Yoga Sutra Reflections Session 36: Karma Chakra

Integrating Ancient Wisdom in Modern Life: Birth, Life and Circumstance

1. Karma Chakra is a repetitious pattern of events, emotions, or realisations that occur in our life. It appears in our life as an opportunity to break negative cycles and subsequently reap great wisdom.
2. All our Karmas of the past are the result of 5 Kleshas (Spiritual Ignorance), these Karmas have influence on our present and future Karmas. There is not a single blow which is undeserved. Every situation we face is the result and consequences of our past actions. This is called destiny.
3. Past Karma means a combination of every feeling, thought, word and action. Our Accumulated Karmas are from the time we were manifested as form till just this moment in this life. We are doing two types of Karmas one which is from our self-knowledge and other is done from our Identity.
4. Karma which is done from self-knowledge is rare. This Karma is done when we are connected with Supreme Consciousness, Purusha. This Karma is living in harmony with nature and understanding cause and effect.
5. Karma which is done from our identity is connected with the surroundings, Prakriti. This Karma is not living in harmony with nature and understanding cause and effect. This is called Avidya, Ignorance or Misconception.
6. As long as our root remains in the Avidya, its fruition comes in the form of Birth, Life and Experience of Pleasure-Pain/Circumstance. Evolution from rock to animal has no choice but to live in ignorance in order to survive and reproduce. Evolution of human beings has brought one possibility to respond to and transcend Birth, Life and Circumstance. Birth, Life and Circumstance are choiceless because it is the result and consequences of our past actions. We cannot control or change them. But we can transcend it.
7. As we cannot control or change them but we have the choice to relax, allow it to happen and deal with it, respond to it. If we deal from our identity we will create new Karmas. We react and become more emotionally imbalanced and insensitive towards the universe. But if we deal with self-knowledge we remain untouched by the circumstances and past karma related to this moment’s circumstances. We become capable of responding. This will not create any new Karmas but in the process we become emotionally balanced and more sensitive towards the universe.
8. If we perceive life from Karma, Destiny then life is misery. But if we look at life as a Challenge to respond to Birth, Life and Circumstance it will transcend Misery into an opportunity to see beyond Birth, Life and Circumstance. As soon as we will be able to see beyond Birth, Life and Circumstance we will have our first glimpse of Who We Are.