ANIMAL KARMA

 

                    THE DETAILS OF ANIMAL KARMA!

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                          ❤  WHAT ABOUT ANILAMS? DO THEY HAVE KARMA, TOO?❤  

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                             ANS: YES, ANIMALS HAVE KARMA, BUT IT IS VERY LIMITED AND DIFFERENT FROM HUMAN KARMA. AN ANIMAL LIVES AN INSTINCTIVE LIFE. THIS IS THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HUMAN BEING AND AN ANIMAL. ONLY WHEN YOU EXERCISE YOUR INTELLIGENCE IS  DISTINCTION SET UP BETWEEN YOIU AND AN ANIMAL. SO WHEN YOU LIVE BY YOUR INSTINCTS, YOU ACCUMULATE KARMA BUT IN A VERY LIMITED WAY. WHEN YOU EMPLOY YOUR INTELLIGENCE, SUDDENLY THE KARMA ACQUIRES A DIFFERENT SIGNIFICANCE.

                          AN ACT CREATES KARMA, BUT ALL ANTS CREATE THE SAME TYPE OF KARMA. THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEIR KARMAS, BECAUSE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN THEIR DESIRE. THEIR DESIRE IS TO EAT, PROCREATE, AND PROTECT THEMSELVES. THEY WANT TO EAT THE DEAD COCKROACH IN YOUR HOME, AND THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T STEP ON THEM! SO DESIRE AND FEAR IMMEDIATELY CREATE A KARMIC STRUCTURE. BUT IT IS SIMPLE ONE. THE STRUCTURE BECOMES VERY COMPLICATED AND INTRICATE ONLY WHEN LIFE BECOMES HUMAN, BECAUSE NOW YOU CREATE KARMA WITH VOLITION. SIMPLE KARMA CAN JUST BE SNAPPED AND DISCARDED. WHEN THERE IS CONSCIOUS VOLITION, KARMA GETS VERY COMPLICATED.

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                     FOR AN ANIMAL, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO IT IN THE PAST IS RECORDED. IF IT DIES A VIOLENT DEATH, THAT GETS RECORDED. BECAUSE OF THIS, THEY MAY BE A CERTAIN FEAR IN THE ANIMAL. BUT THE KARMA DOES NOT MANIFEST ITSELF AS DOMINANTLY AS IT DOES IN A HUMAN BEING. WHEN THERE IS THE FREEDOM TO DECIDE HOW TO BE, KARMA GETS MORE COMPLICATED. TIGERS HAVE NO REAL CHOICE OTHER THAN TO BE A TIGER. THEY GO BY THEIR INSTINCTS. THEY HAVE NO CHOICES AS WE KNOW THEM. THEY CANNOT TRANSFORM THEMSELVES INTO VEGETARIANS OR GET MARRIED OR BECOME YOGIS!

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                                                          THEIR LIFE IS FIXED, SO THERE IS NOT MUCH KARMIC ACTION. CERTAIN PERSONALITY DIFFERENCE STILL EXISTS, THERE ARE ANGRY TIGERS, DOCILE TIGERS, LAZY TIGERS. BUT THERE ARE NO MAJOR DIFFERENCE. HUMAN LIFE, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS NOT FIXED. YOU HAVE THE CHOICEAND THE ABILITY TO BE ANY WAY YOU WANT IN A GIVEN MOMENT. THAT IS THE FREEDOM AND THE CURSE. MOST HUMAN BEINGS ARE SUFFERING THEIR FREEDOM. 

                

            EVERY HUMAN BEING IS IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING DIVINE...

                       COLLABORATING WITH NATURE'S PLAN IS ALL 

                            YOU NEED TO DO.

                            ❤👀❤

                    SO HOW DOES AN ANIMAL EVOLVE ON THE KARMIC LADDER?

                LIFE EVOLVES BY ITS OWN NATURE. NATURE TAKES CARE OF IT. FROM THE LOWER ANIMALS TO THE HIGHER, FROM SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISMS TO THOSE WITH CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS, THE EVOLUTIONARY JOURNEY JUST HAPPENS. IT IS NOT A CHOICE, BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS UNCONSCIOUS AND INSTINCTUAL FOR ANIMALS, THERE IS NO GOOD AND BAD, OR RIGHT AND WRONG FOR THEM. NATURE IS JUST GIVING THEM A FREE RIDE! THEY MOVE EFFORTLESSLY FROM ONE GRADE OF LIFE TO THE OTHER. IT IS JUST THE FLOW OF LIFE ITSELF. AND AT A CERTAIN POINT THE ANIMAL ATTAINS THE HUMAN FORM. NOW, AS A HUMAN BEING, YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DECIDE YOUR DESTINY, NATURE NO LONGER DECIDES IT FOR YOU.

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                         THE HUMAN PROBLEM RIGHT NOW IS FREEDOM! THAT IS THE PARADOX. YOU ARE FREE NOW TO MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE, YOU ARE TO MAKE YOURSELF JOYOUS. YOU ARE FREE TO LIVE A GOD, YOU ARE FREE TO LIVE LIKE A DEMON. NATURE GAVE YOU FREEDOM BECAUSE YOU ARE NOW EVOLVED ENOUGH TO MAKE A MATURE CHOICE. IN SHORT, NATURE TRUSTED YOUR INTELLIGENCE. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, HUMAN BEINGS TAKE THEIR OWN TIME TO MAKE USE OF THAT INTELLIGENCE.

