent de-stmctive firebombs andthose who drop them on theinnocent public,

get amultiplicitY of danga--ous inctrable diseases, andare born as insccts that uillIioe in the hollouts of trecsanduthen the trees are cutard Iogs useil for firaaoodutillbe cncIIY burnt toashes in successiae tebirths-

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Cruel doctors who ill-treatpatients and give worthlessmedicines, charging highratcs, who inject aqua andcharge high fc'es,

are born as utomm anilhave utomb ilisease. Theitconcqti ons and deliu eriesutill be attendeil bY sett erecomplications anil P ain,anilutill ntostly iesult inabortiotts.

l.-Sannyasins who falselY Poseto be Siddhas and cheat thepcople of the world,

utill be sudilenly overcomeby impotencg in the Primeof their youth anil uillsuffer t e nibl e di s aPP o ittt'mat uthile eagerly hoPingto enjoy pleasures.

Who drink intoxicants andliquors, and indulge inimmoral acts,

utill be born as ueaklings'unilerilavelopeil and of Pre-mature birth, anil ToiIIsuff* fro m n eur asth eniaand ganoal debilitY.

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Who deprive dumbanimals of their food anddrink, and beat innocentanimals like cows, bulls,etc., get pyorrhea, lose all their

teeth anil get ulcqs inthethroat.

Who torture pcople inprisons,

utill be born cripplcil andparalytic, anilzoill suffer aIIthe time from ssDere te-I ap s es anil c o ntp lic atio ns.

Who burn sacred books anddestroy spiritual literature,

get gastric ulcers andcancer.

Who blaspheme the Su-premc Lord, spcak ill ofsaints and scriptures,

get cancer of the tongue andbeconrc dumb.

A twiceborn who castsaway his thread, does notkeep ruft, and does notperfo rm Sandhya-Vandana,

beconcs impotcnt and hasfits of insanity.

Capitalists who cxtractforced labor from workers,

suffer from asthma, greatsuffocation, and tumor inthe br a in aith unb e ar ab I epain, anil utill also becomesubject to gout, rheumatism,lumbago andhunchback.

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SCRTPTURALSELE@ E

Sons who disobeY theirfathers and drag them tocourt,

get leucoderma and loss ofoision.

Who deceive the rnassesthrough bogus concerns'

get chronic dianhea andilyspepsia, anil ilisease ofthe spleenaith anemia andmalnutition.

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Who sell stale vegetablesand fruits, spoiled wheatand rice for high Prices, bYmaking them aPPear fresh,

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IIose their hair, get leuco-ilunta, caious tee.th andcataract.

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Profitcers and black-marketeers,

get incurable obesity, ele'phantiasis and tumor in thestomach.

Back-biters, tale-bearers andtreachcrous PeoPle,

get boils on the head andshoulders,intanal ab'scesscs, cczema on the back,etc.

Officcrs who oPPress subordi-natcs, derks and peons bYextracting illegal works fromthem and fining them unneces-sarily, get chronic oppressioe head-

aches and high-blo o il qes-sure utith aante giddiness.

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Husbands who beat theirwives, and parents whobeat their children withoutunderstanding,

get angina pectois (heartp ains), chronic to oth painanil nryhritis.

Servants who prctend towork and thus ruin theirrnasters,

get paralysis and tremblingof the limbs anil p atpita-tion.

Brahmins who deceive -

pcople as Purohits in holyplaces of pilgrimage and asworshippers in renowncdtemples, by demandingmoncy, clothing and foodmaterials in thc name ofGod,

get utreme bilious iliseases,vomiting and chronic diar-rhea, and blindness,

Parenb who tyrannize andworry their children of aspiritual bent and forcethem to lead a worldly life,

get acult diseascs of thercspirn to ry sy s tcnt, diph-theria, plc::r')::' ,'itt! pneu-monia, etc.

SCRTPTURAL SELECTIONS 27

I

t_

Bearded Wouran

Man with'Parasite'An extra bodY growingfrom his abdomen

a\

28 REINCARNATION, KARMA & DISEASE

IGRTVIAS & BIRTHSfrom the Gartrda Purana

':.' .-

. The murderer of a Brahmin is born as a consumptive; the killer of a cowbecomes humpbacked and imbecile; thc murderer of a n'irgn becomes leprous.

. The slaycr of a woman and the destroyer of embryos becomes a savage fullof di3eases; who commits illicit intercourse bcromcs a cunuch; who gocs with histeache/s wife is born diseaseskinned.

The eater of flesh becomes very red; the drinker of intoxicants is born withdiscolored teeth; the Erahmin, ryho, on account of grced, eats what should not beeaten,becomesbig-bellied.'', :'-'?''

He who iati sweet foods.without giving to others, becomes swollen-necked; who gives impure food at a Sraddha Ceremony is born a spottd leper.

The man who, through pride, insu I b his teacher, becomes an epileptic; whodespises the Vedas and the holy scriptures becomes jaundiced

Who bears false witness becomes dumb; who takes meals separately fromcompany-row becomes oneeyed; one who upsets a marriage-mitch becomesIipless; who steals a book is bom blind.

Who strikes a cow of a Brahmin with his foot is born lame and deformed;who speaks licrs becomes a stiammercr; who listens to lies becomes deaf.

A poisoncr becomes insane; an incendiary becomes bald; who sclls fleshbcrcomcs the most unfortunate and unlucky; who eats the flesh of other beingsbc'comes diseased.

Who steals iewels is born into a low caste; who steals gold gets diseasednails; who steals any metal becomes poverty-stricken.

Who steals food becomes a rat; who steals grains becomes a locust; whosteals water becomes a Chataka bird; who steals poison becomes a scorpion.

Who steals vegetables and leaves becomes a peacock; who steals perfumesbecomes a muskrag who steals honeybecomes a gad-fly; who steals flesh becomesa mlture; who steals salt becomes an ant.

SCRTPTURAL SELECTIONS 29

t-

who steals betel, fruits and flowers becomes a forest-monkey; who steals

shoes, grass and cotton is born from a sheep's womb'' "Who lives by violence, who robs caiavans on the road, and who is fond ofhunting becomes a goat in a butche/s house'

"Who dies b"y drinking poison becomes a black serpent on a mountain;whose nature is unrestrained becomes an elephant in a desolate forest.

_

Those twice-born ones who do not make offerings to the Great Lord andwho eat all sorts of foods without hesitation orconsideration, become wild tigers

in a desolate forest.The Brahmin who does not recite the Gayatri, who does not meditate at

wilight, who is inwardly wicked while outwardly pious,.becomes a crane'The Brahmin who officiates for one who is unfit to perform sacrifices

beromes a villagedog, and by too many sacrifices becomes an ass; by eatingwithout the thought of God he becomes a crow' . . -, -

The twice'bornwho does not impart leaming to'thedeserving becomes a

bull; the pupil who does not serve his teaiher becomes an animal, an ass or a crow'I.i/!io threatens and spits at his teacher, orbrowbeats a Brahmin, is born as

a great dreadful fiend in a waterless wilderness'

iackal; who is not hospiable to the gdod becomes a howling fire'faced devil'' Who deceives.a friend becoires a mountain vulture; who cheats in sellingbecomes an owl; who:speaks ill of cast6 and religious orders is born a pigeon in awood. '

who destroys hope and who destroys affection, who, through dislike'abandons his wife, U*o*'* a ruddy goose for-l fong time' - '

": '' -

Who hates, moth.ei'. father-a-nd teachir,-who quarrels with sister andbrother, is desrroyed wh.ile beint.arl q:nbq'o in the womb: 9Y:" for a thousandiliit. ' 'Yi::.,';*:.:'{i?i:-'.::.'.i:- " ''--'l -.':"-: i. '', ,-' :''- ' -

The woman tnrt JiU,rses-her mbthei-in-law and fathei-in-law and causes

constant;;;;i;,td*;.ir-i r"u.r,; shi who scolds her husbind becomes a louse'Who, aband;G h"t "*r, hrsba.d, runi aflcr ai.ctherman, becomes a

fly-tttg fox, a house'lizard or a king of female serpents' :: :

He who ants off his lineJge by embracing a woman of his own family,having become a hyena and a poriupine, is born from the womb of a bear.

Th,e Iustfui rran r.,'ho go"t t"itt' e female asceticbecomes a desert fiend;who consorts with an immatuie girl becomes a huge snake in a wood.

Who covets his tdacher's"*ife becomes a chameleon, who tries to go withthe king's wife becomes bqdly com.rpt in character; who goes with his friend's wifebecomes a donkeY.

Who commits unnatural vice becomes a village pig; who consorts with asudra,woman becomes an ox; who is very passionate komes a lustful horse.

Who eats the eleventhday offeringi of the dead is born a dog; the Brahminwho subsists upon the offerings made to Jn idol is born from the womb of a hen'

The wrbtch among theiwice.Uorn who worships the deities for the sake ofwealth is destitute of peace and becomes a forest-bird'

Who takes uoi"y " plot of land which was given by himself or another, is

born for sixty-thousana y"itt as a wonn in excrement'

IIi

All the creatures of low births, trees and the like, having come back fromhell, are bom again in the human kingdom amongst low outcasb, and even there,by the stains of sin, become very miserable. They become men and women withoozing ieprosy, born blind, infested with grievous maladies, and bearing the marksof sin.

He who, having become a king, does not give land to the twice.born, isreborn many fimes as a beggar, without even a village hut. The king who,through pride, does not make gifb of land, shall dwell in hell as long as the sunand the moon exist.

FatLady &Her Dog

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SCRTPTURAL SEIJCTIONS

Eng & ChangThe FamousSiamese Twins

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SCRTPTURALSELECTIONS 33

He who goes against the vedic Dharma, who embraces infidelistic religions is

tfrownf,&e. OlitiuUtergf,tf Indeedtretunsthiswayandthatwayandh":.u.Y:ypart of his body torn "p ii"rf,"* areadful woods of sword' The fiva cries out"'Ah!i am undone!" and falls down in agony'

Kingswhoinflictpunishment.on.innocentmen,orwhoinflictcorporealp,r*shmen-t'o. a Brahmin,'fall into the hell called Sukara-Mukha' There every partif tnu Uoay of the sinner is crushed like sugarcanes! He shrieks in distress but none

helps him! se men who, having a lood position insociefy, inflict pain upon other

poor people fall into a freU catti altanaittpu' The |iva lt,l?a:"td on all sides indarknessbyvarieties of terriblebeasts, serpints,etc., and learns suchlessons as willnot allow him to do such sinful actions again' 'i '

Brahmins *h;;;;;apu*t^ tfreir daily Yaiy-s'.1v.ho do not share withothers what they po$"ti, "* fit to Ue called crows' and fallinto a hell where theirfood is wonns. They are cast down into a vast ocean of worms which then begin to

tease the livas from all sides.WhorobsaBrahminoraPoormanandthuscauseshimtosuffer*iqql|

neason, falls into "

i "ff

*i"tp he is severety pinct-red by burning iron tongs and hitby red hot iron balls. . .

.ThosemenorwomenwhoabuseinnocentPoorservantsandcoolieswhoarerather tobepitied aiJhefped fortheirmiserabletondition,fallintoa hell where

they are severely thrashed and forced to embrace a bumingimage of iron like unto

a man or worr'n. jrnora who abuse thcir marriage bcds are given a similarpunishment. : :'

. . Whoever here approaches, under thc force of passion, all kinds of bcings,is ptaced in the Salmali[i"fi*itt adamantine thorns ind is dngged through the

region of hell. .. r ; ' -':- -o Kings who transgress the iimits of righteousness, and administrative

employees ii,o aisc"ra tf;e law of justice fall into the river Vaitarani after theirdeath. The |ivas are bitten by aqua'tic monsteF but are not seParated from theirbodies and are supported by iheii vital breaths to be ever alive to the consequences

oitf,"irtcur*u. Thisriverishoodedwithrefuse,urine,pus,blood,hair,nails,bones,marrow, flesh and fat.

Those men born of a higher caste who choose to be husbands of unchaste

wofircr. -_.cngin; l_ :. l:.,ve;: oric: - ! lifc a-.i r':!-^ h:rd, like b:r:tes, a life of shame-

lessness, fall after deathinto a pit of hcll, a sea of pus, rcfuse, urinc and phlegm, and

swallow the same most detestable things'ThoseBrahmins and others who actlike husbands of bitchcs and asscs and

find delight in cf,asiit animats and killing them in violation of Sastra are' aftcrdeath, made the "di"J ;;J *itr, tr,"" arrows of mcrciless beings'

Those *.r, iio *icitessly slaughter animals are born as animals into the

hellofaslaughterhouse,andaredealtwithinasimilarmanner'Those si"r"itt"i.ouorn men who, deluded by passion, cause their wives

born of the same blooJ tdottat to drink their semen' are thrown into a sea of semen

and made to drink it.Those who set fire to others' houses and administer poisons to others or

olunder villaSes "nj.uru*runsie they kings or kings'employees-they fall after

5"r,n*,""f.,8f1*n*",1teyarevoraciouslyriunchedbysevenhundredand wentyhounds, with their dreadful teeth'

iIl.

"I U1\

Who utters falsehood ingiving evidenceor in makinggifts, falls into a hellcalled Avichimat where there is no support to stand upon. There the jiva is hurledheadlong from the summits of peaks of mountains four hundred miles in height Inthis hell every hard stony surface appears like waterand thus the ]iva is made todelude himself even more. Though his body is shattered to pieces he does not die,and he is repeatedly lifted up to the top and hurled down again and again.

If a Brahmin drinks wine or eats obiectionable food, he is made to drinkmolten iron in the region of hell. Those who go against the prescribed rules ofVarnashram Dharma are given suitable punishments here.

Those men who praise themselves as great personages, but do not respectthosewhoarereallygreatbybirth, honorand learning,are truly living corpsesindafter death are thrown headforemost into a hell of brinish mire to undergo endlesstorments there.

Those who worship gods by offering human victims, are thrown into a hellwhere they are cut to slices and eaten by devils, but even then they do not die butonly experience pain.- -Thosewickedpeoplewho

tormenttheirrefugees--kause theyareundertheir control-are made, after death, to suffer from extreme hunger and thirst andare on eve{ysideassailed by sharp instruments, and aremade to recollect theirsins.

Those who arehere cruel likesnakes bynatureand terrifyotherbeings, fall,when they die, into a hell called Dandasuka, where snakes of five or seven hoodsattack them and worry them to death even though they do not die.

Those who here imprison people in dark holes and dungeons are, in turn,after their death, imprisoned in a dark atmosphere filled with fiie and smoke.

Those householders who get angry wi th guess and look a t them wi th crueleyes,as if theywould burn them, have theireyes plucked outafterdeathbyvulturespossessing bills hard like adamantine rock.

SCRIPTIIRA L SELECTIONS 5J

'\,l*'.1

IIII

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$\'

Twins eachborn with aParasiticbodygrowingfrom hisabdomen.

ATION KARMA & DISEASE

TI{E STORY OF KING BHARATA(from Srimad Bhagavatarn)

Bharata, the Hermit

. Bharata, the son of Rishabha, rulcd the kingdom well. He was a righteousman and his rule was pcrfcct. So famcd was the earth undcr his rule that, in laterdays, she earned the namc Bharatavarsha, since the good king Bharata ruled her. Inthe viake of his ancestors Bharata followcd all thc rulcs of conduct which areprescribed for a king; and the carth was happy undcr his rule. He was a greatdevotee of Narayana. In the heart of Bharaa was imprintcd the form of the Lord.Whenhefeltthathehadenjoyed thekingdom and thepleasurcsitheldlongenough,Bharata divided his kingdom among his sons, crowncd his eldest son as thc king,and rcnouncing cverything, he \^/ent a'lvav to Haridrvar, to the ashrama of the sagePulaha. The ashrama was located in a picturesque spot. It was surrounded by theriver Chakra which is, even today, full if Shaligrams, the s tones which are worshipedsince Lord Narayana is said to pervade them.

Bharata stayed alone there and, wi th flowers and fruits collected by himself,he would worship Narayana every day with a full and overflowing hearu overflow-ingwithBhakti. Hchadpasscdbc;';.:cithcstagewherethepleasuresandthepainsof theworld affcctman,and his hcartwas fillcd with pcacebornof renunciationanddetachmcnt. Hehad reachcd thcveryccstasyof joywhichcomes of intensedcvotionto theLord. His hcartwould mcltlikc watcrwhcnhc thoughtof Narayanaand tcarsof joy would oftcn flow from his cycs. His heart was likc a deep lakc into which hchad immcrsed himsel f a nd his ego and his sclf. Evcry day he would wandcr aroundclad in the skin of a deer and with his hair matted arrd dusty he would invokc theLord Who is present in the rising sun: "I surrender myself to that glorious powerWhich created this world: Which pervades tNs universe and Which has created it.:Whichis thecauscof theintellcctfunctioning:Whichis lodged inthesunthus givingits glory to the sun."

Days passed thus for him who knew no joy other than the thoughts of theLord. Once, whcn he was seatcd on the banks of the Mahanadi bent on his momingPrayers, a piteous scene met his eyes. A dcer had come to the banks of the river todrink water. AII on a sudden the roarof a lion was heard. The noise seemed to come

SCRIPTURAL SELECTIONS

for a momcnt. If it went out to grazc he rvouldbe- f.Bi'JEl,'t i.i!'.F\$ffif.1s:

fondlcd it as a mother wouid.

ffiH #ffi

3/

implicit faith in me- It is upto me"' , y -=i €llli t"X ..'.Sl)He *o,,ta spend uit i i' :t'",:iijll::,:: ': (,','--.,**l.li $llzt

:""rur:: xli,f'tll H"*;H :::'"'J":1ff': ffii\.ffi 'dHIHc has no onco*."p, ^1.'iarnhisonlvrefuge' .He - \lil;i *o\'Y ifltirustsmccompictciy. Icannotfailhi=''sincch'':l''as

= Bhi ?ft...i,;Hi

rvould wanderin the forestalong with thedeerand t- \ Rhe would carry him on his shoulders tll:" .l: =;;hbthoughttheyounganimalwas tired' And'if hcdid =tffiZ,'ot ci*e uact< to f,im:::; ;:*:i,fllliiT;L: affi7X}""L":H i: :ffiffi ;';t .' ;i";;i rl'

" r' i " i i "'- slwzj z$

self: r,Will I sec my bclovcd dcer again? Pcrha.ps a Ny////'qwolf, or a wild hog or some othcr wiid animal has

eatcn him up. Thc sun is about to sct and still my chila. nal 19i5omc back' Pcrhaps

a lion has eatcn it up. pcihnps a rigeris even now pursuing.rt." Hc would walk about

in agony and say: "lt ir a*i*r"rit to leave it alone in the forest' i must go in scarch

of it.,, sc saying he *oota #ander the forest and, like one demented' call out to the

dccrinaffectionatc."'"'u''a*i'""hefoundit,wouldbringithomeinhisarms.This affection for the deer made him forget his- other duties' His daily

worship of the Lord, ilS;Jhi when he would"sit and concenrrate on the form

of the Lord were now all things of the Past. whcn he tried to worshio the deer would

come in and prod him gently with his horns and Bharata would oficr to the deer all

the young blades of gr?r, oiru.ft he had gathered' When he sat in meditation the

form of the Lord *oita not come UeforJiis mind' The antics of the young deer

l.

REIN RNATION KARMA & DISEASE

-T".r' ''1 : Ttt

would come hfore his eyes and he would smile indulgently at the thoughts of hispet. In short, everything was now forgotten and the deer was the only thing thatmatterd. He would fondle it like a mother and he would spend hours toglthertalking to it. This was, indeed, a terrible state of affairs for one who had reno-uncedthe world.

Days passed by, and death, which is no respecter of persons, finally drewnear to Bharata with the speed of a storm and entered into him like a snake wouldenter into the hole where the rat lives. Bharata fixed his dlng eyes on the deer andhis last thought was of the deer. Aching for his pet, Bhaiata g"ve up his breath.

Bharata, the Deer

Bharata was born again. Since his thoughts were fixed on the deer: sincewith his last breath he was calling out to the deer silently, he was born a deer. Buthe was fortunate in one thing. He had the privilege of remembering his previousbirth. Overcome with self-pity he told himself: "What a pitiable state of affairs ismine now. I had abandoned all kinds o f a ttachments. I had mad e theiores t my homeand my mind was ever lost in thoughts of the Lord and in remembering the manystories about Him. There was a place in my heart for Narayana and nothing elsecould find a place there. My mind was firmly fixed on His lotus-feet. And into thatcalm lake came a disturbing factor: the affection I developed for the deer. Sopowerful was it that it made me forget everything else; even my Lord Narayana. Ihad strayed far away from the path I had been following. As a result of that I havebeen born as a deer instead of reaching the Brahmi state. Such is the power ofaffection and attachment to worldly things. I must try and exhausr this birth byassociating myself with people whose thoughts dwell on Him. My mind will onceagain become attuned to the higher sphere. By thinking on Him, by listening to F{ispraises, by listening to conversations and talks about His glory I will be rid of thisjanma and I will become free of this earthly bondage."

II

-r I -:;r. :!. 1.. .r

In the foim of a deer Bharata travelled towards shalgrama which was the

spot where nsrus corigregatd. Staying there,living on the g-rass growing-il1lT

"rhr"*" and drinkinf thl waters o? tnE river flowing thlf !!rat"t":p!nt his lifepainfully, waiting for-death which would relieve him.- Finally he died and wasgranted freedom from the form of a deer, a mere animal'

\II

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I

REINCARNATION

SirensFusion of Lower Extremities

Elastic Skin Man

Bobby Kork,Half man-HaIf Woman,packed a me;rn punch.

Fibrocyst

w Burmese Dwarf

ILLUSTRATIONS 41.

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Defomred lYomen

i.l

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I

growing out of his abdomen

Lion man

:

WORKS BY SWAIVII STVAIIAIIDA

KARIVTA & FREEDOM

l.Freewitl ,. ...., : , ,: How far a manis a free agent of his actions must be intelligently understoodintheliehtof Vedanta. Thenonf canonegetasatisfactoryanswerandsolution' In;ili,v;il;;;;;;;o*p"t"", m6n have discussed this matter from various stand-

poinb. They have #il;;;;" " "iy aun"itu.on.t,ttio*. Thry trii'e tatan ontylhe present into considiration. This iia sad misake- The present is onlylflagment

"ilin"trl" If the infinite pas!and infinjte future are also taken into consideration,tf,"y*ffi"r"ty"rrirru"t"'definiteconclusion thatwillbring peaceand solace to the

restless mind. lust as the man who has seer: ';{y o1e- side oi the shield figtrts withanotherrnanwhohasseenonlytheothersideof theshield,soalsopeoplewhokngw

"ify p"if"i t,rttt fighi"*otigst themselves and engage-in rlseless contro-versies

and debates. Just as tf,e man wf,o has seen the two sidel oJ the shield can easily settle

the dispute of the p"oo"t who have seen only- one side of the shield, so also a

Vedantin alone, who-6ir l"ff mo*fedte of the ;hole tnrth, can settle the dispute ofthose people who Jtd;1o find ou"t whether and how far man is a free agent ofhis actioni.

Determinisssaythatthewillofamanisasmuchbogdbythelawofcausationas therestof thlphenomenaof theuniverse' EthicswillfalldowntopiLesif there is no freedom for ^a man. There surely cannot be any moral responsibilitywhere there is no freedom. How could a min be made to account for his action'unless he is a fr* "gL;;f his deeds? How could reward or punishment be meted

out with iustice to a man if he has done an action out of compulsion, and not out offree choice? Man will be like an automaton or block of wood, his hands and feet

Irl

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SWAMI SIVANANDA 43

being chained down tightly. ; .

The consciousnessof the Self makes a man feel that he is ever free. This ideaof freedom is ingrained in the mind of every man. It is hiddea in the consciorisnessof the Self. Though he has nothing to eat, though he is in very adverse circumstances,there is a peculiar instinct in man that prompts him to think that he is always free.BecausetheNitya-Mukta(everfree)Atmanisatthebackofhismind,sentiments andfeelings, he feels.that he is free. He knows that he is bound and that he is encasedin this tabernacle of flesh. He ii fully aware that he is- a slave of Maya and Avidya;and yet sornething irside telis him that hi is free at the Same time. He has this doublefeeling because iiessgnce he is theall-pgrvading riisi of wisdom (VijninaghanaAhail..He gee tf,esi Raihes or glimpies of freedom even wNle he labours rinderstraitened,ciriumstantes. fnerelig_inCouragements for the struggling soul thatcome from within. He is in a dfingcbndition. Doctors haye prongunced the caseasabsolutelyhopeless. Yetttrerlisistrrillinriervoicethatsaysi!,amiirimortal,Iamfree.' He chlristies an ry,5irent feeling: 1 am free though I appe1.1,1o-9".Uo"nd, llrjsbondageisillusory.' ..,. . : .: - . - r- :. :rr-. r- .. . -

Let me repeat here the words of Lord Krishna in the Gi la, that bespeak o f thefreedomof ry"ifldoingkTl", . . . ,,,, . ., ,, ,,,. .,.

. ..J:...i.',

.,Aililhareil Armana AtmanAnt Nlty1yan. ,:. .. ' .,' : - 4na.:flf.v.f.! .

. ..: ... :,,

;il:j.:'": .i l ;;,r: ..i: -.,;.ri ..-'- .il.i ,, .i .;:,;r-. " rni oiti'iim atn hi iit asyi' Yn aqn: ;;i ioii ir i 7 ;1in "

,' -,tnatmanistu Saintruai vihetiiiiia'Satrzvat. i r':-....... .... - r.r. ..-.' \.- --(.+:tt:.:. .: - -).\-:

i , ;i '.1

' -',': , .!"'. j ''r:,j'To him who has conquered whimsy by himself, his own self is the friend.

of himself, but to him who has not (ionquered) himself, his own self stands in theplace of an enemy like rhe (external) foe." Ch. VI-5.

The Upanishads also echo the same idea:

llttishth at a I agr at a P r apy a V ar an N ib o ilh at a.

"Awake, arise, and, having approa:licd a learned teacher, learn." (KathaUpanishad).

In conclusion I wish to point out once more that man is a free agent. He isSvatantra of independent in doing actions. Whatever his present condition may be,he can have a glorious future through right exertion and right thinking. Many haveachieved success and greatness, many have reached the goal of life through rightexertion. This holds good for all. Man is ever free. May freedom be the goal of thylife! May all of us exert in the right direction to achieve freedom, the birthright ofman! May that supreme Being, ihe Antaryamin, guide us in all our actions!


2 Philosophy of Right and l4lrong

Right and wrong, Dharma and Adharma, are both relative terms. It is verydifficult to define these terms precisely. Even sages are bewildered sometimes infinding out what is right and what is wrong in some special circumstances. That isthe reason why Lord Krishna says in the Gila: '"What is action, what is inaction?Even the wise are herein perplexed. Therefore I declare to thee the action byknowingwhichthoushaltbeliberatedfromevil.Itisneedfultodiscriminateaction,todiscriminateunlawfulaction,andtodiscriminateinaction;mysteriousis thepathof action. He who seeth inaction in action, and action in inaction, he is wise amongmen, he is harmonious, even while performing all actions." Ch.IV-16, 77,\8.

I shall try to explain the terms right and wrong. Rishi Kanada, the author ofVaiseshika philosophy says in the opening Sutra: 'That which brings Msreyasa andAbhy:daya (supreme bliss and exaltation), is Dharma. That wNch elevates youand brings you nearer to God is right. That which takes you down and away fromGod is wrong." This is one way of d efining these terms. To work in accordance wi ththe Divine Will is righq to work in opposition to the Divine Will is wrong.

Itis very difficult to find out by the man in the street what exactly the DivineWill is in certain actions. That is the reason why wise sages declare that the peopleshould resort to Sastras, learned Pandits and realized p€rsons for consultation. Apure man who has done Nishkamya lGrma Yoga for several years and who hasdone worship of Ishwara fora long time can readily find out the Divine Will whenhe wants to do certain actions. He can hear the inner shrill, small voice. Ordinarypeopie should not attempt to hear this Divine Voice, the voice of God - they maymistake the voice of the impure mind for the voice of God. The lower instinctivemind will delude them.

That work which gives elevation, joy and peace to the mind is right; thatwhich brings depression, pain and restlessness to the mind is wrong. This is an easyway to find out right and wront. Selfishness clouds understanding. Therefore if aman has even a finge of selfishness he cannot detect wha t is right and wrong. A verypure, subtle, sharp intellect is needed for this purpose. The Gita describes the natureof Sattwic, Rajasic and Tamasic natures in chapter eighteen as follows:

'That which knows the path of work and renunciation, what ought to bedone, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation - that intellect is Satrvic (pure),O Arjuna. Tha t by which one wrongly understands Dharma and Ad harma and alsowhat ought to be done and what ought not to be done - that intellect, O Arjuna, isRajasic. That which, enveloped in darkness, sees Dharma as Adharma, and allthings perverted - that intellect is Tamasic."

Various other definitions are given by wise men to help the students in thepath of righteousness. In the Bible it is said: "Do unto others as you would be doneby." This is a veqy good maxim. The whole gist of Sadachara or right conduct isfound here. If one practises this very carefully he will not cornmit any wrong act.Ahimsa Paramo Dharma-non-injury is the highest virhre. If one is well establishedin Ahimsa in thought, word and deed, he c:rn never do any wrong action. That isthe reason why Patanjali Maharishi has given Ahimsa great prominence in his l{aiaYoga philosophy. Ahimsa comes first in the practice of Yama or self-restraint. Togive pleasure to others is right; to spread misery and pain to others is wrong. Onecan follow this in his daily conduct towards others and can evolve in the spritualPath. Do not perform any act that brings shame and fear. You will be quite safe if

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SWAMI STVANANDA 45

you followthisrule. Sticktoanyrulethatappeals toyourreasonandconscienceandfollow it with faith and attention. You will evolve and reach the abode of etemalbliss.

