Reincarnation and the Law of Karma: A Study of the Old-New World-Doctrine of Rebirth, and Spiritual Cause and EffectAtkinson, William Walker
Religion
Reincarnation and the Law of Karma: A Study of the Old-New World-Doctrine of Rebirth, and Spiritual Cause and Effect
Atkinson, William Walker
Karma; Reincarnation
moving in the direction of evolution, while the other man is moving
against it."
The same writer then gives the list of the three kinds of Karma,
according to the Hindu teachings, namely: "1. There is the Samchita, or
'piled up' Karma--the whole mass that still remains behind the man not
yet worked out--the entire unpaid balance of the debit and credit
account; 2. There is the Prarabdha, or 'beginning' Karma--the amount
apportioned to the man at the commencement of each life--his destiny for
that life, as it were; 3. There is the Kriomana Karma, that which we are
now, by our actions in this present life, making for the future." He
further states: "That second type, the Prarabdha Karma, is the only
destiny which can be said to exist for man. That is what an astrologer
might foretell for us--that we have apportioned to us so much good or
evil fortune--so much the result of the good and evil actions of our
past lives which will react on us in this. But we should remember always
that this result of previous action can never compel us to action in
the present. It may put us under conditions in which it will be
difficult to avoid an act, but it can never compel us to commit it. The
man of ordinary development would probably yield to the circumstances
and commit the act; but he may assert his free will, rise superior to
the circumstances, and gain a victory and a step in evolution. So with a
good action, no man is forced into that either, but an opportunity is
given to him. If he takes it certain results will follow--not
necessarily a happy or a wealthy life next time, but certainly a life of
wider opportunity. That seems to be one of the things that are quite
certain--that the man who has done well in this life has always the
opportunity of doing still better in the next. This is nature's reward
for good work--the opportunity to do more work. Of course, wealth is a
great opportunity, so the reward often comes in that form, but the
essence of the reward is the opportunity and not the pleasure which may
be supposed to accompany the wealth." Another Theosophical writer says
further on the subject of Karma: "Just as all these phases of Karma
have sway over the individual man, so they similarly operate upon races,
nations and families. Each race has its karma as a whole. If it be good,
that race goes forward; if bad, it goes out--annihilated as a
race--though the souls concerned take up their karma in other races and
bodies. Nations cannot escape their national karma, and any nation that
has acted in a wicked manner must suffer some day, be it soon or late."
The same writer sums up the idea of individual unhappiness in any life,
as follows: "(a) It is punishment for evil done in past lives; or (b) it
is discipline taken up by the Ego for the purpose of eliminating defects
or acquiring fortitude and sympathy. When defects are eliminated it is
like removing the obstruction in an irrigating canal which then lets the
water flow on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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