                      EVERY HUMAN BEIG IS IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING DIVINE. EVERY HUMAN BEING IS IN THE PROCESS OF AWAKENING TO THEIR OWN DIVINITY. WHETHER THIS HAPPENS TODAY, TOMORROW, TEN YEARS OR TEN THOUSAND YEARS LATER, IS ALWAYS OPEN TO QUESTION. BUT ONCE YOU SEE THAT LIFE IS MOVING TOWARD ITS ULTIMATE NATURE OF ITS OWN ACCORD, YOU ALSO PUT YOUR ENERGIES INTO IT AND GO FASTER. THAT IS, YOU TURN CONSCIOUSLY SPIRITUAL. COLLABORATING WITH NATURE'S PLAN IS ALL YOU NEED TO DO.

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                       EXISTENCE IS NOT IN A HURRY. BUT IF YOU ARE, YOU COULD JOIN HANDS WITH EXISTENCE AND REACH YOUR GOAL MUCH MORE QUICKLY. BUT IF YOU'RE ENJOYING FOOLING AROUND HERE, GO RIGHT AHEAD. EXISTENCE IS ETERNAL, SO YOU HAVE ALL OF ETERNITY BEFORE YOU! THERE IS NO HURRY. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

                       EVERY SPIRITUAL PROCESS IS ABOUT TRANSFORMING THE ANIMAL NATURE WITHIN YOU. AS YOU MOVE TOWARD A DIVINE POSSIBILITY, YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR ANIMAL NATURE WITH THE RIGHT KIND OF AWARENESS AND INNER WORK. MERELY PREDENTING TO BE MORAL WON'T DO. MANY HUMAN BEINGS WHO PROJECT THEMSELVES AS VERY PRINCIPLE AND UPRIGHT FIND THEMSELVES CONSUMED BY THEIR ANIMAL IMPULSES - WHETHER LUST OR GREED- LATER IN THEIR LIVES. THEY COMPLETELY LOSE THEIR GRIP OVER THEMSELVES IN THEIR LATER YEARS. SO DISSOLVING THE ANIMAL NATURE IS THE AIM OF A DAILY SPIRITUAL PROCESS.

THE PATH TO LIBERATION

 

                           

                             IS KARMA  A DIRTY WORD?

                         WE HAVE LOOKED AT HOW KARMA BEGAN. PART TWO OF THIS CHAPTER WILL LOOK AT HOW MIGHT END.

                    BUT A CRUCIAL QUESTION WE NEED TO ADDRESS IS THIS : DO WE REALLY WANT IT TO END?

                       IS MEMORY A BURDEN? IS KARMA AN OBSTACLE? IS SAMSARA A CURSE? IS LIFE UNMITIGATED SUFFERING?

                       NOT IN THE LEAST.

                       LET ME STATE THIS UNEQUIVACALLY: KARMA IS NOT A DIRTY WORD. 

                      CERTAIN RELIGIOUS STRAINS HAVE, OVER TIME, BEGUN TO VIEW THE HUMAN BEING AS INHERENTLY IMPURE OR SOILED OR SINFUL. THEY SEE HUMAN LIFE AS A CURSE RATHEN THAN A BLESSING - A CONDITION FROM WHICH ONE NEEDS TO BE CURED OR SAVED OR RESCUED.

                      WHILE FREEDOM IS A LAUDABLE ASPIRATION, LET US NEVER FORGET THIS FACT: KARMA IS THE BASIS OF HUMAN LIFE. KARMA IS WHAT GIVES YOUR PHYSICAL FORM AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRUCTURE SOLIDITY AND STABILITY. IT OFFERS A FOUNDATION FOR YOUR LIFE. WITHOUT THIS FOUNDATION, THERE WOULD BE NO POSSIBILITY OF TRASCENDENCE. YOU, YOUR BODY, AND YOUR MIND ARE BOUND TOGETHER ONLY BECAUSE OF THE KARMIC PROCESS. WITHOUT KARMA, NEITHER YOUR BODY NOR YOUR MIND WOULD EXIST. "YOU" AS YOU UNDERSTAND YOURSELF, WOULD NOT BE AROUND!

                  SO KARMA IS, FACT, A TREMENDOUS POSSIBILITY.

                  EVERY MOMENT, IMPRESSIONS ARE FLOODING IN TORRENTS INTO YOUR SYSTEM THROUGH YOUR FIVE SENSE ORGANS, AND EACH IMPRESSION IS BEING RECORDED. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS. THIS STORED INFORMATION IS VERY USEFUL FOR YOUR SURVIVAL. IF YOU DELETED ALL OF IT, YOU WOULD NOT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE EVEN THE SIMPLEST ASPECTS OF LIFE. KARMA IS THE GLUE THAT MAKES YOU STICK TO THIS BODY-MIND MECHANISM. IF YOU WASHED AWAY ALL YOUR KARMA, YOU WOULD EXIST YOUR BODY THIS VERY INSTANT!

                   YOUR SOFTWARE IS NOT THE PROBLEM. IT TURNS INTO A PROBLEM ONLY IF IT BECOME THE RULIN FACTOR IN YOUR LIFE. KARMA IS JUST YOUR OWN CREATION. IT IS NEITHER VIRTUOUS NOR EVIL, GOOD NOR BAD. IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE LOOKING AT IT THROUGH THE PRISM - OR PREJUDICE - OF MEMORY THAT SOMETHING SEEMS WONDERFUL AND SOMETHING SEEMS HORRIBLE. KARMA IS THE BASIS OF YOUR INDIVIDUALITY, BUT IT IS ALSO BASIS OF YOUR PREJUDICE.

               THE PROBLEM WITH KARMIC MEMORY IS THAT IT HAS STUCK TO YOU. IF EVERYTHING THAT PASSESS BY STICKS TO THIS MIRROR, IT IS A NO-GOOD MIRROR. YOUR MIRROR CAN NO LONGER SHOW YOUR LIFE THE WAY IT IS. YOUR PERCEPTION IS NOW SERIOUSLY CLOUDED. NOW KARMA BECOMES A LIMITATION.