Now I shall talk to you on another important point. I have already pointedout in the beginning of this chapter that 'right' and 'wrong' are relative terms. Theyvary according to time, special circumstances, Varna and Ashrama. Morality is achanging and relative term. To kill an enemy is right for a lGhatriya king. ABrahmin or a Sannyasin should not kill anyone, even for protecting himself duringtimesofdanger. Heshouldpractisgstrictforbearanceandforgiveness. Tospeakanuntmth to save the life of a Mahatma or one's Guru who has been uniustly chargdbyanuniustofficerofastateisright Untmthbecomesatnrthinthisparticularcase.Tb speak a tmth which brings harm to many is untnrth only. To kill a dacoit whomurders wayfarers daily is Ahimsa only. Himsa becomes Ahimsa under certaincircumstances. ..,. ^ '.- ,;:'..

There are special Dharmas during critical and dangerous circumstances. .

They are called Apat-Dharma. Rishi Viswamitra took forbidden meat from aChandala when there was severe famine and offered this in his sacrifice to the Devas.Ushashti, a learned sage, took the Ucchishta beans from the hands of an elephant:driverwhen he was suffering from acute hunger and when he was not able to getfood from anyone. Performance of one's own duties brings happiness, quickevolution and freedom.

3. As You Sow So Shall You Reap:

This world rurui on well-esablished laws. There is no chaos. There is nosuch thing as accident or chance in life. Events occur in succession or order. Thereis perfect harmony. The child grows, attains boyhood and adolescence, begetsshildren, decays and dies. The child becomes a father and the fatherbrings forth achild. How is it that a human being is born of a human being, a horse of a horse, acat of a cat, a dog of a dog, and a monkey of a monkey. A seed sProuts and comesout with leaves, stems, twigs and flowers. It brings forth fruits and seeds in dueseasons. A seed from this fruitbrings forth a tree like the parent tree. The seed ofa mango tree cannot give rise to the growth of a Jambu tree. How is it that only amango tree comes out of a mango seed, a lambu tree from the Iambu seed, an appletree from an apple seed? This is a great mystery indeed. There is some mysteriouspower that is working behind alt these phenomena. That mysterious, all-pervadingpower orintelligence is God. He who sows paddy reaps paddy. He who sows greengram reaps green grarrL He who sows oranges reaPs oranges. Man sows the seed[o attain what he desires to reap. Even so, man does evil deeds and reaps the fruitsof pain. He who does virtuous actions reaps good fruits. One reaps fruis accordingto his Karma oractions

How is it that one man is a king, another is a beggar, one is a genius whileanother is a fool, one man is very wealthy while another is in want, one is always ingood health while another is constantly ailing, one is handsome while another isugly, one man is wicked while another is a saint, one dies at the age of ten whileanother dies at the age of ninety? Is this due to heredity? Certainly not. Theoperating cause is lGrma. He who had done vicious actions in his previous birth isbom as a wicked man. He who had done a lot of charity in his previous birth is born


as a king. It is only the theory of Karrna that can explain things beautifully and sat-isfactorily. Lord Krishna says: 'nVhosoever at the end leaves the body, thinking ofany being, to that being only does he go, O son of Kunti, because of his constantthought of that being." Ch. V[I-6.

Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire),and Karma (selfishaction) are the threeGranthis or knots which bind a man to the wheel of Samsara. Man first entertainsa desire to have a blanket. He says: nVinter is very severe now. I desire to get ablanket.' Then he begins to think where he can get it. He now decides to get it fromthe local departmental store. He takes the money, proceeds to the the store andpurchases the blanket. He had the desire at first. Then the thought made itsappearance. Then there was Karma or action of moving and purchasing. Thesethree things, viz, the desire, the thought and the action always go together. Desireand thought are intemal acts. Action is extemal. If a man entertains good deires,he gets good thoughts and does good actions. If a man cherishes evil desires, hedevelops evil thoughts and does evil actions. It is the thought that develops thecharacter of a man. If one cultivates thoughts of mercy,love, tolerance, generositSrand understandingheexhibits thesevirtues inhis characterand behaviourtowardsothers in society. The same rule applied to the sowing of seeds in the soil also applieshere. If one sows the virtue of mercy, he reaps a good harvest of merry. Hebecomesa merciful man. If one sows cmel ty, he reaps a good harves t of cmel ty. He does cmeldeeds. One can change his habits, thoughts and character by developing goodhabits and thoughts. Itis the thought thatmoves thebody to action. There is thoughtbehind every action. There is desire behind thought.

. Do not allow the desires to control your thoughts. Do not be carried awayeasily by all sors of desires through emotion. When a desire manifests, cogitate,think well. Reason out whether this particular desire towards the particular objectwill bring maximum happiness and minimum pain. If it is otherwise, reiect itruthlessly. Do not try to fulfill it. You must control desire through thoughts. Youmust not allow a desire to ovemrle the thought. You must slowly gain the strengthto control a desire. A desire, when conrrolled, becomes transmuted into will. Youwill gain will-force. Many people fall a prey to their desires and are tossed abouthither and thither helplessly like a straw in the wind. This is a great pity. That manwho has gained control over desires and thoughts is really a powerful and happy

L:::--n';cb:r:: ": '.vi:2. i.eanrtodissiminaie. Learntoconlrolihoughtsanddesires. Watch your thoughts carefuily. Do not allow any evil thought to enter thegates of the mental factory. Itlip it in the bud. Alwavs entertain holy, sublimethoughts and desires. Renounce unholy thoughts and unhcly desires. Developpassion for Self-realization. This one strong and holy desire will annihilate all otherworldly desires. Understand well the theory of Karma. Cut the three.knots ofAvidya and realize Satchidananda. Then you are beyond the operation of the lawof Karma. Then you are a Jivanmukta or a liberated sage even while living. This isthehighestgoaloflife. Thisisyourhighestduty. Allotherciutiesaresecondaryandself-imposed through Abhimana, ignorance and delusion.

48 REINCARNATION,I(ARMA & DISEASE

Sometimes if you are very timid, God will place you in such cirormstances whereinyou will be forced to exhibit counge and presence of mind by risking your life.Those world figures who have risen to eminence have utilised all opportunities tothe best advantage. God shapes the minds of human beings by giving themopportunities.

Remember that in your weakness lies the strength, because you will bealways on your alert to safeguard yourself. Poverty has its own virtues. Povertyinfuses humility, s trength, power of endurance and the spirit of struggle and perse-verance, whereas luxurybegets laziness, pride, weakness, inertia and all sorb of evilhabits.

Do not gmmble, therefore, of bad enyironments. Create your own mentalworld and environments. That man who tries to evolve or grow in adverseenvironments will be a very strong man indeed. Nothing can shake him. F& willbe of a sterner stuff. He r,i'ill have strong newes. Man is certainly not a creature ofenvironments or circumstances. He can control and modify them by his capacities,thoughts,goodactionsand rightexertions(Purushartha). TheewaPurusharthacanchange the destiny. That is the reason why Vasishthaji and Bhishma have placedPurushartha above destiny. Therefore, dear brothers, exert, conquer nahrre andrejoice in the eternal Satchidananda Atma.

5. Man Is The Master of His Destiny

' Some ignorant people say: "Karma does everything. It is all destiny. If I amdestined by -y Karma to be like this or like that, why then should I exert? [t is mydestiny only." This is fatalism. This will bring inertia, stagnation and misery. Thisis perfect misunderstanding of the laws of Karma. This is a fallacious argumenL Anintelligent man will certainly not put such a question. You have made your owndestinyfromwithinbyyourthoughtsandactions. Youhavefreewilltochoosenow.You have Swatantrata in action. A rogue is not an eternal rogue. Put him in thecompany of a saint He will change in no time. He will think and act now in adifferent way and will change his destiny. He will become saintly in character.Dacoit Ratnagar was changed into Sage Valmiki by the cunent of Rishi Narada.Jagai and Madai, two rogues of the first order were changed by the cunent ofNityananda, disciple of Lord Gouranga. You will have to desire, to think, and to actonly. You can change Karma in any wayyou like. You can become a Yogi orlnaniby right desire, by right thinking and by right action. You can attain the position ofIndra or Brahma by good Karma. Man is not a helpless being. He has free will ofhis own.

Man sows an action or thought and reaps a habit of doing or thinking. .Hesows a habit and reaps a character. He sows a character and reaps a destiny. Habitis second nature or rather first nature iself. Man has made his own destiny bythinking and acting. He can change his destiny. He is the master of his own destiny.There is no doubt of this. By right thinking and Vichara and strong Purushartha hecan become master of his destiny. Markandeya changed his destiny through Tapasand worship of Lord Siva. Viswamitra became a Brahmarshi through vigorousTa-pas and changed his destiny. You can also do so, if you have strong will and irondetermination. Vasashthaii preaches Purushartha to Sri Rarna in Yoga Vasishtha.Savitri changed the destiny of her husband Satyavan through the power of herPatiwata Dharma. Just as you can change your way of writing from a slant style to

II

SWAMI STVANANDA 49

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a vertical s$rle, so also you can change your destiny by changing your mode ofthinking. Now you are thinking: "I am Mr. So and So," identifying yourself withthebodyandotherUpadhisorlimitingadjuncb. Nowstarttheanti<urrent. Think:"I am Brahrnan. I amthe immortal Seif in all. I am all-pervading light, intelligenceor Pure consciousness." Your destiny will be changed. fust as you think, so you willbecome. This is the Sadhana This is rtre Ahamgraha-Upasana PracGe it steadily. Feeland realize.

An advocate of lahore once asked me: "Swamiji, you say that the law ofKarma operates with unerring precision in all men. Aman desires, thinks and acts.If theactionsthatlperformnowaretheoutcomeofmypastthoughts,andif my_pastthoughts are the resultant of my desires of the still more distant past, am I nothelplessly bound? I am like a piece of straw tossed about hither and thither. I mustact in accordance with my thought. I must think in accordance with my desire.There is no hope formy freedom of action and thinking. This does not appeal to myreason at all. Kindly throw light on this important subiett." : :' ;- '- , '

I replied: 'took here, Mr. Dowlatram! Man is gaining new ocperiences andnew knowledge every day. Mind is ilvolving every second. There is every possibil-ity for him to change his desires, thoughts and actions. Suppose there is a thief andhedoes pilfering. Heremoves the things of otherpeople without theirknowledgeand is put into jail. People hate him. He gains many experiences. He always feelshe is very miserable. He now decides to give up pilfering. He changes his desires.He now wanb to lead dn honest life. His old Samskaras, his old thoughts try to resistand recur again and again. But through resolute efforts he can change his thoughts,desires and actions and can become a ve{y good charitable man and'attainperfection,freedoTTdiTmortality." . i

Gleanings '; . ''

,. ' : . .._ ....;:. t.

1. Mark thb words of the Yoga Vasishta in this connection: ' - .:'There is nothing like destiny other than the effect of our previous efforts

CII-e4). Ourprevious efforts are called ourdestiny 01436). Ourachievements aredeterminedbyourefforts. Oureffortisthereforeourdestiny(l[-6-2'r. Ourpreviousand present efforts; in case theyare in contrarydirections, are the two rams fighting

-:-.-,.^--L ^(t ^' 'rhdr^--rn,.,^-fqrlof thetwoalwaysoverthrowstheother(II-CltCl. ',Ylie'.1::r' tirci'a.-c :.-- r-:s: oi the l':'esent efforts, it is the srronger ones thatdetermine our destiny. In either case, it is man's own effort that determines hisdestiny by virtue of its srength (II{-8). Man determines his own destiny by histhought. Hecanmake those thingsalso happen whichwerenotdestined to happen(V-24-28). The soul of man is powerful enough. Only those things happen in thisworld which it creates by its own free efforts, and not others $'24'35'36). Oneshould therefore ovetcome one's unfavourable destiny (the effect of one's pastefforts)bygreatereffortinthepresent, gnashinghisteeth(II-5-11). Thereisnothingin the world which cannot be achieved by man by the right sort of efforts (III-95-8)."

2. "Destiny is simply the limitation imposed by an already exercisedfreedom of choice, or what is commonly called free will." (Kingsland: RationalMysticism, p.353).

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3. 'The past can never be cancelled though it may be utilised. we have agood deal of the present constraint and previous necessi[r-in human life. Butiecessity is not to

-be mistaken for destiny which we c:ln neither defy nor delude.

Thoughthe self is notfreefromthebonds of determination, itcansubjugatethe pastto a certain extent and turn it into a new course. Choice is the assertion of freedomovernecessity by which it converts necessity to its ownuse, thus.freeing itself fromit. The human agent is free - he is not the plaything of fate or driftwood on the tideof uncontrolled events. He can actively mould the furure instead of passivelysuffering the past. The past becomes an opportult/ or-an otstacle. EverythingdependJon what we make of it and not what it makes of us"'( Prof. S. Radhakdshnan: An ldealist Viau of Life p.279\'

5. Free Will Versus Fatalism

The controversy betr,r,een free wilt and fatalism is still going onin the Westand no one has come to any definite conclusion. It is a great pity that the doctrineof Karma is mistaken for fa[a[sm. Fatalism is the doctrine that all events are subiectto fate and happen by unavoidable necesity.

Fate is bthet*ise known as luck or fortune. That undefinable mysterioussomething which brings trials, successes and failures to man, which ffrlee-s-anamoulds him by teaching lessons of various sorts, which takes care of him like amother, which brings virious sotts of experiences, which brings cloudy days anddays of bright sunsf,ine, which raises a beggarto thelevel.of alandlord and hurlsdown a milnty potentate to the level of a street-kggar, which gives different kindsof fruits "ti eiferiences to two peopleof equal talentsandcapacities, whichmadeNapoleon at one time a terror in the eyes of the people and at another time aprisoner,and which makes a certain portion of the life of a man quite stormy and anotherportion quite smooth, is calied fate. Fate educates and insFucts man. However*t i*ricitty fate may aPPear to oPerate, it works in harmony with the law ofcausation.

Fate is one's own creation. Man acts and thinks and develops his own char-acter. He creates a web like the spider or a silkworm and enlangles himself in itsmeshes on account of the three knots, viz., Avidya, Kama and Karma. He himselfhas enthroned fate and brought it to the level of a king, and he obeys its orderowingto his ignorance and its effecls.

The doctrine of Karma is diametrically opposed to the doclrine of fatalism.FatAlism causes inertia, tethargy, weakness of will and bondage. Fatalism annihi-lates faith. It induces terrible fiir in the people. It destroys ethics. It checks grcwthand evolution,whereas thedoctrineof Karma is anincentive to action to betterone'scondifion. It is a sourceof solace. Itgives mananassuranceof abroaderand happierlife. It presupposes freedom of the will. Freedom is the essence of Karma. It givesopportuniti"i'for growth and evolution. The doctrine of Karma affords a mostritional and scientific explanation of what is called fate. It gives a Positive definiteword of assurance that, ilthough the present, of which he himself is the creator orthe author, is unalterable and irrevocable, a man may better his future by changinghis thoughts, habits, tendencies and mode of action- Herein hes great comfort,strengthlencouragement and consolation to the desperate man. Herein lies a strongimpeiusforthemfntostruggleandexertforimproving-himself. Evenaforlornandtetpless man is made cheeiFul when he understands this doctrine of Karma- The

1

KARMA & REINCARNATION

1. Karura

Sri R. Krishnaswami Aiyer, M.A., B.L.; writes.about Karma'in the HinduMind dated October,1935: ' -- --;--

a. I(armas Classifed "".,:-' '. - ).'Karmas are good, bad or *i1t': The resurts of good lGrmas are:

(1) Purification oJ the mind, that is to say, the removal from the mind of itsdrossness which is rhe effect of thou gh ts of narow selfish;; il ;; r;;;j ,[-_ r , J?l Y"pprness in the higher regions, during the period between the deathn:,:-":11_n in this physical world. If the Karma is of an exceptional nature, thenlnkermayeven be madean office-bearerwith an authority in slch higherregions.

!3) Cgming back, as man again, to earth-life with facilities for furtherpurification of mind.

If the Karma, however, is done without attachment to its fruits and thethilker has.been going-along the path of Jnana (knowledle) or along the h[he;qtlo.ns of the path of Bhakti (devotion to the supreme uniiersal Souli, rr"ri.ir,i,S".d.olPletelypurifiedandpossessinghealthin therevealJtr,rtn gr"theand theulvlnegbiectof his devotionareinfactonein theself, heis notbound to returnagainto earthlife.

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SIVAMI STVANANDA 53

\The results of bad Karmas are:

(1) The mind becomes more and rnore impure.

(2) Suffering in the nether region or hell during the period between thedeath and rebirth here.

(3) If the Karma is very bad, after suffering in the nethcr region, the thinkeris made to take his birth in thii world in the loweianimal or vegetible kingdom aspart of his punishment. In some cases these lower births immediately follow theprevious earthlife.

.(4) After undergoing his sufferings in hell or as a sub'human Jiva, the

thinker coles again to assume a human body. He is then placed amidst veryunfavo-urable environments to his progress onwards. These bid environmentr otimpediments to advancement are in consequence of his own previous errors andmisdoings.

Mixed Karmas are partly bad and their results are:

(1) The mind becomes pure in certain respects and more impure ih certainothers.

(2) The tNnker suffers for some time in hcll, and enjoys for some time in theh"ppy regions above.

€) Afterwards he ordinarily takes birth here again as a rran.

b. The Ws tern Thany of Eooilution Is lJnsound,

thus aolu tion and inaoluf ron can be, s trictly speaking, pos tulated only of thethinker. while so, some of the western philosophers propound a theory thit thereis gradual Progress from the mineral condition to the vegetable,from the vegetableto the animal, and from the animal to the human, and call it the theory of evoiution.l.-: :l:- -::- il-:-_:- - -ligicn of the world supports such a theory, and, as BeniaminKiddinhisSocialEaolutionsays, "Thetendencyofthedoctrineofevolutionhaibeengenerally considered to be on the whole anti-religious." They say that evolution isgoing orr in the universe; but what it is that is evolving they have nothing to say1bout. Theyobserve different natures, bodies and obiccts in the universe occupyingdifferent positions in some respects, and seeing that one is more 'advancedt lhaianother,theymakeregularscalesnotingthedifferentdegreesofadvancemcnt. Butthey do not say that what is now foundin the more advanced stage of being must,in its essence, have been in existence formerly and must have been then in a lessadvanced condition. In other words, they do not say that the underlying entitywhich bears a more advanced form orexhibits a higherstate orcondition ioaay isthe same that formerly appeared in a coarser garb Jr functioned in a lower kini ofexistence. In fact, they have in general ignored the necessity, nay, even thepossibility, of the continuing presence of the subsisting reality and have onlydirected attention to some stations on the road of evolulion without caring to know

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I

5"4 ' REINCARNATION. KARMA & DISEASE

whether there is anyone irurneying along the road, and, if so, who he is and how heis going on.

In fact no evolution is possible from the stage of the mineral to that of thevegetable, for there is nothing in the mineral that can evolve. Dr. Bose's discoveriesof the modern day can have reference only to the Ishwaric life, not the life of anyJivain the mineral. The whole mineral kingdom has emerged out of the Tamasic aspectof Mayaand itforms thematerial whichgoes to rnake thebodiesof theJivasand theirmgans and places of supporU mineral rnatter not composing the body of any Jiva iscalled 'inanimate'or 'inorganic, not because there is no life at all in it - for it hasits very existence in the life of Ishwara - but because there is no separatecoordinating life.principle connecting tcgether the several atoms in harmoniouscooperation for serving some common end. It is the presence or the absence of sucha separate connecting life that makes, in fact, all the difference between the organicand the inorganic sides of Nature. The view that is now and then expressed fromthe modern Theosophical platform: 'every grain of sand has its livatma' is clearlywrong and opposed to the clear statement in the holybooks that the Jivas are to befound only in four classes of bodies, wz.,Jarayuja, Andaja, svedaja and udbhiija.

Again, as regards the alleged evolurion from the-vegetable to animal andfrom the animal to the human" the Western evolutionists do not actually trace thepassage of any entity from a lower to a higher state of being. They are only able tosee that one being is more 'advanced' than another and that this universe isinhabited by beings of manifold gradation of advancement, physical and mental.They mentally arrange the beings under different groups and these groups are thenarranged according to a regular and graduated scale of advancement. They thenperceive that the ladder of advancement created by them in their imaginationPresents a really beautiful appearance and they infer that Nature, beautiful as Sheis, must have brought about the advancement of beings only in the order in whichthe rungs of the ladder appear. A big librarv may contain a large number of booksof different gradations of thought or size. They may be arranged in some regularorder. will it be proper to infer that a book written by an advanced autho; has'evolved' out of a book written by an ordinary man, or that a big volume has comeout of a small booklet? The present-day theory of evolution has no strong founda-tion.

c. |tlho E"^olae?

Further, what is the cause of growth or evolution? Why should an entitywhich was sometime ago in the vegetable state now appear in an animal body? tsits advancement or promotion to a higher state of being only accidental? If not, inwhat way did it merit the promotion? Is the vegetable capable of doing anyresponsible act or Karma for which it is rewarded? If i t is itself not capable of doingany,isibascentinevolutioncompulsoryandduetotheactofanotheragent? Ifso,does it mean that the fruits of action may go to one'.vt'.n did nothing to merit them?Amongtheloweranimals themselvesoneis founo i,.7p:erthroughoutits life-span,from the moment of its birth, than another. Why should it be so? The differences intheanimal's experienceof painand pleasuremusthavetheirowncauses. Whatarethey? The causes must relate to the previous existence of every such Jiva in question.This previous life could not have been that of a lower animal, for lorver animals cando no responsible Karma. The law of Karma and iustice, if it is true at all, shows

SWAMI STVANANDA 55

t'I

unrnistakably that there is no real foundation for the notion that there is evolutiongoing on below the stage of man. Every brute, every little insect and every one ofthe plants and trees, all were, and are going to be again, human beings themseives-They are all only temporarily suspended from the class of humanity for someoffences.

It maybe asked, if all non-human states of being are only the results of theprevious human Karma, in the beginning stage of the universe, there must havebeenonlymenandnothingelse;is thereanyauthorityto showthattherewasa timewhen thereweremenalone and that the non-human states of being appeared onlylater? The question assumes that there was a beginning for the universe. It may bethat every lGlpa or Cyde of the universe has a beginnin$ blrt at the beginning ofa Kalpa the universe takes the appearance in the condition in which it was.before.the Pralaya or dissolution that preceded the lGlpa in question. The universe, withthis altemateexistenceof lGlpaand Pralaya has had no beginning atall.NoJre ca4say tlrat there was a beginning for the existence of the power of.Maya in the Self. Asthere was no beginning for the universe, there could not have been any period oftime when therre h'ere men alone. At all times there have been human as well as non-human states of being in the manifested universe.': - . ., i: i.., i r :'rr '. . ,,

: t! r... '..- 1, :.,.: . -. ,:._.:::-.2-, . d.TrueEoolution

':'.,. -j

, -.

What then is tnre evolution? It is, as once before stated, the progress of thethinkerinmanfromhispresentconditionof limitcdness to thestatcof theunlimitcdSelf. Progress of thejthinker means improvement and growth-gf mind-throughwhich he thinks. In the physical planq all vegetable and animal bodies develop outof the life-germ, the unit cell. The embryonic cell sometimes divides itself into twoor.more cills and sometimes, as in thi case of the lower fo.r.ms of,life,,b&omesassociated with new cells drawn from outside. In any case, development of theembryo implies multiplication of the cells. Mere multiplication of the cells againcannot make a living body. Along with it, there is also the widening or.expansionof the life within so as to control all the cells together. Similarly, a man's mind is saidto grow orexpand when his thoughts extend beyond his physical body and beyondhislimitedpersonality. Astheoriginalunitcellistheearliestandloweststateof thephysical body, thoughts of one's own interests alone belong to the lowest stage ofthe mind. The mind grows when the interests of others are also considered, as thephysicai body grows up pacidng together more celis. As tirere i: connecling life forall the cells together, selfless thoughts or thoughts of othcrs' interests should bebound up together by a connecting and uniflng knowledge that all are only theSelf. The end of the evolution of the thinker is reached whcn the evolving mentallife becomes, by expansion, identical with the all-including life, the universal Sclf.lf, however,his thoughts andactions aredirectedexclusivcly towards pcrsonal andselfish ends, his mind contracts more and more and recedes still further from thepath of evolution. He should therefore think onlysuch thoughts and do only suchactions as may widen his mind and raise him up in evolution. The mind has toexpand and expand until the limiting mind-covering, becomint very thin, is tornasunder, when, the limitations of the thinker ceasing to exist any longer, his innerSelf shines in his infinitude of existence, consciousness and bliss, for it was onJy he,the only bne and the real Sef that was appearing till then as enclosed in a coveringmade of mind-stuff.

I

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2 Dockine of Reincarnation

The doctrine of reincarnation is accepted by the mairrity of mankind of thepresent day. It has been held as true by the mightiest Eastern nations. The ancientcivilization of Egypt was built upon this doctrine, and it was handed over toPythagoras, Empedocles, Plato, Virgil and Ovid, who scattered it through Greeceand Italy. It is the keynote of Plato's philosophy when he says that all knowledgeis reminiscence. It was wholly adopted by the Neo-Platonists like Plotinus and

. Proclas. The hundreds of millions of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains have made thisdoctrine the foundation of their philosophy, religion, government and social insti-tutions. It was a cardinal point in the religion of the Persian Unagr. The doctrine ofmetempsychosis was an essential principle of the Druid faith and was impressedupon the Celts, the Gauls and the Britons. Among the Arab philosophers it was afavourite idea. The ritesind ceremonies of the Romans, Druids and Hebrews ex-pressed this faith forcibly. The |ews adopted it after the Babylonian captivity. Iohnthe Baptist was to them a second Eliiah. jesus was thought to be a reappearance ofJohn the Baptist or one of the old prophets. The Roman Catholic purgatory seerrsto be a makeshift, contrived to take its place. Philosophers like Kant, Schelling andSchopenhauer have upheld this doctrine. Theologians like Julius.Muller, Dornerand Edward Beecher have mainiained it. And today it reigns over the Burmese,Siamese, Chinese, japanese, Tartar, Tibetan, East Indian and Ceylonese'peoples,induding at least 750 millions of mankind or nearly two thirds of the human race.Is it not wonderful then that this great and grand philosophical education which theHindus, Buddhists and Jains gave the world centuries and centuries bcfore theChristian era should or could be blotted out of existence from the Western andEuropean world by the soul-blighting and absurd dogmas of the dark ages thatsupervened? By the persecution of wise men and the destruction of innumerableworksin thelibraryof Constantinople, theChurchhierarchymanaged toplungethewhole of Europe into mental darkness which has given the world the black recordof the Inquisition and the loss of millions of human lives through religious wars andpersecutions.

Here is a challenge to the non-believers of the Hindu theory of transmigra-tion. Recently a little girl, Santi Devi, gave a vivid description of her past lives inDelhi. There was a great s€nsalion in Delhi and Muttra, nay, throughout the UnitedProvinces. There was great assembly of persons to hear her statements. Sherecognized her husband and child of her previous birth who are living in Muttra.She pointed out the place where money was kept, and also an old well in the housewhich is covered now. All her statements were duly verified and corroborated byrespectable eye'witnesses. Several cases like this have occurred in Rangoon, Sitapurand various other places. They are quite common now. In such cases the ]iva takesimmediate rebirth with the old astral body or Linga Sarira. That is the reason whymemory of previous birth comes in. He does not stay in the mental world for a longtime to rebuild a new mind and astral body according to his previous experiencesof the world.

Transmigration made its appearance in the early Christian church. Eliiahwas reborn as fohn the Baptist. "Did the blind man sin, or his parents, that he wasborn blind?" ask the believers in transmitted retribution. There is a period of anxietyimmediately after death, when angels contend with demons for the possession of thedeparting soul on its way to purgatory.

57r:t SWAMI STVANANDA

Pythagoras and others obtained their belief in metempsychosis from Indiaonly. Pythagoras, who flourished in the sixth century, aiso taught a doctrine oftransmigration, and, curiously mough, prescribed abstinence from the eating offlesh.

The suckling of a child and the act of swimming of a duckling - theseinstinctive acts are proofs of memory whichmustbe the result of their correspond-ing and inseparable impressions left by the same acts in a previous incarnation,never mind when and where. Every act leaves Samskaras in the Chittia, whichcauses memory. Memory in its own turn leads to fresh actions and fresh impres-sions. This cycle or Chakritca goes on from eternity like the analogy of the seed andtree.

Thereis no beginning for them, the desire to livebeing etemal, 'for them',i.e., for the desires. Desires have no beginning or end; every being has clinging tothis physical life (Abhinivesa). This "will to live" is eternal. Experiences are alsowithoutbeginning. Youcannotthinkofatimewhenthisfeelingof 'Aharn'or'I'hasnot existed. This 1' exists continuouslywithout intemrption. From this we can veryeasily infer that there have been previous births for us. Now, could there be fear ofdeath to avoid pain in any being who has only been born, if he has had no experienceof liability to death, it being understood that desire to avoid anything is only causedby remembrance suffered in consequence thereof? Nothing which is inherent inanything sands in need of a cause. How could it be that a child, who has notexperienced this liability to death in the present life, should, as he is falling downfrom the mother's lap, begin to tremble and hold with his hands tightly the necklacehanging on her breast? How is it that such a child should experience the fear ofdeath, wtrictr can only be caused by the memory of the pain consequent uponaversion to death, whose existence is conferrcd by the trembling of the child?

-: :' We have boy-geniuses. A boy of five becomes an cxpcrt on the piano orviolin. Sri lnanadev wrote his commentary l|nancshwari" on the Gita when he wasfourteen years old. rThere have been boy-mathematicians. There was the Bov-Bhagavatar inMadras who conciucted Kathas when he rvas eight years old. Howcould you explain these strange phenomena? They are not freaks of nature. Thetheory of transmigration only could explain all these things.'If one man gets deePgrooves in his mind by learning music or mathematics in this birth, he carries theseimnrpqsions to the next birth and l^1656" 2 6lsliow i^ these sciences even whenhe is a boy.

According to the Christian faith, the ultimate fate of the rightcous is lifeeternal; of the evil, everlasting fire or etcrnal damnalion. How could this bc? Noopportunity is afforded to the sinner to purify himsclf in latcr births.

