By George A. Boyd © 1994
Excerpted from Light
on Meditation
We
can take three perspectives on karma: satoguna, rajoguna, and tamoguna
Satoguna emphasizes how you can work on karma to limit its
effects on the future (consequences) through actions guided by wisdom, and to
uproot and transform its stored accretions through using transformative
meditational practices.
Rajoguna emphasizes the dynamic aspects of karma in
action. This is the law of cause and effect. Methods that improve the quality
of karma that you generate include basing your actions on love and compassion,
feeling empathy for others, using restraint and discipline of passions, doing
deeds of charity and philanthropy, studying the scriptures and observing the
precepts of religion.
Tamoguna emphasizes the substance of the unconscious mind,
the actual impressions of karma as they are layered behind the vehicles of
consciousness, upon the matrix of human life, and behind the Soul and the
spirit.
There
are four kinds of karma — Adi, Sinchit, Kriyaman and Pralabdha.
Karma
is a seamless web. It is divided into these four kinds according to where it is
layered.
Adi Karma is
layered behind the ensouling entity.
Sinchit Karma
is stored in the channels of the Nada behind the spirit.
Kriyaman Karma
is stored behind the vehicles of consciousness.
Pralabdha
Karma is stored in the physical etheric matrix.
Karma
operates from the unconscious mind outside of awareness and the control of the
will.
There
are seven layers of karma — physical, etheric, magnetic desire,
imagination/fantasy, thoughts, beliefs, identification, karmic impression, and karmic
seed
Transformational
methods burn away the karmic seed, which removes all of the layers of karma
associated with that seed.
Integral
meditation teaches how to transform in a balanced way, and shows you how to
dissolve your karma.
We
are built of operating units of karma. Through the process of transformation,
many of these units of karma become integrated into the functioning of the
personality after being transformed. For example:
The fantasy of
motherhood becomes realized when you become a mother.
The fantasy of
becoming an electrical engineer becomes realized when you finish your school
and begin working in that field
The fantasy of
being a minister or Guru becomes realized when your Soul attains that state of
being and you begin functioning in that capacity
The
fantasy, the drive, and the subliminal thinking of karma lead you to achieve
these positive aims.
It also embodies your negative aspects as the seven
passions: lust, greed, anger, attachment, egotism/narcissism, ignorance, and
sloth/indolence.
The process of transformation both leads you to integrate
these positive aspects, but also to transmute and sublimate those negative
aspects.
Anger is sublimated
into will power and self-discipline; it is transformed into forgiveness,
compassion, and non-injury.
Lust is
sublimated into respect, self-control, and cleanliness; it is transformed into
chastity, holiness, spiritual beauty, and love.
Greed is
sublimated into the acquisition of knowledge and skill; it is transformed into
charity and selfless giving.
Attachment is
sublimated into voluntary simplicity and identification of necessity (e.g.,
identifying whether it is really necessary to buy or keep something); it is
transformed into the realization that everything comes from God.
Egotism/narcissism
is sublimated into the drive for excellence and to live up to an ideal; it is
transformed into humility and the awareness of the Allness of God.
Ignorance is
sublimated into the quest for truth and knowledge; it is transformed into the
Illumined Mind of Wisdom.
Sloth and
indolence is sublimated into energy and enthusiasm; it is transformed into the
All Accomplishing Energy of God, which we call Shakti.
Karma
in the unconscious personifies as the angels of your positive qualities, which
are the archetypes of your potential. It also personifies as the demons of your
negative qualities, which are the archetypes of your character weaknesses—you
have the potential to overcome these negative qualities provided you work
diligently and skillfully to eradicate them.
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