                  OF COURSE, THERE IS MUCH TO CELEBRATE ABOUT MEMORY. MEMORY MAKES US UNIQUE. MEMORY MAKES EVERY INDIVIDUAL DAZZLINGLY SINGULAR. IT IS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BIODIVERSITY AND CULTURAL VARIETY WE SEE AROUND US TODAY. IT IS MEMORY THAT MAKES THE WORLD SUCH AN INCREDIBLY INTERESTING PLACE TO LIVE IN. MEMORY IS UNDENIABLY A PRIVILEGE. AN ENORMOUS PRIVILEGE.

                  THE RUB IS THAT MEMORY IS NOT JUST A GLUE. IT IS ALSO BOUDARY. IT OFFERS YOU FORM AND DEFINITION, BUT OVER TIME, THAT VERY FORM BECOMES A LIMITATION, AND THE DEFINITION BECOMES A WALL.

                  YOU ARE GRADUALLY FETTERED BY THE DEFINITIONS YOU SEEK TO ACQUIRE. YOU JOYFULLY CELEBRATE THESE DEFINITIONS - PERHAPS OF FAMILY, CLAN, TRIBE, CLASS, GENDER, RELIGION, CULTURE, LANGUAGE - BUT OVER TIME THESE DEFINITIONS HARDEN INTO RIGID MARKERS OF IDENTITY. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU HAVE CRAFTED YOUR OWN PRISON. WHETHER GILDED  OR IRON BARRED, A CAGE IS STILL A CAGE.

                 THE TRAGEDY IS THAT YOU ARE IMPRISONED BY WALLS OF YOUR OWN MAKING. THESE ARE WALLS AND BARS YOU HAVE ERECTED UNCONSCIOUSLY, AND WHICH NOW DO NOT ALLOW YOU TO ESCAPE. YOU ARE THE BUILDER, BUT YOU HAVE NOW ALLOW YOU TO ESCAPE. YOU ARE THE BUILDER, BUT YOU HAVE NOW IMPRISONED YOURSELF IN YOUR OWN HOME. YOUR CREATION THAT WAS A SOURCE OF SANCTUARY AND IDENTITY HAS NOW TURNED INTO A CARAPACE.  YOU HAVE SPUN A COCOON OF CONFINEMENT AROUND YOURSELF THAT NOW YOU CANNOT FLY FREE. YOU HAVE BECOME YOUR OWN JAILER.

                     PART TWO OF THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN WORK WITH, AND THROUGH, YOUR KARMA TO ADDRESS THIS UNQUENCHABLE HUMAN LONGING TO BE FREE. IT OFFERS YOU WAYS TO ENJOY MEMORY WITHOUT BEING OPPRESSED BY IT. IT OFFERS YOU WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN LIVE IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT ADDING TO YOUR ALREADY BURDENSOME FREIGHT OF KARMA. IT OFFERS YOU A CHANCE TO NAVIGATE YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THIS WORLD WITHOUT BEING WORN AND ABRADED BY THE RIDE.

                  YOU CAN  FEEL THE BREEZE ON YOUR FACE AND THE SUN ON YOUR SKIN, BUT YOUR DON'T GATHER NEEDLESS GRIME AND AREN'T AT THE MERCY OF CHANGING WETHER. THE NEXT SECTION EMPOWERS YOU TO MAKE THE JOURNEY HOMEWARD BY SHOWING YOU A PATH THAT THE GREATEST SAGES HAVE KNOWN SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, HOW YOU CAN BE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF IT.

                     THIS PATH REMINDS YOU THAT WHILE KARMA IS YOUR BONDAGE, IF YOU HANDLE IT RIGHT, KARMA CAN ALSO BE A STEPPING-STONE TO YOUR LIBERATION.

WHAT IS SACRIFICE

                                 

                        THE MEANING OF SACRIFICE 

                                                               ❤👀❤👀

                                                    *SUTRA*

                          IF YOU TAKE MORE KARMIC LOAD NOW, WHEN 

         YOU ARE WELL AND CAPABLE, LATER YOU WILL "HANDS-FREE"!

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                                 THE TERM KARMA YOGA IS OFTEN SEEN AS CLOSELY LINKED WITH SACRIFICE. IN EVERY SPIRITUAL TRADITION IN THE WORLD, THE NOTION OF SACRIFICE HAS BEEN AS SIGNIFICANT.

                      IN SANSKRIT THE WORD YAGNA IS OFTEN TRANSLATED IN ENGLISH AS "SACRIFICE". BUT YAGNA USUALLY REFERS, IN PRACTICE, TO CERTAIN OBLATIONS AND RITUALS THAT WERE PRACTICED IN ANCIENT INDIA TO APPEASE A DEITY TO PLACATE SOME FORCES TO NATURE. HOWEVER, THESE RITUALS WERE NOT A SACRIFICE IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD. GIVING UP SOMETHING FOR SOMETHING ELSE IS COMMERSE, GIVING UP SOMETHING FOR NOTHING IS SACRIFICE.

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                     THE TRADITIONAL YAGNA ITS OWN TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNAL LOGIC. IT WAS PROCESS THROUGH WHICH YOU FOUND ACCESS TO CERTAIN FORCES OR DEITIES AND SOUGHT TO ENHANCE YOUR CAPABILITIES. THESE PROCESSESS ARE STILL PRACTICED TODAY IN MANY PART OF INDIA. THEY CAN HELP CREATE SEVERAL HEALTH AND MATERIAL BENEFITS.

