Today we celebrate Vijayadashami, the tenth day of Navaratri that marks Goddess Durga's victory against Mahishasura, restoring and protecting dharma. It also marks the end of Ramlila and commemorates Prince Rama's victory over King Ravana. Lord Muruga too is said to have battled the Asura Surapadman. Lord Krishna too came as an Avatar to battle King Kamsa. It made me wonder: if the Gods in the Puranas found it necessary to intervene and defeat the arrogant, and bring about and restore righteousness (Dharma), protect the innocent, and guide humanity, why do later-day gurus ask us to accept it all as Gods' play and Lila? Imagine if Mother Teresa were to walk by, not doing anything to bring relief and care for the dying on the streets of Calcutta back then. So what do we do? Do we just sit and watch injustice and terror prevail, or bring an end to it? Do we just accept it as others' Karma and watch?
If I was both confused and angry as to why people around me suffered and was asked to keep my questions to another date by Lord Siva coming in a dream in 1988, after 14 years, when I came to know about Karma in my Nadi reading, I knew why they had to go through what they had to. It put to rest my doubts and anger at God, too. I then came up with a piece after reading extensively about Karma, which I put together and posted back then. Apparently, Karma works differently for one who is realized. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami sheds some light on this. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami writes that for the Yogis whose Karma that once stood in the way of God realization is removed. Fresh Karma is then dissolved immediately. Karma waiting to germinate is roasted in the fire of their Tapas.
"After the realization of the Self, Parasiva, the forces of dharma and previous Karma still exist, but through the force of the realization of God, much of the impending impact of Karma has dwindled, and it is faced differently, treated differently. Prior to the experience of realization, Karmas were dealt with in individual increments. After realization, the sum total is seen. The spiritual destiny is realized."
"One does not have the experience of realizing the Self until all of his Karma is in a state of resolve. When this begins to occur in him, he actually sees that man is not man; man is the Self, God, for his Karma and the forces of his Dharma have begun to become transparent to him. Through the power of his realization, the Karma is created and simultaneously dissolved. This occurs for the one who lives in the timeless state of consciousness. If one were to realize the Self each day, he would live his life like writing his Karma on the surface of water. The swamis who renounce the world and do Tapas are trying to burn the seeds of the Karmas that they did not bring with them in this life. They set fire to the whole house. They renounce the world and put restrictions upon themselves that others don’t."
Paramahansa Yogananda in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI, Self Realization Fellowship, 1990, says,
"In Nirbikalpa Samadhi the yogi dissolves the last vestiges of his material or earthly Karma. Nevertheless, he may still have certain astral and causal Karma to work out and therefore takes astral and then causal embodiment on high vibration spheres."
How does Karma work for one who is under the care of a Guru? Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, in explaining that karma is transferable, and that "One can take on some of the Karma of other people, work it out for them and make their burden a little easier for them", says that,
"The guru guides and also shares a bit of the heavier burdens, if one is fortunate enough to be dedicated enough to have a guru who will lend his powers in this way. But each aspect of the Karma, the outgrowth of the Dharma, must be passed through by the disciple, creating as little as possible of a similar Karma on this tenuous path of the repetition of the cycles of life. The guru may take unto himself, into his nerve system, some of the heavier areas of your Karma in the same way your parents performed this function for you perhaps unknowingly."
Paramahansa Yogananda says that,
"By putting on the ailments of others, a yogi can satisfy, for them, the Karmic law of cause and effect; its workings may be scientifically manipulated by men of divine wisdom. Only great gurus are able to assume the Karma of disciples."
Paramahansa Yogananda himself struck the shoulder of a Chela with a burning brand only to free him from painful death; thus satisfying the Karmic law through slight suffering by fire.
But have these saints refused to help another? Annie Besant and Bhagawan Das, in SANATANA DHARMA by the Theosophical Publishing House, 2000, state that,
"Only a full and clear knowledge of the causes in the past resulting in the suffering of the present could justify refusal to help on Karmic grounds."
We, too, have an option here whether to live our Karma out by non-interfering or seek ways to come out of it or rectify them. The Siddhas are only willing to help us out in this if we are ready to seek them and follow as they dictate. As a starter, we could seek their guidance in clearing the backlog of Karma and settling our dues and past debts. We could worship Lord Ganesha, who is known to remove obstacles in place. In the documentary series, "Secrets of the Enchanted Forest," aired on the channel "Love Nature", we learn that "The Asian elephants have spent their entire life mapping and memorizing the forest. They are the unofficial custodians of these forests. No one knows more about how the forest works. They shape the entire forest. These forest gardeners of nature's garden create the forest landscape." The elephant is known to tear down the jungle and make it anew.
