Karma is Inevitable. But Managing it is Possible.

Why manage Karma?

A large portion of our journey is about knowing what is right and figuring out how to apply it in our lives. Sri Guru also emphasizes that a disciple is one who lives life with the right dimension. From the perspective of Karma, ‘right’ is that which doesn’t bind us further into new Karma. In the spiritual context, ‘right’ is that which helps us break the cycle of transmigration. Numerous scriptures have tried to portray the massive scale at which Karmic forces work, for they say that even with the smallest of thoughts, actions, and desires, we are binding new Karmas. Thus, if we wish to embrace the righteous way of living, then managing our Karma becomes essential.

Sri Guru has given us an extremely useful, 3-step approach to manage our Karma. 

1. Choose to respond with the right action

In any situation that arrives in life, we have more than one way to respond. The situation could be pleasant or unpleasant, easy or challenging, ordinary or critical. In that situation, we should think and do what is right, i.e. be mindful about choosing the right action.

For instance, say someone damaged your car’s mirror or a friend gave you a compliment. In both circumstances, you have to learn to pursue the righteous action. Like in the former circumstance, choose calmness and forgiveness in place of anger. In the latter, fill with gratitude rather than feeding your ego. As we incorporate this simple habit in small instances of our life, it builds up and becomes a part of our nature.

But how do we ascertain the right action ?

This is where a Guru’s Satsang plays a significant role. Through the clarity gained from Satsangs, we develop our intellect — the part of our being that distinguishes right from wrong. Gradually, the intellect becomes sharper, giving us the wisdom as well as the courage to arrive at the right action. And more importantly, our intellect becomes usable only when we fill ourselves with love & devotion for our Sadguru.

2. Create a boundary between the Self and the situation

A situation can affect us at a physical, mental, or emotional level. In other words, it may compel us to remain confined at the level of body & mind. At this time, we should consciously remind ourselves with this affirmation:

“I am not this body, mind, emotion or thought.”

This has a few great merits:

• It allows us to detach from the situation, without giving up our involvement.
• It gives us the time and a better perspective to understand the situation. This naturally helps in choosing the right action too.
• Rather than being entangled in the worldly situation, it brings us closer to our true Self. (And isn’t that what we want as a seeker?)

3. Strive to close the past files

Any situation that we face is nothing but an effect of a prior action (i.e. cause). An easily relatable way of understanding this is: A situation arrives in our life as a ‘file’ from our Karmic account — which consists of all our past Karmas. We could either resist its arrival and create a new file, i.e. bind new Karma. Or we could welcome it, choose the right action, and close the file, i.e. dissolve that Karma. We should really strive for the latter, for these reasons:

• Tackling the life situations, especially the challenging ones, with the mindset of closing the past files, reinforces the feeling of acceptance. The lesser we resist a situation, the faster we approach towards resolving it.
• It takes away the unnecessary stress we invite in our lives, often unknowingly.
• It also prevents us from reacting with negative emotions (hatred, fear, anxiety, greed, etc.) that are bound to create new negative causes.

This simple 3-step-approach carries the essence of spirituality. It fixes the past by reducing our Karmic debt, makes our present intense and rich with consciousness, and the future bright & auspicious by easing our path towards self-realization.

— Sri Guru

Compiled by Shikha Goel Prabhu & Ankit Dwivedi Prabhu

Bliss of Wisdom is a blog for seekers who are in search of their real Self. It is published by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Delhi – a spiritual revolutionary movement founded by Sri Guru. She is a spiritual Master who has transformed innumerable lives through her logical explanations and effective meditation techniques. To know more, visit www.srmdelhi.org