                       HOWEVER, ONCE YOU ARE ON A SPIRITUAL PATH, YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN SMALL PROCESSESS, MINOR TECHNOLOGIES, PETTY RITUALS.  THE VERY WAY YOU LIVE BECOMES A YAGNA. THIS IS THE DEEPEST MEANING OF SACRIFICE. YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN INVITING AN EXPERT TO PERFORM RITUALS TO ENABLE YOU TO MANIPULATE CERTAIN FORCES. YOUR VERY LIFE PROCESS IS AN OFFERING.

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                   IF EVEN A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION BECOMES MEDITATIVE, MANY REAP THE BENEFITS. A SINGLE MANGO TREE CAN OFFER FRUIT TO A HUNDRED PEOPLE. SIMILARLY, WHEN YOUR LIFE BECOMES A YAGNA, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CAN REAP ITS BENEFITS. MANY INDIVIDUALS HAVE DONE THIS DOWN THE ANGES.

                   AT ISHA, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS AND PRACTITIONERS WHO HAVE OFFERED THEIR ENTIRE LIVES TO A SPIRITUAL PATH WITH COMITMENT AND UNWAVERING FOCUS. WHEREVER THEY GO, THEY TRASFORM THE PLACE, IN THEIR OWN SMALL WAY, INTO A YAGNA BHOOMI - ALAND OF SACRIFICE.

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                      DO NOT THINK OF SACRIFICE AS CHEERLESS SELF-DENIAL. WHEN ONE'S ENTIRE LIFE BECOMES AN OFFERING, IT BRINGS ITS OWN UNIQUE JOY. THERE IS A STORY ABOUT AN INDIAN ASCETIC WHO WENT TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE LAST CENTURY. SOMEONE HE MET THERE DISMISSIVELY COMMENTED, "AS AN ASCENTIC, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT LIFE, YOU HAVE NOT TASTED WINE OR SLEPT WITH A WOMAN. WHAT CAN YOU KNOW OF LIFE'S EXPERIENCES?

                     THE ASCENTIC CALMLY REPLIED, " I COME FROM A LAND OF SACRIFICE. AND I KNOW THE BLISS OF SACRIFICE FAR EXCEEDS THE PLEASURES OF THE WORLD. I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOUR PLEASURES, AND I AM NOT DENYING OR DENOUNCING THEM. BUT ONCE YOU TASTE A DEEPER JOY, THESE BECOME CHILDISH TOYS, MERE SOPS, MINOR DISTRACTIONS".

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                    THIS APPROACH WAS AT ONE TIME DEEPLY INGRAINED IN THE INDIAN FAMILY. IT WAS NOT PERPETUATED AS A TEACHING, BUT AS AN EVERYDAY PRACTICE. IT WAS PART OF THE SPIRITUAL CULTURE. IN A HOST OF DIFFERENT WAYS, A CHILD GREW UP OBSERVING THAT THE MORE DEEPLY FULFILLING LIFE WAS ABOUT GIVING, NOT TAKING , ABOUT SERVING NOT RULING.

                     MY MOTHER, LIKE SO MANY OTHER MOTHERS, WAS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THIS. SHE NEVER HAD TO SAY TO US "I LOVE YOU", BECAUSE IT WAS SO APPARENT IN EVERYTHING SHE DID. EVERY MORNING, AFTER ENSURING THAT HER FAMILY HAD EATEN, SHE WOULD TAKE A PART OF HER BREAKFAST AND GO TO THE BACKYARD. HERE SHE WOULD FEED THE ANTS THAT LIVED THERE. SHE WOULD NEVER EAT WITHOUT FEEDING THEM. TODAY, MODERN FAMILIES WOULD BE SPRAYING THE BACKYARD WITH PESTICIDE! BUT WITHOUT ANY SELF-CONSCIOUS ECOLOGICAL MISSION, IT WAS CLEAR TO MY MOTHER THAT THE ANTS HAD AS MUCH RIGHT TO THIS PLANET AS SHE HAD. EVERY LITTLE ACTION IN HER LIFE HAD BECOME A YAGNA.

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                  FOR PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BECOME LIKE THIS, THERE IS NO NEED TO PERFORM ANY RITUAL. THEIR LIVES HAVE BECOME AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE - NOT LOVE AS "I LOVE YOU" AND "YOU LOVE ME", BUT AS A BASIC AMBIENCE OF THEIR INTERIORITY . NOW THEIR LIVES ARE ONE CEASELESS FLOW OF KARMA YOGA, AN ENDLESS OUTPOURING OF THEIR INNER JOY. NO MORE IS NEEDED.

THE JOYFUL JOURNEY!

 

                               THE POWER OF ALONE

                                                 ❤❤

                                   WALKING ALONE 

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                             THE ONE THING EVERY SEEKER NEEDS TO REMEMBER IS THAT THE INNER JOURNEY CAN ONLY BE UNDERTAKEN ALONE. ONCE THIS REALIZATION DRAWNS, IT MARKS THE BIRTH OF SPIRITUALITY. THIS REALIZATION IS OMETIMES SCARY FOR THOSE WHO ARE USED TO LIVING IN GROUPS, TO MAKING COLLECTIVE LIFE DECISIONS. YES, YOU CAN WALK TOGETHER IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD, BUT IN THE INNER WORLD, EVERYBODY WALKS ALONE.

                     IT HAPPENED.

                     A YOGI WAS WALKING THROUGH THE FOREST. HE WAS SUDDENLY ACCOSTED BY A HIGHWAY ROBBER. THIS WAS A NOTORIOUS ROBBER WITH A REPUTATION FOR LOOTING AND MURDER.

                    HE WAS ABOUT TO STRIKE THE YOGI WHEN THE YOGI ASKED, "WHY ARE YOU ACCUMULATING THESE TERRIBLE KARMAS? WHAT FOR?