The doctrine of reincarnation is common to Hinduism, Buddhism andJainism. What is reincarnation? Reincarnation is the doctrine that the soul entersthis life not as a fresh creation, but after a long course of previous existcnces, andwill have to pass through many more before it reaches its final destination. Whatpossible motion in the brain causes the idea 'I am I'? This recognition of a real unitdoes not vary from the cradle to the grave. From childhood to old age, during thewhole course of the total change of all brain-molccules the idea 'I am I' is undis-turbed. This'I am I'is the soul. It is this soul which makes memory possible. It hasitsownconsciousnessand nottheconsciousnessof anyoneelse, thereforeitis aunitexistingbyitself. Thelawof theconservationof energyis true in thephysicalas wellas in th-e spiritual world. Therefore, as no atom can bi created or destroyed, so also

nosoul-entilycanbecreatedordestroyed. Whatbecomesof thesoulthenafterwhatwe call death? No powers in the universe can annihilate it.

Reincarnation is the only doctrine which gives a complete solution to the*t 1l d.ispu1ed question_of original sin. There cannot be greater iniustice i" ti"world than the fact that I am now suffering for the transgrission of my ur,.urtor.td1^l: responsi bil i ty fo r our si n is o nly a ma keshift o f thelheolo gi"r,t. ivo o.," U.rithe individual himself can be blamed for his wrong doing. Are nol the courts of laiof the United States founded on the ideasof justicel Witt any judge sittinf on tirethrone of justice be justified in accepting the death - the voluntary suicidi of Mr.! -.t the proper reFibution for the murder committed by Mr. ai ena if he doesthat, wiil not thesameludgebe arraigned beforea superioriourt, having knowinglyabetted the suicide of B? And still we are asked to believe that the guiliof one nia'ncan be washed by the suffering of another.

But the doctrine of reincarnation assists most when we look at the inequalityand iniustice and evil in the world and seek the solution. Why is one man boi" ri.i.and another poor? Why is one man born in Central Africa ambng the cannibals andthe other in a peaceful part of India? Why is Queen Victoria born to rule over theterritories on which the sun never sets and why is a labourer in Burma to work asa slave.in an Englishman's tea-garden? What is the cause of this apparent injustice?Even those who have belief in the personal creator of the universemust beiieve inthis doctrine of reincamation in order to exonerate God from the charge of mali-ciousness.

Even in theNew Testament therc is sufficientevidence forreincarnation. InSt. John X-2 a question is put to fesus by his disciples: Which did sin, this man orhis parents, that he was born blind? This refers to lwo popular theories of the time- one, that of Moses who taught that the sins of fathers would descend on childrento the third and the fourth generations, and the other that of the doctrine ofreincarnation. Jesus merely says that neither the man's sin nor his father/s sin wasthecauseofhisblindness;hedoesnotdenythepre-existenceofthatnran. LordJesusalso says that John reincarnated as Eli;ah.

But people may ask that if this doctrine is true, how is it that we do notremember our past incamations. I will ask such people in what way do we exercise-the faculty of memorv. Certainly, so long as weareliving in a body we exercise itthrough the brain. In passing from one incarnation to thE other, the soul does notcarnr its fcrrner brain in lhe nevr bnriv. !','gn during the course of one life, do wealways rememirer our past cioings/ Can anyone reriember that rvonderfuiepoch,the infanry?. If you have knowledge of the Raia yogic technique of perceiving theimpressions directly through the process of Samyama (Dharana, Dhyana-andsamadhi at one rime), you can remember your past lives. In the Iiaia yogaphilosophy of Patanjali Maharishi, you will find:

Samskarat Sakshat Karanat Puntajati fnaanam.

"By perceiving the impressions, comes the knowledge of past life.,,

All experiences that you have had in various births remain in the form ofimpressions or residual potencies in the Chitta or subconscious mind. They remainin a very, very subtle form, just as sound remains in a subrle form in a gramophone

SWAMI SIVANANDA 59

record. These subtle impressions assume the forms of waves and you get memoryof past experiences. Therefore, if a Yogi can make a Samyama on these pastexperiences in the Chitta, he can remember all the details of all his past lives.

Reincarnation Is Quite Tru e

Man can hardlyatr:in perfection in one life. He has to develop his heart,intellect and hand. He has to mould his character in a perfect manner. He has todevelop various virtuousqualities suchas mercy, tolerance,love,forgiveness, equalvision, courage, etc. He has to learn many lessons and experiences in this greatworld+chool. Therefore he has to take many lives. Reincarnation is very true. Onesmall life is a part of the long series that stretches behind you and in front of you. Itis quite insignificant One gains a little experience only. He evolves very little.During the cource of one life man does many evil actions. He does very few goodactions. Very few die as good men. Christians believe that one life determines andsettles everything. How could this be? How can the everlasting future of man bemade to depend on that one small,little, insignificant life? If in that life he believesin Christ,he willgeteternal peacein heaven;if he is an unbelieverin thatlife he willgetetemaldamnation, hewillbe thrown foreverinto thelakeof fireorintoa horriblehell. Is this not the most irrational doctrine? Should he not get his chances forcorrection and improvement? The doctrine of reincarnation is quite rational. Itgives ample chances for man's rectification, upheaval and gradual evolution.

.:3. Lawful and Forbidden Actions ..

Uiilhi-Nisheilha)

Actions are of two kinds:1. Lawful (Vidhi).2. Forbidden or prohibitory (Mshedha), '.

I-awful actions are the iniunctions of the Sastras. They are beneficial to theperformer. Satyanvada,Dharmam chara - "Speak the Futh, do virtuous actions."These are lawful actions. They are best calculated to purify the heart of thep:rfr- : -c: and to prepare his r-,irri ir i ii:e , tc.''rt:; n p F E-:r'ma frrr '

Forbidden are those actions which are interdicted by the xriptures, such as :"Do not drink liquor. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Etc." They areharmful. They hurl the doer down to lower births.

The lawful actions are of four kinds:1. Nitya Karmas - daily rites.2. Naimittika Karmas - occasional rites.3. lGmya Karmas-optionai rites.4. Prataschitta Karmas - penances.

Morning bath and Sandhya in the three periods of time constitute NiryaKarmas. If you do not perform them daily you incur sin. You are subject toPratyavayaDosha(thesinof omission). TheritesdoneduringeclipseandShraddha(ceremony) eveqf year are Naimittaka Karmas. Non-perforrnance of these ritesbrings sin. That man who is.struggling to obtain Moksha will not be affected by the

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DISEASE

harmful effects of leaving the-Nitya and Naimittaka Karmas. Kamya lGrmas areperformed with a moriveof obtaining definite results. Sacrifices ,rrl, "* I"""?".getting rain, and the offerings to fire for obtaining swarga, are examples "f lil;;Karmas.

Prayaschitta is done for the des truction of sin. In the Code of Manu you willfind various kinds of Prayaschitta for the destruction of various kinds "a;i;;;.has the murder of a Brahmin, killing of a cow, drinking alcohol o, ,"u"f iorl;il;foods,adultery,etc. prayaschittaGof twokinds, -tl.t. Extraordina#(AoJr.,"iana) and 2. Ordinary (Sadharana). Extraordinary penances are those which areprescribedintheCodeofManuforthedestructionofpartictrlarsinr. Ch""d;),";;Vrita' Krichhra Vrita and various other kinds such ai carrying a skull in the fiandand living on alms after renouncing all property, living und-erneath a tree, il;pilgrimage till the end of one's life,lna dpenty iamittiig before ,r," p"f1i. oi";!Ttr.ne' ar9 prgscribr{- IjalYo_ne rePents and openlyaamiis his minoroffences, thesinis washedaway.rndoingprayaichita theoffenderactuallysuffers, hep;;h;;himself by long fasting andbthei ordeals as described above. Action and reactionare equal and opposite. comprete fasting on Ekadasi and pradosh davs destro;;many sins.

-Every one of you shourd practise this. Bathing in the cu"gJr, f";i uliordinary pilgrimage constitute ordinary Prayaschitta foithe destrucf,on-oi s*arisins.A full-blown Jnani is above Vidhi and Nishedha. He can do anything helikes. He can kill thousands of Brahmins and millions of people. fn" Citui"ysr?,Hewho is free from the egoistic notion, whose reason is noi afiected, though he slavsthese people, he slayeth not, nor is he bound.- ch. xvn-12. Tt ir;;it;i;;ilt;

exalted stateof theJnani. He cannot do a single wrong acrion. H" tir?ircfii""ahimself in- th9 beginning. He has practiseJ sama ind Dama ro, a tong d;e.Whatever he does will be in strict accordance with the injunctions of the scriitur"r.AJnanihasnoideaofbeinganactor. HehasnotKartruiihav. Heidentifieshimselfwith Brahman- He has estabrished himserf in his own swaroop.- f-u*u may have been acquired in many previous birihs. Actions causegood and bad results. Some actions might have begun to bear fruits and others not.Therefore it is_impracticabre to consume by enjolment in one singre birth, thatportion of the Karma- which has not begun to beir fruit. Hence th"e certainty ofsubsequent embodied existence on account of the unenjoyed portion of the Karma.

T].e c'csc:-.'i:i,cll ui c;ii;:tcrf ii:,;;:ra ..a; nol "-;

t.,. power of renderintinllera-til'r oceC anC bacl dceCs, -rvhich have not yut 6eun to bear fruit. There isa penaiiy liiou r;..r .i-;i. ycriJriri oiriigaroq; . .c;ri,*. : rrcreiziii i;,:.::;i7-ar,-;a D-;:;.e(unpleasant consequences). it therifore follows that the observance of o'UtigatoryI"*3 only has the effect of wa-rding off misery, the certain consequence arisingfr9T-iF non-performance, and has not the effect of consuming previous rcarml.lhich is yet to bear fruit. Obligatory Karma diminishes'the sinsitbred in previousbirths.

SWAMI STVANANDA 67

4. Three Kinds of Karma

Sanchita Karmas iue accumulated works: Prarabdha Karmas are ripe orfrucfuous actions; Kriyamana or Agami Karmas are current works. Sanchita aredestroyed by Brahma Jnana. One shoutd enjoy the Prarabdha anyhow(Vyavaharika Drishti). Kriyamana are no actions, as the Jnani has Akarta andSakshi Bhav. Tarash, the case in which arrows are accumulated, represents ourSanchita Karmas; the arrow that is ready for discharging represents our AgamiIGrmas; and the anow which has already left the bow, which cannot return, whichmust hit the tartet, represents the Prarabdha Karmas. The artides in the store-roomrepresent ne Sanchia; the articles that are put in the shop for sale are Prarabdha;tne aaily sale proceeds are the Agami. ,

There are three kinds of Prarabdha,viL,Iccha Prarabdha, Aniccha Prar-abdha, and Paraiccha Prarabdha. There is difference between the Icchh Prarabdhaof Vevekins and Non-Vivekins. Non-Vivekins think that they are thelgents of allactions. They are egoistic. They do mischief to other people. They al#ays do evilactions. They are always full of misery. Vivekins eradicate attachment, desires andegoism. They have no

-desire for money.- They lead a peaceful life and seie others.

Aniccha Prarabdha is common to Vivekins-and non-Viv6kins. Both sufferfromtheheatof thesun,wind,rain,disease,accidentaliniury to theheadbystrikingagainst the door,lightning.stroke, etc. .Paraiccha Prarabdha is c6mmon to both.One man prostrates-beionJa Vivekin or a'non-Vivekin and implores him io rendeisome help or service. He has to undergo the pleasure and pain ihat acirue from th.iswork. j'. , .j:... . :

The seed-like subtle impressions of the entire.accumulated action liedormant in Chithkasa (the mental space). .When a great Jnani gets'illgpinationthrou gh d irect intui tive knowled ge,,-tha t he is no t the f ive shea ths bu t transcenden-tal to-them and also their witneising intelligiirce 6akshi), theAtn6rt'then thesubtle impressions of Sanchita Karma lying in Chittakasa of the Manomaya Kosharemain in the sheath only; they gan no longe.r enchain the liberated Inani. . ., '

Just as a potter, having set in motion the wheel by a rod, removes his handand rod from it, allowing the wheel to revolve tilt the momentum previouslyimparted to it is exhausted, in the same way, thelnani, even after his attainment ofJivanmukti through self-knowledge, continues enjoying the fruit of his PrarabdhaKarma up tc the end o f the present t'ody. Prarabiha is ex,ia u:'.,-'il'u i''''" :: =.eansthan enjoying its fruit.

Just as the potter/s wheel, after being set in motion continues revolving,even after the connection with the potter is cut off, so also a Inani continues to enioythe fruit of his Prarabdha iGrma; but they cannot produce the seeci of SanchitaKarma on account of his non-attachment or absence of craving for them.

The enjoyment of the fruit of Prarabdha Karma falls to his lot by the forceof Prarabdha. He has not the least desire for them as he has realized, through self-knowledge their impermanent and unreal nature. 5o their enpyment does not inany way affect hirn The experience of happiness and rnisery, owing to his non-attachment, is impotent to produce the seeds of Sanchita Karma, as the parchedgrains are impotent to germinate and produce any crop.

Brahma |nana annihilates Agami Karmas (current works ) of a Jnani as hehas no contact with them, that is, he is untouched or unaffected by his Karmas, likethe lohrs leaf which is unaffected by the drops of water on it.

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52 ntnicaRNenoru. ranva c Ptsrasr

The accumulated and current actions of a Jnani take shelter in BrahsrandaPrakriti.

Those who serve and adore a Jnani acquire his merit of current actions,while those who hate and censure him get the demerit of his anrrent actions.

Thus the Jnani gets disentangled from the fetters of all Karmas (TattwaBodha).

5. Sin Is A Mistake Only

Only the ignorant man says: "I am a great sinner." This is a serious mistake.Never for a moment think that you are a sinner. You are the most holy one, you arethe ever-pure Atman. Sin canno t touch you. You are above vice and virtue, Dharmaand Adharma. Punya and Papa are mental creations only. Sins are mistakes only.An ignorant ]iva commits these mistakes during the course of his ioumey in thisworld on account of Avidya or ignorance. Tfuough mistakes he gains experiencesand marches forward in his path of spirituality. Every mistake is yourbest teacher,.One has to evolve through sins and mistakes. These mistakes are inevitable. Somepeoplebecomea preyto thoughts of sin. Theyeverbrood:'nVearegreatsinners. Wehave committed many crimes." This is a great blunder.

Whenever thou ghts of this na ture worry you, you should think "I am doinglapa of Om. This will burn all old sinful actions. This will purify my mind. I amdoing Tapas, fasting and charity. These are all great purifiers. I am becoming purerand purer. Nothing can affect me now. I am like the effulgent fire. I have becomea holy person." Assert, whenever such negative thoughts of sin trouble you: "I amthe Nibya Suddha, ever-pure Atman."

Hear the words of assurance of Lord Krishna in the Gita: '€ven if thou artthe most sinful of all sinners, yet shalt thou cross over all sin by the raft of wisdom.As theburningfirereduces fuel toashes,OArjuna,sodoththefireof wisdomreduceail action to ashes. Verily, there is no purifier in this world like wisdom; he that isperfected in Yoga finds it in the Self in due season." Ch.IV-35, 37,38.

"Even if the most sinful worships Me with undivided heart, he too must beaccountd righteous, for he hath rightly resolved. Speedily go becometh dutiful andgoeth to eternal peace. O Kaunteya, know thou for certain that My devotee perishethnever. They who take refuge in Me, O Partha, th.ough of the womb of sin, women,Vais.'ivas, even S,:c;as, tiic'/ also tread thc highest path. I{ow much more easily,then, the holy Brahmins and devoted royal sains (attain the goal); having obtainedthis impermanent and unhappy world, do thou worship Me. Fix-the mind on Me,be devoted to Me, sacrifice unto Me, bow down to Me, having thus united thy wholeself in Me, taking Me as the supreme goal, thou shalt come to Me." Ch. IX-30-34.

SWAMI STVANANDA 53

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6. Secrets of Kar:ara

Karma is the sum-total of works - god, bad and mixed - which anindividual performs during his life. It is the collective totality of man's actions. Itis these actions that determine his future existence. There is double retribution orrewardforman'svirtuousactions. Hegetsagoodbirthwithsuitablesurroundings,environments and opportunities for his good actions: this is one reward. Anotherreward is that he gets a place in the abode of heaven also. But after the consumrna-tion of happiness he is sure to be hurled back to this physical plane. Lord KrishnasaysintheGia:' .,. -

:

''They,having enpyed the spacious heaven world, their holiness withered,come back to this'world of death. Following the virtues enirined by the three(Vedas) and desiring objects of desires, theyattiin to the state of coming ind going."

It is very difficult to say what IGrma brings forth a particular disease. Is ita single IGrma or a combination of several Karmas that brings epilepsy? .The sagesdeclare that the theft of a golden necklace brings xrofula in the neck in the nixtbirth. They say that leprosy, epilepsy and gulma (ctuonic gastric catarrh) are dueto very bad lGrmas. It is also diffiorlt to say whether this body is the resultantproductofasingleKarmabramixtureofseveralKarmas. Generallyonestrongandpowerful lGrma determines the birth of an individual and keeps up the curr-nt oflife of that particular bjrth. Some minor Karmas may be joined to the main trunkor thecentral thread. Learned persons say thatone will have to take several birthssometimes to exhaust the fruit! of one important virtuous Karma. The secret ofIGrma is very mysterious. fu only knows them because He is the Lawgiver.Sometimes highly virtuous and vicious Karmas bring forth their fruits in the verylife itself.

It is impossible fora man to remain wi thou t doin g any action ei ther throughthe organs of action; feet, hands, etc., or through the mind. :Even if he becomes aSannyasin and retires into a cave in the Himalayas he must continue eating,drinking, answeilng the calls of nature, sleeping, etc. That is the reason why thiIord saysin theGita: "IVorcananyone,evenforan insiantremain reallyactionless;for helplessly is everyone driven to action by the qualities born of nahrre." Clr- III-5.

If work ceases to produce rebirth, li terally no one can be freed. To avoid thisdifficulty knowledge is credited with powers of destrof ng Karmas. The Gita says:

I tunagnih santalurmani bhasmasathtrut e.

'The fire of wisdom reduces all actions to ashes." Ch. fV-37.

To sum up in a nutshell: there are three kinds of Karmas, viz., the Sanchitaor accumulated ones, the Prarabdha or the fructiferous, and the Agami or currentactions. Sanchita are works which h.ave been acctrmulated in several previousbirths; Prarabdha are those which have given the present life and have alreadystarted to bear fmit; and Agami are the works which are being done in this presentIife. They will bring fruits in a fuhrre life. The Sanchita and Agami are destroyedby getting Brahma ]nana or knowledge of the Self or God. But the Prarabdha canonly be exhausted by experiencing their fruits in the present life. A child is bornblind, deaf or dumb - this is due to Prarabdha. One man dies at the age of ninety,

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54 RrntcARwRrloN. xarura c olsgesn

another at thirty-five and the third at eighteen: this is due to Prarabdha. Jati (caste),longevity, bhoga (enjoyment), are all due to Prarabdha. A virtuous man suffers, heis starving. A scoundrel is in a prosperous condition. An aged mother loses her onlyson who was her sole prop. A young girl who was newly married loses her husband.Instances like these can be multiplied ad infinitum. In all these cases Prarabdhaoperates unerringly with scientific accuracy and precision.

See how Prarabdha operates. A lady from Paris came to me for aninterview. She said that ever since she had landed in India she was quite at homein the country. India was very familiar to her. She liked India and Indians verymuch. Wjthin three months she forgot all about her parents and native place. Shelikedthelndianwayofdressing. Soshechangedherdress. Shewantedtodomicilein India for the practice of Yoga. This clearly shows that in her previous birth shewas born in India. Another American lady lived tn l-akshman Jhula near Rishikeshfifteen years ago. She lived on bhiksha,led the life of an ascetic and died in the banksof the Ganges. This is all Prarabdha. Hindus say that wherever there is Anna-|ala(food and drink) for a man, there he will be dragged. You cannot remain in a placeeven for a second more, when the Anna-Jala is finished.

The last powerful thought that ocorpies the mind of a rnn in his dyingmoment determines the nature of his next birth. You will find in the Gita:

Yan yam oaapi smatan bhauam tyajatpanteKalebar am tam tamaniti lGuntrya sdaa tadbhaaitah.

; '"Whosoeverat the end abandoneth the bodn thinking upon any being, tothat being only he goeth, O Kaunteya, ever to that conformed by nature.,,Ch. VIII-6.

If the thought of tea comes inyour mind at the momentof death, you maybecomea managerof a tea estatein the nextbirth, if you havedonevirtuous actionJ,oryou;:aybebo;:r to dohard labourina teaestate if you havedcneanyel'il actions.A drunkard will have thoughts of liquor when he is dying. A licentious man willthink only of women 'arhen he is about to expire. I saw a dy-tng man who had thehabit of using snuff. When he was in an unconscious state he used to move hisfingers towards the nose every now and then and do imaginaqy snuffing. Obviouslyhe had thoughts of snuff. A medical officer of a hospital used all sorts of abusivlierms while he',vas in a dying condition. Raja ]ada Bharata, out of compassion fordeer, took great care of the animal. He gradually developed attachment. only theone thought of the deer occupied his mind when he was about to die. So he had totake the birth of a deer. In every Hindu home the Names of God, such as Hari om,Ram, Ram Narayan and Krishna are whispered into the ear of the dying man. Theidea is that the dying man may remember the Name and form of the Lord andthereby reach the blissful abode. If a man leads a virtuous life for many years, andif he does Japa and meditation for a long time, then only, through the force of habithe will remember God and His Name at the moment of death.

Hindu scriptures say that a man may become a Deva or a beast or a bird orvegetable or stone according to his merit or demerit- The Upanishads also corrobo-rate this statement. Kapila also agrees on this point. But Buddhism and someWestern philosophers teach: 'There is no more retrogression for a man when oncehe takes a human birth. There is no necessity for him to be bom as an animal for the

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' SWAMI SIVANANDA 55

sake of demerit. He can be punished in a variety of ways in the human birth itself.'When a man takes the formof a Deva, all human Samskaras, habits and tendencieswill remain dormant. When a rnn takes the form of a dog, only the an*imai-tendencies, habib and Samskaras will manifest. Human tendencies will rmrainsuppressed. Some dogs get royal treatment in the palaces of kings- They move incars, eat good food and sleep on cushions. These are all degenerated human beings.

After death this physicalbgdy, composed of five elemenb, is cast off like aslough or the coil of a sniki., The innir astral body or Linga Sarira, which consistsof nineteen Tattwas, viz., five Karma Indriyas, five Jnana Indriyas, five Pranas,mind, Buddhi, Chitta and Ahamkara, goes to heaven, comes back to the physicalplane, puts on another physical body and reincarnates. It is this body that corrtains-the iqpressions of lGrmas. This body remains till one gets knowledge of the S€lfand consequent emancipation. Then it disintegrates and the comPonents getinvolved in the ocean of Tanmatras or Avyaktam.

Heaven and hell are mental creations only. It is the mind that makes aheaienofhellandahellofheaven. TheyarePuranicconceps. ForaVedantinthereisneitherhellnorheaven. Whois tosuffer? TheAtmanisAkartaorNishkriya. lheAtman is all-pervading, It is ever free (Nitya Mukta). ..r rlyy rii,'r'il

Works are extinguished ei ther by expia tory ceremonies (Prayaschi tta) or by .

the knowledge of the Self or Brahman, or by the full fruition of their consequences. .

Smritis declare that some single actions such as the murder of a.Brahmin,are the causes of more than one new existence. , , ' ; .: ,-" :

. '; ,.. .;.'. .. i .: .. .t-t., ., -,

7. Karura in the lainPhilosophy :--, ::.i: .)j ':':- |:: ' : r" '.tt:.j:;,-,.:. :.':. IGrma in the fain philosophy is divided into eight classes: those which -act

as an impediment to the knowledge of tmth; those which act as an impediment to..the right insight of various sors; those which give one pleasure and pain; and thosewhich produce b,ewilderment. :The other four are again divided into other classesso minutely that a student of the ]ain Karma philosophy can trace any effect to apartiorlar Karma. Persons who by right faith, right knowledge and right conductdestroy all Karmqs and thus develop fully the nature of their soul, reach the highestperfection, become divine and are called |ainas.:Those fainas, who, in every stage,preach the law and establish the order, are called Tirthankaras. .: ;r .-

Subjcst to the la',,n o^'I:;;i:ra :;.a.-I has to lvork out the effect of his previousactions. This Karma is a kind of force which holds the soul in bondage and Prevents -

it from knowing itself fully. There are many varieties of this force. The bondage ofIGrma arises on account of tendencies, and the most predominant of these deter-mine the tlpe of the body which the soul would make for itself in its furureincarnation. The sum-total of these tendencies is what is called character, and thischaractercontains in ibelf the welldigested and assimilated experience of the entirepast of the soul. Now, if we would analyse the idea of tendency, we would not failto observe that it is the modification of the mind in particular ways. The jain booksteach that the Karmic force is the product of a kind of matter, the particles of whichhave become combined with the soul. This explains the nature of the force whichprevenbthesoulfromrealizingitsownblissfulnature. itisobviousthatallthatthesoul has to do is to get rid of the particles of matter which it has drawn to itself. Assoon as this is accomplished the soul is freed from all kinds of bondage and acquiresperfect knowledge and bliss.

& DISEASE

Karma is an enerry wNch an embodied being generates - be it vital, mentalor moral - and which keeps him in the mundane world, the Samsara. Karma, inshort, is the whole Samsaric make'up of an embodied being. It is perfectly divestedof the idea of sacrifice. Karmas which keep the individual in a backward conditionare known as Papa; those which help him in advancement are Punya. The |ainphilosophy gives a detailed enumeration of Karmas, and explains how they areattracted (Ashrava), how they are assimiiated with the individual (Bandha), howtheir inflow can be stopped (Nirlara), and what the ultimate state of the perfectedindividual is (Moksha). This particular branch of philosophy, therefore, includestopics like sensations, perceptions, consciousness, pains and pleasures, moralities ofIife, moral depravities, building of the body and all factors of the individuality.

8. Pumshartha Versus Prarabdha

One philosopher says: "It is very difficult to say how Purushartha bringsresults and how it operates." Another philosopher says: "Everything is prear-rangedin ihegrandplanorgrandscheme. Godknows thewholedetailsofevolutionof a man from mineral life till he becomes a |ivanmukta or liberated soul. In realityall is Prarabdha only. We will have to preach Purushartha just to give an impetusto the man to work in right earnest. Otherwise he will become slothful and dull."

The man who advocates the theory of Purushartha says: "Am I a straw tobe tossed about hither and thither? I can change my Prarabdha. I will undo it byVedantic practice. I have free will of my own. I will make it pure and irresistible.I will'work out my salvation. I will become free myself." No one can remain quieteven for a second. No one can become a fatalist. There is an urge or stimulus fromwithin to work. That is the reason why the Gita says: "l\or can anyone even for aninstant remain actionless; for helplessly is everyone driven to action by the qualitiesborn of nature." The theory of PraraMha cannot make anyone a fatalist. For aBhakta it is all Prarabdha only; for he is a man of self-surrender. He has to gtorifythe power of the Lord. For a Vedantin it is all Purushartha; for he is a man of self-reliance. He has to glorif the power of his orvn strong will (Arma Bala). Both arecoffect from their own viewpoints.

PraraMha is only Purushartha of previousbirths. God and Purushartha aresynonymous terms. They are two names for one thing. Trial or luck, Purusharthac.' P.:::5:ll' , i::: -, ':l! :: :::cs- ii-.. - ril these are synonymous terms. If a mansucceeds in his attempt he calls it Purushartha. He says: "l really exerted much. Ihave succeed ed.' lf he faiis the.;ame man jays: '"What can I do, my friend? It is allPrarabdha. Without Him nothing can be done. Without God not an atom can move,no leaf can wave in the air." In the Mahabharata you will find that exertion andPrarabdha combined bring about fnrits. If you are ailing, you must do Purushartha.You must take medicine. You should leave the results to Prarabdha.

Throughout the Yoga Vasishtha, Sri Vasishthaji recommends only Pu-rushartha to Sri Rama. Through Purushartha Markandaya conquerxi death. lv{anisdoubtlessthemasterofhisdestiny. Whatisdesrinyafterall? Itisone'sownmake.up. You have created certain tNngs. You can destroy them orundo them also. Youare thinking in one way now: "I am Mr. So and So. I am a Brahmin. I am a doctor.I am stout. I am a householder." This is Prarabdha. You can change this particularmode of thinking. Think: "l am Brahman. I am omnipotent. I am the witness orSakshi. I am God. I am neither body nor the mind. I am the all-pervading Truth orpure consciousness." This is Purushartha.

