THE NATURE OF KARMA (Karma ka swroop)

 

The absurdity of the proposition need not be dilated upon any further; it is a sufficient refutation of the notion that death effects a complete severance between spirit and matter, and shows that the Karman sarira never leaves the soul till perfection is attained. The question, when was the Karman shareer formed for the first time does not arise; it could only arise on the supposition that a perfectly pure spirit had descended or condescended to enter into bondage, but this has been already seen to be an non- entertainable hypothesis. It follows from this that all the souls now involved in bond --and their number is infinite-- have always been in an impure and imperfect state. There is nothing surprising in this conclusion, `for just as gold is found in a mine in an impure condition without any one having ever deposited the pure metal there, so are souls to be taken as having existed in a condition of impurity from all eternity.

 

The only possible counter-hypothesis of the renewal of bondage by the order of any extra-supreme God is met by the argument that there can be no possible ground for distinction between one pure spirit and another. Since the qualities of substances do not vary to suit individual whims, all pure spirits must possess the same attributes. Hence, there can be no such thing as a God of Gods. On the other hand, if it be said that the Supposed extra supreme body is a pure spirit plus some thing else, that would make his being a compounded organism which experience and observation prove to be liable to disintegration and decay. Furthermore, a perfect God must be presumed to be above longings of every kind, and cannot, therefore, be credited with the unholy desire of imposing fetters of pain and misery on his brethren.

 

Lastly, when we look into the nature of this extra- supreme deity of modern theology we only discover him to be personification of karmic energy and power. It has been made clear in 'the key of Knowledge' that the gods and goddesses of the several systems of theology which are flourishing in our midst today are only the personifications* certain mental abstractions and forces of a psychic or occult type. (*See also 'The Permanent History of Bharata Varsha', by K. Narayana Iyer.) If the reader has read that book, he would not find it difficult to understand that the following passages disclose the attributes of the karmic force, the regulator of the destinies of all kind of beings involved in the samsara, rather that the qualities of a perfectly blissful being such as a Siddha Atma (perfect Soul) must necessarily be:

 

(1) "I create ....evil." --Isaiah, XLV. 7.

 

(2) "Wherefore I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live." --Ezekiel, XX.25.

 

(3) "It repented the Lord that he had made man on earth and it grieved him at his heart." --Genesis, VI 6.

 

(4) "Whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." --Genesis, IV,15.

 

(5) "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me.' --Deut. V.9

 

We could cite many other similar passages from the scriptures, but it would serve no useful purpose to multiply authorities. So far as the Vedas are concerned, they are intelligible only on the hypothesis of a wholesale personification of occult powers and metaphysical abstractions. The Hindu Puranas even attribute deception to their godhead, such as his appearing in the form of a beautiful female at the churning of the ocean, where he not only prevented the Asura from drinking the nectar of immortality by making them fall in love with his female form, but also immediately slew Rahu, who, perceiving the fraud that was being practiced, had managed to secure a drop of the life-giving amrita (nectar of life).

 

None of these attributes are appropriate to the godhead, but they are fully in harmony with the personification of karma, as the lord or master of the destinies of living beings. The word Ishvara, the popular name of the deity in Hinduism, only signifies, in its literal sense, powerful, able, capable, hence, a lord or master.

 

The truth of the matter is that the moderns have completely lost sight of the fact that the theological god, or Ishvara, is a pure impersonation of karma, and, therefore, feel baffled in the presence of such statements as those already quoted from the Bible and the Quran. It is this impersonation of karmic power, as the ruler of the world, which stands in the way of progress by demoralizing the hearts of men with unholy superstition and awe of his supreme sway, irresistible might and vindictive unforgiving nature.

 

To revert to the point under consideration, it is now clear that a pure spirit cannot possibly be compelled to re- enter the bondage of 'sin' when once it has attained to perfection, and that the condition of none of the souls now involved in the samsara has ever been that of perfect purity at any time in the past.