                   I HAVE TO SUPPORT MY FAMILY" SAID THE ROBBER. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, MY OLD PARENTS. I HAVE TO KILL YOU".

                    " IF YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR THEIR SAKE" SAID THE YOGI, " IT IS ALSO TIME YOU FOUND OUT IF SOMEBODY IS WILLING TO CARRY THE BURDEN OF YOUR KARMA.  PLEASE GO HOME AND FIND OUT. TIE ME UP TO HIS TREE, SO  I CANNOT ESCAPE. JUST GO HOME AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF WHO IS WILLING TO CARRY OUT KARMA".

                      SO THE HIGHWAY ROBBER WENT HOME. HE SAID TO HIS FAMILY, "I SUPPORT YOU BY KILLING PEOPLE AND LOOTING THEM DAILY. WILL YOU SUPPORT ME BY SHARING MY KARMA?

                    HIS FATHER SAIS, "NOTHING DOING! I AM YOUR OLD FATHER, IT IS YOUR BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF ME. HOW YOU TAKE CARE OF ME IS YOUR KARMA".

                  HE WENT TO HIS MOTHER. SHE SAID THE SAME THING. HE WENT TO HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN. THEY SAID THE SAME THING. "IS IS YOUR DUTY TO TAKE CARE OF US. HOW YOU TAKE CARE OF US IS YOUR PROBLEM. WHY WOULD WE SHARE THE KARMA OF A MURDERER?

                   DISILLUSIONED, THE MAN CAME TO THE YOGI AND FELL AT HIS FEET. "YOU WERE RIGHT. EVERYONE IS WILLING TO PARTAKE OF THE REWARDS OF MY KARMA. BUT NO ONE IS WILLING TO SHARE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS".

                   KARMA CANNOT BE DISTRIBUTED DEMOCRATICALLY. WHILE THERE IS A DIMENSION OF COLLECTIVE KARMA - OR KULA VEDANA - THERE IS ALSO THE ALLOTTED KARMA THAT EVERY PERSON HAS TO WORK OUT. WHETHER IT IS WORKED OUT WITH MEDITATION OR LOVE, WITH AWARENSS OR ECSTASY, DOESN'T MATTER. THE REALM OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY EXISTS, AND IT CANNOT BE EVADED.

                     IT IS TRUE THAT SEPARATENESS OR INDIVIDUALITY IS FUNDAMENTALLY A MYTH. HOWEVER, AS LONG AS A PERSON IS INVESTED IN THIS MYTH, THE KARMIC BONDAGE REMAINS. THE GREATER THE INVESTEMENT, THE GREATER THE KARMIC BONDAGE. IN MOMENTS OF GREAT DEVOTION, HOWEVER, WHEN THE LEVEL OF INVESTEMENT IS LOW AND AN INDIVIDUAL'S PERSONALITY HAS ALMOST DISSOLVED, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE VEIL OF KARMA TO BE LIFTED.

                    IT IS SAID THAT WHEN SAINTS  LIKE JESUS AND GURU NANAK (THE FOUNDER OF SIKHISM) , BUDDHIST MASTERS, AND INNUMERABLE YOGIS WALKED THE EARTH, PEOPLE WERE CURED OF THEIR AILMENTS JUST BY TOUCHING THEIR GARMENT. AN ENLIGHTENED MASTER CAN CERTAINLY CREATE THE POSSIBILITY FOR A PERSON'S KARMA TO DISSOLVE FASTER. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN A HUNDRED LIFETIMES COULD BE WORKED OUT IN A FEW MINUTES. THE PRESENCE OF THESE MASTERS COULD, THEREFORE, HAVE CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE AFFLICTED PEOPLE'S KARMAS TO DISSOLVE MORE SWIFTLY. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE . IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE ON RARE OCCASIONS FOR A MASTER TO TAKE ON AN INDIVIDUAL'S KARMA. BUT MOST OF THE TIME THE KARMIC ALLOTMENT - EVEN IF PUT ON FAST-FORWARD - STILL HAS TO BE WORKED OUT BY THE INDIVIDUAL.

                   AS LONG AS YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL, YOU CANNOT PASS THE BUCK. YOUR KARMAS ARE YOUR OWN.

RUNANUBANDHA YOGA

 

                             THE ENERGY OF VASANA

                                                                             ❤👀

                                                   💫       SADHANA  💫

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                                 IF YOU WANT TO TEST YOUR OWN LEVELS OF RUNANUBANDHA, YOU COULD TRY SITTING ALONE IN AN UNFAMILIAR PLACE ON AN UNFAMILIAR PIECE OF FURNITURE . OBSERVE YOURSELF CLOSELY. HOW COMFORTABLE IS YOUR BODY? IT IS UNEASY? DOES IT SEEM TO WANT TO BE ELSEWHERE? YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT OLDER PEOPLE OFTEN HAVE A FAVORITE AMCHAIR. IN MANY FAMILIES, PEOPLE GRAVITATE TOWARD THE SAME CHAIRS AT THE DINING TABLE. SOME OF THIS IS A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE OR HABIT. BUT VERY OFTEN WHAT IS AT WORK IS RUNANUBANDHA.

                           THE MORE RUNANUBANDHA YOU BUILD, YOU CAN BE SURE YOU ARE COMING BACKWARD ON THE LADDER OF SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION. KARMA SETS A BOUNDARY FOR YOU. WHEN THAT BOUNDARY BECOMES TOO COMFORTABLE, IT IS TIME TO START BECOMING VIGILANT. THE SAME CHAIR OR ROOM MAY GIVE YOU PHYSICAL PRIVACY, BUT IF YOU FIND YOURSELF GROWING TERRITORIAL ABOUT IT OR DISTURBED AS IF YOUR VERY IDENTITY DEPENDS ON IT, IT IS TIME TO START SHAKING UP YOUR KARMA.