SWAMI SIVA}IAT{DA 69

II

,This eternai individual Jiva, the world of Jivas, is a ray of Myself and, a t the

time of leaving th" b";;,-h; ati*t ro.und himself the various- senses' that is' the

senseof hearing,r"*!oi;tgh;;;*"of touch,senseof-smelf andsenseof taste'withthe mind as the sixth sense, all these having tireir abode in Prakriti i'e', the world-ofrrattet as distinguisnJ f** tf," Puruslia, who is the-Paramatman' When He

acquires a body, ur,a *t -rrHe departs from the same' the lsvara takes these and goes

out, even as the *ir,J iS laden 'wittr fragrance ga-thered from. flowers and other

sources. Verily, *," l"**lJ",tJtn" ietua*iaonot Perceive Him' who thus

leaves the body, o, ,Jt o resided and enjoyed t;rr '1t",ryy,11:"1Y"t99.n

with the

senses; but the S"g"t, u"ao"tJ with th; eye of wisdom' do perceive Him',There

"r" t*o classes of beingJ in the worllf, the perishable and the

irr,p"*rt,^iiu. -rn"

p.tithable comprises-the whole 9f !51!io1' together with the

Universe of changirlj;;;; *f,&""r the imperishable ii.the etgrnal and the

immubble. Differenieven from these truo isylt !.he higheslspirit-known as the

ParamatmanortheSuPremeSelf,theimmutable'whopenetratesandnourishesthethree worldr. lr, ,o?5r;i;;;;;iJin" p""rhabli and ttre imp*straflg.andbecause I am superioJio tto*,I am realized as the Purushottama o.I the highest

divinity in the world of Seers and Scriptures' :\ ' '"'' : '"''|

lThat ti,n" *l"Iui,, s;",s ":t *f;"'g1ru8';:L:tt,ffiil*[::going forth they:".ruttt' that time shall I t ,hs of ihe northerno--- o

"Fire,light, daytime, the bright fortnigtr.t' th", tii T?lpath, then golnf fottt;'th" t""; *hoit'not" $elternal go to the Eternal't--" -'drriot.,"r,i'hl[rn",

the dark fortniglt, also the iix months.of th" southern

path, then the YogI obtaining the moonlight' rcturneth"Light and aark,esslthese are thdught t9 be :h"-Y::I-s.everlasti.ng

paths;

by the or," Il'" goeth *t o i"ttt^eth not, by llg other he returneth again"'

Death and After(according to the Yogavasishtha)

.j

Lila said:,.Tell me in short,Goddess Sarasvati,something more withregard

todeath,as towtreg,eiiii;;";tt;rpainful.to dieand whatbecomesof peopleafter

they are dead and gone from here"'The Goddess i"pti"r, ,,Dy-.g men are of three softs and have different

results upon their a"utt"'tt uy are: th-ose who are ignorant, and such as are versed

in Yoga,Lnd those that are abstemious and r:ligious''Those Practising the Dharana vgga.iaf-..qo y[t-""er they like' after

leavi ng their bod ies;; ;" lh; reasonable Y?Ft t: 1t]T:y,toJoam everywhere' (I t

consists in mental *Jitttio" and bodily PatGnce and endu-rance')

"He who h;;;a;tactised thl bharana Yoga' nor applicd himself to

"couisition of no*ieai.,,io, has certain a reservoir of virrucs for the future' is

;ii"d ;&;;i i;i ""; i"",' with the P"il'.?n9 pelaitils of death',,He, whose *nd is uncontrolled -a frrU of desires and worldly cares and

anxieties, becomes as distressed as a lotus torn from its stalk; in fact' it is the

subiugation of irrorJirrut" p"rtio"r,.u"d the destruction of inordinate desires and

an*ieEes, wNch ensure our true felicity',"rne mind tiat is not guided uy the edicts of the sastras, nor purified.by

holiness, but givenirf,'; ii; ";;"t oi ttte wicked, is subjected to the burning

sensalion of fiie within at the moment of death'

RNATION. KARMA

"At the moment when the last gurgling of the throat chokes the breath, theeyesight is dimmed and the countenance fades aw?!, then the ]ivatman alsobecomes hazy in its intellect.

"A deep darkness pervades the dimming sight and then starts to twinklebefore it in daylight. The sky appears to be obscured by clouds, and presenb agloomy aspect.

"An acute pain traverses the whole frameand afatamorgaina dances beforethe vision; the earth is turned to air and the mid-air seems to be the habitation of thedyrng person.

'"The firmament revolves before him, and the tide of the s€a seerts to bearhim away. He is now lifted up in the air, and now hurled down as in a s tate of dream.

"l.Iow he thinks he is falling in a dark pit and then llng in the valley of a hill;he wants to tell aloud his sufferings, but his speech fails him.

"FIe now finds himself as if falling down from the sky and now is whirledin the air or wind. He is now riding swiftly as in a car, and now finds himself meltingas snow.

"He desires to acquaint his friends of the torments of life and this world; buthe is carried away from them as rapidly as byan aeroplane.

"He whirls about as by a rotary machine or turning wheel and is draggedalong by a beast by its halter. He moves about as in an eddy and is carried aroundas the machine of some engine.

"He is borne in the air as a s Eaw, and is carried about as a cloud by the winds.He soars high like a vapour, and then falls down like a healy watery cloud pouringout in the sea.

"He passes through endless space and revolves ihere, to find as it were, aplace free from the changes to which the earth and ocean are subject, (i.e., a place ofp€ace and rest).

'Thus the rising and falling spiri t roves in teruptedly, and the soul brea thinghard sets the whole body in sore pain and agony.

"By degrees, the object of his senses becomes as faint as his failing organs,as the landscape fades from view at the setting of the sun.

"He loses the memory of the past and present, is at a loss to know thequarters, after the evening twilight has passed awav.

"In the state of faintness, the vital breath ceases to circulate through thebody; and at the utter stoppage of its circulation, there ensues a collapse muih likeswooning.

'"When this state of apoplexy joined with delirium has reached its climax,the body becomes as stiff as stone by the law of inertia, ordained for living beingsfrom the beginning."

Schopenhaue/s Views on The'After-Death S [ate'

S tudent -Tell me now, in one word, wha t shall I be af ter my dea th? And mindyou, be clear and precise.

Philosoph* - All and nothing.

Student - I thought so. I gave youcontradiction. That's a very siale trick.

a problem and you solve it by a

l\_I

SWAMI STVANANDA 77

Philonpht -Yes,butyou raise transcendental questions, and you expectmeto answer them in language that is only made of immanent knowledge. It's nowonder that a contradiction *lo.

rns and immanentStuilnt - What do you mean by transcendenal questicknowledge? I've heard these expressions before, of course; they are not new to me.The professor was fond of using them, but only as predinates of the Deity, and henevei taked of anything else, wfuch was all quite right and proper. He argued this:If the Diety was in the world ibelf, he is immanent; if he was somewhere outside ithe was eanscendent; nothing could be clearer and more obvious. You knew whereyou were. But this Kantian rigmarole won't do any more: it is antiquated and noionger applicable to modem ideas. Why, we've had a whole row of eminent menin the Miltropolis of German learning. ' .

Philosophn - (aside) Germdn humbug, he means

Stuilnt- The mighty Schleiermacher'for instance,m and that Siganticintellect, Hegel; and at this time of day we've abandoned that nonsense. I shouldrather say wi are so farbeyond it we can't put up with it any more. What's the useof it then? What does it all mean?

,:. ",. :- Philosophar - Transcendental knowledge is knowledge which passes be-yond the bounds of possible experience, and strives to determine the nature ofitrings as they are iruthemselvei. Immanent knowledge, on the other,hand, iskno*ledge which confines itself entirely within those bounds, so that it cannotappty to inything but actual phenomena. As far as you are an individual, death willUeitrlenaofyou. Butyourindividualityisnotyourtrueandinmostbeing;itisonlythe outward manifestation of it. It is not the thing in itself, but only a phenomenapresented in the form of time, and therefore with a beginning and an end..Butyourieal being knows neither time nor beginning nor end nor yet the limits of any givenindividual. It is everywhere present in evely individual and no individual can existapart from it. So when death comes, on the one hand, y_ou are annihilated as anindividual; on the other, you are and remain everything. That is what I meant whenI said that after death you would be all and nothing. It is difficult to find a more:_.-^-:^^ ----.,,?r la .,^..- ^'.^efin- :nd et the Same ti-e tlC hrief. Tne a,nSWef iScontradictOry, I aonrit; out it is sO simple because /uilr' llrs is itr dnte, anci ii,eimmortal partof you in Eternity. You mayput the matter thus: Your immorbal partis something that does not lastln time and yet is indestructible; but there you haveanothercontadiction. You see that by trying to bring the transcendental within thelimits of immanent knowledge. It is in some sort doing violence to the latter bymisusing it for ends it was never meant to serve.

Studettt - Look here, I shall not give two pence for your immortality unlessI'm to remainan individual.

Philosopher - well, perhaps I rnay be able to satisfy you on this point.Suppose I guaranteeyou thalafterdeathyou shall remainan individualbut onlyoncotrdition that you first spend three months of complete unconsciousness.


Studnt'lshall have no objection to that

Philosapher -But, remembea if people are completelyunconscious, they takeno account of time. So, when you are dead, it's all the same to you whether threemonths pass in.the world of consciousness or ten thousand years. In one case as inthe other, it is a simple matter of believing what is told to vou, when awake. So farthenyou canafford tobe indifferentwhetherit is threemonths orten thousand yearsthat pass before you recover your individuality.

Student - Yes, if it cornes to that,I suppose you are right.

Philosophn - And if by chance, after those ten thousand years have gone by,no one ever thinks of awakening you, I fanqy it would be a great misforrune? Youwould have become quite accustomed to non-existence after so long a spell of it -following upon such a very few years of life. At any ra te, you may be sure you wouldbe perfectiy ignorant of the whole thing. Further, if you knew that the mysteriouspower which keeps you in your present state of life had never once ceased in thosetenthousandyears to bring forth otherphenomena likeyourself,and toendowthemwith life, it would fully console you.

Student - Indeed! So you think that you're quietly going to do me out of myindividuality with all this fine !alk. But I'm open to your tricks. I tell you I won't edstunless I can have my individualily, I'm not going to put off with 'mysteriouspowers', and what you call 'phenomena'. I can't do without my individualit)r, andI won't give it up.

Philosopha - You mean,I suppose, thatyour individualify is such a delight-ful thing - so splendid, so perfect, and beyond comparison - that you can'timagine anything befter. Aren't you ready to exchange your Present state for onewhich, if we can iudge by what is told us, may possibly be superior and moreendurable.

Student - Don't you se€ that my individuality, be it what it may, is my veryself? To me it is the most important thing in the world.

"For God is God and I am I."I want to exist, I,l. Thaf s the main thing. I don't care about existence which

L:s te h-: :::';eC. to be mine before I can believe it.

Philosopher - Think what you are doing. When you say,I,I, I want to exist,is it you alone who says this? Everything says it, absolutely everything that has thefaintest trace of consciousness. It follows then, that this desire of yours is iust the partof you that is not individual - the part that is common to all things withoutdistinction: It is the cry, not of the individual, but of existence itself; it is the intrinsicelement in everything that exists, nay, it craves for and so is satisfied with nothingIess than existence in general -notany definite individual existence. No! thatis notits aim. It seems to be so only because this desire will attain consciousness only inthe individual, and therefore looks as though it were concemed with nothing but theindividual. There lies the illusion, an illusion, it is true, in which the individual isheld fast, but if he reflects, he can break the fetters and set himself free. It is only

t,SWAIv{I SIVANANDA 73

indirectly, I say, that the individual has this violent-craving fo-r existence' It is the

*i} to live which is the real and direct aspirant- alike and identical in all things'Since, then, existence is the free work, nay, the mere reflection of the will; where

existenceis, there too mustbea will, andfor themoment, thewillfinds itsatisfactionin existence itself, so far, I mean, as that which never rests, but Presses l:y"t9ut*uffy, can ever find any satisfaction at all. The will is careless of the individual,the individual is not its business, although this seems to be the case because the

t.dtd;;l;;; nod-irect Consciousness or *in o(c€Pt in himself. The effect of this

is to make the individual careful to maintain his own existence' If this were not so

there would be no surety of preservation of species.- From.all this it is clear that

individuality is not a form or pe*ection, but raiher of limitation; and so to be freedir"* ii is n6t loss but gain. iTrouble yourself no more about the matter' Once

;i;;""ghly recognize ih"t yon are, what you.existence really is, namely theuniverial i,ViU fo Une, and ttie whole question will seem to you childish and quiteridiculous.

Studai- you are childish yourself and most ridiculous, like all philose'phers, and if a man of my age lets himself in for a quarterof an houy's talk with such

ioot3,'it is only because it amuses me and Passes the time. ['ve more importantbusiness to atiend to, so Good-bYe! :'

\t

DOC1RINE OF REINCARNATION' ..:

Transmigration of S ouls'::.

The word 'transmigration' means passing from-one life .to

another' The one

sreat and fundamentat te-net of most sihools-of Indian Philosophy, with-theE ..pti"" "f the Charvaka or the materialist, is the belief in.the immortalityrcf the

;;;il Th" soul passes thlciugh a number of lives for attaining perfection' 'This is

technically called 'transmigration of souls.' ' -;' 'i '. "' ' '

nilief ir, the meteripsychosis or transmigration of souls dates from prime'val times. It is as early as pti^iti"u man. One solution to the mystery of death, anda consoling thought iboui death, is the indestructibility of the soul and its existence

'riu'a'"triinothor"T:tl:".'i,T::ffi :tl,Ttriiffi 3*li:,?::l',""1';f il:oot*n"inu

ou*ro o, o"r,rrr,rr* non is not rcward or punishment,but bcttcrmentand perfcrti6n. li preparc,s the h-"u'ran being for the ultimate realiza rion which frees

fj*?.* tf,e cycli of birthr and deaths. Itis not possible to achieve perfection andabsolute freedom without a plurality of lives.

Man develops tendency and aptitude in several births and becomes agenius in one birth. Buddha gained experiences in several births. He became a

Euddha only in his last birth. Ii one birth all virtues cannot be developed. One can

cultivate the virtues by gradual evolution. The baby sucks, the young duck swims'Who taught this? They-are the Samskaras or the tendencies of previous births.

th"t" had been many instances of children like Santi-Devi, etc' who have

narrated all about their previous lives. All these have been-Jully conoborated also'

The children have u.t.r"Uy pointed out the houses in whictr- they lived in theirprevious lives.

74 RgntcaRNenor.I. KARMa c otsrAsg

Soul, retribution, transmigration,divinity were all accepted by plato. py-thagorasalsotaughtthedoctrineoftransmigration. Buddhaalsotaughtthedoctrineof transmigration.

The older Egyptians embalmed their dead and buried them in the besttombs they could afford, The deceased had a kind of t'adn soul, one half of whichremained in the tomb as long as the body continued undecayed, while the otherPrlceeded on passPort to the immortal gods. The requisite indication was givenbya divine Judge, whose opinion as to destiny was final. Transmigration in somlobscure form was nevertheless held by Egyptian priesthood.

The human body is only a vesture and dwelling place for the human soul.The soul can certainly re-inhabit another dwelling place and put on another vesture1n order_to develop and realize better than before the Divine plan and purpose forit. TheCreatorhas so planned. Thesoulof adepraved and cornrpted huminbeingis given another training in another body. The evolution of all beings is for a betteicondition. Evolution to thehigherand notdeterioration to the loweris generallytheIaw and principle of nature. But there is exception to the general rule.

The soul armed with little virtue and divinity gained in the previousexistence enters another life to increase, develop and better that original stock. Thereis no greater response of the body controlled by the soul to God, Goodness, Truth,Holiness and other attributes of God.

Noopportunityis afforded to thesinner to purify himself inlaterbirths. Hisfinitesin,ifnotsomehowpurged,precipitateshimatdeathintoendlessmisery. Thiscannotbe. Thisisnotreasonable. Thedoctrineof rransmigrationgivesamplescopeforthesinnertocorrectandeducatehimselfinfuturebirths. Vedantasaysthatthereis hope of salvation even for the worst sinner.

He reaps the harvest of his misdeeds for a limited period. After he has beenpurged of his sins, he is again born as a ralional being and is thus given a fresh chancefor working out his emancipation, with freedom of will to choole the right path orthe wrong one, and with the knowledge to distinguish the one from the other.

Karma or action. The diversity in individual characters, the different predilectionsor tendencies of the different children at their births and the inequalities of humanlives can only be accounted for and explained through the Law oi Karma. The Lawof Karma gives liberty and freedom to an individual to grow to his full perfection.

The image of man is reflected in a mirror. Nothing passes from the man tothe image. The image is not the same as the man nor yet is it another. in exactly thesame way rebirth takes place. The new being is like the image. The Karma whichgives rise to the new being is like the mirror, through the agency of which the imageof the man is reflected.

The enlightening influences of Yogis and Sages, their lives and teachingsassert themselves more and more in the new life. The light of God is more soughtafter and the gravitation towards God becomes stronger and stronger. More idmore the life gets fitted to see God and hear His voice. Progress advances from oneexistence to the next - \4/e cannot say through how many lives - until the final andstainless state of perfection is reached and the individual soul merges itself in theSupreme Soul.

Whence have I come? Whither shall I go? These questions will be asked byevery intelligent person. They are the problems of life. Your present life is but onein a series of countless incarnations, though all are not necessarily in the humanform-

SWAMI SIVANANDA 75

\-I

Theunionofthesoulwithaparticularbodyisknownasbirthanditsseparation therefrom is .uff"a death. Wt

"r, the soul ieat'es its physical sheath' it

transmigratesinto anotherbody, human, animaloreven vegetable'accordingto its

merits. The Kathopanisnaa sayii ,,I.lo* t witl tell you, o Nachiketas, the eternal and

divine mystery "r ,o fo"iit Jio"r fut"t after attiining death' Some souls attain to

other bodies, while some fall to the vegeh;le state, iccording to their action and

knowledge"(1-1-18)' cnrinucs tilt the soul' purged of itl its

The Process of transmigration ct

impurities, ana navini a.q"i*a ! ,*" unii.rit t t owledge of the Impcrishl?t $.dili;;;"iilii"t,f or the fi nal emancipa tion and cnj6ys pcrfcct, ctcrnal bliss by

iti ;?; with the Suprcmc Sclf or Para Brahman'Accordingtolndianphilosophy,thereisasubtlebody,orSukshmaSarira

within the physical body. when the physicat body pcrishes, this subtle body does

not perish. It moves to lieaven to e.py ti.eirui6 oi iisgood actions done here' This

sublte body perishe;t;1.,* thi sou.r atbins final emancipation' :The impres-

sions or Samskaras, v;J;t, ;t the tendencies' are carded in the subtle body'There are blessed souls like Vama Deva, Jnana Dev, Dattatreya, Ashjav.afr.a

"r,asur;oia;;i|,;;;i; ir, tt"i, very first enrrry into the world attained a high

degree of perrectior, ueiore death. They are all uorn siaanas- There are somc othcr

souls who will nccd -fe-w i"tti"i i"urrti.,, for tt uir full perfection and attainment of

Moksha.A good soul makes a good body' a bad soul a bad body' Body is an

indispensable aid to the soul in i-ts progre# towards God. Thc body was dcsigncd

by God to carry the soulon its onwird irarch. Petrol and stcam arc Sreat forces' But

by themselves they cannot make the lourney Yiih "-d:l:]t:.course and a definite

destination.Thcymustbeharncssedtoamachine,arunningtrainorsteamcr'Apilotoradriverp".,put'ororsteamintotheconveyanceanddrivesandsteersittoward his dcstinatioir. Thereforc the soul must have a body to nrn its course and

reach its destination in God. - -''t' ' "'when knowr.os" "i,lr"

Imperishable is attained, there is no more transmi-

gration. Mothcr prakrit?s work is over now. she shows all the experiences of this

world to the individual soul and takes Nm highcr and highcr through -variousbodies till he gains back his essential divine ,t"i"te, till he merges himself in the

i..i, :''.:' l'-:D--^ -Stflveo/cveryrnc'rjl5ro^'lirr(u.yuur i";c-"-' -; --:- -' "'i-:''!'t:lture

and practical yoga Sianun". Only by cnlightenmcnt or Brahma ]nana can you

obtain dcliverance from thc weariiomc 'ot'id of births and dcaths'

Theory of Rebirth

Mancanbecomparedtoaplant.HegrowsandflourisheslikcuprSliTddies in the end, but ""t .,i-pl"tely. ^The plantilso grows and flourishes and dies inthe end. It leaves behir,Jit ti" r""a which produce-s a new plant. Man leaves when

dn.g his Karmab"fri"J:tf," good and b'ad actions of hii life' The physical body

may die and disintegrate, but tf,e impressions of his actions do not die. He has to

take birth again to ;t"ih" ft"its ofihese actions. No life can be the first' for it is

the fruit of prerriorrs "'.tionr;

,,o, the last, for its actions must bc expiated in the next

life following. Th"*for",i"**ruorphenomenal existenceis withoutbcginningor

\ I

75 nrnrlcaRNanoN. ranrue c otsresr

end. But there is no Samsara for a ]ivanmukta, or liberated sage who is resting inhis own Sat{hit-Ananda Svan:pa.

When a man dies he carries with him the permanenf Linga Sarira, wNch ismade up of 5 Jnana Indriyas,5 Karma Indriyas, 5 Pranas, Manas (Mind), Buddhi,Chitta and Ahamkara, and the changing Karmasraya (receptacle of works), theactions of the soul, which determines the formation of the next life.

Sri Jnana Dev, the rcputcd Yogi of Alandi, wrote his commcntary on theGita, Jnancsvari, when he was only sixtcen years old. Hc was a born Siddha. Youcan also bccome a Siddha if you try in right earncst. What onc has attained can beachicved by another also.

If a new-born child who has not done any wrong action in this birthundcrgoes greatsuffering, this is thc fruit of someevil dccd doncin previous birth.If you ask how the person was induced to do a wrong action in his former birth, theansweris thatitwas theresultof someactiondoneinabirthstillanteriorandso on.

Many intelligent fathers have sons with dull intellect. If a shepherd boygave you some food and water in your previous birth when you were dying ofstarvation, he will beborn in this birth as yourson, witha dull intellect to eniryyourProPertlt.

When creatures are born, they evince a desire to suck the breast and showan instinct of terror. Thereforc it follows that thcy rcmcmbcr the sucking of thebreast.and pains experienced in the previous birth. This shows that there is rebirth.

Even a child exhibits Harsha (exhilaration), foh (grie0, fcar, anger, plcas-urc and pain. The Dharm-adharma Samskaras of this birth cannot be the cause ofthese, The Samskaras of thc previous birth must have a support (Asraya). From thiswe can clearly infer the existcnceof liva in the previous birth, and theliva is Anadi,or beginningless. If you do not acccpt that the Jiva is Anadi, the two defccts, viz.,KrilanasaandAkritabhyagamawillcrecpin. Plcasureandpainwhicharethefruitsof virtuous and vicious actions done previously will pass away without beingenjoyed. This is Kritanasa (loss of merited reward). So also, one lvill have to enjoythe pleasure and pain, the fruits of good and evil actions, which are not done by himpreviously. This is Akritabhyagama (receiving unmcrited reward). In order to getridof these twodcfects,wewillhave toacceptthat thelivaisAnadiorbeginningless.Else,life would be unaccountable.

Some Yogic students ask me: "How long should one practiseSirshasana or Pascimottanasana or Khumbhaka or Mahamudra, to awaken Kundal-ini? Nothing is mcntioncd on this point in any book on Yoga." A studcnt starts hisSadhana from thc point or stage he left in his previous birth. That is the reason whyLord Krishna says to Arjuna: "Or he may bc born in a family of wise Yogins. Therehe recovereth the characteristics belonging to his formcr body and with thesc heagain laboureth for pcrfection, O Joy of the Kurus" (Vl- 42,43). It all depcnds uponthe dcgree of purity, stage of evolution, the dcgrcc of purification of the nadis andthe Pranayama Kosha, degree of Vairagya and yearning for liberation.

Some are born with purity and other requisitcs of realizarion on account oftheir having undergone the necessary discipline in their past life. They are bornSiddhas. Guru Nanak, ]nana Dev, Vama Deva, Ashtavakra were all adepts fromtheir very boyhood. Guru Nanak asked his teacher when he was a boy, about thesignificance of OM. Vama Deva dclivercd a lc'cture on Vedanta when he wasdwelling in his mother's womb.

SWAMI SIVANANDA n

['

l'._t

Mandoesactionswiththeexpectationofgettingfnrits,andsohetakesabirth to enpy the fruits of nis actions. In the next blrth, hl does some more actions

andhehastotakeanotherbirth. Inthismannerthekmsaricwheelisrevolvingfigleternity to eternity. Wil;" g",s knowledge of the Self, he is liberated from this

round of births ar,a a"atts. {it*u is begiirningless and S.aqara is also begin-

ningless. When a man ioes actions without?xpectition of fruits in s€lfless spirit' all

fettErs of Karma get loosened gradually'pie to five. fili Gitlitfi"'1" ani attain immorhality. Live in Brahman' You

willliveforever. Possess Atman. Youwillhaveeternallife' Identifywithyoursoul'youwillcrosstheoceanofdeath,orsamsara. Restinyoursatchidanandasvarupa'iou wiff have eternal life.

Aleech*o.,u,o,.abladeofgrassandreachestheendoftheblade.Itfirstcatches ;;il;;,il-;i"d" ;th"the forepart o.{iF b.dyand then draws its

hindpart on to it. Event,li*t*"" tindividual soul) abandons the present body at

thetimeof death, fashio-isii1"-zut"tuUodybyhis thoughtand thenenters thatbody'A good orUul l*J'al*ays Urinls iis good an6 baa fruits- You will find in

Mahabharata: tust as a calf findi its mother-among a thousand cows, so also an

"il;,h",;s pe*ormea in a previous birth follows thedoer. -

' Yddrislum bivatelarma tadrishambhuiatePhalam

Y ddrishant o aVy ate b ii am tadrisiimTaVYatePlulam;

. tust as the fruit conesponds to the seed that has been sown, so also the fntitof the uJdoirln"t "ru [*or-ed byus correspond tg thenalu:e of the actions we

;;;;rlhts is an inflllible law oinarure. H! who has sown the seed of a mango

tree cannot expecr "l;-itt;. i'ic wlio has done evil aition: throughcu: his life'

;";;;.p9.ti"ppii"tt, p"ui1 ""a prosPelry rn his 1e1!life'

Manyarethetimawehaaeallbentogethainthepast,andalsobeenseparatdond ,o oioi, ,LU it be in the future. Eaen as a lerp of grain ratwed from lhe granary eucr

Lssufi' naa ordr o, iio*i*ent and n* ,o^bi*-tion, so is the caseailh lioa (human

TJ^gii" the unioqse throigh this ananganenf' (Yoga Vashistha)'

Reincarnation rs qultc rr *i:

KarnleshKum'-.. ..- -.'t ' - :''ageoft*oandahalfyears.ShewasbornonTuesdaythel2thDecember1939.Theideas of transmigration of soul and eternity of life,,iithough recorded in our holy

scriPtures, are dormant and latent in our PracEcal llte' - rt

She used t" ;lilih" t"p of her fatirer and_pronounce the Slokas of the Gita

in her broken tanguage. she usfo to glance at the iita as well. At the age of two and

half years her fathei pundit'Devi butt Sharma, took her to the garden outside

Loh'garhgate,Amritsar,whereSwamiKrishanandawasholdingdiscoursesontheGita.TheSwaminarratedthestoryofaneighFyearoldgjrlatAllahabadwhocouldrecite the verse of th; Gi; Gu"tifirffy. O"i..ting this kanlesh Kumari felt excited

;;;";;,ilSwami and audienc" to h"urherl&ture on the Gita' She delivered

her first lecture and deeply impressed the audience'

\: *lt

t\

swami Krishananda presented to her some Hindi books, Hindu Dharma,Parshisht etc., which she fluently read to the astonishment of the Swami. After thaishe delivered lectures at Haridwar, Rishikesh, Ludhiani, Jandiala, C"ru HarsataiMandi, Mukherian Dharma Kot, Gujranwala and other places._. - . ft"othergiri,MahindraKumari,aliasChand Rani, threeand halfyearsold,

died in Tango, Burma on October 15 1939, and was reborn in Amribar in May i940.At the age of three and quarter years she forced her mother to go the house of herprevious parents. The girl went on insisting again and again, and importuned hermother every day to accompany her to visit her real house and real llanhai,. It isrightly said that persistence prevails and is proved true in this case. At last themother yielded; the baby led, and the mother followed her, to an unknowndestination. The baby girl took her mother from Mushkal Mohalla, passing throughvarious streets and blind corners, and brought her mother in Kuchi Beriiala at tieend of the street, before a house which she claimed as her own. When her previousIife's brother/s wife.camg from qn adjoining house, the baby,girl recognised herJahai, and ferociously-embraced her, cling-ing to-he1 legs. She sibsuqu"iuy recog-nised her 2G year old son siva, and other relatives and her belon$ngs. sh"erecognised her gold Mutter mala and a pho.to of her dead body, saying thit it wasshe-who was sleeping. At the time of her death she had a greit desire-(Vasana) tosce herbrother S. SunderSingh, and his wife, who were not presentat the timeof herdeath and qelhaps that deeprooted Vasana at the time of her leaving her body inBurman, led her to be reborn in Amritsar, to meet hcr brothcr and hii wife.

Iqin boy of Baroda (stateman 5-9-37): In Baroda, a ]ain boy of six yearssulprised his mothcr by rclating the incidents of his former life. Hc said that he waspreviously at Poona, of parents who belonged to Patna. He was known asKevalchand and later ran a drapery shop at Poona. He had business relations withseveral merchants at Patna. He had 6 sons, one of whom was named Ramanlal. Allthis was verified when the boy and his mother visited patna.

The doctrine of reincarnation is supported by Guru Nanak in Guru GranthSahib, as well as by thegreat philosophers of Greece, zuch as Socrates and plato, wholived about 2400 years ago:

AII our knoutledgeis a ranembranceot'whatwehaoe lonutn only beforewe areborn.- Platonic doctrine of reminiscence.

Wemusthauereceiaedourknowledgeot'allrealitiabeforewewereborn. Oursoulsexisted form*ly apart fomour bodies andpossessed intetligencebefore they cameinto man'sshape. - Philosophy of Socratcs.

Bereftof thelivingself, this bodydics, while the living self docs not. Wefindthat when a man has fallen asleep,leaving some work unfinished, rvhen he wakcsup, he remembers that he has lcft the work unfinished. Iust so , when we creaturesare born, because we immediately evince a desire to suck the breast, terror, etc., itfollows that we remember the sucking of the breast,and the pains experienced in theprevious birth.

SWAMI SIVANANDA 79

Reincarnation in Lower Births .

Ordinarily, in most cas€s, the soul is not willing to take birth in lower Yonis(wombs), for the salient reason that it has done good works in the physical body asa human being in the past incarnation. No human being is out and out anincarnation of Lucifer. Clrain good qualities, and actions prompted by such goodqualities,alwaysoutweigh thebadqualities and theiractions,and thehumanbeingsieps into attoiher birth, either low or high, out of the,same species for futureevolution of the soul.

The instances where the human soul should take a lower birth either as awolf or as a pig may be very few, just as in the physical world, a murderer awaitshis exit only lniough tfre doors of the gallows. At the same time we cannot deny thetruth of the scriprural texts, considering the law that every cause produces itscorrespondingeffect. : ' ' .:1: ..-': ' ;q'i:r', ' ': ":'- '- Ttrefutgre birth of each soul is the result of its past actions, and the theoryof Karma and reincarnation plays an important part in determining the same. Thelaw of cause of effect, actionand reaction, holds good in the case of Karma also.

