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KARMA and REINCARNATION
By: LES COOMBES
Although the term karma is used widely now it is not an
original English word and as such is classed as a loan word. (A
loan word is a term or word adopted or used by a race or culture
other than the one that originated it). Reincarnation has its
roots in Latin and comes to us with several different meanings.
Karma is a Sanskrit term and is a noun and all nouns in Sanskrit
are derived from verbal roots. The verbal root for the term karma
is KRI, which means to do or be active. This then literally means
deed or activity.
As we go about our daily lives, we engage in three basic
activities. These activities can be physical, mental or verbal.
Every activity we engage in results in a reaction or effect.
THE PHYSICAL PERSON YOU ARE NOW HAS
NEVER LIVED BEFORE
The Universal English dictionary defines karma as: An act
considered in its causal relation to a persons fate or destiny.
In Buddhist philosophy it means; the sum of a man's acts, words
and deeds which decides his fate in each stage of existence.
Sometimes the word karma is used as a synonym for fate or
destiny.
Karma and reincarnation are the pillars of Hindu philosophy and
belief. The Hindu culture and its belief in reincarnation and the
application of karmic law can be traced back thousands of years.
The deeper meaning and the many aspects of the term karma will
always be a mystery to many of us. However, if we understand the
terms cause and effect, we should be able to glean sufficient
information to be able to lead a more balanced life. There is no
necessity to turn to the Eastern philosophies for direction and
information about cause and effect as these are not unique to
that culture. We do not need to be a follower of any creed, dogma
or way of life, nor do we need to believe in a supreme being to
be able to understand cause and effect and reincarnation. All you
need is your 'little grey cells' and a burning desire to pursue
the truth --- "Knock and the door shall be opened---"
According to the Universal English dictionary, the word
reincarnation is a noun and has two distinct meanings:
1. (a) Act of reincarnating.
(b) State of being reincarnated.
2. The doctrine of metempsychosis by which the soul, after the
death of the body appears again with a new body.
METEMPSYCHOSIS describes the
act of passing from one body to another. This word derives from
Latin and Greek. Incidentally, the word soul has a very long
listing in the dictionary I am using and as such I am not going
to list all of its meanings. My interpretation of 'soul' is the
carrier for 'spirit', the etheric substance needed by pure spirit
to enable it to enter a physical body. To me, the 'soul' is
electromagnetic in nature and at some stage in the progression of
the spirit entity is discarded.
The latter is my interpretation as there is also the
psychological and the theological explanation. I am of the
opinion that the theological explanation is lacking in substance
and the psychological is too clinical and as the soul/spirit is
an important part of the act of reincarnation and is entwined
with the term karma, one cannot emotionalise or intellectualise
the discussion. Every time I hear someone say I was such and
suich in a past life, I wince, for the physical person you are
now has never lived before. I have even heard some say, "so
what I have another life to live." Using the 'little grey
cells' and a little common sense one can easily surmise that the
persons who utter these statements are not fully aware of the
laws governing life.
Recently I heard of a lady who committed suicide because she had
been told that she had been a mass murderer in a previous life.
Whether or not this person would have taken their own life at
another time is immaterial for the responsibility, at the time is
with the person giving such information. The law of cause and
effect states that for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction. The reaction may not be the same as the action
because time may elapse before the law takes effect. Reaction
will be in kind, exactly what that kind will be is not for me to
say. Be advised that it does balance and we are only responsible
for every word, thought and deed committed in this life. We do
not have karmic debts to pay from previous lives, how could we?
How can anyone be made to pay for some deed committed in another
time?
Progress is open to all. The idea that one would 'have to pay'
for acts committed in another time is tantamount to saying that
one will be punished if they do wrong. There can be no wrong
because of the law of cause and effect. Conversely there is no
right.
There are many words in the English language that are loan words
and ordinarily this doesn't cause too many problems. The
difficulty is presented by the true meaning of the word being
misinterpreted or if the original meaning is lost. Many of you
can remember the days when we had HALT signs rather than STOP
signs. This is an example of a loan word. Halt and stop mean the
same but halt is from the German language and stop is English. A
very clever lawyer argued successfully that the word halt could
not be used as a sign on our roads as it was not an English word
and in that sense how could anyone be expected to obey it. The
reason I have cited this example is to illustrate that the term
karma has been taken from another language and used, quite often,
without any knowledge of its correct meaning.
LIFE IS NOT A SERIES OF LESSONS
As explained earlier, kri is the verbal root of the term karma.
Karma, is a term, that is, it describes actions or deeds. So
karma, in its original concept, means the total of a persons
actions or deeds. It is a term used in Hindu philosophy to
describe how, after passing over, a spirit is shown its 'life'
and how each thought, deed or action has had its effect. It is
from this 'reviewing' of the 'life' just experienced that the
spirit entity is best able to judge what it requires for its next
incarnation. As a new 'life' is created, this is 'seen
on the spirit level and those that have the job of assigning a
spirit to a body check, the akashic (also a Sanskrit term),
records to find a spirit that is best able to utulise the 'life'
provided. Contrary to popular belief "life is not a series
of lessons." Life is experiences and it is your perception
of these experiences that determine the cause and effect of your
life. For many, as soon as something goes wrong, or, if their
life seems to them to be on a downer all the time, blame fate or
worse, blame someone else for their difficulties. Like attracts
like. If you perceive life as a series of lessons to be endured,
then it will be. It takes a brave person to go beyond the
conditioning and restrictions that we at times seem to be
surrounded by and question adn keep questioning until the answers
are provided... "seek and you shall find..."
WE DO NOT HAVE KARMIC DEBTS TO PAY
Reincarnation is not a difficult term to come to grips with. Many
believe that the spirit has many different lives and this belief
is not restricted to any creed or dogma. Simply stated, a vehicle
is created, (the body), and a spirit is assigned the 'life'.
Naturally there are many that do not believe in reincarnation but
they still say it's 'their karma' if anything goes wrong for
them. I guess there's nothing like having a bet each way... just
in case!
It's this mixing of ideas and terms that create confusion. How
many times have you met someone who admits that they have no
belief in religion or are not religious and yet they will not eat
meat on Good Friday? The thing that makes each persons life
unique is the way each handles the ups and downs that they
encounter. I realise that it is not easy and I am not saying that
it is, for there is always a new experience to be faced and
handles with the amount of knowledge each has. The development of
an individuals consciousness is subject to variables, the country
of birth, social status, etc. To understand cause and effect is
to give one the knowledge to face 'life's little tests' with
confidence and balance. This then is the role of the 'vehicle'.
The spirits role is slightly different for it experiences the
energy that is generated by the 'life' and it is by this energy
that it learns to evolve its consciousness.
Life is a series of experiences for the body and the spirit is
the sum total of all experiences in all life times. Hence the
doctrine of reincarnation and karma.