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                      THE REASON MANY  SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS OFFERED MANATERIES AND ASHRAMS TO SEEKERS WAS TO ENABLE THEM TO LIVE IN A CIRCUMSCRIBED GEOGRAPHICAL PLACE THAT WAS FREE OF RUNANUBANDHA. THIS SOMETIMES CREATED A NEW SET OF BOUNDARIES AND TERRITORIES, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE. BUT THE AIM WAS ALWAYS TO EMPOWER THE SEEKER TO EXPAND HORIZONS, RATHER THAN TO EMPOWER THE SEEKER TO EXPAND HORIZONS, RATHER THAN TO CONTRACT THEM. IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD, THEIR RUNANUBHANTA WOULD OFTEN DRAW THEM TO A CERTAIN SET OF PEOPLE OR PLACES OR CIRCUMSTANCES OVER AND OVER AGAIN. KSHETRA SANYAS - A SANSKRIT TERM THAT REFERS TO A VOW TO NEVER LEAVE A CERTAIN CONSECRATED GEOGRAPHICAL SPACE - WAS A WAY FOR SEEKERS TO LIBERATE THEMSELVES FROM THE OVERPOWERING TENTACLES OF PHYSICAL MEMORY.

                        IF YOU WANT TO BE SELF-PROPELLED, IT IS IMPORTANT TO START BY FIXING YOUR INTENTION, MAKE YOUR INTENTION AS ALL-ENCOMPASSING AS YOU CAN. START WITH A SIMPLE RESOLVE. DECIDE TO BE A MOTHER TO THE WORLD. THAT MEANS SEEING EVERYONE AS YOUR OWN. THERE IS NO ONE WHO IS NOT PART OF YOUR CLAN. WHEN YOU WALK DOWN THE STREET, ARE YOU CAPABLE OF LOOKING UPON EVERYONE WITH THE SAME SWEETNESS OF EMOTION THAT ARISES WITHIN YOU WHEN YOU SEE YOUR CHILD COMING HOME FROM SCHOOL? THIS INTENTION ALONE COULD LIBERATE YOU FROM MUCH AGITATION AND NEGATIVITY AND COULD HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON HOW YOU CRAFT YOUR DESTINY.

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                  IF YOU ARE CONSCIOUS EVERY MOMENT THAT EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET IS YOURS, YOU DO NOT NEED ANY LAWS TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU SHALL OR SHALL NOT DO. YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR FUNDAMENTAL IDENTITY. YOUR KARMIC BOUNDARIES NOW FALL AWAY AND YOU EXPERIENCE A SENSE OF BOUNDLESSNESS. A NEW IDENTITY OF INCLUSIVENESS AND INVOLVEMENT IS BORN.

                            THE SMELL OF BONDAGE

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                        AS WE HAVE SEEN, WHATEVER YOU DO WITH YOUR BODY, MIND, OR ENERGY LEAVES A CERTAIN IMPRINT. THESE IMPRINTS CONFIGURE THEMSELVES INTO TENDENCIES. THESE TENDENCIES HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY DESCRIBED IN INDIA BY A WONDERFULLY APT WORD: VASANA. LITERALLY, VASANA MEANS SMELL. THIS "SMELL" IS GENERATED BY A VAST ACCUMULATION OF IMPRESSIONS CAUSED BY YOUR PHYSICAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, AND ENERGY ACTIONS. DEPENDING UPON THE TYPE OF SMELL YOU EMIT, YOU ATTRACT CERTAIN KINDS OF LIFE SITUATIONS TO YOURSELF.

                     THINK OF A FLOWER. A FLOWER HAS A CERTAIN KIND OF VASANA. IT IS THIS FRAGRANCE THAT DRAWS KINDS OF LIFE TO IT. IT CANNOT MOVE AND IT HAS NO VOLITION, BUT BECAUSE OF ITS FRAGRANCE, IT MAY BE CHOSEN FOR WORSHIP IN A TEMPLE SANCTUM. IN FACT, THANKS TO ITS VASANA, IT GAINS ENTRY WHERE FEW HUMAN BEINGS ARE PERMITTED.

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                      IT IS NOT SO DIFFERENT FOR HUMAN BEINGS. HERE THE WORD SMELL DOES NOT IMPLY AN ODOR. THERE IS NO VALUE JUDGMENT ATTACHED TO THE WORD. IT SIMPLY MEANS THAT IF YOU EXUDE A PARTICULAR KIND OF VASANA, EXISTENCE WILL ENSURE YOU LAND UP IN CERTAIN PLACES AT CERTAIN TIMES. IF YOU EXUDE ANOTHER TYPE OF VASANA, EXISTENCE WILL MAKE SURE YOU LAND UP IN CERTAIN OTHER PLACES. SO WHAT MOVES TOWARD YOU AND ALSO WHAT MOVES AWAY FROM YOU ARE DETERMINED BY THE SMELL THAT EMANATES FROM YOU. YOUR VASANA DEPENDS, OF COURSE, ENTIRELY ON THE KIND OF RESIDUAL MEMORY OR KARMIC CONTENT YOU CARRY.

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                       THIS WORKS IN SUBTLE WAYS. YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF IT, BUT IN WAKEFULNESS AND SLEEP, YOU ARE PERFORMING KARMA. A SIMPLE THOUGHT PATTERN COULD MAKE YOU FUNTION IN SPECIFIC WAYS. IF YOU KEEP THINKING ABOUT THE MOVIES, OR PERHAPS A PARTICULAR PERSON MOVIE STAR, FOR INSTANCE, YOU ARE VERY LIKELY TO SEE A PARTICULAR PERSON IN A CROWD WHO SHARES YOUR PASSION. YOU MIGHT MISS THE OTHERS. THOSE WHO LOVE BOOKS, OR MEDITATION, OR SOMETHING ELSE. IF YOU SEE A THOUSAND FACES BEFORE YOU, YOUR VASANA IS LIKELY TO DRAW YOU TOWARD SOMEONE WHO IS SIMILARLY INCLINED.

