Spiritual Pathways

Many wonderful things and some sad happened through my life as indeed it does for all humans. Observation and reflection revealed that these things happened with very little of my own doing. There were times I tried very hard for certain goals and did not succeed while there were other things that happened automatically, even great ones, with minimal effort that was easy and pleasant. My conclusion is that it all unfolded because of the force of Karma. We arrive in this life with a storehouse of karma from previous lives even as we add to it in this one. This governs our lives from where we are born to events that unfold in our journey. It is true that effort too brings results but such results are set against what is destined. If the event is a significant one, force of karma attached to it is such that our own effort may be unable to change it much. It is only in little thing, like what to have for dinner today, that our own effort is more fruitful. There is a common...

Picture of a window from the author's home Dear friends, you would have noted that each human has his or her own unique journey through life. Some face great difficulties in this journey whereas others have a lovely and comfortable time. There are even some that have a combination of huge good fortunes and terrible misfortunes through life.   All of this is the unfolding of our own unique karma designed by the Universe for education of our souls. The soul does not perish when life perishes. Our good deeds through life bring good times whereas bad times are a result of our misdeeds or evil. Those who face mixtures of great good fortune and huge misfortunes through life do so because they have a past full of great worthy deeds as well as some terrible ones. At the end of the day, whatever we lose or accumulate in life that has to be left behind is of little relevance compared to what the soul shall carry forth when this life comes to an end. Whatever we do or acq...

8  https://twitter.com/ramblingsloa/status/842031372483076096 Every leaf that grows will tell you: What you sow will bear fruit. So if you have any sense my friend, Don't plant anything but Love.  Rumi Karma is a Sanskrit word used in eastern philosophies. In Islam and Christianity, other words are used to describe similar ideas. The principle of Karma implies that everything we do, good or bad, is recorded by the Universal Intelligence. It causes a reaction similar to our deed. It is the principle of retribution - As you sow so shall you reap!  The main difference between Christian and Eastern religion as regards this is that in prevalent interpretation of mainstream Christianity, actions and reactions take place over two lives (this one and the next) because only a single reincarnation is assumed whereas in eastern philosophy it is something that can be executed over several life times with a soul taking birth repeatedly. The principle...

2   Everyday, every moment of our lives, all of us undergo a range of experiences. With each experience is associated a memory. During an average lifetime, the storehouse of such memories is vast indeed, far more than any computer can hold. A process of the human brain is to organize these memories in layers, the uppermost layer being the conscious mind. Below this are many layers of the subconscious mind that store not just the memories of this lifetime, but for those who believe in reincarnation, memories of previous lifetimes as well. Mystics believe that the deepest layers of memories are in the soul and contain knowledge of the universe. Reaching this layer is what is described as enlightenment. Nevertheless, restricting ourselves to the most immediately accessible layers of mind, we know that with each memory is connected certain emotions such as hate, anger, love, sorrow, happiness etc. Indeed it seems that only those memories are of value that have emotional...