Generally manevolves upward. The tendency of the evolution is to take aman to a high level or status. This is the narural biological law."But there areexceptions. If a man is endowed with devilish traib or Asuric tendencies and doeshighiy brutal acts, if he behaves worse than an animal,'if he acts like a dog or adonklyormonkey, heiurelydoes not deserve a human birth in the nextlife. He willbe bo; as a dog ot -ottt"y or a donkey. Such cases are, however' rire indeed.

If a man commib very heinous sins, he can get the maximum punishmentwhile dwelling in this very physical body. 'In such extreme cases it is not necessaryrr-r r hB should wait to take birth as an animal. Man suffers more for his sins whileremainingin thebodyof aman than taking an animalbirth. Thesufferings ofaleper, :

or a consumptive, ola p€rson suffering syphilis; or gonorrhea, are beyond descrip- ,

tiOn. , .. ,' -.;: . :. . .. '..'- .: . '. ':!i.!:' . - '.:The in&orable working of this law.is brought out tellingly in the.very

unusual and extremely interesting case hereunder. , '''-' ' ' t.t- - ' '. l:. .

Tarak, aged 18 or 19, compounder of Kavirai Mahendraneth Sen of Benda,got intense colic which drove him unconscious. A Brahmin of Sarvaidya lineagefouched with pity, put vermillion on Tarak's forehead, uttering Mantras and.prafng to Mother Kaii to let hirn know why Tarak was suffering so bad]/.' Tarakroared in his unconsciousness, "I am a part of Mother Kali. Shaii t notpunish Tarak? In a past life he insulted Ns mother and his mother kicked her ownhusband, TaraKs father, Both have been condemned to suffer for 7births, Tarakfrom this terriblecolic,andhismotheris tobecomea widowafteronlyfourteendaysafter marriage. They have had four births already; they have three more to suffer;"

"Is there no means of deliverance, Mothe/' asked the kind Brahmin.Tarak, unconscious, replied: "There can be no deliverance unless Tarak

takes ?adodak' (water with which feet are washed) of his mother and also'Uchhishtai (the leaving of her food), and if his mother gives him medicine, he maybe cured even in this life." On enquiring where Tarak's mother was, unconsciousTarak replied: Gopal Sen's widow is Tarak's mother."

Tarakcame to this senses, heard everything from the Brahmin and obeyedthe mandate. Tarak's mother gave him a portion of 'Pan' (betal lea0 which Tarakwore in a'Maduli'. Tarak was ctrred straight away.

BO REINCARNATION. KARMA & DISEASE

Next year the same disease rerurned but Tarak was orred when TaralCsmother sprinkled her'Padodak'. It was then found that Tarak's Maduli'had beendefiled by taking water from a lady in her menses.

Man learns lessons through bitter and painful experiences in this world.However sinful, cmel and brutal a rnn may be, he correcLs and educates himselfthrough sufferings, pain, sorrows, troubles and difficttlties, diseases,loss of ProPerty, poverty and thl deaths of dear and near relations. God moulds and correctssinners in mysterious ways. Sufferings and pain act as useful educative forces. ]he1serveaseye-openersinthlcaseofevildoers. Theycheckthemfromfallingbackandpull them upwards. They begin to do good actions and seek the company of saints.' So;e say that a man c;tn never reincarnate in an animal body, as hisindividuality cannot be conveniently accommodated by the insufficient and inca-pable soul of an animal. The higher principles of man can find no receptade-and.Lxpression in the rude, rough and imperfect habitation of an animal. Thebody-ofa ireature is always an incmstation, as-it were, of its inner bodies which are of thesame shape and cist. Thus, the inaustation or body of a hurun soul should alwaysbe human. It should correspond to the necessities, requirements and ambitions ofa human soul. It should be furnished with all the instruments of perception andconception which a human soul stands in need of. It should, in short, be cast uponthe mould and matrix of the causal and astral bodies which generally form the planand design of a human body. Thus a human body cannot but incarnate in a humanbody. The sayings of ancient writers that a cntel Person will reincarnate as a wolfactually *uun tt it he will be reborn as a ferocious and voracious man, like a wolf,and so on with other similar statements.

Others hold a view that a man may try to fall back, nay, maydo his best tolivethelifeofaloweranimal. Hemaytrytopushoutofhismindallhigherandfinerfeelings, and if he really succeeds in making a monkey of himself, if he succeeds inmaking his desires nothing but animal desires, and if he makes an animal of himself, '

then, o1 course, he will be L'orn a monkev in the next incamation. But man cannotdo that. There are other forces which prevent and keep him back. Those forces arewhat are caiied sorrow, rror.ibie, sufferinS, :::. l?,eii are ',' : Juarantd agenCieSagainst falling back. These forces will not allow man to fall down. Thus, ProgressiJsecured. The life of evolution is progress and progress must be made. Thusconstant and continuous warfare is necessary. ThiS is another view.

A human birth is th resul t of mixed Ka rmas, wz., go o d and bad. when goodKarmas outweigh thebad,man gets thebirthof a Deva, Yaksha, Gandharva, and thelike. When eviiKarmas outweigh the good, he takes birth as an animal, devil, etc.He falls into a lower birth. When good and bad Karmas are more or less equal' hegets a human birth. BygoOd Karmas man can attain heaven, bybad Karmas hell, andby mixed Karmas he attains the world of men-

It is the nature of a man or of a beast to get attached to the particular bodyin which it resides. The body of an ant is as dear to it as the body of an elephant isto an elephant or a human body is to a man. This wonderful attachment to the body,arising out of ignorance, keepi this wheel of birth and death etemally going. Of allbirths, a pa*i&lar creature likes the particular body which it has Laken in theparticulai incarnation. A man likes a human birth; an elephant is pleased with its6irth as an elephant and so on. At the same time everyone craves for evolution andattainment of unalloyed bliss. This is common for all created beings.

SWAMI STVANA}IDA 81

Birth as man is superior because he has the power to discriminate and

decide for himseif. H" r.116*, himself "nJ o,t "tt "nd

he is endowed with finer

emotions of love, faith, shame, decency';;t"ry' "ti--T,Tmal is devoid gf

intelligence, ,n.^o.y "ii f.nowfeage. Therefore, biith as an animal is not desirable'

The life o f a man who is not .r,ao*J*iiii aiscrimination' knowled ge of the

Self, non-identificatio'i wiil ,h" phyti""f Uoay,]"ith, lovefor fellow beings' is equal

to that of a beast. The ignorant man sir,Ls ji'ti e ocean of samsara, and takes birth

in various wombs until the eye of airor;n"tion is opened, until he comes into

conractwithug.riae*ioirr"-Jay.,"t.rti^io"nigherpath. quiFlotul:Y:191{man takes birth as

" d;;;;;;, I wolf, or.atiger. Tf,ere i! no definite law as regards

them. The sastrus are"qlt,;;;i i"ir,"it t,!*tnents. It is a serious mistake to take

,"J;G;"".*or*,1'iilii'"'-*i"*rvng"fi :H;:tsif35*Tlrearof birthA sPiritual Sadhaka who has startt

i n a I ower wo rnu. e vi ; ;ilP ,".ti ttt -v" q i' "."9t th::-gl

-1". ha qPen: T-tl j:: I

his entitled position, is-riot mined. He takeibirth in better circumstances once agarn

and pursues t i, spiji";l;;th i" the Bhagavad4ita' you will find:" ;

'' ' t'

. - !,O Partla,neither in thbworld,nar in the nstuorld'b thqe destruction t'or him

(whoisfallnfron ne-iathof Brahmail;noneorilu,whodoagood,o myson,aJer com6

tost1.Haaingauain!;i:;;i,;;;;;:;;';i;;rtsiteo,iiandhaviigdwettthaeformatastinguurs, he who ferr froni ;;;; tt;;;; i" ^ noiiiil the pure and wulthv' or he b born in

'riirV of *htiiseYogb"'(vl4o42)' t

Gaiendra, though he had to take the birth of'an elephant' never

foreot his rerf ,,"tor" "ia-"t"t-pt?y"a to f.otJ ff"ti and attained emancipation from

il:',i:";;'#il;;;, itself. 'ihe Sastras ouot. instances where animals and even

birds have attained ernancipation. v;tralrrra, the great Rakskasa, was Ketu in his

oast birth who was cursed ty Uma to kome a Rakshasa' :: : l ''

P""'""j;i, q"*.r"ar thal for a tr':e ]iJ'ti"tut" Saclhaka there is no fear of

downfall. Devotees oiii" rrra u*ome absol.rtely fearless and devoid of all desires'

They welcome any #il;;hich the Lord canbe remembered'

What is wanted is real aevotionio the Lord' That being achieved' " T:"becomes happy in any sort of life ard.rrrie, uny circumstalces- He gets a peculiar

ioy which helps him [o bear even the most excruciating pain of Samsara'

The Rishis of yore ha.l power io *rt. ir'ickJd-persons and lo bless the

virtuous. The sons of Kubera bec"*. tr""r uy the orrse o f ilarada' Gautama cursed

his wife Ahalya to U*o'n"'" stone' nt"y a9 this out ?.l"?li"*ion for those who

go astray,leaving ;i; f*t oi Lta Hi' It is not with any selfish motive or by

becoming a victim of anger that they *;;J the wicked. Therefore, contact with a

saintly personatityis iiiiry Gigltclal in chanpng one's destiny'

Rishis are Trikalainanis (know"rtor tn]" Past, Present and future)' There-

fore, they kno* tt " iyrt"fio,rs *uys of ia;" rt uy "tt"it "a

knowledge of the self

and by virtue of thJia;;;;;;'iJa,r,ine erse bdame known to them. rhe kind

of body into wNcli;;; ;i;ra"pu"at oi" the pattern of the mind which is its

causative factor. The law is inexorable' rtters much what our

It does not iatter what kind of body we wear. It ma

thoughts are. A; of high position ,nu"L"u the thoughts of a beast' when he

becomes a prey to lust and anger, nu.ir *.i*" than an aniial' A cow is a thousand

times better tn"r, ,".i " *n"*'to k d;;;td ;f discrimination, who indulges in

,."ig.t enioyments, who loses his temper for trifles'

lr

SWAMI STVANANDA 83

t..I

l-I

I

f-II

it

Rememberingallhisformerbirtlsandhisformeractions,burninginthefire of the digestiv" oigu"', he utters the following:

,,nu"o*ir,g Uofrj" ,i ""r""as of diverse births, I have enioyed my connec-

tion with millions"of sons, wives and relations'A$ached t";;;; "p-,r,u

family I earned wealth through fair and foul

means. unfortunat. u* itfiuil did not think of Vishnu even in a dream.

Now I am re"p*i ,i" r** tr,"r.oir, the shape of^dir,e lisery in this womb.

Burnins with desire and taking this unreal body foi reality I did what I ought not

t t ""Jaote and failed to do what was for my own gool'

tL' rrq'e ii"-.s,"ii"i"a**ry of-diverse r.i'"ar thr"ough my own Karma, when

shall I get out of this wo-rii wl-iJ1, it firc unto hell? Hcnceforth I will worship no one

else but Vishnu." .

Thinking of this and ttre fite, the Jiva' pained by the p-ressure of the mother's

organs, comes o", *i,i, g1*i1*ttui"' liie a sinner from hell'Like a worm, from a festering sore' he comes out' .. ..Then he soffirrii" troubles if tf,u conditions of childhood, youth, old age

and therest. :'-', [The allusion hereis to the panchagni Vidya of the upanishads. The passage of the

tiva mentiorrea r,ere is-fro* ttir"*orld'to the mobn, thence to Parianya (god

presiding over rain), thence again to this world through rain, thence to man in whom

ihe product of rain ilil"-;dt of grain and other elatables'enters and thence into

*itira"-ri *t "t" the vital to& it t[rown by man'l

Soiourn in Heaven

WhenthevirhrousPeoPledie,theymovetoward.s'andlivein'Heaven'Thepcrid of their soiourn in Heaven may er.icna from eight to. two hundred and fortyyears, it is popularly believed. They are, after the-termination of their stay in

i{u"*run, again reborn on earth'After death, ii," ,ir*""s people enpy the pleazures of Heaven as a reward

of their merits, tf,eir vi*uous cids, tt eir s!rvic.sind their sacrificcs' When their

;;;;;.::1T:r'::::"'::.-* !e "l'h -,.' , ,

Te Iwn bhuktaa suargalokatt' ulsutatil;/a hine PunYe martYalolam oisanti;;oam trayidhannamtmuprspannd gatagatam lumakama labhant e'

They,haoingenjoyedthespaciousheaoenworld,theirholinrswithered,comebacktothisworldof death. Folloutingthevirtus e'liofneA.Ay'thest;ptura,desiringdaires'they obtain

the transitorY.

But,whenavirtuousPersoncomesbackfromHeaven,tothephysicalworld, he takes birth in a ,,obie ana virruous family.- This is the advantage of

virtuousdceds.Thereisdoubleretributionorrewardforman'srritJ":::::tl?f;iIillSI'"?,?iT;il:lT'""THii.:ffi "*;t'i"""'^'"'";1"Hffiwith good surroundings, environmcnts, an^d opporrunitics forh

I

IL-

I

)I

t

i--I

inner evolution.

84 nrwceRxanoN. ranue er otsrasr

jnani A-fter Death

For a Jnani who has realized the identity of his inner being with theinfinite Brahman, there is no rebirth, no migration, not even liberation; for he isalready liberated. He has firmly established himself in an experience of the absoluteExistence, Knowledge, Bliss, the SatcNdananda Atman.

The continued existence of the world and of his own body appears to theJnani only as an illusion, the appearance of which he cannot remove, but whichcannot further deceive him, till the time when, after the decease of the body, hewanders not forth, but remains where he is and wha t he is and eternally was, the firstPrinciple of all beings and things, the original, eternal, pure, free Brahman.

While living and even when the body falls dead, thelnani resb in his own' essential Nature, his own Svarupa that is all-full, all-pure, timeless Consciousnessand Bliss. The following assertions made by a Jnani constitute his own deepestconvictions and experience:

I am Int'inite, imprbhable, self-luminous, self-eistent. I am beginninglas, endlas,decryless,birthlas, duthlss. Nanrrwas lborn. I am asa free,pafect,indqandent;Ialoneam; I proade the entire unioerse; I am all-permeating and inter-patetrating; I am suVtemePeace and Freedom Absolute.

: A;nani lives for ever; he has attained life everlasting. Cravings torhrre himnot, sins stain him nogbirthand death touch him not;he is free fromall cravings andlongings; he ever rests in his own Satchidananda Svarupa. He sees the one InfiniteSelf in all, and all in the Infinite Self which is his being; he remains forever as theInfinite Self of Consciousness and Delight.

I

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SWAMI SIVANANDA

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SWAMI VISHNU DEVANANIDA 87

affected by these pairs of opposites. But we are thrownby these pairs of ogPosites;. ;

'There is no saltin the foodi O What a cook!" and then tomorrowyou get a sweetj"i"y ** so: ,,O good!" Your mind is like a yo-yo. Today the stock market went!p; i.j"t Uf ood prlssure also went up. Nex t day siock market went down; you iumpthrough the window. That is not yoga.

you see, yogis are no difierint from others. They are exactly the same,

except that thesetiroights which make you go herg and. there are rhade one'pointedand iocused in one "rL. Aft.t that not-Nng will disturb him; he is like a mountain,,t o"g ""4 powerful. But he must practile; he mu1-t train his mi:rd-

- Gurudev

si"*Z"a4i '- people used to worship^him; they put gold coins on him and garlands,etc. :After;€cii"iig such treatm'int, he would g;,,91t: ro:mf he would lake an oldshoe and beat himself, asking fiey, you tik trre gotd coins and garlands. Do youfit" tf," shoe also?" fie yoglshonid *uku no difierencg letween-gold coins and a

shoe, or garland and airt. g6th are? What is a ga'Jand?-1Aflafis a flower? It comesfrom earth, fro* tn" Alri, ""Jiiut"nttially

gois back tb the dirt. So you 3geive a

floweroryoureceivethedirt;botharethesame. Andwhatisthedifferencebetweengotd

"na iron? It's "ll-;"d";;t"o*r. Have you see.nalomsl The/reaie ^ud:Ip of electrons, protons and neufons. And w_h1t Te electrons, Protons neutrons?

W".rirr. So you,ve got gold; what's gold? It is_iust electrons and protons- and .

neutrons. Ironisabol So"wtrataifferenieis there? Iiyou areenlightened,you'll findIt

"ru,r nothing different. Because you are unable to understand thrg philosophy,

your mind go& up in praise' 'Oh honey you are beautiful," and, f'{on"Y Yoo "tunrinjury.-Allgreat. SoGurudevSivdnanlahas written this: "Bearinsult' &

sages had to undergo this test; this is the most important test.. Evgry.on:;Buddha,

Iesls, Moses, Sivarfnda our Master, they all went through this treatest test'.Andit

"y p"s"a ihrougtr. Nature will create in exam foi yoti eyqry:minl.t9. Th9, hiqher

,you go, the harder the fall. ..,tn" E-*t will be very difficult. So what does 'lBeai insulf'rn'ean?- Why is'tsearinsult. Bear iniury.' cilted the highest 3ddhana? Because it shows that your mindil"t;;A"ti""'aytt"te;emotioirswill noimaketheinindswinglikeapend-ulum;it is steady. '^togi samatvam ucjrate." Yoga is.a balanced state of-ming:.I" t.1"

balanced itate of irind iniury and insul t will have no meaning. ,Recall ]esus' life. Hesaid, ,,I and my Father uie otre." I am in you. You are in me. I am He. Well' it is a

philosophy: I ind my Father af on9. I am in you andyou arein me. Suppose youand I are one. Then if you rold me, who is scolding me? I',m rolding m9.sometimes, I rold myself: "I don'i like me. I did a wrong thing. I hate me-" ThoughioiJ.fnt"t"me. ldon'tlikeme,';Ididnotdomyselfanyharm;lacceptedthat'-So

"iso ii you are me, then how can I get insulted? So for |esus the test came, whether

he's reached the stage where he cai'r forget his identity. At the very last moment hehad the duality; Sairprainat samadhi -lonsciousness of duality' When he Yas o-n

the cross he siid, "Oir Father, why have you forsaken me?" That means there'sduality. He still sees iu I believe in your.infinite merry, yet at this moment whathappened to your mercy? I believed itr you. I had full faith. At the very momentte'saia this, suddenly his consciousness 'entired the next dimension: "Fathetforgive them. They d6 not know what they are doing." lTuYtu the same self is inthe;. It's iust like with children; they do not understand their selves' They thinkthe body i6 ihe self. So by destroyrn; this body, they think that they are going todestroy-me. But our very selves ire immortal ind they are unable to understand.

II

I

KARMA & DISEASE

With that grace came. He became one with divine love and merged in the divineconsciousness. That simple example is sufficient to understand all real masters wholifted their vibratory level to a higher consciousness. They are able to remove thisego: I am this body, name, form and qualities: "I'm a Catholic; I'm a Protestang I,ma Jew. I'm a Russian, an American. I'm tall or short, black or white, woman or rnan.AII this is broken down and only "I Am" remains. Period.

So the test will be there. Tomorrow I iust throw some hot water on your face.What do you say? "Thank you." Tha(s good. If you could do thab do youunderstand how powerful your mind would be? A saint in India was hated byanotherman. I'm not talking about religious hatred.It was anotherreligious manwho did not like him. So in front of all of the sain(s disciples, that man insulted him:oh you are this; you are that. The sage did not react so the man persisted: "Howshameless you are. You've go t no kind of shame a t all." Then he spit at him in frontof the disciples - point-blank. And what was his face then. It was still; he did notchange.Second timethemanspat;stillhis faceiscalm.Third time;tenthtimehespagfiftieth time he spaq one hundred and eighth time he spat, and still he's iust sittingthere. Do you understand the power of that man's mind? For him.spit ind praisEare the same. That humbled the other man; he could not understand. He w-antedto make the saint really upset but he remained still, without having any change inhis facial expression. Do you understand the power of that control? If s ialled Yoga... a Yogic Master. It does not mean he's master of you; tha(s not the meaning in ourtechnique. In yoga, master means he's master over his own lower emotiois; lust,anter, greed, hatred, iealousy, envy, fcar. He has full control, even when beirigabused,gpat at. Now you understand that technique, that training. Even as a yofrthere will be trials. People will abuse youi people will criticize yoi; people wifi teitfalsereportsaboutyou. Youcan'tescapethat. Nobodycanesiape.-Thenigneruplou go the-more oppositions you'll encounter - negative oppositions. Negativiforceswill be trying to stop you. And again that is a test, whether yot, ,rsJyo,rt::-,:ntal power to dest:c.,- hi;'n ', ."'.: ': -::ils;.'eu. Those men, those masiers like flsus,had the power,the mental power. At that time on the cross, Jesus could easily havehad the power he needed to destroy the people who crucified him. If he had donethat, tncn he rvon'i be Jesus; hc'ii -se Hii!:r, rf hs' t;r:c to save his flesh and lost hissoul. But he did not sacrifice his soul. He sacrificed the? He did not have any anger;he showed the cosmic love: "Forgive them." That is the test.

The souls of these masters reach the highest planes after death. They enterMahasamadhi and are not rebom. But there are other planes. As you think,according to your thought vibrations, so shall you go one of seven dimensions afterdeath. People who suddenly leave this physical plane, perhaps through violentdeath, sometimes getstuck in theearth-bound stateand sometimes getreleased intothe first or second dimension. From there they are reborn. In the first and seconddimensions are also the souls full of the lower emotions. When these soulsreinc-arnate, these mentally disturbed peopie still have low cravings. They want tosatisfy the lust and anger and hatred they created in their past incarnationi. tvtayUethey were once on the battlefield and there's tremendous anger in them. They'vebeen taught halred. Any soldiers, whether they are Russian or American, theirMantra is to create halred. If you were to hear some of the words then the Marines,are-using at training time, you wouldn't believe it. When we were in the arrny, wehad to repeatmantra each time weload the rifle with thedummv rounds forpraitice.Each time you pull the trigger you have to repeat the mantra, Tk fapanese'.

SWAMI VISHNU DEVANANDA - - -89

,Ex-meanssne. AirnLoad. Fire. "Eklapanese." Ai[L Load' Fire' "Eklapanese"'

The whole idea is to trainyou that they "tu "oi

human beings' the fapanese' They

are not Indians, or Germans; they u'" """-i"'' So kill them' They make you

understand only one thin& hatred' T:tg people who were sent to Vietnam after

this rype of training, they becameblooarnitr."u. il"v kill. They see their own friends

being blown up into pieces, and eventu"rrf tt"y "rro -d_i"_-ii,he

same agonizing

.oia"itior,. ani ttrey want to take revenge on the human race'

Iust this r"#il-i;; in tire.iapei; on" ** iust went to MacDonaids

Hamburger and started shooting everyuod'y-tftT": .H" t*1:1"*one to lie down'

customers and so forth, and systematicallyie shot twelty*ptel One young boy

hadcometogeticecre;;;tuittottt"Uoyi"t*"fitftifaftltiUua' Thenforoneand

a half houn he was shooting anything *";;;' Iu wi,f] snoo U I t doesn' t ma tter who

thev are, what they are - anythi"g *o*'irrg' it tast after one-and half hours one of

the police ,n"rp st ool"r, "J"b

abie to "iri" t"ff.t and stop him' For one and half

hours. \ fhy? Th""9. J; "*tnt" motivefnind itbut Uigf do it' A child on his

bicycte, a young boy;;;; J; h"L r.in"a. His bicycle is lying there. He iust came

for an ice cream. Read the article:

' Massaqe ai Macdonalils' Gunman kills twenty' San Isidro' Ca'

A hutily ann'i in op*d fre at a MacDoruldi rataurant lateyaterday

and kitl,, at i;; ;;6 itPte belore he wes stain by police slarp shooters '

Among tne aul'uii ",i iIs"irl sri ,.wllce said. Theiircoting wos sid to be

the worst t;;;;^v- t'iii'snft';i u's' history' '!t was an absolute

mdssac,e," ,i?i'sonbiegoiolice commander Inry G9're' 'The gunman'

b etin d tt w 6, i i *r t 7i al, i tt'o t o"d kilI en g .i eoncl 1w at t um f r o m

a raoftop. N oir'*i pi ne ailackwas immediately knwn. In an unsuccess-

ful effor t to w;ig i i;t to the urnage' pi'titt uqa jye sulman' s wife and

trieit to usehn as amediator. Theattaikbegan about.qprn It thera"aurant,

about I ki6ne} i*i if *e Mexican U"ora* in the southern San Diego

County community' The ma'' o'-'ii'th an automatic rifle' a shotgun' and

o wna grn, r ii t l r a' ;i i' [i i in i.ui ti o na at fu r o n e a.i it a t:r'l f ho ut s an d'

was shootingTt*v-iids ;" srgl't';nit'iii"g a oiltty o1 t\e freamu^' saerl!

papleoutsittiiirlrotoirront,"and tior el&teninside thet'acilit.u, Gorexid'

At lust six p*pi; ;;; ;i;t'ougide .thc rrtaurant, poticelaid- " lf anybody

:r;:CIniusisL* ti:'t"' t':) cneof lh-3r.ti*''vire' n rtlocr],tr:t'ts mrylsye4

ihetturuger i"i'i"^Eirav else go-t out ii;e rur. Gorestt#, "Ti' : -' :.rt,s

,r^ *o?'n{';;:;;;tif;;"i uitio* throughout.the inside of the

MacD oukk, so one of our team ^ib nt'* triny aty lo ge! c c'' ; "

slic't'

anr! was able to dwn him.,, An int'int girl ias talczn to the hospital with

bullet fragm'ni;i;;* ;tiv , o nye;i! o'6i'i"t .sai! ' " sle :tts brought in by

some bystanii:; i' so;a,"'iwe din't kiw who hr parants are"

It\

TheY don't evenhighest slaughter so far'

know who are the Parents. That's one case- That's theHere are some of the previous mass killers:

Worse Single-Day Slaughtr in .U'S'HistoryThe death toIIif twenty inyuterday's ramPageby a guninanuho took

ooer a tvtacpoilas resiaurint b thi largst number offe.ofl.e murilqed

in a single Aoy ;i lJ'S' history' O.tha killings on a single day: Sixtun

p*ptt frUrl ini ttti'ty-one w-ouniled in I yfle-lan-aS9 to.y o Unionityof Texas towq in Auitin, Texas in 7965 bV lhaAes-Whitrnan;ThirtenChinese-Am"ion iu'in'ot^* anil a gambli:q.lYlish.ot dead in a

Seattle Chinat-i'n grmbling club' Febtuary 79-' .7983: Beniamin Nug' a

no n g Xo n g i^^i g; oN :o Qt'1 "" a g"tl ry. on thir t e n m ur d r co unts -in

Suttle Wt eil,Et 2'4'th;Tiirt-en?*,* gunneil down^k a shooting

,o pog, in witkbar, Pnnsylo-an2' Septmfit T..7.982.'by Garge

Bank, a state p&i" g*' a' Binb' 42'' kilted pyr-grtf(1tds and the foeiitar* tt ry [oi n;i at a trailr park anil at hb home He was conoictd

o n thir t ean ^ul i n rounts ; T at sla t to i! eath' Aryil 1 5 -7

9 8 4' in NY C: u-;;;;; chi,toit o Thom;as, 3 4, has b een char ged with^mur der ; Thirteen

shot to denh ihtembr 5 7g4g, by Howard lJnrue,28, a suond world

Wor o e t er an rii i n t U nt er k i n Can d em, N at I er s ey ; Ei gh t nur s a slain

. in a Chicago horyital in 1956 by Ridard Speck'

Nowwhydothesepeopledothis?There,snomotive.Nowyoucanunderstand. Their past lives, their anger,-their hatred - all this is there' suddenlysomethinghupp"r,, to tr,eiremotions"id they"ruready. Thatis thesituation. Many

of tt"pr"intsotaiersandofficersofeverycountry,thqralsolivedinthepasl The{also went to war Uuf*u, ""a they saw tire suffering. And they alsohav-e.hatr$f,iaa"", submerged, "iJ*t u" ,fr6 ;gfrt time is given to them,.it.comes back into the

consciorrs level,-and they try to destroy' That is the lowest state'We are creating more monsters' you will see' When you say: 'Y9-u 1-5 going

to be a soldier to protec"t your country :' you are making man an animal' When youioin what do they do firsla R recruit iomes and first thing, he iscompletely shaved',;;;;;;-,;;;;il;iy io,get his ord identity, completery,.from then onwards.

ffi;,1;* r"-rr,J"i".,i, *ui".'., had to rep."t that type of hatred word that the

M"riri", "r" taught here. You can seeyourself how they are. They repeat thewords'il;;ih" ;;" thiig in it u p.r.O. I saw in a newsreel the graduation of the P'L'O' fromir"ir,ir,g."-p. Di you know what they have to do to show their courage? They are

i"-g t? u1'.rury lrruJi; to prove. that.they have to take live chickens and live

rabbits and bite tf,"n1 *i,f, ttteir teettr and tear them aparL They 19 ruthless' They

are going to kill "*r"ryuoay.

They lila.ally bite live chickens and live rabbits' tear

It"riupirt*iththeirieeth,toshowtheircourage. That's-thetJPeofmonsterweare.r"utir,! on this pfu""t ""iif't.