                              IT HAPPENED.

MEMORY = KARMA!

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                    THE MEMORY IS YOUR KARMA!

                                         SADHANA 

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                              IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING DEEP EMOTIONAL STRESS, A SIMPLE PRACTICE IS TO REMAIN TO REMAIN AS FAR AS POSSIBLE IN A POSTURE WHERE YOUR SPINE IS ERECT. THE LUMBER REGION IN PARTICULAR NEEDS TO BE RELAXED AND STRETCHED TO ACTIVATE THE SPINE. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SQUAT FOR LENGTHS OF TIME, THIS IS PARTICULARLY BENEFICIAL BECAUSE THE EXTENSION OF THE SPINE HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING.

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                      A NATURAL UPSURGE OF ENERGY WILL HAPPEN IF YOU KEEP YOUR FEET TOGETHER WHEN YOU SQUAT. BUT NOT MANY PEOPLE CAN DO THIS. SO THE NEXT BEST OPTION IS TO WIDEN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FEET WHEN YOU SQUAT, KEEPING YOUR FEET IN LINE WITH YOUR SHOULDERS. MAKE SURE YOUR FEET ARE FIRMLY UPON THE GROUND.

 

                      THIS IS NOT JUST AN EXERCISE. THE SPINE IS NOT MERELY A COLLECTION OF BONES. IT IS THE VERY BASIS OF COMMUNICATION AND PERCEPTION WITHIN THE HUMAN SYSTEM. KEEPING IT IN OPTIMAL CONDITION WILL NOT JUST REVITALIZE AND REJUVENATE THE BODY BUT WILL MAKE A PHENOMENAL DIFFERENCE IN YOUR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL LIFE AND THE THE WAY YOU FUNCTION.

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                    THERE IS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE SEVEN-STEP PRACTICE CALLED THE YOGA NAMASKAR, WHICH IS OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE ON THE SADHGURU APP . THE IS A POWERFUL PROCESS OF ACTIVATING AND STRENGTHENING THE SPINE AND THE MUSCLES ALONGSIDE IT, SO AS ONE AGES, THE SPINAL SYSTEM DOES NOT COLLAPSE AND THE NERVES ARE NOT PINCHED. IF THERE IS ALREADY SPINAL DAMAGE, THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO REGENERATE THE SPINE AND ENSURE ALL-AROUND BENEFITS FOR THE ENTIRE BODY. THIS IS ALSO  A MORE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO UNBLOCKING EMOTIONAL IMPASSESS IN THE HUMAN SYSTEM AND PROMOTING WHAT WE CALL CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHA - THE LIBERATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS FROM FLUCTUATIONS AND BOTTLENECKS.

                           💫   FROM BEING TO DOING TO HAVING 💫

                        THE HUMAN EQUATION WAS ALWAYS MEAN TO BE LIKE THIS: TO MOVE FROM BEING TO DOING TO HAVING. THIS MEANS WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO ACT IN ORDER TO FIND FULFILLMENT. FULFILLMENT WAS SEEN AS AN INNER CONDITION. IT COULD NOT BE PURSUED EXTERNALLY. WE ACT IN ORDER TO EXPRESS OUR FULFILLMENT, NOT TO ACQUIRE IT. WE ACT IN ORDER TO CELEBRATE OUR INNER COMPLETENESS, NOT TO PURSUE IT.

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                   FOR MOST PEOPLE, HOWEVER, THIS SIMPLE EQUATION IS REVERSED. MOST PEOPLE DO IN ORDER TO BE. THEY ACT BECAUSE THEY FEEL INCOMPLETE. THEIR ACTION IS PROMPTED BY A DESIRE TO ACQUIRE SOMETHING OR TO ENHANCE THEIR IDENTITY IN SOME WAY. THIS IS THE ANCIENT HUNTER-GATHERED IMPULSE, WHICH STLL ENDURES HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS THE NEED TO ACT IN ORDER TO ACCUMULATE - WHETHER IT IS PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, OR INTELLECTUAL SATISFACTION. IT IS ACTION IMPELLED BY A DESIRE TO AUGMENT THEMSELVES, TO BECOME MORE THAN WHAT THEY ARE. THEY ACT IN ORDER TO HAVE, THEY HAVE IN ORDER TO BE.

         

                       ALL THAT COMES FROM MEMORY SPELLS KARMIC BONDAGE. I DO NOT COME FROM A PLACE OF KARMA, SO I DO NOT BREED KARMA. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. WHAT I SAY COMES FROM INNER EXPERIENCE, FROM A STATE OF KNOWING, NOT FROM PREVIOUSLY ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE. THIS IS CHITTA, CONTENT-LESS INTELLIGENCE.

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                   THE ONE THING THAT HUMAN BEINGS SIMULTANEOUSLY SUFFER AND CHERISH IS MEMORY. YOU TRY TO ACQUIRE AND FREEZE MEMORY IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE IN IDENTITY, YOU ARE TRYING, THEREFORE, TO DO IN ORDER TO BE. BUT NEITHER YOUR IDENTITY NOR YOUR MEMORY IS ESSENTIALLY ABOUT YOU.

                        THINK ABOUT IT.

