The one who is detached, free, and enlightened, who performs karma under the guidance of the Divine Inner Spirit, will find that his karma ends within the inner spirit. It does not create a chain of further consequences. He sees nothing but the ultimate truth : Brahma in every aspect of karma.
For him, Karma as an act of offering unto the fire of life is Brahma; Karma as the thing he offers is Brahma; the fire of life which receives the offering is Brahma and the one who makes the offering is also Brahma. Nothing has meaning and existence apart from Brahma. He attains a state of oneness with Brahma because for him Brahma and Karma are not different.
The self-realized souls (Yogi) look upon life as a divine sacrifice. Some live life as a state of oneness with Brahma and do not even stop to analyze the nature of sacrifice. They sacrifice the act of offering itself in the ultimate fire of Brahma. Whatever they do is performed with utter disregard for the fruit of the action, because for them the Godly Brahma is acting through them as the channel of all action and they are not even aware of this. The actions thus performed with a divine purpose lead to divinity and the good for all.
How does this divine sacrifice take place? Those who realize the principle of Karma as sacrifice are governed by the following rules of conduct. They practise concentration (Dharana), contemplation (Dhyana). and total absorption in the act of offering the karma (Samadhi). They have complete control over the organs of the sense (eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose) and over the organs of knowledge (mind, intellect and ego) This control over all aspects of personality makes them constantly alert and vigilant. As a result, their actions are goal-oriented because they never swerve from the pursuit of the goal towards which they move selflessly.
Thus, the understanding of the function of sense-experiences and insight into the working of the mind, intellect, ego and consciousness is an important step in the divine sacrifice of Karma. All these aspects of personality are offered unto the divine fire of self-control. This sacrifice is performed in the light of divine knowledge.
Those who observe this cutting edge of the path of austerity in the spirit of a sacred vow, perform a continual sacrifice. The humanity is at different stages of this sacrifice. Some sacrifice wealth for a good cause. Some live a life of austerity. Some engage in a process of continuous self-education. This is the way humanity tries to overcome the problems of existence.
Then there are the methods of controlling the breath ( Pranayamas ). One way is to hold the breath in. Some achieve mastery in that. Some achieve mastery over holding the breath out. Some do not let the breath either come in or go out. They can stay without breathing in or out. Some regulate the intake of food and eat only to sustain the life in the body. They offer life in the form of food to the fire that lives in the form of life in the body. Thus it is the offering of life as food to the life in the body, life unto life.
All of them know the spirit of sacrifice. Their karma is thus purified in the fire of sacrifice and they do not incur blame.
They enjoy only that which remains after offering the karma to the sacrificial fire. Ultimately their individual spirit merges with the Brahma, the ageless, the final truth of life. Those who do not live their life in harmony with the knowledge of the divine sacrifice, have no awareness of the earthly dimension of life; how then will they have the awareness of the unearthly dimension which is beyond this life?
The wise ones who attained the knowledge of Brahma have spoken of various ways of performing the divine sacrifice. All these sacrifices originate in Karma. Knowing them as originating in Karma is to transcend them ultimately. But you cannot circumvent the sacrifice of Karma. You have to perform the Karma, and dedicate it selflessly to the divine fire. That is the way to find liberation from Karma.
For him, Karma as an act of offering unto the fire of life is Brahma; Karma as the thing he offers is Brahma; the fire of life which receives the offering is Brahma and the one who makes the offering is also Brahma. Nothing has meaning and existence apart from Brahma. He attains a state of oneness with Brahma because for him Brahma and Karma are not different.
The self-realized souls (Yogi) look upon life as a divine sacrifice. Some live life as a state of oneness with Brahma and do not even stop to analyze the nature of sacrifice. They sacrifice the act of offering itself in the ultimate fire of Brahma. Whatever they do is performed with utter disregard for the fruit of the action, because for them the Godly Brahma is acting through them as the channel of all action and they are not even aware of this. The actions thus performed with a divine purpose lead to divinity and the good for all.
How does this divine sacrifice take place? Those who realize the principle of Karma as sacrifice are governed by the following rules of conduct. They practise concentration (Dharana), contemplation (Dhyana). and total absorption in the act of offering the karma (Samadhi). They have complete control over the organs of the sense (eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose) and over the organs of knowledge (mind, intellect and ego) This control over all aspects of personality makes them constantly alert and vigilant. As a result, their actions are goal-oriented because they never swerve from the pursuit of the goal towards which they move selflessly.
Thus, the understanding of the function of sense-experiences and insight into the working of the mind, intellect, ego and consciousness is an important step in the divine sacrifice of Karma. All these aspects of personality are offered unto the divine fire of self-control. This sacrifice is performed in the light of divine knowledge.
Those who observe this cutting edge of the path of austerity in the spirit of a sacred vow, perform a continual sacrifice. The humanity is at different stages of this sacrifice. Some sacrifice wealth for a good cause. Some live a life of austerity. Some engage in a process of continuous self-education. This is the way humanity tries to overcome the problems of existence.
Then there are the methods of controlling the breath ( Pranayamas ). One way is to hold the breath in. Some achieve mastery in that. Some achieve mastery over holding the breath out. Some do not let the breath either come in or go out. They can stay without breathing in or out. Some regulate the intake of food and eat only to sustain the life in the body. They offer life in the form of food to the fire that lives in the form of life in the body. Thus it is the offering of life as food to the life in the body, life unto life.
All of them know the spirit of sacrifice. Their karma is thus purified in the fire of sacrifice and they do not incur blame.
They enjoy only that which remains after offering the karma to the sacrificial fire. Ultimately their individual spirit merges with the Brahma, the ageless, the final truth of life. Those who do not live their life in harmony with the knowledge of the divine sacrifice, have no awareness of the earthly dimension of life; how then will they have the awareness of the unearthly dimension which is beyond this life?
The wise ones who attained the knowledge of Brahma have spoken of various ways of performing the divine sacrifice. All these sacrifices originate in Karma. Knowing them as originating in Karma is to transcend them ultimately. But you cannot circumvent the sacrifice of Karma. You have to perform the Karma, and dedicate it selflessly to the divine fire. That is the way to find liberation from Karma.
No comments:
Post a Comment