Naturally they die'.and when th-ey come back again

they are not going to U" rui"tt, nor wili they stay in the astral dimension for a long

time. They want to take birth again, to.reincarnate faster than thepeople who ar.e

highly evotved. Hd;lt.uoruJ peopleare in the higher dimensions; they don'tcome back so soon. 'e"i ,n" upp"tites ana desires of those in the lower dimensions

are so strong that tily ;;;. [J.t quickly, and again reincarnate' So this world is

filled with tt is ,,egutliJ,)"" oip*pf", "t a tn"y i"tte control over this world' Uke

Idi Amin, etc. You have seen these monsters existing in our century' The Libyan

Tr.I{

It

tt

*a

swAMI VISiSiq DEVANAITDA 91

\-

t't'ui

Kadafi, he,s another monster. He's the person who is going t9 b:ng terrible tragedy'

to the Middle East. #;;;;i;;i"li.i.- rio*""i, oih"t f,"'s doing in the name ot

God and religio" - yoJ ;t if""i. "i" t. W";rJu"inl *onsters, though in the human

fot-. f., us"Pralfor iheirPeace'

You are brought up in a society where everythi1tr is black and white'

throueh a microscope or without u *tooffi ili:: llElaaition existing in

westJrn society: only visible matter, .rririur"'trti"gs, ar-e important' what is not

visible is just an 'ruslJnl

ffiil;iil;"" ;;i;;; fi.ir pr'vrii"t plane; we are onlv

here for a short d^;:"o";"; "l"^a'J;;*; ror hrty yotl "tu sleeping and

dreaming, and child-io;-t;;".i" dr;;:-'i"'ora age you'll be sitting in a

wheelchair. s" *" ';;;; i" t?J' pty'ttJ;;;" f"ra u"t! sfiott time only' But we

il;;6d*ti'erutur'eJi'y:if ililg",nru:l.1::,i::fiXTio.',t"ptu,,",earth.':lH: lil$:::*i$i::ili""ib: ;ffi;;i;1"i" n!'"""i tnlr na rurattv

or unnahrralln eitnffiil;;il;fti it"t' - v"u have to leave this planet

earth. Have you ever ttiougtrt of ihatZ ni."a *""fd tra-ppen to vou? What qpe of

life you will have?-'il;"i't)p" of ."*p"riJi"ui fn".W"ttern'mind' with a few

exceptions, n"u., *"r,O ioit irit ir, ttrft'*"i. V.ty few'peopte want to t*nk in those

termi. rhey think t#;il;;;li- it "y' ii"" " iiii, r6ns irolidav' permarien tlv on

vacation, forever' lhat idea is the *o'siid"" fo-" ynlt-1tta(s why you have

oroblems. you create'societies, yor *u",L *u"fonr for mass destruction' Living

lloneis imporor,t,i rl if,ere is no impo*"t ". i"fifu afterdeath' Yourconsciousness'

though, will continueto s.rrrriue. V;"t rpirii*i-t-'; "*"ttly as vou are now' Your

individual consciousness; your lov-e, y""il;;;';;;.i' id, aehlish nature' what-

ever - i t w'r con tir,ue uii"i Jeath. I f i"" ;;;ip*p** fot tha t tl?e of experience

in the natural dea\h, that continu.allon, ,tt";" "ii eriougtr pegple bn other planes to

help you. But look fii "-*"r""", it tfre earitrl i""ti" tfi" tbmins davs' The tragedy

for this planet is unbelievable, bc'cause "i'ii" ""tf"ar threit' ttris aatttt won't be

habitable .u"r, ro, tii';;;;r;; ,uai"tion';'iir "ir"tt their astral bodies terribly'

Mu ra tions will t"ke ;l;;' i"ui'ii uirur;;i;; il;r1r*y n .u" wi thbu t noses and

hands; psychologicuily, th"i' b'at:s w]ll;;;ilft'i;"' Soin the ohvsical dimension

there will be proUfe#. g".""r"iiJ, a*ths will naui Uee"' sudden' mil-

lions and billions of people will be. rebo;;;kt' fr:* iu be few to help them

here on the earth pta'ne - a minority, ";;;;iicminority' Right now' the vast

maprity of tt . p*ii" .r. .oi."rr,"a *itt lrtonaut.'s Democratic Convention' They

are talking.*", tfir=r"^#ii;;J fi,"i's all they understand - four more years'

Thev don't understand anything beyo"i-f*tt thl(s all they can count' Four more

,rears ir, their life. rt uy ao*t ,ria"irtuJio* rir. continues' They've got no idea'

theyre o,'ry *,iniliffi;;;;iff ;;;i"i" P9''iti:" of power; how to be

elected, and how to glt ttoe women,s r"t", i"* to gei black vote - and so they us€

all kinds of tactics' b'K', th" 'n'o*""'' il'i"";iJg:t it lefs Dut a woman on the

ticket.,, It's just a gimmick, you see- fn"y,]r" un tnis]U,rt ti,ey iort't understand that

thev have to .or,tiiu" to ""*i*'" "rtu'*i'ii;Jii;* y tf't" people who have the

bution in their hand' Once the button it pltr;:n:f i::ltLttg we can do' Pray

that somehow we,ll be able to communiJate so that these peop6 *itt understand

that after death thelJ rii", *a tnat tire'i?" s"iii to creatl tremendous problems

in the astral dimension'

RMA & DISEASE

Everything continues inexactly thesamesituation. This is the reason formvpeace mission. if the nuclear war were going to destroy this planet earth andafterwards we wouldn't have to worry about it any more, then I am the first personto start the nudear war. I will destroy this planet earth. I will send you all to heavenforever. if that is the only effect then we could destroy the world easily today. Wecan carry the war and fi nish the world today - we have the capaci ty. Wi thin twentyminutes we can wipe out this planet earth and we can close God's. work here, buthave you ever thought of what would happen afterwards. That is why my peacemissionisnotonlyforpeacehere,butalso becauseif somegreatdestructionlike thathappers, hell will be there for you afterwards, on other dimensions - hell. That,sthe whole purpose of this talk

If you talk to Mondale or President Reagan or Chernenko, they won'tunderstand anything. They only understand their champagne and their parties.They are actually having them. I saw on the television. My God! The wholeconvention is nothing but a democratic party; gay parties and black parties andSpanishparties. Everythingparty,party,party,whatisit? Partymeanskillanimals,eat and get drunk. And that's the situation. Such leaders exist now -you are introulle. The energy level is so low, so God may destroy. If God destroys this planetearth, you will reincarnate in some other place where you can start your liie in adifferent pattern. It's possible that this planet earth may close or it may not close -we do not know the Lord's intentions.

In this planet earth as it is now, the sinful experience, the negative experi-ence, like drugs, is prevalent throughout the west Doctors and congressmen,senators and dentists are all taking drugs, alcohol and drugs. In these conlitions wehave no spiritual growth at all. There are only more and more alguments and morerockets. Veryfewpeoplearetalkingabouttheinnerspirituallifeandsocietyisgoingon increasing this type of negative living. How can you change this world? rneriis no way ... unless there is some kind of punishment to warn us. And thepunishment is toing to be very, very bad for all of us and thafs also C,od's will; it isthe Karma of the whole planet. The present situation is so horrible. It is unbeliev-able; what is going on from morning till evening. Hear all the things that are goingon. There is no spiritual life. Spiritual people, religious people like us, theyiheatpeople, tell them lies: "Give me $150I'll send you to heaven," and "I got this Mantra- 'e r:3: :r;:'. -. , -.^. I li^:; a;rci )'c'.: can ;c 1..;: .--i'r i:: 1,.'-,lli." 1": ::-3 crcsting somany lyPes ol iiiusion - religious peopie like us. in that conciition God rvill justdestroy this planet. He will start all over again. But the souls, they won't die. Soulswill come back again according to their Karma, good or bad. They will reincarnateafter some time in any planet and will conti nue. Think of good for everybod y. Maythe Lord bless you all.

SWAMI vtST$IU DEVANA}IDA 93

Double headed Children:

1,.,-..-\, 1.',\ I'), \,' i

4,t

94 REINCARNATION KARMA & DISEASE

NEYER SAY KARMA

Today is two days before Christmas, is it not? And two days before death..Ifs coming closer and closer. O.K.let us see what is the message from Gurudevtoday. Open the book at random and let us see what is Gurudey's message beforeChristmas:Thereisnosuchthinxassin.,see, Christianssayyorihavelotsoisin. Butyoursoulisnotasinner. vour6oayiriigtriit*d11.r!si-$i1itiig,11,jtie-sitotheaction.Siii2ontyamistake. Sinis only? a misiafe. Welt,i,viai'frCtefisaiiitis iriot? Whodoe'sh't make mistakes? Ralse your trana. fso *treir ioti'mifce'iifiiitafce'vou arepunished. That'stheonlyprobiem,ybiisiii.lrnereiiri6iinbtit'iffbumlkeanymistake you have to pay the consequenc€s..Tha(s the law; You can't e5capeyourIGrma. Whatever action you do, you get it back. Today so-ind-so gave me somesweet corn, and tomorrow, when he suffers, someone will give to him. But supposehe came and smuggled the corn out of my house? - as some people do, you know.the blind man has a hat ai:C people will throw pennies and dollars into it, andsomeone comes and takes from the hat. He will have to suffer.

We all make mistakes. Wi thou t mistakes we can never grow. Each time youmake a mistake, some kind of pain comes as the consequence. Then we turn awayfrom the painful experience, just like a child. Tina was sitting by the oil lamp lookingat it, and someone thought she was pouring oil into it She herself wanted to pourthe oil, but Daddy said, "Don't go near the fire, near the lamp. You're going to burnyourself." So she kept quiet and when Daddy was looking awalr immediately shetouched the fire. Well, she started crying and now she knows that next time she's notgoing to go near the lamp. That's the way we all learn. We all learn throughsuffering. Without suffering no one can ever grow. Because of it we know what isthe right path and the wrong path. Otherwise wecan never know what's wrong.You see it is because of the pain that we ask why. '"Why do I have this pain?" Andwe try to find a way where we can escape suffering the consequences of our actions.But you cannot escape your actions; there'll be suffering for it

SWAMI VISHNU DEVANANDA 95

I'

so thereisno sin. Butdon't think thatbecause thereis nosinyou canescaPe'

you can do anything you want; no one has seen it, there is no witness. That doesnjtmean you can es@pe. There is one witnesswho watches everything. who is.thatwibress? one witness knows everything. He is watching youraction all the time'everr when you are sleeping. Who ii tfrat iitness? God "' soul -whateveryou

wantto call it, it,s all the same. A-"nd that is a witness you can never never escaPe howevermuctr you ry. However much you try to camouflage your action, you'll have the

witneis, andthere will definitely be Karrnic reactions'sin is a mental ctution.'The baby soul must commit some mistaka duing t\e

process of mlutian. Mistaka areyour ba-t ieachers.'Thebaby soul... who is a baby soul?'Wno i, j U"by soul? If you are riot a baby soul, you would not be coming to the earth'*" p"rp"rdof co^i"i1o tne

"attf, is wtrate.lo make mistakes and learn through

*rouimiiakes. So we a"re here; we are all baby souls, you see? O.K. Mbtaka areyour

i*|it-t.-tlriiiiitnw;Iibebloaninthiairyyoutnt*,"lmnthelmmortalSeIf"'Oo yo., see how you.'ur, "r-pu from this? There ire two ways. One of these is the

Gi" Yoga method; you idlntify with the Self, the pure.Self, the soul who is'*itnessir,i, ,'I am not ihe doer.' Just as a pen writes a beautiful Poe* and pen also

writes a beautiful letter, pen alsowrites a'beautiful novel' but who gets ttq cr.gaitlThe pen? Who gets ttre ireaita Behind the pen-there is the hand; behind the handthere is a brain. so tlre hand doesnlt get the credit; the pendog.:"J get the gdlt; ilis tt e "Ot my Godl You've got a gobd intellect. Lookat that!" - So also, behind allactions, there is the wiiness a the-soul identifying wjf-h ttre soul' "I am the soul' I

"rr,r,otifreUody. NeitheramI theperformer. Tirat'ldifferent fromme"' So theInani

,ul*"t"r the a'cor ftotn tt e acting. Thafs very difficutll:i"-:dryr1'People' The

other method is surrender. Whativer action I perform, good or bad,I offer it to the

[Ofd.'.. ,, ,,'..'.,,.., :. .. t:";)' :.!'. '. :' -. : ':': -

So there are two methods: the devotional method -. Bhakti -YoEa, bysurrendering, and the jnana Yoga method; by kno-wing: "I am the soul. Sin doesn'ttouchme.' 5in is;ust tit ewater6n thelotusleaf. WaterdroPs on thelotus leaf'What;;d;i" ne **tete It doesn't attach to the leaf; it becomes like a small tiny pearlunb'*u"s off. But when the water falls on a cloth it gets caught; the cloth becomes

wet ... bu t not the lohrs leaf. It is the same with the soul- I t is no t affect{ by all sinf. 9tu.iior, o, good action. But we are not identifying-with the soul, the Self' We identify*itt tt it 6oay, the performance of the boay''6fr TT lh" dTr"' "I am pbrforminqit

" g*a ""ti6".'

'i "r" p"rforming the bad action." This method of release is called

lnaia Yoga. Don't say, "Karma, ft.t-" - my Karma has nrade me like this' has

tir"inrti. to this." dxert! Exert! Do Purushirta, do Tapas' Concentrate' Purify'Meditate'

"re are two tHngi: Karma - the action you perfgrn-r and its rezult,'Boy

my Karma has brought all tiese problems to me," but you also have Purushartha -the action you p.Jfor* ttrrougtr your will' will power' .So once an action is

[*orrn"A,yo,r.ir,,t.tangetheiesntt. Yo,t willbepunished. Butyou have the fullcontrol over the actior, yorr""r" going to perform, now or in the future' That mistakeyon *ua" in the past h'as put y6u iithe painful condition you've got now' So now

iot t to*, "If I d; such and zuch action, I am going.to be purrished' I am going toi.,"rr. p"ir,." So avoid that. You have the conFbl, full control, over the actions youur" gdi"g to perform. You are like a man who has got arrows in the quiver 1ng l"t "t?"irificonrol

over these arrows. He can shoolanywhere he wants; right,left,aboie. Or he can iust stop the shooting and put an arrow back. But once the arrow

96 . RrnrlcenNenox' raRua a ptsresr

is gone from his hand he has So t nocontrol' He can' l 9y ""Iley

arrow! Don' t go that

#;. G;;ht,sway;, y;;.;"i;"ythat. Youcarurotcontrolit. onlysolongasactioni;;;;J;;"a,o ro"l-", iiority exists in the mind: "I'm going to do this or that,"

whatever it is, you .* ititt .or,trol that action by stopping it. But once that action

;;;f;Jy'oo r,"'re no control over it' It generates reacti,on

So Purushartha, free wi[- yo''' cutti*ert' You can say' "O'K' Tomorrow

Igetupin ttremorningl"J^Jit""" Oh' thit*orningyou gotuP and rolled oven,,My Karma is bad. i,,f joing u"ck to sleep.' Don',t say that. You have the full control

over your actions, frrtuie ".iior,, and preient actioni. But you have no control once

the action is perfor-J. So purushartira - exert. Exert! Never say Karrna' You can

change your life. otierwise, you,ll be punished. You',ll have to suffer. No one else

will suffer fo' yo"' vo"'t ffi J g" oid" christmas party' Get drunk and eat all the

hrrkeyyouwant,anJthenaTe' fnifsriPtPy*;Onieyou'velearnedthesuffering'il c,ai avoid it- This is the purpose 9{:h" suffering'

Don't buom;;i;;iii' DLn't yield to inqtia' Don't blut lilcz a lam\' 'Rcp; O\

OMOMtikeotio^osviiif,iL'iuioiiior*"ndeyawlgw.asdstinedtodbinhbsizteenthyarbecameaChiranii#ai-i^^iit"ttayof s-ixtin. Markendeyawasayoungboy. He

was destined to aie *iJ t u *"r sixtin, but he prayed to Lord.siva- And the death

came at sixteqn. Hu;;;.;tatJ on Lord Siva'i stitue and held it. Yama - Death

_ put out his ,"*, ;;"k" his so,rl and astral body out from the physical body, buttheboywassostronBinhiswillpowerandsodevoteatoLordSivathatYama,sjawscould not reacn f,iri. fi" "*ui"a' And he has become Permanently living' an

immortal. So you .";.1;;;" yi-q Kuqta through your action' through your will'you can perform ; ;ti;; riith kt o*ledge o-f the consequence or you can act

blindly. you yust aciro" *t. ,ach I dor,'t cire about the consequence." No one has

seenthataction,butsf,llyoursoulhasseen.lthasalreadymadeyourdestiny'what'sl"iiJ. u. your future'- th"t is fated'

Also no tic e nlul s ao;t ;, by h t T apas, br ou ght b ack t o lif e ha dean husband ... how

Aeniam;iiroift;, ailta himself. Remembr thatmanismasta of his datiny' Anyone

can do anything t," lik"'as long,as he puts his effort into it. Understand? Don,tsay,

"ltismyKarma." - , ,^rt-_^:--^)^,,Lta(Whatothcrshaaedoneyoucanalsodo.Therebnodoubtofthb.Nooneisgiven

a special satus by God' You create your status' and you can also change your status

from low to high. Vo" .u" change ii because nobod.y^:!:.9-"Y: you that status' The

changeofyourliatureisinyou'r'oiigi;'nenrai'i.'tlf?:'li:t-'''''Tiisyoumustalways ,rr,d"rrtundl So things don't go right; you can c.range tireiii in tire right

direction. , , -t? t- -:--:L-.-t c-)Lnsayou can also do wonders and miracles if you awly yourself to spiritual Sadho.na,

Tapas andmeditation.That means you practici more Om Namo Narayanaya mantra'

more pranayama. ily a"f;irnis'you automatically resen'e great Power,-thought

Power' DneropaTogramofy.tourlife. Followmytwntyimportantspiritualinstructions;

forty gotdn precepts.- If - i'm not talking e-goisticitty rtoY - if I had left India

thinking, "So*"on" i, foi"g to help me"' J'' iso-*ni's going to give me a ticket"',,Somebodyisgoingtoarrangeallmycomfortsandconveniences.,,Wellthenlwouldn,thaveleftlndia,andtherewasnomoney,none.Brrtlknewthatbyhardwork _ not only h; ;il;t.al work, mental work also -by intense Pranayama'

intenselaPa,byalltf'o'Jt(i"g"lt*q9: Allthesethingsstrengthen' Thenallthings

cometoyou. rt,r.,oi';irri"""8.ia*,.'it ir" poweryoucreate throughrapas, Asana,

Pranavama, iapa. Ail this increases your fr*"t and later things come' Like when

SwAl"fivIS@ 97

vouareneedingmoney.Iwassomewhereinlondononce.Iw-asneedingmoney.3 ud d enly, at midni Bh;l; ;ii il;Jry1 til?'* stb'ooo'" 1vt'" is Bh ara a? who

sives? why does he want to qve $80,000?::"I5;;;'",-fi, aittt"t dme we needed

."ilild;UT::lf,*|,;;::;*.oolapa,f #r=TJ-K"'i"Yog"'etc. Things witt comeioVo,r. ffr r,6,,f," *IiJyio" f,"*' I(s not thebankbalance'

not the credit card. ti il in|,nJ'igil ;u-j6; ,il"ehlrht"ush intense will power

you conrrol or," ".Uoi,-.Oi. i "i.,

goi.q ,"]iil ""2 *eal because I did a bad action

ioa"y.ramnotgoi"iio"J.r"-4ly:l:i:::{?',"Y*l,Hili?*t"Hi}!f'";#.f il:il"*T:fiiil,ffi T,:ff i'i;1;J';ilG;'ti"gai"ia""d-sinthisrire;he'll set'dividends i" ttt" no<t life' "9 '1t "tJ li"' t""" F:- that? Ii he put the

-on& in the bank, if he bought 'to"t "'iti tiiifi0'000 what wouf

:"PP"tt to the

;';;il4,il;ibg,... crairrr . ,.i ' .'.. ..j;:! ii'c.'-

I iust made;;'* i" G"ngotri'.on the top of the peak' On that peak I openeo

Om Namo U"r"y"*-fr i"Jlfi", "if ,n" 6*i.1"*. fr""y"*t" mantra written

down into that bant, ttren buried it there] ArrJ r- quite su:e that dMdends will

come out of it and "ii oi yo" are geuing. my ;ivlalialt lT' ynn"t I buried there -I collected everyone,s th'ougtrf and p", itiiitJ""trt-"Jor5" mantra'' And tha-(s not

ius t merely mur,*. i ii, " po'*n er. fnor" ffi *itiib- Namo Naravanaya radiate

ih"t por"er all the time. people don **.,nf fr;y o"f y t* p"pei money or the little

n:f1f, $,:'iffi ftHilif,liri:Jv"ffi il:=*#**,Kll#:tdollais, and, prt rid n"'ili|"1"{a"y t(" inside trader- I for

He had $500 mini;i tr" "urin.a thr.itgi'i";ide traaing, and vesterday he was

sentenced ,o ,tr""-v"#t";;;" "nai" ffi ,; p;ap milli'on dollars back to

ffi :ffi;:f iltr[T$*l#e+,*r:t'il:*'"']-x':,i4r':d:'"i$-ie{ff Ilprefer that? or do you prgfer to meditatJ';P*iO* Nama'Naraygl]4Yar lp"': "qfflU;;;'Jii"rd" ... nothing to woinrabouL

" ;iri "

. ' ' ni .l':riv; " ':rtr;l ';';

Tomorrow everything coltapses'-b"i ttili"ll go ino ttring' I 99 t my cave' and

mv clothes.'l If you can say that' you # ttth;; inu"'""yUoqy else"-Do yg*'kngw

tr,ut - how rich y;;;;t'Richei tttaniir'ri-onaires' wiitt ittitte money they have

theycannotbuy,thepea..:{:,"1,;.1".".1w*! jf "}f ffi ijiv'l?af":;ffi :slrengtiry.tuarehavii:3. Youdo.n'tIrq\'3 'u vu:'J rL ' 't-' 'Ur-gnd alcoholism,;*iroitt""*q"iii""i':u*p'.1q,?iB:l:ff5:g#lii^r?''ia"*Fit;;:1,t"*:::llt?';,trS"'ff'llitTrifi;:**":$;:,::f n:::i*iH'r can go anywhere i"il" *"rra. whyi ;;ffiilh;; and Poland; thousands and

thousands or p*pi" t""'"' vet t n"u"';;; h"t the peoole in Communist

countries. InBulgiria,Roumania,cz".irl"t"t"u*i"nor""i'pioplearewaitingasif they know me' Yet fve got "o'non"ii"*

;tty gt':lg"fii* what I do have' I

have them chan* Orr, N"i,o ruur"yuo,'uyu. 'i* ,i..Jf"siti'''" in the Communist

counrries tf,"y *"ru-.t "r,[rrg O,,. N;Jil;;uy"n"y". See the power of that mantra'

so you can go "";h;;;';"i'f tt'"'"'' li;;';;ican'I d9 for them' No one will

believe me; ,,o or,! *i'r-r .-"ru o] *u. tr t n]iii ir""i"i1, ,13 s*iss bank' a numbered

accoun t, u," vo,, l: fil:Lttr?ffi;; ;i;;'"1fr , ilT t "oh' swami ji's go t

money." Forget i-t: I Know t*:':vll...:;,-^,-, ;i*.rk: I want a kitchen- somehowr t's *" i:#:*iff*'l*i i:ri1,W:; :ilffi S:};[,rff]:"

someone comes i

t.--

swAMtv@ 99

iOO REINCARNATION, KARMA & DISEASE

--1;, :..

*A*MO.ONO PURUSHARTHA

-Today,wearedealinSlrtrrSivaandSakthi.Itisalsokr.rownasconscious.ness'and ,rncorrscio'is""tt' "wtt"n.'we say unconscioubness' we 'do not mean

unconsciousriiis in our-brdinaqy genf; *" "tt talking gbout the unconscious

.oriirciple. Even in t# il;;;;is statet, there is conscioiri ener.g.y' ft?* th* yogrc,::l'i?5i;:;1;ihfis iqltirl;i""'* is unconscious. Even this matter, this so-

laned ni6ilt,'is'itrd':;;i;""1 s,tt *" ;;ii-il ;*"nscious.beciuie we :"Totff;l;;; ir..", p*,r*i"Ia""tgy r" it's partiiilar sLate' Fr-om our pointof view'

there is no energ:y o, ..i"rlo"r"!is tLere.'Wt en a lar-np has been covered by a black

veil, it appe"r, ,o U" ilrt. i,tt *u f."o* that thedaikness is not because of a lack of

light; it is bec",rru orii"l"fiiig "g"",, the covdi which veils the light. so when you

sav it is dark, it ,.""ri, in* iil"riir,, uri ich is there is not able to Penetrate through

ig fr :fi#;. I, b it ;,..1..i','iir' t!' : :" - . r'rrq sa,t'r "The.sun is not shining today i'.. ^...- ::'-.--:.-':.'- '-.,. : ...' .', .. "i"': i':'' j'-,;5 jhiningloramor'1i'i' if theclouds

comebetweer,rrr"^i,h" s.r-n,it "ppuars

that thisunis not shining, fromanordinary

pointofview.Andiustas,whenwesay,,Thesunisnotshiningtoday.There,snosun,,, thafs no, porlffiiir;;;; it itreie; lit ,ewise, when we say 'unconscious".we

ui" "oa

talking.Uo.tt an inert oblTl'an inert state'

Now the d;;;J;;rt"'naittg of consciousness and unconsciousness can

alsobeputitin otheiierms. Onebecomes theobiect for theother' Whenoneis split

into two, then one becomes subiect and anotheri*.o-"s obiect. An examPle is the

spider and tr,e spiaei-*"u. The spider-and the web are one in the beginning' Then,

when the web is U-"gftii'om th^e body of the spider'.the spider is able to move in

its own crea,ion. rrr'iiruo*" *"u ""J"iaepenaet t of the web, she can move. In the

same way, Siu" "rra

i"'tt;;;;-rptd* and ,tider web. Sakthi is the web, the creation,

theunconriousprinciple,wecallibinwh.ichSivafunctionsormanifests.Anotherexample is the silver scr'een' When you proiect the movie' the screen' the Siva' cannot

be seen; ,r,u, i, n"'Jrltr,iu,.r*, uut tt e visible sakthi not only can be seen but it

SWAMI VISHNU DEVAI{ANDA 101

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I '.--I,

creates all types of impact on the audience. These two examples give you a little bitof Siva and Sakthi, or consciousness and unconsciousness, or subject and object.

Now we come to the individual. In an individual there is also Siva andSakthi. The individual is a replica, a microcosm of that universal Sakthi and Siva.Sakthi, the unconscious principle, or the veiling agent, manifests as mind andmatter. The Siva in the microcosm is the universal spirit It is not bound by its owncreation, iust as in the example of the spider, the spider is not in any way affected bythe web. The spider can move an)'!r'here in its own web, but when a fly or any otherobject comes in contact with the web, it is caught. But there's difference between theEncrocosm and the microcosm. In the individual self, the individual Sakthi is likethe fly caught in the web. The web is the universal Sakthi. We are unable to doanything, and that is called reincarnation.

We are born out of our Karma. The universal incarnatiory like Krishna orRama, is not called reincarnation but incamation.-,They, the incarnations, mani-fested, or are still manifeting or will manifest, because of Dharma. They come toprotect and to establish the law and order. But we are born out of Karma. 'I(arrna'has got different meanings depbnding upon where you use it. :Literally,IGrmameans action, and Karma also means action and reaction. That is, the effective actionisalsocalledKarma,ordestihyyoucallit. WheneveryousayKarma,there'sanotherword which comes, but whidr generally is notmentioned. It is called Purushartha,which means free will.'So there are two things; free will, Purushartha, and Karma,or destiny.

, Are we bound by destiny? or do we have a chance to guide our life? Yes,we have a limited freedom depending upon how much we can stretch our Karma.One cow has been tied to a post in a field and the rope connecting the cow to the postis about one hundred yards long. The cow he has got the freedom of moving aroundanywhere within a hundred-yard circumference. Another cow has got a thousandyards of rope. She has got more freedorn of movement than the cow tied with onehundred yards. Another cow may be tied with only three or four feet of rope. Herfreedom is very limited. It is the same with our lives. Each one of us has got a certainamountof freedom. Someof us can travel toHawaii first-class,andarriveandcheckin to abig presidential suite ora penthouse. Anotherhas to check in to thebasement,and some others still, they have to sleep on the beach. Though the destination ofthese oecrole was the same; their freedom depended upon what was their status, in.'in,li ,..'r:..'iis, iJ',v r .q.--r i. ,_ -:--.J ga:nis cailfng,orhowmuchcreditrrd ls rr ur ir r. ! , -r i lr y v i. urdit't have the money, pefhaps your name is well-knOwn.Justtlashacarr-i.and theywillacceptyou. Andevenifdoyouhaveacreditcard,there: :c :. r :r. s. (.,ne person can only use up to a thousand dollars credit, another person

has got two thousand dollars credit limit, and some others have a little more. So thecard is another example of how freedom varies. Each person's worth is dependentupon how much he earns, or how much he has got savd. It is the same with ourlives.

Just because we are ali here, that doesn't mean we've all got the samefreedom to perform the same action. One can perform an action and get away withit because he has got a big credib others cannot. Today I was watching the eveningnews. YesterdaytherewasthebiggestbombardmentovertheWestofBeirut. Three,even four, hospitals were hit. Patients already sick had to be moved to the basement.And so niany hundreds and hundreds of injured rushed to the hospital, but thereis no place in the hospital, and the hospital itself is being hit. They can take only a

IIl._

\f-.:L


few of the injured, only the very seriously mangled bodies. The wounded rushedthere; in an ordinary case they'd be admitted, but there is no place now. They are iusttreated and left on their own. There is neither medicine nor water - absolutelynothing. Amanwascryinghorriblyinsidethehospitalwithagonizingpain.Iheardthe sound. His body must be burned and mutilated beyond understanding. He isalive and crying in a painful condition. Why? Now, here comes the question: is Godresponsible for all of our suffering, or is it the condition we have creatd in thisplanet? The planet earth is in a very horrible state, God made tNs planet? If Godis the creator, why did he make such horrible things? And where is free will? Weare just subject to some destiny. Somebody's allowed to suffer in that hospital.Inside the hospital itself they are burned and mutilated. And here we can sit andmeditate peacefully without having any worry about falling bombs or rockets.These types of questions cannot be answered until we understand what is Pu-rushartha and what is lGrma, or what is free will and what is destiny.

Now we go stepby-step. The question is which came, firsh free will,Purushartha? ordestiny? Wasdestinyfirst,andareyousubjecttoalimitedfreewillby Karma? Both free will and destiny are one and the same. It depends from whichside you are looking. An action performed through free will will become destiny.In other w.ords destiny is free wiil. When you deliberately perform an action withproperthinkingyouhaveaparticulartypeofdestiny. Peopleareburninganddyingin the hospital itself; that is thedestiny madeby theactionperformed in thepast. I'mnot talking to any particular group of people - who is right, who is wrong -whether P.L.O. is right or Isrcalis are right, or Catholics right or Protestants right,Hindus right, Muslims right, white right, black right... I'm not talking about rightor iustice. I'm just merely stating the law of Karma. That person in that horriblepainful condition in the hospital- thatsufferingis the resultof an action performedby himself at some other time. He is reaping exactly his reward. I'll iust give anexample.