                    WHEN YOU ARE SITTING IN A CAFE, DRINKING YOUR CAPPUCINO, YOU CAN ENJOY ONLY YOUR FOUR DOLLARS' WORTH OF COFFEE. WHETHER YOU HAVE TEN BILLION DOLLARS IN THE BANK IS IRREVANT. THE MONEY EXISTS ONLY IN YOUR MEMORY. TO CARRY MONEY AROUND IN YOUR MEMORY MEANS YOU ARE A CREATURE OF THE PAST. IF YOU BASE YOUR FUTURE ON YOUR PAST, YOU ARE AS GOOD AS DEAD!

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                   AND THIS IS WHY FACES AROUND US ARE BECOMING SO GRAVE. THE GRAVE IS, AFTER ALL, THE ABODE OF THE PAST! AND THAT IS KARMA, TOO. A HABITAT OF THE PAST.  YOUR ACTIONABLE KARMA IN THE FUTURE ENSURES THAT YOUR FUTURE IS EXACTLY LIKE YOUR PAST. WHEN NOTHING NEW HAPPENS TO YOU, IT IS TIME TO REST IN PEACE!

HOW TO BECOMING STRESS - FREE

 

                              THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FRINCTION

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                                         THE STRESS

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                           COMMON KARMIC FRICTIONS

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                        PEOPLE EXPERIENCE SOME COMMON PSYCHOLOGICAL FRICTIONS THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE - FRICTIONS THAT THEY CALL STRESS. STRESS IS CAUSED WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO RUN THEIR LIFE ENGINE WITHOUT ADEQUATE LUBRICATION. HOWEVER, SOME BASIC YOGIC PRACTICES CAN OFFER THE NEEDED LUBRICATION FOR EVERYONE'S LIFE.

                         THERE ARE MORE COMPLEX LEVELS OF FRICTION WHEN THE KARMIC INHERITANCE DOESN'T FIT WELL WITH ONE'S PHYSICAL BODY - FOR INSTANCE, WHEN A CERTAIN KARMIC INHERITANCE DOES NOT FIND THE RIGHT KIND OF WOMB. THERE ARE ALSO TIMES WHEN THE ENERGY BODY DOES NOT FIT WELL INTO THE PHYSICAL BODY. (FOR SOME REASON, I SEE MORE SUCH PEOPLE IN THE EAST COAST OF AMERICA THAN IN THE WEST, OR IN THE NORTHERN PART OF INDIA THAN IN THE SOUTH. THIS MIGHT BE CONNECTED TO THE NATURE OF THE LAND ITSELF, THE KIND OF MEMORY THE GEOGRAPHY CARRIES, THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE, OR VARIOUS HISTORICAL FACTORS).

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                           THE PRACTICE OF HATHA YOGA HELPS TO KNEAD THE PHYSICAL BODY AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM (INCLUDING THE KARMIC SYSTEM) IN A WAY THAT SMOOTHES THESE FRICTIONS OUT. AFTER SUSTAINED HATHA YOGA PRACTICE, WHEN YOU SIMPLY SIT, YOU FEEL NO SENSE OF DISCOMFORT OR STRESS. NOW YOU CAN SIT STILL IF YOU WANT TO , AS  WELL AS NEGOTIATE  THE OUTSIDE WORLD WITH GREAT EASE AND CAPABILITY.

 

                       SOMETIMES, BECAUSE OF EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY, ALTERED SOCIAL SITUATIONS, OR A CERTAIN ACQUIRED COMPETENCE, PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO ATTAIN A STATE OF WELL-BEING EVEN THOUGH THEIR CURRENT KARMIC SITUATION DOES NOT ALLOW IT. THEY LIVE LIVES THAT ARE WAY BEYOND THEIR KARMIC BLUPRINT . IN SHORT, THEY HAVE BEEN PLACED IN FAR BETTER LIFE SITUATIONS THAN THEIR KARMA ALLOWS.

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                        AT SUCH TIMES, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UPGRADE YOURSELF. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL END UP SUFFERING YOUR WELL-BEING! THIS IS A COMMON MALAISE IN THE WORLD TODAY. MOST PEOPLE'S PROBLEM IS NOT A LIFE THAT IS HELLISH, BUT A LIFE THAT IS TOO HEAVENLY! THESE ARE THE AILMENTS OF PRIVILEGE. PEOPLE'S SYSTEMS GROW CONFUSED BECAUSE THE INFORMATION WITHIN THEM SAYS ONE THING, BUT THEIR LIFE EVENTS SAY ANOTHER.

                      THERE ARE WAYS TO ADDRESS THIS MALAISE. LEARNING TO LIVE IN GRATITUDE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IS CREATES THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. IT IS ALSO VITAL TO KEEP UPGRADING ONE'S SOFTWARE, AS IT WERE. DAILY HATHA YOGA AND KRIYA CAN HELP ENORMOUSLY TO SHED KARMIC BURDENS, TO UPGRADE ONE'S SYSTEM AND ADJUST ONE'S SOFTWARE.

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                         ALL THESE YOGIC SADHANAS HELP ONE TO MAINTAIN AN INNER STATE THAT IS UNTOUCHED BY THE OUTSIDE. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU ARE IN A PLACE OR A HUT, YOU ARE THE SAME PERSON. WHEREVER YOU ARE , YOU DO THE SAME THING. WHEN YOU MAINTAIN THIS EQUANIMITY, YOU WILL SEE THA SITUATIONS AROUND YOU KEEP GETTING BETTER. BUT WITHOUT KARMIC UPGRADING AROUND YOU KEEP GETTING BTTER. BUT WITHOUT KARMIC UPGRADING, OLD COMPULSIONS WILL OVERWHELM YOU. THEY WILL PUSH YOU TOWARD CERTAIN ATMOSPHERE AND SITUATIONS AND WILL NOT PERMIT YOU TO COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR NEW REALITY.

                                      ❤    SADHANA   ❤