Nayaswami Shivani, a disciple of Swami Kriyananda and Paramhansa Yogananda, described karma as being first preceded by thought, and then followed by action. But “our ahamkara tells us ‘I am responsible for what is happening’ and creates a vortex of vrittis and energy that boomerangs back to us. That is a law of the physical universe that, in turn, reflects a higher metaphysical law,” she said.
To attract the best karma, shed desires like alcohol and drugs, lust and obsession for money. “But desire is not always an enemy,” Shivani rationalises. In such category fall karmic realisation, satsang and meditation. The jivatma desires to merge with the soul, to be with the Infinite. Shivani quotes Yogananda — ‘O Divine Mother, make me so attached to you that I lose my attachment to everything else.’ This is the devotional way to overcome ego.
Nishkama karma — action without egoic desire — doesn’t create karmic boomerangs. She explains the concept of sanchit karma — the sum total of all our good and bad past actions.
Of our sanchit karma, huge seeds of our prarabdha karma will sprout in this lifetime. They come as deep-seated emotions such as fear that keeps us from crossing our comfort zone. Or shows up as negativity — we may find life unjust and unfair. “Our egoic minds put the blame on others and we reject life’s opportunities,” she adds
We also have vasanas, tendencies, we are born with, and not all are good. But with satsang, sadhana, seva, and study, we can redirect the energy of our bad habits into good ones. We can also develop our sense of compassion, understanding, and have a consciousness where we do only the will of God, she explains. “Karma is automatic, but with dharma, you can change your prarabdha karma by directing your energies into a spiritual direction.” After the satsang, she answered a few questions for The Speaking Tree.
Many women in India do not feel free to leave a bad marriage, unlike in the west. Would you saythis is a nation’s collective karma at play?
It is not the dharma of all to marry. In the west, there is space and respect for individual dharma, whereas in India, society may impose the institution of marriage on a majority of its people. This could be because of mass thinking patterns that are outcomes of history, hypnotism, or brain washing. Then, there are ways to impose or imprint on a child, facts like he must follow in his father’s footsteps. In other societies, there is more freedom to think individually.
Would you call trends in world politics today as examples of the collective karma of a nation?
About politics, there is a saying that every country deserves the leaders they elect. India and America are the world’s largest democracies. Some people may think we are not in a good situation in both countries. So, let us remember there are currents of thoughts that run through entire societies. Right now, there is a current of thought that promotes racism everywhere.
What about the karma of soldiers who have to kill the enemy?
When soldiers kill their enemy with hatred, there is a deep karmic charge. But if a soldier understands why he needs to do it, he will kill with compassion and understanding and the karmic charge is lessened. When we are not emotionally attached to the result, it makes a difference to the chitta, to our emotions around that act. A soldier may kill with the thought that ‘This person is a danger to human life, and since I am a soldier, I am here to stop this, so I must kill him to save others’.
Is the current global scenario like a churning that the world has to go through before peace falls within the ambit of everyone’s personal karma?
We are not in-charge. There are plans for this world. It is a journey, and dharma will win. In the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that an avatar will be born whenever there is adharma in society. Even the foremost country in the world that should be speaking for freedom is no longer doing so. Instead, there is nationalism, Kali Yuga, phobias, darkness of separation where families, race and religion suffer. We are in a period of turmoil, but we are also changing. A new consciousness is taking over. There is a realization among the world’s citizens that we share this planet and that we need to work together.
When the soul moves on to a new incarnation, do we have a chance to make our karma better in our new lifetime?
It all depends on how aware the soul is before we take birth, when we are in our astral energy body. It either continues its journey into evolution or goes to sleep. But we do eventually reach the level of awareness we were at in a previous lifetime. We come in with a lot of good karma and energy motivated by our good desires that exist as seeds of our past actions in our astral body, in our sushumna and chakras.
We seem to be suffering intensely. Can free will or destiny save us?
Humans are more evolved than animals. We have freedom, and power, and yet we abuse it. You learn at some point, and if you don’t, the abuse comes back to you. Yogananda was a prophet. He said we are heading towards economic turmoil and natural cataclysms. This should be a wake-up call for all humanity. Students around the world are demonstrating against climate change. There is awareness. But there are people in power, who don’t believe in this. This is the constant struggle — of light and dark. Light always wins, but it needs channels. Choosing darkness means selfishness, egotism, abuse, destruction. But light is stronger.
Should we concentrate on individual karma or try and influence others?
Perhaps you may want to tell a friend how to discipline or raise her child. When we get into something that is not our business, we get into a whole karmic energy that we don’t need. But our ego makes us feel we are responsible for justice and right action for everyone else. Our karma has given us responsibility through our children, families, and jobs. Fulfil your responsibility, do your dharma. Swami Kriyananda said to a young married couple at Ananda, “Remember, you are not the other person’s guru.” It is not our dharma to teach another. But what people can do is to love and support others.