| Show THE LAW OF KARMA VIEW OF A DISCIPLE OF OPHY this Is I 1 the new that Is III ilotti ly old jawett it would like all etheri transform earth into a heaven karma is a sanskrit word meaning action whether vili ether of thought word or deed since there are no straight lines line s in nature every force tends to 0 return to its projector once this law is recognized recognize il we begin to see the philosophy underlying that homely adage curses like chickens come home to roost for 1900 years we in the western N orld have heard As a man sows bows so BO shall ho he reap yet while glibly reciting this we sow BOW canada es and then rail at fate because ne me do not reap california peaches why simply because the philosophy underlying this is not understood we fail to see in man the master of the cause but the slave of the effect nature is conquered by obeal obedience ence to its laws help nature and work on with her and nature will regard thee as one ot of her creatures and will make obeisance says the voice of silence karma then Is the law which adjusts effects to causes on all planes it is the ultimate law ot of the universe in connection with the law ot of rebirths reincarnation it explains the problems which now are vexing us its it explains p alas the unequal distribution of capital and labor the distinction of 0 class in society of 0 sex in ili the affairs of life the apparent injustice of birth one man born in a hovel another in a palace one an imbecile another with a vigorous healthy intellect one reaching the ago ot of fourscore and ten in peace and plenty the other cut oft off in his prime by a violent or accidental death all that is due to karma either racial national or individual man in his efforts toward the expansion of 0 self consciousness throws himself out of harmony with cosmic law the result of the discord being what we call pain and suffering so he be learns that law has been disregard dis disregarded d and the ultimate result is obedience to law the tendency ever being to restore equilibrium the two doctrines which modern christianity lacks but which jesus taught are reincarnation and karma the one depending on the othel there is no mistaking the words of christ with what measure ye mete it shall he be measured to you again another passage teaching both doctrines Is found in matthew v 26 verily I 1 say unto thee thou by no means come out of 0 thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing implying the karmic ties that draw the soul back to rebirth in Matt matthew liew xi 14 the statement is made clearly it if ye will receive it this is elias which was for to come a positive declaration that ellas elias had incarnated ed in john the baptist when the disciples asked why it was said that ellas elias would come before the messiah his answer was ellas elias shall truly come first and restore all things but I 1 say unto you that elias is come already and they knew it not when the doctrine of reincarnation was stamped as a heresy at a general council held by the early church after the reign of mental and spiritual darkness had set in that of karma went also with what measure ye mete meta it shall be measured to you again gradually became a dead letter in the church the vicarious atonement wrongly interpreted seeming to offer an escape and so we have the various schemes to enable man to evade the penalty of his own wrongdoing wrong doing the doctrine of karma absolute justice does not appeal to weak natures preferring to shift the responsibility of their misdeeds on to the shoulders of their creator an idea which appears to theosophists little short of blasphemy let us now take up the law of karma and try it if possible to see how it works science now acknowledges that thought precedes action that no action Is possible without the thought or motive power behind it therefore thoughts are arc ot of the most importance let us analyze this a little suppose we take a mind with no past activities with nothing to hinder its perfect freedom an impossibility which some ot of our scientific psychologists assume suppose such a mind to evolve a thought this thought repeated many times becomes a habit of mind so that it runs automatically into this particular mold suppose the growing mind now disapproves of this particular form of thought or thought form finds it a hindrance the will by repeated efforts can change this mental tendency and direct the thoughts into other channels repeated covetous desires will crystallize into thefts when the opportunity comes thoughts directed toward lic helping aping humanity will crystallize into deeds or of unexpected heroism how often we hear it said it if I 1 had stopped to think I 1 should not have done it the saturated mental solution needed only the additional crystal to solidity into action As long as wo we have the power to stop and think we have not yet reached the danger line we are still master ot of the cause the liability to stop and think on tho the other hand band shows that we have become the slave of the effect thus wo we find that the mind forges the tetter fetter and wears it and that while wearing it it can file through it by repeated efforts of the will here we have an instance of a small harmle r cycle further analysis reveals the tact fact that as repeated thoughts become ten 1 dencler so painful experiences become conscious and experiences in the aggregate become wisdom 1 character than being the result of the aggregate a K mental images now we begin to realize the value of right thinking a point theosophy emphasizes and to see why it Ss Is that he who succeeds in ill raising the ideals ot of a nation natio ri is its greatest helper we vc begin also to see the scientific basis of the much aused and little understood proverb As a man thin keth heth in his heart so Is he our our oriental brother expresses the same ideal man alan is a creature of reflection f 1 1 lie 1 e becomes that tha t upon aei cit ouli la w which e h he r reflects e fl acts therefore reflect upon brahma herbert spencer puts the same thought into this form himan beings are arc at the mercy of their associated ideas so after all we see in the law ot of karma nothing new just what jesus said with what measure ye mete mele it shall be measured to you again but the thought gains strength and new beauty in the light thrown upon it uy oy the wisdom religion theosophy K C H |
