As You Sow, so Shall You Reap!

From taking breaths, to sustaining body, to satisfying the basic needs, every one of us is bound by two inevitable principals.

– Principal of doer-ship

– Law of Karma

Right from childhood we are taught, “As you sow, so shall you reap”, so the principal of Karma is somewhere deeply rooted in our subconscious level of mind.  In a lay man’s term Karma, is Law of Cause and Effect. The system works like a Karmic bank, past good actions deposited reap in form of good fortune and vice versa. Be it life instructions embedded in the Ten Commandments, or Jesus’ dictum to “love one another” or The Eight Path of the Buddhists, which emphasis on “right thinking” and “right livelihood”, the emphasis is same that of creating good karma.

“The Law of Karma can be used to avoid undesirable things or events when applied as the yin golden rule: ‘Do not do unto others what you would not have them to unto you.’ If you do not want to be cheated or swindled, then treat others honestly and fairly.”

The law of Karma is unbreakable. The golden rule, when applied positively and negatively (yang and yin), will produce harmony and prosperity in your life and protect you from the vicissitudes of life.”

Master Chao Kok Sui

Now the big question is, how do we generate these ‘good karma’? What do we negate the past negative karmas? The riddle of all these questions can be addressed with yet another ever whirling, ever static concept of Virtues.  Virtues act a yardstick with which one can measure oneself.  It is a mirror that never lies. The significance of Virtue isn’t naïve, though it has been explained in varied ways. Master Choa Kok Sui, the founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga presents the same as Character-Building.

1- Loving-Kindness and Non-Injury: Loving- kindness and non-injury simply means absence of cruelty. Loving- kindness may be expressed physically, verbally and mentally. Being polite, courteous and helpful are acts of loving-kindness. Verbally, you can say words that are nurturing and encouraging. People are just like plants that need to be nurtured to bloom and grow. For instance, you can show appreciation or give recognition for the achievements of a person.

Non-injury is refraining from hurting other people physically, verbally and psychically. On a physical level, non-injury means “Thou shall not kill” or hurt other people out of anger or malice.

Verbal injury is avoiding the use of harsh or injurious words which often take a longer time to heal than physical injury. A physical wound takes only one or two weeks to heal but the wounds caused by a tactless or malicious remark can take years to heal. Therefore, watch your words that they do not hurt others. On a more subtle level, non-injury means minimizing or abstaining from excessive mental criticism, and enviousness. In other words, one should strive to practice mental harmlessness.

Loving-kindness and non-injury are necessary for proper and harmonious inter-human relationships. If everybody practices them, the world would be better place to stay.

2- Generosity and Non-Stealing: Generosity means sharing or giving. On the physical level, it means sharing or giving money wisely. The key to prosperity is in giving. Donating a part of your income to spiritual and charitable institutions is a physical act of generosity. On an emotional level, you can be generous by being warm, nurturing and supportive. Mentally, you can share knowledge and skills to people who are ready and willing to learn.

Non-stealing means that a person should not take anything that does not belong to him. On the level of relationships, one should not steal affection or cover the spouse of another. It also means, on a more subtle level, that one should not steal the merit or credit that is due to other people.

3- Honesty and Non-Lying: Honesty should be practical in such a way that it will not harm or injure others. One should not use honesty or frankness as a tool or weapon to cause emotional pain or injury. Honesty should not be used out of malice. This is misusing the virtue of honesty. If there is a conflict between the virtue of kindness and non-injury, the virtue of kindness and non-injury should not prevail over honesty.

Non-lying means that one should not make untrue or false statements out of malice or with the intent to take advantage of other people.

The ultimate goal is living such a life frees one from the ancient karmas and helps in attaining the ultimate goal, Nirvana.