MINDFULNESS VIDEO SERIES (16): TRANSCENDING THE LAW OF KARMA
Many people in the world feel somehow entangled and they yearn for some liberated stage where they no longer engage in materialistic activities. Many people dream that some day in the future they will just go far away from everyone and everything to a mountain cave and stop all action that way. You might have heard before this idea that a person has to renounce everything in order to become more spiritual. Some yogis in the past gave up everything and lived secluded lives like that. But this is not practical and possible for most and is not the recommend method of purifying our existence in this day and age.
It is not non-action which is going to make it so that we are going to be free from the bondage of karmic reaction. We are not going get away from that by not doing anything. We must still act. In fact, sometimes inaction can create bad karmic reactions when we fail to act on our duties and responsibilities.
So, we live in this temporary material world and have to perform different types of actions. Is there any way to stop this wheel of birth and death, the chain of endless karmic reactions? Fortunately, the answer is yes! The way to become free from all karmic reactions is to make an offering of our actions, of our life. We can begin to act on our true eternal spiritual nature even in this world. When we engage in the loving service to the Supreme and to His servants, then we will not create any more new karmic reactions.
We all have to do some work. If our work is not in the service of the Supreme, then it is not going to give us real life. If we don’t have that higher purpose in our work and just think about ourselves, then we will feel emptiness inside.
So, the solution is not that I stop all action. Rather I stop acting for myself. Whenever I act in a self-centered manner, there will have to be some karmic reaction coming back to me. But I can act in harmony with my eternal spiritual nature and not act for myself anymore. The eternal spiritual beings by nature are happy when they can engage in loving service. This is our natural and healthy condition.
It is not non-action which is going to make it so that we are going to be free from the bondage of karmic reaction. We are not going get away from that by not doing anything. We must still act. In fact, sometimes inaction can create bad karmic reactions when we fail to act on our duties and responsibilities.
So, we live in this temporary material world and have to perform different types of actions. Is there any way to stop this wheel of birth and death, the chain of endless karmic reactions? Fortunately, the answer is yes! The way to become free from all karmic reactions is to make an offering of our actions, of our life. We can begin to act on our true eternal spiritual nature even in this world. When we engage in the loving service to the Supreme and to His servants, then we will not create any more new karmic reactions.
We all have to do some work. If our work is not in the service of the Supreme, then it is not going to give us real life. If we don’t have that higher purpose in our work and just think about ourselves, then we will feel emptiness inside.
So, the solution is not that I stop all action. Rather I stop acting for myself. Whenever I act in a self-centered manner, there will have to be some karmic reaction coming back to me. But I can act in harmony with my eternal spiritual nature and not act for myself anymore. The eternal spiritual beings by nature are happy when they can engage in loving service. This is our natural and healthy condition.