Before I fi rst came to America, I was in Aus tralia. Tha t was my fi rst stop afterSingapore and Malaysia. I arrived in Australia, and there some one of my studentstold me a story - the pig story. There was a farmer. Australia has lots of land andlots of farmers. And this farmer, every Wednesday he has got a ritual. He will catchone of his pigs and tie him by the legs to the roof of the barn, and let him hang there.Then,hewilltakeatwo-by-fourandsbartbeatingthatpigfromheadtofoot Hehitshim from top to bottom. Every muscle he will beat slowly and forcefully. Why ishe doing it? The purpose is to see that, before the pig dies, all the small capillariesare broken so that the blood will ooze into the muscle fibers. Then, when heslaughterstheanimal,hewon'thaveanybloodcomingout. Andalsothebloodwillgo into the muscle fibers so that when he eats, he can get all the benefits, not only offlesh, but of the.blood as well. That was the theory on which he wai perforrning thataction. So he's hitting the pig every Wednesday or Thursday - i(s a ritual. Andhow long does it take to kill that pig? It's about a half an hour, forty-five minutesbefore this ritual is overand the pigdies. Slaughterit and you justcut the tfuoatonce.At least the pig will die immediately. But this way, it's not so. People miles and milesawaycan hear the sounds of this c1lng pig -crying crying crnng. And then thepig is dead, and the farmer wiil make a nice beautiful meal and eniry it with hisfamily. At the end, the man had a disease with a painful sensation in his throat. Nodoctor could cure it; no one could even diagnose what the sickness is. For severalyears he was making the same noise as the pig used to make. That noise of incurable

103iIIi

SWAMI VISHNU DEVANANDA

l\-II

i1,.

pain. No one knows what disease he had. He cried and cried and cried, over andbver again, the same noise as the pig's, the noise of the pain which he created'Eventully he died in these painful-conditions after suffering a long time-

Tirat is called destiny. That man's suffering wa1th9 result of an action hecommitted against another &ing, another living being, 99-9" creation. He may bea pig, but he i-s not created by yoir; you've got no right to kill another animal. Thoushal-l not kill. It is clearly "rittl". fitat one bi g and beau tiful thin g - Thou shal t no tkill. He disobeyed thai law, that cornmand.

Do you lnow what Karmic disease is? What do doctors say causes cancer?Meat. This is what all yogis said thousands of years ago. I(s not only cancer of thecolon, cancer of the sioiach, etc.; it's also Karmic disease' Cancer is a IGrmicdiseape.'So do not get any tlpe of cancer; it's a Karmic disease. When you killanimals and eat theiiflesh, miirUoay, to nourishyourbody, thesufferingyou-8lveto these animals during the time of death.does not iust disaPPear- :lfte/ also havethought,iustlikeyou. i,ememberthoughtimprints.itselfon$e.atmgsplere. E-veqday tlousands

"t d thonsnds of these innocent animals arebeing slaughte$ l$

th;ir blood is iust flowing like a river throughout the world. Thou shalt not kill. Weforget this ruie, and we iuffer. Karmic diseases are inc:easing. ., : . .- , In the case of the Australian farmer, we can put two and two together. Wesaw that he was beating the pig, and slaughtering the pig. we heard the cries of thepig, and we heard his &es wrucn were the same. That's the way he suffered' But*ft y of our sufferings - what we are undergoing now- - wecannot say when we.t""[ud that particulir action'through our own free will, or when the effect of thataction began. Some of what we are now undergoing and suffering is coming fromwhatwelid thousandsof livesbefore. Itisonlymaturingnowatthispointof time,in ttris century, in this lifespan. So also, muny 9f tl9 L.-d?": we are'doing nowthrough oirr own free will, will come only later, In this life it is too much to accePtu.r"ryihit g, so it is being kept for us for our future destiny, for a future life. That iswhy we cirnot undeistlnd why we are suffering or enjoying. What we are havingnowistheeffectofourpastactions- : ' ilt; .';,' .'""1

': ..': So now yon ur,-derstand what is meant by free will and Karma. We arebound by our Karma, because we perform the actions by oyr own free will. Andor,ce yo,t have performed an action through your free will nothing can stoP theresuli. Thafs the law, even in the physics. Newton's law: every action has got an

-.. ..-OPf ..\,rn. 1..- - - -rriescaFle youiictions, ;nsitive or negaiive- Wh;': r,'ou are doii'- - -- " "''ereguiating your life. You perform Asana, Pranayama, |apa meditation. You aregoingthroughanintenserlining. Youareeatingverylittlefoodandyoudon'tcarefiot, it tasteJ. That's your IGrmi too, But these actions which you are deliberatelyand positively doingnow, you'll have their result in the future. You'll have peaceof mind, youil have strengih. When others are sitting in the beach chair, you'll bejumping ind dancing. Whln others are in the hospital with arthritis, etc., you don'thave any disease. You get the results.

If youareeniryinggood heaith, agoodlife,a good family;if you haveagoodwife, or a good husband, gooa cnitaren, it is because the action yoq P€rfgrmed in thepast was good. So you ire reaping the fruits: a good fTity life. If you have aimnken hlsband who is beating you every morning' and every aftemoon, and atevery miil, you must have done the same thing in a past life to your wife. You werethe husband atone time and you were beating your wife- So now, in this life you

KARMA & DISEASE

become the wife and you are getting beaten. Tha(s the way the law functions. Thefirst thing to understand is that nothing in this universe takes place without a cause.

so about those people. I saw that suffering of the people who are burninginthehospital,whichitselfisbeingburntdown. Everything.hasbeendestroyedanddemolished. There were tlventy-four hours of continuous barrage from the bomb.ing, shells and rockets. It was just hell for twenty-fourhours. What a situation thesepeople are in. why? Because,I was just thinking as i watched ... I saw a newsreel ofthe graduation in the P.L.o. carnps, as l,ve mentioned before. You rememberhowthey show their courage? They tear, with their own teeth and hands, live rabbie andlivechickens. They tear them with their own fingers and mouth. Well do you thinkGod is going to forgive you if you do such a thing? An innocent chicken, an innocentrabbit; like babies, they're helpless. But you've got strength. You can do anythingyou want, and you forget thit the law will act upon you too. And now tr,ey

"tEgetting the reaction. They've been bombed and bombarded and so forth. Look,I'mnot talking only P.L.O. This happens to all of humanity.

Today the United States had another underground nuclear test in Nevada.There was a newsreel, and also a movie camera. They were kept about a mile awayfrom that underground blast to record it. Even that movie camera was just blowirup. There was a cra ter one thou sand yards wid-elnd very deep. Just i ma gine i t. Whyare we cre4ting this? According to the newsreel I saw, America conducts one nucleartesteverythreeweeks. Doyouunderstand? Andeachtestcoststentofifteenmilliondollars. This happens regularly, in regular places, every three weeks. so also inRussia. And the reason is, according to the Minister, or the Secretary of Defense,whateverheiscalled, thatwemustbeprepared. Wedon'twant tobethesecond-ratecountry, caught by the Russians. well that is the logic. That's right logic. But whereis this logic_going to take us? We do not understand that. Yourlction, yourKarma,is destiny. So you can drop a bomb an Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But what I'm tryingtoconvey to you all is the reaction of this Nagasaki-Hiroshima. The whole humanityis bound by its effect, not only the American people, not only Russians. The entirlhumanity. lVe live in this planet earth; we share the same air, the same sun, samemoon, same water... the same earth. We cannot divide and rule thinking this is mycountry, America, or my Russia, my China, my india. It is because of tlis that;eare in this situation. That's called the law of Karma. So if there is a WW III, do notblame America, Russia or anybody in particular. You have to blame every humanbeing on this planet earth. If we are going to suffer, it's because we did notunderstand that there's mass Karma too, not only individual Karma. Everyindividual action you perform, somehow it becomes cumulative, and brings worldwars and calamities.

So the Karma now is the effect. So there is free wiil. But once we,ve got afree will, we perform action. You act through your own free will, and theJyoucannot stop the effect of your action by any means. I(s like a bomb released; the pinis taken off. It is going to explode sometime. There are delayed fuses; there are somefuses which will explode the moment the pin is removed, immediately-an instantexplosion. With the delayed fuse you set the clock mechanism for half an hour andthere is the ticking clock, which will go exactly ten, twenty, thirty minutes, and it willexplode. Ifs the same with our Karma. Some of the Karmas are instant. Most of theactions will take a longer time. But they will bear fruit.

You want to kill a person? Well, you 've got the free will to do it. How doyou want to kill him? "Yes. I want to kill him in such a way that I will not be caughtby the law. I can escape the law." So you make every type of preparation; no

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loopholes. No one will see the crime and therdll be no fingerprints because you,ll

wear gloves, "r,a yoJi;; a false moustache' false hair' They will never

reco gnize you. Or maybe you'll wear a ski-mask over your head' And you' ve stolen

someone,s car so they will never see your car, and you stole someone's gun' withsomeone,s gun and |*;;il* "i

a tfte ti.:-tn"-t\, you're completely sure that

vou have created it in such a way that no one can find out the crime' You are going

iJ:Jfi:t;l;ilo.^-,ilJ"iupu'r*uv'*:.ty11l-Tj.ientsuccessu'Noone could detect yoo- Vo" thought you'couta eraPe now^gecause there's no

witness, no eviaencelrr;;A;. vo,rit o.rgt t you werevery-dever' is it not? You

did 1, is it not? *"iff#y""^i',rJ. v",, ian "euet escaPe whether there is

evidmce or nol k that you are so clever. well, in your next life, you never commit

any tyPe of crime at all' You are i""oce"t' ^"i y"it 1t-" sitting thlre' and suddenly

all the evidence shows that you are the persoi rJno aia "

particular crime' we have

seen so many innocent peo-ple sent to iaU ior a crime which they never nerformltThey never dia nat far[."iui.ri*e. They've forgotten; they;must have done some

crime some time in the Past

-notinthislife,butinthepastlife.Theytriedtoputakindofwooloveralltheiractions so no on" *rrij .atcti'them. They iere very clever. so they are caught in this

life for crimes they ^"rr"i .o*itted. They are not paying the Karma for the crime

that they did not commit now. They a." ,riff"ring tn! Xarmic effect of the past' This

is the way Karma f.ri"tior,r. IGrma is positiue Jr negative, giving good fruits and

bad fruits. Karma "iJiu-i**ution alwavs so together

so in concru;dil;;a,rna#t"ia siia and sakthi. whenseparated,

Siva is the consciou;;;;ir; it supremebeins. But he has got full freedom to move

in his creation, ""),;;;;;ril." it " spiali In her web. The individual is like a

microcosmofSirr."iailti*. n',"o"fydifferenceisthatwearebornof Karma'our

destiny. rt e aitions tiii.i *" iil.:G h;to reap the rew3Sds'' We hive to suffer

our deeds from the Past, from past lives. What we are unde.rgoiigP*.*ijh thilffi il;Iil;;;ffi; ii"r-'", ""a

white we are u ndergoin g this Prarabdha, we

are also perfo.mir,gliesh action whi.n Jiicotn" in the ftirure]So t^t" "t" "aught in

this cycle of Uirtfr anJ death due to the Karma. We have to go on Pay-rng' receiving

the reward or punishment, accordirg ooio*r, actions performed by our own free

'..,-1.1. v^:i'rrq ont 6 ir* *rff. Now w! should be usingbur free will to change our

pattern. Even thoug.- r..L r- *- - -",r-z rent' thet. ^ -r '^:ulli" ;:'i'Tnoibevery

ffi#;il"r p"r,?.u"ns which wur. nol* good, still yirui present action is good'

In the fu ture you can change. Every action you"perform now wilt birome the Karma

of tomorrow. S"' ;*il"yo" "'"'t"tderg6ingthejnrig ?lll" Pasll-o1'-?ls-o-'3ctthrough your own free will, and do gooi "ttiott'

That is the law' OM SHANTI

WHEN KARMA AFFTICTS YOU

e: S;ua),ii;, tf we haae some type ol stclnas gr ionethjys, hoati do _ue knout

wheth* it b due to somethingwe'oe donein thepast andwe're suffrinl'gsryeKantu,97tiio"g thtinking we're iloiig nw? And is thae a difference in hou we shiuld. dul withit?

A: Well, suppose you went to the goats' place-and_one of the goab. was sick... when I went to fa-rm I siw the dog Shanti. She s fult of fleas and ticks. When she

was a baby, she was so afraid to go with anyone. Onedayl.was pulling the-Ca.t's

Tails in th! pond. She was such 6aby, that dog, and she didn't go near TybodlThen, wheni went in the water she slowly came and started swimming with me' Oshe was so happy to swim! So I thought-that this time' now that she is a grown uP-,

she would liki i6 swim again. 5o I asked someone to please bring Shanti, and bothShanti and the dog camE to the water. Both of them, as soon as-they went inlhewater, instead of stiying in, climbed out. Shanti starts rolling in the grass and thensheprrts her head doWn-as if she's got pain in the ear. She's trying to warn me: "I'vegot pain. I've got infection in my eai." Because she couldn't say the word, youLo*, tt

"t rhei got infection. But she put her head down to tell me. Then someone

touched her. She started cryrng immediately, I know for certain that an infectionis there, the watermust hur[,arid theticks,you can see them- bigbig ticksontrerears. One girl, Angelica, used to Pick out the ticks when she was there' But whenshe left I iirink thit no or,e wai there to do it and the ticks are still thriving.Immediately, I said to please take both dogs to the vet. But the day was already past'and so they went first ihing the next day. They went and got whatever medication

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SWAMI VISHNU DEVANANDA

was needd to takecare. : '

Your duty is to take care of the dog' I can't jryl:"yj "Hey d9p' it's yourkarma. You just keep tfr" ti.ttt you can hav"e the pain"'No' I can't walk awayt So

also, when yout Uoay is s"ff".itig yo" do what yoi can. If you are not able to help

yo,risAf ... iust like whut r f"1 aiwn on the cttib ot the roadside and paramedics

came. I do not know if there was a station near by but it only took them three

seconds. Three seconds, you know. I was just alone, vomitin_g and I couldn't see' Iheard a sourd,'t Ve aiJp'u-*edics," and i though! " O 1rY G9d - where did they

"o*" fro* * fast? As Jon as I fall down, they ari there. I can' t even see them"'Doyou know where yor,

"r"2" they asked. I helrd a sound:'I-think I'm somewhere

in Oakland." Tha(s all i said. 'enyhow they took me 1nd I c-an't say' 'No' I'm a

Swami. I donit care." The body hai to go through its Karma. It can bepain - lwo;;ttl h;Jio ,oy in that emelgency ward witf, intravenous-everywhere and so

forth and I was tying lirere. WJIL iiit naa h"ppel{ sg19where by the Gange;'C"r,got i o, ro-6*nit", f would be lying ther; ... O.K. But here therejs somebody

to take care.. It is their Juty to do whenicannot do. If I could've acted,-thenI iust*ght have called a doctor: '?lease,I need some help""'Ioq can takg gary-of

yoirself. Do not worry abou t ifi t's comin g from pastKarma or present Karma' Youio*t ast that questio'n; yo""t"tu."re of lour bixly'Ueca"se bodyis the temple ofif," C.a. You tceep it piolpetly; you wash it' Keep the temgl:'-l:t fot

"nioyment -to go to Las Vegas - that is wrong. When you-tite care o? the body you.are ta$ngco?s temple iand you make use-of the temple-for the good of humanity.

So,inthesamewaylsentShantitothedoctor,Ikeepthebody:Itakecareof it in whatever *uy f ."i- Or,"u, I had gangrene-andsoldiers carried.me fromiS,OOO feet up down.' You do what you ca-t't, ai.d when there is nothing, iust leave

it to God.. Don:t ask the question: ts it my past Karma or my Present Karrna?"

That's not your question; ihafs not the wayJou do yhat you can' |ust as when

Shanti was'suffuring. It doesn't matter what Karma Shanti has done'. I don't knowwhat i t is, but that d-oesn' t matter. I have to do what I can. 5o you do what you can'

S"fpotu'your clothes.gaughlfilg-1s you'are sitting there and talking to me'

S,rii.nryyourealize,'jOniyGodrMyciotheshavecaugtrtfire!" Whatdo'lorrdo?b;t";;tL "Hey, how did ihe fire come uP? Who put th:,ft$ Did it came fromItir'tu^p or from that one? How did this iire comi to me?" Do you ask all these

q""rtioriri What do you do? You put it out; you run to find the nearest water' Youjump in.

It's the same thing with Karma. You don't ask these questions' Give help

to your body as the instnrinent of God and God will take care. You don't know allthe Karma which you have done. If we knew what Karma I have done to you all,

vou wouldn,t even sit here next to me. Do you know that? why, I',ve done so Inany

ffi;;,hi"g;;;ii;;t;u; r,msuffering for that. And you also_ know: "o my God!

swami vishnu has taken all of our m-oney and mn aYu!_..He said, You'll get

salvation,' and hit us with a peacock feather' O my God! He hit me ten times withtt "'pu".o"t

featf,er ar,J he iook my t91 thousanddollars for that' O this man' he

cheated me in the last life." You wouldn't even hear my talk. I don't know whatKarma I have done. That,s what I'm sitting here, telling you. And you don't know*frat f".ma you have done to me- If I inew what ihis man has done to me' Iwouldn't even talk to him. And you, do you knowwhat I have done to you? You

Jor,,t tno*. Maybe I hit you with a two-by four everlr day,.because you were not*orti.g prop.rfy.r,o,rgi.. I took a two Uy four and was hitting you from toP to

bottom evei auy,like the man in Australia'

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None of us knows all our Karma - what we have done; nei ther you nor younor you. You think you are married to a beau ti fu I man but you don' t know what youhave done to him in the last life. And he doesn't know what you have done to him.And the child ,vou are having, you don't know what you have done to that child ina last life. The child may be anotherman and now you are serving him and washingthe diapers and so forth and so forth and that's Karma. You are paying up now. youdon't know what you have done to your husband in the last life, or what he has doneto you. But now you've got no choice; you both have to live together and worktogether, and call each other sometimes and say 'Tlello," and "I love you Honey,"and repeat that Mantra sometimes.

Karmic reaction comes in different forms, not only disease. Your marryingis Karma. You are the disciples; I am the guru, and that is aiso Karma - to have somany people I have to worry about. I came here and I did my pb. I prayed for you- that you should hear the Mother's s tory. In what way am I going to get any benefitif you hear the Mothey's story? How will it benefit me? I did not do my duty in theIast life as a Swami to all of you. I said: "O.K., take my Mantra - I give you thepelcock feather. |ust go and pay your $150 and and the Kundalini and everythingwillcomeup." That'swhatldidinthelastlife...Idon'tknowexactlybutsomethinglike that. And so I had to pay in this life; I had to start all the ashrams. I had to cleaithe grourtd on my own, clean everywhere. I had to work; taking the people, teachingfive or six classes a day and also the Yoga Teachers Training Course. I mysefconducted all the classes and did all the iooking, every morn-ing and evening. Istartd the people in Yoga.I took them for long walks, hiking and so forth. I drovethe people to Montreal back and forth each weekend. And in New York also, I tookthe people here to the Ranch from lf/ Center and back again. Through myself I didall those things. \4/hy? I did not pay my dues properly in the last life. I just took allyour homage and all the dues from you, and God - he punished me for that.

So understand. Do not run away. You cannot run away with anything fromanything; you have to pay. And the payment, the suffering, comes in differentforms; existence comes in different forms. You don't know what Karma you havedone - not only in one life, not only in the last life. There's an infinite number oflives. Some Karma we have done twenty, even thirty, thousand years ago, and it willcome only now. We don't know when it's going to materialize. The Karma thatwe're wor' '. :::r be from this life; it can be from thirt,v thousand years ago orf;orn tlvc iiuncred ti':ousani niiiic.'. 'ie3ii ago. S:iii vou have to go through it. Soyou don't ask, 'fihen did it happen?" That's not the quesfion. If it happened, youaccept it, and do whatever you can. Don't ask why ... like the military rule: ,'Do anddie. Don't ask why." You knorv that military rule? '?o and die. Don't ask why.,,You don'tknow that rule? You never heard that rule? "Do and die. Don't ask why."fhe mitlary says,'You go to the battleground and kill that man," and you say,"'l,lldie." 'Don't ask questions. Do and die. That's an order." And don't isk why.Military volunteers - you know how the military volunteers its troops? Thernilitary wants a volunteer: 'This is a most difficult job. You volunteer. Youvolunteer. You volunteer. You volunteer. You volunteer. They tell you whovolunteers. Isn't it so? So don't ask why. Just do whatever you c:rn.

Some Karma can materialize in three hours. Do you know that? The effectof the Karma can come within three hours , v?V intensely good or bad. The effectwill come in three hours. And some Karma will take three thousand years, so youdon't know. Someday it will come to me and I will take care of it. Then don't worryabout all this.

SWAMLSHNUDEVA IAI{DA 109

\ rh reforc,withwtattac*ma*, ilo tllou alvwyspefrryactianwhidt\-' shauk bi done; for by prforning actbn withottt attaclunar,J, nan

: rardrcsthesurr:ane.$A'7,9)'

your duty is to perforrn action. Dort't expect the results. Whether they are good orbad, ifs riotin your hands. -IhaYs in my hands," Krishna says. So offer everything

,. toGod.

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From a talk giaat by Swamiji to T eachr Tr ainas afto mtrging fromelaen montls of silence, in 7979.

Prostrations to you all, glorious immortil souls. Again, I am once morephysically back to all. For the last eleven months, I tried as much as possible to bejust alone, though occasionally I was brought out to face my KarmiCresponsibili-ties to this world and to my own bodv.

This vehicle, this physic"!Fay, which you and I possess, is only for working outour Karma, the Prarabdha Karma - the allotted results of our actions. Whethei weenioy or whether we suffer from the actions we perform, we cannot avoid ourKarmic debts in this life or in any life.. ls long asyou irave:. physica! b:d.;;,1;er:'11 ha're Karma to work out. Your bodyis made up of food and is called a food sheath. As long as the physical sheath is there,you will have to enjoy the fruit of the actions performed in the past

However, you bry to run away from your actions, from your Karma. How far canyol,*_l? Can you imagine? With your mind you place a limit. "If I can run awayto Mt. Kailas or Mt Everest, the Karma will not touch me. If l go into the Himalayancaves, the Karma will not touch me. if I go into the Polar ice, the Karma will nottouch me." These are all false notions! It doesn't matter where you go; the Karmawill also follow. These two things, good Karma and bad Karma, will follow you likebodyguards. Hereafter, in future innumerable lives, you are going to iniarnate.Your future lives depend upon the Karma you are now performing-.

Action creates Karma in the form of Sanchita; this is present Karma accumulatedlike a bank balance. Prarabdha Karma is that Karma responsible for futureincarnations and wNch must be worked out in future lives.

Exactly one year ago, in the middle of the TTC I left the course. Now, my Karmahas brought me back in the middle of this TTC course. I could not run away. I tried.

SWAMI ViSHNU DEVAI{ANDA 111

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Wherever you 8o, your Karma will follow Yiu' ftrgre are no friends or enemies;

there are only y6ur Kannic debts. So{alled friendships are the debts that you pay,Karmic debis you o*" A.o- past lives that you are-nowpaying in $e fqrm offriendship. You are refaying tfre wife you mirry for that which.she's done-for youin a past l'ife. you bui f.,6t rii"t coats, bring-hei flowers, say, "I love you ho.ney'',

and lepeat this MantL daily. You areafraid.tofP""l "Om Namah Sivaya", butyou're not afraid to repeat lI lo*'" you hone/" T1l shows you already hav.e $eKarma the wrong *"n nut yoUre pan"S iglr debts' I'm.also Paytng my debts'

Inthelastlife,itrii to *r,"*"y?t6t"iflthis. I wanted t_obealoneand-neglect*y t*po*ibilities. In thig.lifet am punished more than in the last life' I have to

pJy aolUte, start everything from t .j+'' I t'rr, noi using "ty r*#"fills to bdl-g-you qll hgre', 1."-"1{y taught harddiscipline, serdilapiine; if s the ot ly way l-Lno w' f '14 -nnctit"9 {ry ltj: 1ll:r,o t**i. iormutae, no s6crets. I've got ng,secrit magic Man$lir1 TI-FI$: wna.ti;;;E;Jrr raiO *rness sacrifice] EvEii-wfgn f was fgliiyears old I had to walk;""i;ffid' il;;;i i" ;;;;i;l *J i",i' ii'id qacd !'-s.ht i-*GT trra t6 *ak'il;il d;* ttouta not orrl'^y 6ooks or tuni:n-because ittad to ctd'si jl'tI.qly;^fri, ilil;;;: i r.a ; #'a iif". L'",r", Snew lire ryis dnythin! but iti&iptine''-

i*"riiiti-ifit"ryfoitwoyears.'Dscifiline-agaill:'-t.ry91!toMdster'sAshram# ;;"* i ;i'#;"' Jfii $r il il ?' uir r .;i'!ii{ r9." ; r *!,lr-l y .e,1ne

*- tdiscipline yourself, how to be a master of 1991. o11t- destiny', " ''' " ='' "'

you r des tiny i, "o,

i"i'i"i fr # ;;;;; ;i,a ;9 "r4's..

You i d es tir.tri i id idu t o .*hands. I can show you h6w to sland 9l ygu.r head, but I cannot do it for-you. -It'sih" sam; ;itn yoni r*t. You, yoursetf, miiit- sqng, 9n y::t :* feet'. only !\e1.liF" f,"fj oit.o. fnrfs wi y you aie hgre: io ldarn-this discipline, to gain thisil;;lJs;; rh; s*' t.t t r."o;l& g" 9f Yg81 i9 ih:l of discipline'. Dscipline g,""* *iii"urUliit v;ira ift""; this wild,mfa'. 3111s;.TS:q

secret. v*{qf,jt\ivetogiiiny*!"t+l91T1tr1t1tr9eler,nf 1swit1gitt.llgfngm.vyou are fifitrfng is'not'iruiside. Wtrer'eis'it? Iis in'youi bv]n mind.'Mind alone is

the cause of you, uonil g".,M-*a ii"4-". i9 i19 gatq vgl t llFlu ti91, I{o* Ylu yetheminddeterminestheresult. r-.. r..ii. ...*Tt'a;;Ji;

tik"; ladder. The purposi: of a'ladder is to.brinF yol.loihu top ofwhatever you want to climb. Froh tire iame ladder you iar,r atso- fatt.aown ina!,ro"L rrn,ri hoarl f /< n6[ the farrlf of tlg lafl der.'[he puroOse Of the ladder iS tO takeyou up, but i'.you fall lrom the lacicier it,s ;'cur olvl.. iau:i; noj.t.he ladder,s.' yo..i goal ii the supreme Brahman, the iupreme Atman. .It is within you. It is,,oif"t "i"y up in thi heavens or below the earth or under the.polar ice or in theii-"f"y"t.'It is within you-. It's closer than anythilg.ry.",:i: think of' even nearer;h;; Firr "wn

mind ani ttir*ing principle. It is TAT TWAM AsI - Tha t Thou Art'It is SATCHIDAI{AI{DA - ExistEnce' Knowledge, Bliss'

There is no death for the soul. There is no change for the soul. The soul is eternal- ANADI - eternally without change like the sky. The sky always remains the same-

A few days "go

rr," h"d torrentid Lins; a flood was everywhere' and toduy the sunis shininj. yisterday it was cloudy; today it is cold and tomorrow it will be hot- Buttheskyrlmainsunaifectedbyall tiresechanges. Itis the.witness.of all thesechanges.None'ofthesechangescantouchthesky. Thiwindcan'tblowthesky;theraincan'twetli. Firecan'tbuiniUsmogorsmokican'tdirtyit.Italwaysremainsasawitnessto all these phenomena.

In the sane way, the soul is eternal, pure and unchangeable' It doesnjt matterh";;; y"" ut" tit how good y9l 1t:: the soul remairu changeless like the slcy'

i-raGrr,"a says in the 6it", ;oh Arjuna, that soul, the immortal soul cannot be

u"."aa. It has no fear, no worries, no emotions; it remains eternally changeless."

w" iar"ry iJentify wiitr ttris body,-with this name and form. Identifying withir,"U"aiit iite faifng from the taader- This name and form is made up of ice

cream, bi^,bananai chocolate, hot dogs, and hamburgers. when we die, we'llbecome the same thing for worms and g-rms, They will be eating-this body as

-their own hot dogs ""f fitt"..fni1-pirfsicat body came from the food cycle and

rnust go back int] tne foia .yile. Wi c"nnot keep it eternally' It is here for us to

work out Karma.Thereares€venstepsontheladderyouclimb,thesevenBhoomikas.You

learned these througi th*|;; Once you reach the seventh step you won'tfallback, but until you ,"".t tf,u toP, at any siage' yo" *ilJl-You can fall on the firststep, as all of rrinow; some don:t evengo td thi second step' A few will try to climbthe second and third, and they'll gain p6wers, perform mirac.les. They may become

enamoured of the ueauty or ine irirailes and powers, but !!r1e powers are like a

bl;; up balloon. It l;ks big, but how easily it is deflated! Power in any form isike this.'But psychic and spirifual powe'' are more dangerous and painful' You are

,eact ing higlie, leuels and thus can fall further back' Falling from the first steP' yo};;,G;fi;t,butif you fallfromthefourthorfifth,you'll notonlybreakyourhead,you maydie.

The higher you climb on the spiritual ladder, the more intense become the

."f"rd"l i"-i-rp"f;o*. These are more powerful than ordinary temptations' The

beauty of a woman, or any beauty on this physical plane, is nothing compared to

"rtot'u"",rty. To conquer'this you'll nld morepower and more strength. Do not

ttrint ttre ,iHtu"t pu-tf, it easy and.that. just by,,,*T*-"$:.t"""i"t.1 l1"d'-o-tio,rct ir,g ydur heaa, oiby getting the blessing-,-you'll gtj :q the spiritual ladder' Ifsa hard tlit *a i(s your own e*ort. You will reach a higher stage only if you are

i..ify a"t".-ined t6 be there. Nothing can stoP you' no Po.wer can slopyou untilyou ieach that stage. You may fall back and get iniu:ed but still you"ll climb because

iou want to reacf, that eternal Brahman - your Self! .