My past too was revealed in the Nadi reading. I was given remedies to perform. I saw the results. My fate was changed even a year earlier, in 2001, when I received the Vasudeva mantra in a mysterious way that cleared the Vishnu Granthi, which adds obstructions for the Sadhaka, keeping one under the wraps of attachment and bondage. Just like an elephant shapes the entire forest, the obstacles that stood in my way of receiving the fruits of my efforts were wiped away further by Lord Ganesa after Agathiyar in the Nadi told me to chant his name and mantra. A new destiny came into sight as I traveled the path of the Siddhas after taking up the calling in the Nadi to worship them. Agathiyar reminded me to be cautious of all my actions and thoughts and to keep in mind that it would create further Karma as I journeyed along. If Tavayogi asked me to conduct the Homam in my home to appease the wrath of nature, Agathiyar came along and told me that it was for the good of the Prapanjam. In the height of the pandemic, Lord Shiva came to ask us to assist and aid Prapanjam in battling the common foe. Prapanjam herself came much later, asking us to do it, foreseeing a revival of the dreaded virus. We carried out all these directives. Tavayogi himself started to perform the larger version of Yagam or Yagnam on the grounds of his ashram after the tsunami of 2004 hit many countries. He then had individual families sit around the fire pits and carry out the Yagam while he attended to the larger one. Then Mataji told those who had obstacles and danger threatening them to take up the tool of lighting the Yagam at Kallar Ashram. They too saw their troubles cleared and problems solved. Agathiyar, who brought over the Siddhas into my home by drawing the bridge that linked both our worlds in having me light the fire, later had a family carry out the Homam in my home too. He showed me that one could burn away our fears and worries, sufferings, and misery in the sacred fire by having them come over.
Agathiyar has given us ways and means to take on our Karma and, to a certain extent, that of those we serve. Help a hungry man by feeding him, and you have brought relief to him. The donor gains merit and is relieved of his Karma. Similarly, the Karma of the one fed is exhausted that very moment, too. The score was balanced. Any further gathering of merits on our part would result in taking another birth to reap its fruit and benefits. In introducing me to charity and feeding, giving me a sample at Tavayogi's Kallar Ashram for the very first time, Agathiyar sent some thirty youths from Thondu Seivom to carry it out on our shores. He opened our eyes and hearts to the sufferings of many unfortunate souls. Through our charity arm, Amudha Surabhi, we moved to bring some relief to them. Sensing the arrival of the pandemic, Agathiyar had us wind up the group, bringing the shutters down on AVM and its many activities, gatherings, Satsang, group puja, and charity. He had us withdraw from all the above. Now it was time to go within, face our soul or Atma, and work on empowering it, gaining Atma Balam. In having us go within, Agathiyar worked on us silently and subtly. He brought us to terms and to a state of acceptance. It is only when we give in to his will and carry out his tasks that we do not earn and accumulate the Karma of both our good and bad actions. Today, we are prepared to accept whatever comes our way, knowing pretty much that he is in charge of our lives. We have given in to his will.
While Bhagawan Ramana brings us to a state of acceptance and non-interference, Yogi Ramsuratkumar removed others' Karma by lighting a cigarette and smoking it. As for them, they themselves took on pain and suffering, telling us that it was God's will. Tavayogi, who refused to touch others' Karma, and though he refused to refer to the Jeeva Nadi in his possession for his own purpose, was willing to read for others. Tavayogi too, who never messed with others' Karma but showed them to Agathiyar, made an exception in my daughter's case, telling me that she need not perform the remedies or Parikaram prescribed by Agathiyar in her Nadi. It should not be seen as disobedience on the part of the disciple, but rather as a deal between the guru and the disciple. I guess it is only when we have attained the state of Tavayogi, where we are beyond the reach of Karma and its tentacles, that we can be involved in ridding others of their Karma, for then it is not the individual guru doing it but the entire lineage behind him and Prapanjam and the divine working through him. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami adds to this new chapter of the soul's travel.
"You would truly be an artisan, an absolute expert at working out Karma in the mental and spiritual spheres, and could begin to help work out Karma for other people."
So it explains and puts to rest this new doubt that cropped up over the past days.