Dependent Origination by Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

[@JagadguruSvamiVegananda]

🐟 08. KARMA (ACTION & REACTION): The Sanskrit word “karma” originates from the verbal root “kṛ” (pronounced “kri”), via the genitive “karman”, meaning work, ACTION, or deed. Every thought, word or deed produces an equal and opposite REACTION, in the strictest sense of the phrase, and not in any capricious fashion. When junk “foods” are consumed, one’s health is damaged to the degree that one eats such things, no more and certainly no less. When we deliberately hurt another living creature, we are often burdened with feelings of guilt, and so on and so forth. The so-called “LAW of karma” is misunderstood to be a mechanism of divine retribution, by practically all who study spirituality, especially Eastern religious traditions and so-called “New Age” teachings. Such persons mistakenly believe that if one performs a supposedly “good” deed, that one will receive a similarly “good” reaction, either within one’s lifetime or in a future lifetime (since they invariably believe also in the reincarnation of an individual soul [“ātman”, in Sanskrit]). Read the following chapter to properly understand the concept of reincarnation. In one sense, there can not be a good result (“karma-phalam”, in Sanskrit) from a good action (“puṇya karma”, in Sanskrit), because, apart from the fact that good and bad are relative, there is no such thing as a separate event. The whole space-time-energy-matter creation is one massive event, that is to say, a single evolutionary process. It is truly IMPOSSIBLE to delineate any cause from its subsequent event. One cannot rightly assert that a particular cause is the same as its effect, and neither can one claim that a cause is entirely separate from its effect. How is it possible to separate the event of one’s birth from what took place immediately before it and immediately after it? Clearly, it is not possible to define, to any degree of certainty, the precise yoctosecond at which point the birth process begins and at which point it concludes. Where does the stem of a tomato plant end and the roots begin? There is a continuum between the two seemingly-separate sections. Karma/action operates solely on an ever-forward-moving trajectory - a chain of causation - known as “dependent origination” in Buddhistic terms (“pratītyasamutpāda”, in Sanskrit). Every distinct yet inseparable motion/action, from the initial explosion (the so-called “Big Bang”) to the ultimate implosion (the so-called “Big Crunch”) could not have been OTHERWISE, given the circumstances, including so-called “miracles”, such as Lord Jesus walking on a sea of water or Lord Krishna lifting an entire hill with His little finger. That is assuming, of course, that those two historic figures actually existed and that those two events occurred, which is unprovable (though don’t say as much to a religious fanatic!). The concept of a “tit for tat” law of causation, especially over more than one lifetime, is not only unverifiable, it is downright absurd. If a man murders a million persons using a nuclear weapon, will he subsequently be killed by a million atomic bombs? That’s unlikely in the EXTREME - only a veritable dunce could possibly believe such preposterous nonsense. Regrettably, a large proportion of the populace accept such fallacies. Supposing that this fairytale scenario was accurate, what would be the eternal benefit of a person being subject to a million deaths by atomic weaponry? It’s not as though he will recall his dastardly deed in subsequent lifetimes, in order to repent for his sinful action. There is no need to further explore this line of reasoning because it is utterly ludicrous, apart from the fact that the popular conception of reincarnation itself is also both unverifiable and illogical (see the next chapter of “F.I.S.H” for a more accurate understanding of reincarnation). Because physicists now know that even seemingly-solid objects are composed (almost) entirely of empty space, every subatomic particle in our universe can be packed into an inordinately-dense ball of energy (although the most widely-accepted scientific theory claims that the universe arose from literally nothing). That superlatively-focused singularity became this space-time-energy-matter universe, and whatever occurred afterwards was DESTINED to happen, just as the result of the explosion of a bomb can be predicted beforehand (assuming one has all the relevant data surrounding the event, such as the precise strength of the weapon, the force of impact, atmospheric conditions, et cetera). Simple deduction dictates that every motion or thought that has occurred in this universe was FULLY dependent on every motion or thought that preceded it, all the way back to the initial creative spark (the “Big Bang”, which is purported to have engendered measurable space-time, and to energy and matter). A simplistic analogy is of a long row of dominos falling one upon the next, and so on and so forth (read Chapter 11). A more fitting analogy is the Mandelbrot set, which features complex patterns within patterns ad infinitum, or a seed that branches into an extraordinarily intricate tree above the soil, and simultaneously, into an extremely complex root system underground, including aerial prop roots that hang from the branches, as in some figs. Just see what an incredibly complex universe has arisen from the original ball of energy! The popular notion of retributive karma has no scientific support whatsoever, and ought to be rejected by any intelligent, discriminating person. The term “karmic debt” is often used to express this totally contrived and utterly disingenuous concept of action and reaction. Despite what most everyone believes, “determinism” or “predestination” is IRREFUTABLE, as plainly demonstrated in Chapter 11 of this “Final Instruction Sheet for Humanity”. Causation is merely the mechanism used by The Supreme to play-out the preordained story of the universe. The convoluted conceptions of karma found in Indian and Chinese philosophical systems (i.e. the notions of “right action”, “skilful means”, “unwholesome action”, “action in inaction”, “inaction in action”, etcetera), presuppose freedom of volition, and therefore are unhelpful for those who are trying to comprehend life as it is, that is, those who aspire to the HIGHEST levels of spiritual understanding and realization. “For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.” “The Gospel According to John” 4:37-38, Lord Jesus Christ, Divine Incarnation. “Instant Karma’s gonna get you, Gonna knock you right on the head. You better get yourself together, Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead.” John Winston Lennon, English Singer-Songwriter.

[@louietownsend8619]

𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔪𝔬𝔰𝔪 😎