"The Karmic Law is part of the scheme of salvation for Mankind and cannot be avoided or anulled by any action on the part of any being whether in physical form or in a higher form. The karmic necessity requires that any action which results in pain, suffering, or harm to another being must be discharged and set aside through an experience of equivalent suffering or pain on the part of the individual responsible for that action."
"The men of The East were told of The Karmic Law many thousands of years ago and have retained a general comprehension of it. But many born into the eastern cultures have misconstrued this great Law to mean that one should not interfere with the karmic destiny of another, either to hinder or to help him in his endeavors. This has been a grievous error in understanding, for it has allowed a continuation of suffering and pain where this might have been alleviated. The very action of refusing to help in such circumstances brings its own karmic consequences upon the person refusing."
"It is not for man to know the extent of his own karma or that of others. Restricted by his narrow consciousness and the limitations of three-dimensional existence, he cannot hope to know all of the intricate complexities of the karmic patterns that have been created by man's actions. It is best for man simply to trust that karma will work itself out to the benefit of all souls and to occupy himself with service to his brother."
"The distance of past events in time is a complete illusion and has no meaning as seen from Higher Planes. For the simple fact is that all of man's past actions remain ever with him as part of a composite picture or pattern which cannot be altered in any way. The parts of the pattern arising in lives lived a million years ago are just as real and have just as pronounced an influence on the present as those which arise from the present life or one lived in the last century. Since the present existence of these 'past' parts is their only meaningful characteristic, it is clearly of no concern just when they originally arose."
"The difficult concept just presented -- that all of the past is in a real sense present now -- is one expression of The Great Law of Karma Which governs all Realms of Creation from the very highest and most spiritual down to the very lowest and furthest from The Central Light. This Law has Its effect in every aspect of man's existence and at every level of thought, emotion, and deed. In The New Age about to burst in glory upon This Planet, it will be necessary for Man to understand fully the implications of The Karmic Law in order for Him to advance as quickly as is intended into The Higher Realms of achievement and evolution."
"In the eastern cultures, The Law of Karma has been misinterpreted in many ways. The true understanding was revealed to the ancient sages by direct revelation many millions of years ago, and the hope was that these advanced souls would be able to preserve for their brothers a clear picture of the meaning and operation of karma as it affected man's life in The Earth. But those who followed after the great sages were not equal to the burden that they had inherited, and certain essential principles were lost."
"Among the greatest distortions of the notion of karma is that which was and still is found among the Hindus of India, particularly those who have not given any time or effort to the study or contemplation of the magnificent religious structure into which they were born. Too often The Karmic Principle has been used as an excuse not to reach out and help those who suffered poverty, illness, or deformity on the grounds that to do so would be to 'interfere' with the karma of that afflicted soul."
"An erroneous belief sprang up that such interference would attract the karma of the sufferer to the person attempting to help, and this notion was seized upon by the mean and selfish souls who did not want to feel obliged to give of themselves to their brothers. Of course, the truth is the very reverse of this heartless notion, for the refusal to help another who is in need will, by itself, create a karmic burden for him who refuses."
"Yet another misconception is also found in the eastern cultures, even among the religious men and others who profess to have studied the ancient teachings. This is the mistaken idea that karma somehow involves the concept of punishment. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is the working out of karma not a punishment, but it is actually one of the greatest gifts that The Creator of all that is has made to His children. For without The Karmic Law, none of the myriads of creatures who have emanated from The Mother-Father God could ever have begun to find their way back to Him. All of The Divine Sparks at the Soul Centers of the created beings would eventually have been extinguished, and the evolution of return toward The Creator's Light could never have been initiated."
"But a further point remains to be elucidated. Karma has nothing to do with punishment, as We have said. No self-appointed judge sits upon a high throne to pass sentence upon the poor souls who have defied The Laws of Creation and brought pain to others. The Lords of Karma, often thought of as dispensing sentences of karmic punishment, have a completely different function from that which most people imagine upon hearing Their title."
"The most important fact to underline in regard to karma is its automatic nature. No entity, not even God Himself, needs to decide whether or not a particular act 'deserves' to have some karma attached to it. For it is a part of the natural functioning of the created worlds that every act in time remains ever with the soul or being who performed the act, as if the action were frozen or stuck to that being."
"If the nature of adhering past actions is primarily that of pain or torment caused to other creatures, then the load upon one's shoulders is heavy, dark, and hindering in terms of soul-advancement. If the adhering karma arises mainly from beneficial actions motivated by love or kindness, then the 'load' is really not a load at all but rather a beautiful halo of light and love whose buoyancy in spiritual terms acts like a lighter-than-air balloon which lifts the soul ever higher toward The Source of all light."
"Karma means simply action, and it can be seen from the foregoing discussion that the present reality of all past action is at the heart of a correct grasp of The Karmic Principle."
"The Great God of all that is has allowed a procedure by which the negative karma can be gotten rid of. This procedure involves a kind of 'discharge' of the negative karmic burden through the being or body of the entity who has accumulated it. This discharge is accomplished by passing through experiences of pain and suffering which are the same as or equivalent to the pain and suffering which was caused to others and which resulted in the accumulation of the negative karma."
"In every such experience of suffering by any human being, negative karma is being set aside. No experience of pain is left 'unused' in karmic terms, for there is such a great burden of karmic negativity upon The Human Race that even now there is doubt as to whether all of it can be discharged fully before the end of the present Age, even taking into account the suffering and pain which millions will experience during the time of chaos, turmoil, and war which soon will engulf The Planet."
"It can thus be seen that the experiences of pain and suffering which all men pass through, whether of a physical, emotional, or mental nature, are of deep significance to the spiritual progress of the Race and, indeed, are absolutely essential if there is to be any hope that the mountain of spiritual achievement can be scaled. For, in a very real sense, Man is on a pilgrimage which is just like the scaling of a mountain. The summit is His goal, but the way is hard; the dangers are many, and the temptations to rest and to cease trying are strong. He carries a burden on His back which weighs Him down at every step, the burden of His negative karma. Yet with each experience of pain or suffering the burden grows smaller and His step becomes lighter. Is it any wonder that souls who are between lives long for the opportunity to be incarnated again and to pass through the suffering which only The Earth Plane can dispense? The soul in that condition sees clearly the burden it carries and desires above all else to be rid of it."
"There are two kinds of circumstance in which the setting aside of karma can be accomplished by someone other than the owner of the karma. The first usually occurs when the accumulation of the negative karma was done in full knowledge of The Karmic Law and in the form of a sacrifice for others, in order that the others would be spared the necessity of doing the actions which would cause negative karma to be generated."
"The second category, and the only other exception to the general rule, relates to instances where the love between two human souls is so great that one of them wishes to share the karma of the other in order to lighten the burden which the other carries. Requests of this kind are not often granted, and when they are it is usually because the one offering to share the karmic burden of the other has distinguished himself by many acts of selfless devotion to his brothers and thus acquires a stronger voice in the Higher Councils."
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