Your Karma has brought you to this Yoga Camp jn the laurentian Mountains'vVhen i ,,vas here i,.' i;.;i ', ,' - ;' l'' ' ::.-'l ' ::.e n'.c:n:r: l-l 9:"': o'clockto Morin Heights or some place; Ican',t remember the exact location. There were no

autoroutes tlien, just a twt-lane highway. We drove to the top of a mountain' Ilooked from the hill and I saw a peculiar light. I told my students'that some mys-terious force was pulling me to thit area. I didn't know what it meant, but somethingwas mysteriouslY Pulling me.

I rehrrned to Montreal and then went to New York. After a year I came back to

Montreal. The first camp started in 1959 in St. Hippolyte, not far from here. It was

in a small cottage belonging to the parents of one of my students. There was no

plumbing to suiply watir; ihere weie just a couple of outdoor toilets and a cottage'

Wetooka garbagecan,madeaholeiniiandputitonthetopof a tree,and thenfilledit with waier to iake a shower. There was only one room uPstairs' Fifteen womenslept upstairs in a small attic and the men slept in the cold laurentians on averandih.

It was a three-week camp the first time. when I saw that the people,who came

to this vacatior, .u*pi"it be'trina att their luxuries, comforts, and conveniences' and

i- . SWAMI VISHNU DEVANANDA

'.'.. . : .

.howtheysleptintheatticandontheipl4.ylnn4ih,itoPenedTyl:gt'll"SU*t"t,

l.,

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atthough th.i. *.r" "o"yilill#;';iti*a;S in the West, theii i+'eri thbsi whocould turn towards un inJei*";iJ. ntlv uewt'trat trrere was more tnan thepursuitof material obiects and they tooiio

" fr*d dis'Cfiine. I realized that here there was

f"tti6il;;il;;* *," i"* rJ.-i knew--tfr;l.u.t Indians wouldn't-tike thiskind of discipline. They wouldn:t do what you're doing; it's rare' . . 't 1 .: . ;

In India, tt uy go to an Ashram i6 get blesied and to g-et hit by peacock feathers.That's all they iol In tndia they wrll farlpnd m'l'from held to foot. The/ll worshipme like a god-or an angel, but ii.l ask 6em to foll6w this diripline, no one will cometo me. I'li nota miraile-mak"t I do.,:t care ab6ut peacock feathers; I wantyou all1os1an!onyourownfeetto-qorf o,gtygurKarnfi. fhatlcanshowyou. ThatlfoundintheWesi..r -_:i ..r..,,.r*+'',

For.oug#ona summer capp, we somehof?ound a place on llth Avenue, notfar from (ere. Aeain we had i-ti6au tiful mon th iiiit suruner. Facili ties were limi ted,u"ttn".n,-i".ti*tt"t-tili irre?[-qy;"r, rne]ilrira year,I thbughl.t": must havea pemunent place. I saw manyptali.s. Mr. Gaudi ind Mr. Rosenstond told meabout

" pt". on 8th Avenue in Val ldotir,. V"t Morin'I knew; the tast yeifs ciirp was on

11th Avenue so I knew lhis pew. pf?ce. .ryas not far. away: : -i: r:,i .

It was stitt onty the end of winter here. Sil:"!$ qiitgi tilg ,rnr". t t"tritiity,in the old days,'nothint was paved. Thai was :{Ffi ye-ais !go. There were' tr,r'ocottages, and that whiti housl was there. fneie *iino dinirig'hall.' Ail this *as

t. i'i:,,." =l:ll:'

forest There was no ski hill, nothing.Our original lodge was all iungle and forest. There was still about three or four

feet of snow becausi rio one had been here for a long time. I got out of the car on 8thAvenueinfrontofthegate,onlytherewasnogatethen. Again,e-ctlookedtowardsthis mountain I saw the same light as I had seen two years ago. I knew tha t this wasthe place which was drawing me. I ran through the snow, climbed towards the topof themountaintoseewhatviewlcouldfind. Iclimbedatree.Iwasjustlikeachildfinding some new place, a new toy. I ran up and down in the snow and decided tobuy.

In those da1n, there weren't many houses; there were sixty acres of land- Theowner wanted to keep the big house for himself. For the other three or four housesand the land, he wanted a $2000 down payment. I had never even heard of a downpayment; I didn't even know what "mort ga1e" meant. Where could I get $7,000? Iapproachedafewof thestudenb-Mr.F.;-,:'.:' :,"'.i..':":i - r' "' ^'L'-. The)'loaned me the money. I didn't sign any papers because I didn't know how. In those!.:'r'2,iny rvord was sufficient.

That's how we got the Yoga Camp. There were only three or four broken downhouses, so we stayed in Montreal. Headquarters was on 5t. Laurent. We wouldcome for weekends with a few of the students from Montreal. We started ctrttingthe tre€s and clearing the land. It was a hard struggle. The place was not like it isnow. No platform, no food, nothing ... and no money, just the hard work of a fewshrdents. It was hard, but it was beautiful.

The souls came, about thirty or forty people. They wanted discipline. Themomentlrealizedthatthepeopliwanteddiscipline,ifeltsojoyful.Icou.ldn'taccepta lazy or Tamasic life. It wls iust beautiful. We worked hard. We didn't even havea dining hall, only an Army tlnt where the plane is now. It was all full of holes andwhen the rain came, there was water everywhere. Where the Krishna temple is,there was a house; it's burnt down now. That house was the kitchen, the office, andeverything in one tiny room.

!

114 REINcARNATToN. KARMA & DrsEAsE _

It all grew. The other Ashrams came, the centers carie, the teachers came, thestudents came. No4 it is at a very different t1rye of stage. It has reached it'smaximum gtowth' The fruib are coming and you are here to collect the fruits andget the benefits. Why didn't you suffer'like me and a few others to build it up?Because in the last life you had gone through a growth period and were workingwith me, but I left. At the time of tnrth, I ran away. You had a good time and I hadto start all over until the fnrits came. Now you start where you left. You are ludcy.' In this life, I don't want to make that mistake. I will be with you all. I will work

as hard as I can. I will guide you in whatever way I can. The only thing I want fromyouallisthatyoufollowtheteachingsofMasterSivananda. Hereallycares.Ilivedwith him and I watched his suffering. He didn't expect anything from anyone. Allhedidwasgive,give,give. "Sene,Love,Give"washismotto. Followthisunselfishprinciple. Serve,lone,pve,purify,mediate. Icaninterprethis teachingsalittlebit,with my own weaknejses. I can show you some methods of controlling the mindthrough your own hard work. Ican assure you: if you follow these teachings forcontrolling your own mind, then you'll reach a more peaceful state, which I can'tdescribe.

I overcame innumerable problems of running this organization. I gave every-thing wi$ all my heart, dedicating it to my Master. Mastel garve me one thing'apeaceful itate which no one can take away. Ifs there inside- Om Shanti.

SWAMI VISHNU DEVA\TANDA 115 :.

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. .l' :.BIO GRAPHICAL SKETCTTES

/:'.'..itt:.., r

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"Where there is power and position/ )roucli:rg to your powerl"you cling to your posi-

tion, to your money, to youi' jr'o. .I.l::::gcome, after all, from your desire. All will

disappear like a bubble. Nobody eversunrived big powen"

Swami Vishnu Devananda

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 177

.:...-.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was the noi *otra iir"q;*;.. H6 iwept throughGreece and marched his army as far away as India. The civilized world was li terallyunder his control. And such was his ambition from his youtlr- , - - :. .; .- As a young man, Alexander cried bitterly over the many successful cam-paigns of his fathir, Phili'p of Macedonia: "My father will get ahead of me irriverything, and will leave nothing great for me to do." His brilliant.and hoFtempered mother, Ol1'mpias, princess of Epirus, taught him that he was a descen-dant of the illustrious Achilles, the renowned hero of Homer's lliad. The ambitiousAlexander committed the entire text of the Iliad to memory and carried a "luck/'copy of the book with him everywhere, wfrich he kept locked in a precious casketclose to his bed at night. He would be as great as Achilles. .

When he was trventy years old, Alexander became the king of Macedonia.He immediately set out to surpass his father in conquest To crown his suppressionof the Greek city-states, his army invaded and destroyed Thebes, sparing only thetemples and the house of the poet Pindar. Any rebellion amongst the Greeks wascrushed and teirs of thousairds of people were sold into slavery. . i.

Alexander, havingcowed the once glorious Greece, moved with his armies,hungry for glory and pillag+ into Asia Minor and soon added ib peoples and landto his dominions. This was an achievement his father had vainiy longed for. ButA lexandey's lonsinq'.'as farfrom fulfilled.Spurred onbyanoracularprophesythathe ','.': . ici conqett , le worlci, iri: pusri*c; .1ii a,:...,-s through Persia, piling up vaststores of gold and silver, devastating whole peoples, hailed as a god- Everywherecities were renamed by the conqueror, named Alexandria.

Slowly, over the long years of the dusty eratic military life, his soldierscame to resent him. Thdy hated and feared his excesses and self-indulgences,though they had once marveled at them, when they thought that Alexander wasdivine. Alexander, now King of all the civilized world, indulged in pleasures andwhims till he lost all discretion. In a drunken rage, he killed his dearest friend, Clitus,and sesawed between remorse and self- righteousness after the murcier. Histempestuouslifeandherculeanmilitarylaborsweakened him. Dishearreneci boopsand a still frantic lust for conquest further worked upon his mental and physicalcondition. His health deteriorited rapidly. He contracted a fever which none of themany healers and remedies to be found in his kingdom could cure. He died at theage of thirty-three. His corpse, in grand procession through Persia to Egypt, thereto be enshrined and worshipped as divine, was lost somewhere in the wide wastes,untended, unadored. To this day no one knows where.

118 RrnrlcanrvaTIoN. xanua c otsrAsr

Marie Antoinette

From childhood, Marie Antoinelte believed that she would be the Queen ofFrance. At fifteen, Marie married the French Crown Prince, and four years later, asthe wife of King Louis XVI, she had achieved her dream. The beau tiful young queenlived a life of frivolity and extravagance, busying herself with plans for fancy balls,theatreproductions,horseracesandgamblingparties. Shehadapropensitytowardcourt intrigue, had one "favorite" after another upon whom she lavished wealtfi-She scomed any involvement in the adminisbation of her country and the worsen-ing financial condition of France did nothing to temper her extravagance. Con-cerned financial ministers were dismissed when they questioned her spending. She,a foreign princess, living a life of glittering vice, became the target of gossip andoutrage amongst many of the French people. Rumors buzzed throughout thecountry that Marie was a spy for the Austrian king.

Wrapped up in the seeminguntouchabilityof her status,Marie AntoinetEsuffered a double blow in 1789. The death of her eldest son deeply grieved her andher husband. But such sufferings had always attended royal as well as conunonfamilies. The shocking thing was the outbreak of revolution. All of a sudden herwhole tuoJtd was tunied up-side down. The life she had taken for granted as trerbirthright, divinely sanctioned, was torn up by the roots by people whose lives shecould never begtr to understand. Her self-indulgence bred blindness.' Marie fought desperately against revolutionary changes, encouraging herhusband to assemble troops around Versailles. Violence ensued. A hungry crowdof Parisian women stormed the palace, clamoring for bread and rcvenge. The queenwas the model of all they blamed for their misery. Her famous words, "Let them eatcakg" uttered at this time, were more a sign of her ignorance than her flippancy. Butit was a fatal ignorance. Marie and her family were taken to Paris and forced to livethere, virtually prisoners of the revoluti forces.

Marie, sensing the hopeless-ness of her situation, encouraBed herhusband to flee rather than submit to aregime of compromise. Her countrywas royalty, not France, In the middleof thenight, theroyal family, disguisedand anxious, s:: .ut. But they were idiscoveredand returned to Parisunder ian armed guard. There w.rs no longer j':anypretenseas to theirstatus. Theking .:':

was forced to accepta constitution that jlimited his power. Marie sought helpanong the royal families of Europe ins€cret correspondences, giving cre-dence to past rumors that shewas a spy.

Marie, the glorious and un-touchable Queen of France, was sen-tenced to death by her subjecs. Shewas beheaded on October 1.6,7793.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 119

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I 'rII'

AdoUHiOer ''. :. ,'y'.. ,:,- , .. . , '"",t.::.': '.' t' '

As a voune rnan, Hitlertreamed of becoming a successful artist' but he didnotrung?JlJhfi: ffi6;'"f;;;"d"*d from one town to another spending

much of his time abnlii'ing in a fantasY world' He failed as an artist' ?s 9narchi tect, and as a Ben'Ji&';" ilil. wi.*iww I broke_out, Hitler found his place'

He welcomed *r, u, u-'JiiJ fro^ rur "itnfess

e)cistence. He eagerly volunteered forthe German army. ffile fighting in the front lines, he was wounded; out of action' '.

he was dernsated biA#;t"r defeat. Hitler had a vision that he would ::*Germany frorn bondage.- He recoveled rto- ttiS *ounds and.began to preach a

political philosophybiedonhisbelie^fsintfrevirtueof 'yar,of authoriarianismand '

of inequality. Hg proposed the exteTqina.tioi of an entire race of people' Wi th his

magnetism he drew i*ro olpeople to ryi*tgbq Iftpnly tw'elve years AdolfHitier.rose to the position of Chancellor of Ge.q44\Y-'r;;'-:-'- '.;;;; a;;i''1 :: -

t'l\_.

He,who,o.,ghttocontroltheworld,couldnotcontrolhisownappetites.He spent hours derroTring candies and pastries; on-some-da{: *rt",T-::*^::,:r"-"tlalii.t "."ili"r. H"

"te huge amouns of eggs, prepared in 101 differe"lYlf

fi ;;d;;; iir"top". He ti"tea lobs ter bu tiJas very much concerned wi th the

kindest waY to kill one-- *Wti"re hehad control he was a monster-masterminding the systematic

slarrghtei of miifio* of p*ple within his conquer{ territories' But he could not

U""rit "

Unrden of worslnirig mifitary conditions. He planned the aerial invasion

""J U.*Uing of griiairr an? predicted the surrender of that country' When

-

surrender did not come he moved his attentions to the East. He sent his armies intoRussia,so confidentin victory that he refused to face the rexlidssof sucha campaign-He would not supply his troops with winterprovisions. After the 1942 defeaiof theGermanarmyinStalingrad,Hitlermoreand moreisolated himselffromthemilitaryrealities. He refused to read reports of defeat. His secretary supplied him with onlyreassuringinformation. Hebecamemoreand moreparanoidaiteranattemptonhislife. His defeats and his paranoia made a mockery of his ideal of himself asconqueror and leader of a superior race. He was completely absorbed in his smallego,hislittle"I". Whenyouholdontobubbles,theyburstopen-Nothingcouldsavehim now. Hiiler, with all the bunkers, all the money, all the power he possessed ...still could not escape his own hand. His own hand pulled the trigger. He had toescape the horror he had been making for himself his whole life.

The people around him, his near and dear ones, also suffered through him;they suffered their own Karma. He gave poison.to Ns own mistress, or wife. Hemade and shaped the great Rommel - general, Field Marshall. And Rommelthought, 'Tfow treat I am. I defeated the British on the battlefield. Hitler himselfgave me the title 'Field Marshall', and gave me a medal too." And he wrote to hiswife: "I am the happiest person. Today Hitler himself gave me the title ,FieldMarshall'. He promoted me! What a happy person I am today." That very Hitlerevenhrally gave him poison. Rommel's son - he became a Colonel in the military,in the same German army. He told the story: There was a phonecall formy father.He was told that two generals would be coming for him. That was the ordei. Fatherreceived the call, and then went upstairs and said good-bye to his dear wife, and hesaid, -"[ won't come back." And he put on his Field Marshall's uniform and he camedownstairs. His son asked a question, "Father, where areyou going?" and his fathersaid,'You are a Colonel. You can't question the Field Marshall." Though they arefather and son -'Don't ask any questions. tust stand there. Thaf s an ordea" Thecur came and he sat between the twogenerals. Now there's nothing hecan do. F{e cannot es€ape now. Thecar pulled away with the great fieldmarshall. Hitler had given him thattitle. They gave him poison. "That'san order." And he took the poison.Before his body was cold, there wasthe announcement: "The great fieldmarshall has died in battle." But itwas Hitler who made his death.When Hitler gave him the title FieldMarshall, and he was overioyed bythat title, he had forgotten, he didn'tknow, that it was that very Hitlerwho was going to give him the poi-son. And Hitlerhimself didn't think,whilehe was delightingin his powerand in the slaughterof millions, thathe would finally shoot himself toescape the ignominious defeat of the'great' Nazi party.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

JosephDjugashvili\^/asbrnintoagoor.hgusgho]dinGeorpa.inthgRussian Caucasus. Buffeted between his drunken father's abuse and his devotedrrpther/sambitionsforhimasaholyman,heoftenescapedintotheworldof fantasy'He took on himself the identity of'Koba, a Georgian btk hero who had wander_ed

the hills in times past, aele"ji"g the Georgiarihomeland ttuough cunning and

loseph Stalin

for the revolutionary effort; he had become

bravery.When he was eleven Years old the

bo/s father died in a drunken brawl, butnoi without leaving the rnarks of his cnr-elty on his son-s characten "tJndeservedani frigtrttul beatings rydS -thf b/ :5gdm and heartless as was his father." Jo--eph and his mother continued their pov-erf'taaeo life, a cobbler/s widow and hersot. et the age of fourteen, Diugashvili.was accepted into the Theological *f-'i',arJ, where he quickly developed thereputation of a trouble maker amongs! thisciroot authorities. He was soon expelled'He tmk to the radical political under-gtound, looking forward to a life of in-Lig.t" and poslible'power. _H3 catfahi;sef Koba. He pined the Bolsheviks'Lenin valued Koba as a sourc€ of income

instrurrrntat in a n riber of daring and lucrative robberies'ntryte proceeds filledtt

" p"rty coffers. Koba was made-a member of the Bolshevik Central Committee'

beciusehe was a successful thief..He gave himself the name stalin, which means "Man of steel". He was not

a mapr figu"re durinj the Russian Revolution of.7917,nor did he take much partinthe consolidation of tommunist power. When Power was secured, however' he

began to rise o a supreme Po-sitigl il th: P19' He had 1 "Tl:"I""t for the organi-

zation and adminisfation of individuals. He came to control the far-flunq P"tq

"pf"rurur, often throutt *.r,ipnl"d?l and favoritism. His hunger forpraiseand

p["i,iot wasstartintt5m""iestitself more.oF:ty' .. W'$t drove Salin was

lot "

pofi,i."l ideal b"ul a personat need.for self-affirmation. He was hideously mis'tmstful. The smaltest criticism could breed a poisonout Ehtd in him' Nothingshort of worship coula satisey his morbid selfobsession' 5o he set about turninghimself into a gd.

After l-eninjs death in 1924, Stalin used his uncanny cleverness to eliminateall the rnen who had once had more Power than he. In five lielF-: h9 yas.theunquestionable masterof the U.Ss.R i{e orchesrated the Great Collectivization'inwhichmillionsandmillionsofRussianpeoplewerekilledr Thgeyrgetrialsof the

thirties gave him no end of detight. He waiched from a ctrrtained window far above

tne prdeeaings as party lumiiary after party_llmin*y debased himself in publici*i iti"tiot, o'nty to be sentenced to deaih. He killed almost everybody'

satin had his picture posted throu ghout his domains. He was to be rerrcred

as a goa. School.hifi;;;;Jre made to compose-songs 9f ryit" to their "Littlef"ti8rf people lived ii t"t-t rot they shouldinadverte-nUy {-tpt*T the Ge-neral

S";t -iire whote *""t y lt:S.T a state of mental angursh and ftarfulness'

ixtir,g it" reading or **u'orncial document at a meeting of provincial Partyofficials'Stalirrsnamewasmentioned.onemanleapttohisfeetattheword-stalinrfffi*t".r"p ddy. All {ert compelled 1o loin in..At first they all ctap'ped

"g;dry. They began io tire; the pace-slowed. it soon became aPParcnt that no

one was willing to Ue'ttre first to stop clapping or.t? sitdown' ]hq went o." :-Fdlegs, tired arus - without mttrGiasrir-bui without sbPPinB for nearly fifteen

minutes- Finally one r*" g""" it up. Immediately every cingte Persol Pr,?Ttt feu

silmt and resunrd rus seal The meeting continued. The..fry nat day 9"t rywhohadfirstsoppeddappingwas-arres*l'.'"ly,spoliticalpolice.and'o.tqff,after various tornrro"t d Liir, b Siberia. Hi Ua Ueei reported by m" ryl *-bhad first stared th" "i"p;"& pi*ea

"t tt

" meeting to sniff but subversion' If a dog

barlced, Stalin might have himshot'Sucharutlrlessautocratwasneverthelesscpurreduy\.e{ieaPow.ers

during Aa-S**a World War. He knew they need.ed hirn He became ttre-"i"ir"rt-p or ne US.S-R-, fond of going about in miliarydress' He liked to pose

f"ipiot"S-ft r *itt tt "-g*;t haderi of t[e non{ommunist worl4 but he alwap

made sure that he would L standing so as to aPPed' if not.as the tallest' at least as

talt as the others. He-boaslJ to cr,"i"t ill aboui the rnany lives his policies had cost

his country a- a---:^rt And for his country there was no Peace. The-Soyiel Union had ernerged

from WW II as a nlaio-t *oi,a power. en& tfre war' Stalin instituted yet anol!11Jgn of t"*o. egJi t*sr*;f people were incarrerated, induding war-w€arysoldiers coming nome from the fiont.'AnotherGreatPurge 9f ttre lartywas antici-pated. But in 19$,;l ti;"S" o{ Ulggli feU ill. He diedin his bed surrounded byhis closest ramily mlmueo'"ia pofitical collelryf.. Itwould seem an ideal deattu

But listen to ne e,rtlil"it it torinent He lay ii tris Uea slowly drokTg,:" 9:l*lhis own blood, in the blood of his millions of victims' slowly, Painftruy hrs firce

blackened. n".oJJ io io"gu, speak; there was only t-\gurghJrs^so.und of his

death, and tt e stare oJiis;;GilB;y.s, full of fear and iull of hatred' As he scanned

il;;h;*"ri"ot resistinJtist gesture. He raised lq his teft hand' taking in

"fitt*" r.r*.rtAit i nis Jeltft Uea;irittr anger and loathinf"fS-Tif::i:HXcurse on them all. Tf,us he died, carrying his rage with him:furure lives.

t

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BIOGRAPHICALSKETCHES - 123.-..

Patton asRoman Soldier

The Manyrncarnati6rs br ceoige S1'f1ttoh "'i' ,"'"Geniu" ic n-lrr tho rr'^rt:i1'l;rt,'rl oroeicnaes nf naii lil''cs.'

Captain GeOrge 5. l'atlon r rdu rui v rl st'rur'..r , iir..- uur ri5. --, o small iO;v:': ir.northeastein France. But in Decembcr 1912 having just arrived to operate a tankschool, the American newcomer declined the offer of a local liaison officer to showhim around the town, once the site of a Roman miliary camp.'You don't have to,"Patton told the surPrised young man, "I know it well."

A staunch-believir in reincamation, Patton felt sure that he had been toFrance before -as a Roman legionnaire. As he led the way through the area, hepointed out the sites of the ancient Roman temples 1d aaRhitheater, the drillground, and the forum, even showing a sPot where lulius Caesar had made hisiamp. It was, Patton later told his nephew, "as if someone were at my earwhispering the directions."

Paiton may have credited his continuing military success, in Part, to havingbeen a soldier in oiherbattles, in past lives. Once, in North Africa, during WW II,a British general complimented Pitton: 'You would have made a great marshal forNapoleoi if you'd lived in the eighteenth century." Patton merely grinned. "But Idid," he replied.

KAIdVA & DISEASE

obiectified tha t she hersel f spi i t hersel f in two.walking down Fifth Avenue in N|YC with

Marid/n Monroe

She's been called "the most Potent femalelegcnd of the cenfury." Marilyn Monroe, not merelybiurrs" of her beaul,v, but more because of her intense;lssire to be loved, became the object of narional, evenrvorldwide, desire. '1Vhen she faced a man she didn'tknow, she felt safe and secure only when she knew theman desired her: so everything in her life was geared toprovoke this feeling. Her talent in this field was veqygreat." She spent her life moving in the most glamor-ous, and also in the most powerful circles, desperatelyseeking a love and a fulfillment that would never behers.

It got to the point where she had bcncome soShewasanother

wornan. Nobody paid much attention to the twowomen walking along. lr{arilyn, in a baggy dress, witha black scarf wrapped round her head, a nd dark classeson, suddenly rurned to her companion. 'Oo you wantto see Her?" Before her companion could answer,before she could even understand the question, shesaw Marilyn pull off her scarf and tie it tightly'aroundher waist... the hourglass figure emerged. She ran herfingers through her hair and started walking differ-ently. Within sc*conds the whole street was in anuproar. Gasps ... "ls that Marilyn Monroe?" "Hey!There's Marilyn MonroeJ" Homs honked, tiresscreeched. One taxidriver ran his car onto the sidewalk, into a pole. She could create that. She had thatpower. But it did not bring her happiness.

She was once attending a funeral, again inN.Y.C- -qhe was depressed bv it. Truman Carnote, alsoattending, suggested they leave. She didn't want to goout the front door; reportcrs ivould hound hcr. Shedidn't '.:,'ant to sncek through the back oi the church;thev might run into more corpses. She was caughtbe trveen the hell of her life and the death that spookcdher.

Finally thcy got out. It was still early in theiay. 'ihey went to get drunk and commiserate rvithone another in a deserted Chinese reslaurant. Aftertwo or three bottles of champagne, lvfarilyn left thetable. Capote waited ... and waited ... and waited.Finaiiy he got up and rvent to the L:dics' Room. Heknocked. No ansrver. He was afraid she mav havesrvallorved some pills - committcd suicide. Hu

iopened the door. tvfarilyn rvas standing there in front i

oi thc mirror. She had again iet her hair out of her biack ,

l\

IEsr@7 that she

1'-i

TheincrediblebeautYof this tullbloomingLohrsFlowerwill soonfade --""'-'f ust as didthat ofMarilYn """'

Frog Boy livesl

ff,n',,*ilT,Hil:::f "f peru, about r80miles north of LimaMadalia, herself thetr*,H:H:#H's*i:1"_y [ereraerli"#ter were pres€nt when the

ffi,nt frog boy was

I:.9.",i: said the frog-tro_y's

fingers and toes.y::: rn:.h ronge, *,"ilo,ru.:t "- no-,ri"l' u.uy:l: its .feet, thoughI1pu"ly human, wereIl_atandshoweA no sign of:.:h."r and the toes were

ilJhe webbed ro€s are notL strange to me," she said. "Itl"I" reen *,ut .tl,ii,ioniDerore. But the legs of the

t:;.,webbed.

JA"y are tegsJumping, notThey aie the

i!"ut *uru no, ti?ru or,,11T.".,ftSy ryere very1onq Td when they were

,Til,Jff "ur re".i.,ed up

made forwalking.

Iegs of afrog!"-from a newspaper reprt.

v

- "-'l:".:What some Great Personalities said at the'time ofGreat Danger

The Pope... When he was shot' ''IAII y me?"

Ronald Reagan ... When he was shot(Later on to his wife)

"I forgot to duck, I{oney"

Mahatma Ghandi... When he was shotITAM

(GOD)

'TTEMEMBER. FORGET'Swa.cri Sivananda

at the moment of hisMahasa.sradhi

on 14th luly,1953.

lIt_

ItI't'I

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36 REINCARNATIoN, KARMA & DISEASE

THE STORY OF KING BII{RATA(&om Srimad Bhagavatarn)

Bharata, the Hermit

Un"r"r", the son of Rishabha, rulcd the kingdom well. He was a righteousman and his rule was pcrfect. So famcd was the earth under his rule that, in latcrdays, she earncd the namc Bharatavarsha, since the good king Bharata ruled her. Inthe ntake of his ancestors Bharata followcd all thc rulcs of conduct which areprcscribed for a king; and the earth was happy undcr his rule. He was a greatdevotee of Narayana. In the heart of Bharata was imprintcd the form of the Lord.Whenhefeltthathehadenjoyed thekingdomand thepleasurcsitheldlongenough,Bharata divided his kingdom among his sons, crowned his eldest son as thc king,and rcnouncing everything, he went awav to Haridlvar, to the ashrama of the sagePulaha. The ashrama was located in a picturesque spot. It was iurrounded by theriverChakrawhichis,even today,fullif Shaligrams, thestoneswhichareworshipedsince Lord Narayana is said to pervade them.

Bharata stayed alone thereand, with flowers and fruits collected byhimself,he would worship Narayana cvery day wi th a full and overfl owin g hearu overfl ow-ingwithBhakti. Hehadpasscdbcl';;.cithestagewhcretheplcasuresandthepainsof theworld affcctman,and his hcartwas filled with pcacebornof renunciationanddctachmcnt. Hehad rcachcd thcveryccstiasyofjoywhichcomesof intensedcvotionto the Lord. His hcart would mcl t likc wa tcr whcn hc thou ght of Narayana and tearsof joy would often flow from his cycs. His heart was likc a dccp lakc into which hchad immcrscd himsclf and his ego and his sclf. Every day hc would wandcr arounddad in the skin of a deer and with his hair matted and dusty he would invokc theLord Who is present in the rising sun: "I surrender myself to that glorious powerWhich created this world: Which pervades this universe and Which has created it:Whichis thecauscof theintellectfunctioning:Whichislodged inthesunthus givingits glory to the sun."

Days passed thus for him who knew no joy other than the thoughts of theLord. Once, whcn he was seatcd on the banks of the Mahanadi bcnt on his momingprayers, a piteous scene mct his eyes. A dcnr had come to the banks of the river todrink water. All on a sudden the roar of a lion was heard. The noise seemed to come

reincarnation,karma & disease book 1986 energy medicine seminar val morin,canada

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