Why do bad things happen to good

people –

The Law of Karma

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."   - Bible: Matthew (5:18)

"Put not off from day to day and from cycle to cycle, is the belief that ye will succeed in obtaining the mysteries when ye return to the world in another cycle."   - Jesus Christ in the Gnostic Gospels: Pistis Sophia

"All souls are subject to revolution… but men do not know the ways of the Holy One… They are ignorant of the way they have been judged in all time, before they came into this world and when they have quitted it."   - Zohar (Kabbalah)

"Every soul... comes into the world strengthened by the victories or weakened by the defeats of its' previous life. Its' place in this world as a vessel appointed to honor or dishonor, is determined by its' previous merits or demerits. Its' work in this world determines its' place in the world which is to follow this."   - Origen

"In other worlds I lingered through the length of many nights;And God alone can ever know how great the sorrow of soul I saw -In Brooksvalin, where souls are subject to the cosmic cause of judgment."   - Scandinavian "Song of Olaf Ostensen“

"We never made for any mortal before thee immortality… Every soul shall taste of death! We will test them with evil and good, as a trial; & unto us shall they return again and again"   - Koran

"The individual self, augmented by its' aspirations, sense contact, visual impressions and delusion, assumes successive forms in accordance with it's actions… So it is that we live in accordance with our deep, driving desire. It is this desire at the time of death that determines what our next life is to be. We will come back to Earth to work out the satisfaction of that desire."

   - Svetasvtara Upanishad

Krishna is Sat - Cit - Ananda

Jiva – The spirit soul is alsoSat – cit – Ananda

Then why are we suffering ??

Full of knowledge

Eternal Blissful

5. Karma (Activity)

Five Major Topics in Bhagavad-Gita

1. ISVARA(GOD)

2.Jiva (Living Entity)

3. Prakriti

(Material

Nature)

4.Kala (Time)

Prakriti – The Material Nature• Consists of millions of universes

• A fraction of the total creation

• Material nature is “dukhalayam ashashvatam” B.G….

• Spiritual world is “Vaikuntha” (free of misery, dullness)

• Compared to a prison house. A facility provided for the rebellious souls, giving them an opportunity to reform themselves

Why did the Lord create the material world ??

• Provides the soul with a body in the 8400000 species of life

• 400,000 - Humanoid species

• 900,000 – In Water (aquatics)

• 2,000,000 – Plants

• 1,000,000 – Avians

• 3,000,000 – Animals

etc…

• Different bodies provide different levels of consciousness just like different cells in the prison

A- Class Cell, B-Class Cell & C-Class cell

• Binds the body with the three modes of nature

Durga

Ga – get out … durg – very difficult to get out

Three Modes of Material Nature

Sattva GunaMode of Goodness

Rajo GunaMode of Passion

Tamo GunaMode of Ignorance

• Knowledge

• Free from sins

• Conditioned by sense of happiness

• Unlimited desires

• Fruitive activity

• Attraction between man and woman

• Madness

• Laziness

• Sleep

• Intoxication

Food in Mode of GoodnessB.G.17.8 “ayuh sattva balarogya….”

• Food that increases life span & Heart becomes purified

• Gives strength, health, happiness and satisfaction

• Such foods are juicy, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart

Food in

Mode of Passion

B.G.17.9 “katv-amla-lavanaty….”

• Foods that cause distress, misery and ill-health

• Such foods are too bitter, too sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry and burning

Food in Mode of Ignoranc

eB.G.17.9 “yata yaman gata rasam……”

Food that are

• Prepared more than 3 hrs before being eaten

• Induces lethargy, etc

• Consisting of remnants,

• All living beings in the material world are conditioned by the three modes

• The soul comes in contact with a particular mode of material nature and acts accordingly, being conditioned

The Conditioned Soul

• We seek happiness on the material platform according to the modes we are conditioned by

• We are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of nature

• In this way the soul is forced to take birth in this material world again and again

• Thus our pure spiritual nature is perverted by the impure desires, born of the three modes

KAALA (TIME FACTOR)

• Time is Krishna’s Energy

• Most Powerful force in the material world. Amongst all killers time is the ultimate.

• Time causes transformation in the prakriti- Cycle of Universe- Six Transformations

• In B.G. Krishna says, “Kaalo ‘smi” – “I am Time”

KARMA (ACTIVITY)

Definition: Activities performed by the living entities conditioned by the three modes, under the control and purview of time

THE LAW OF KARMA“For every action there is an equal and

opposite reaction”

• We are accountable for everything we think, speak or do

Therefore we must be aware of the consequences of all the activities that we perform.

Preliminary knowledge of the LAW OF KARMA

• Good Karma – Virtuous Activity

• Regulatory concession given does not mean free license to engage in sinful activity

• Bad Karma – Sinful Activity

• Laws of Karma are relative

The four pillars of sinful life:

1. Illicit Sex

2. Intoxication

3. Gambling

4. Meat Eating

Krishna Says, “Gahana Karmano gati” – “ It is very difficult to

understand the law of karma”

Contd… Preliminary knowledge of the LAW OF KARMA

• Applicable only to human species

• Instant and delayed Karmaeg. Sow a mustard seed & get a fruit in a month

sow a coconut seed and get a fruit in 20 years

• Individual and collective karma

• Ignorance of the law is no cause to escape reaction

• If everything is predestined then why work ?

“The wheels of God grind slowly but exceedingly fine”

• TO ESCAPE REACTION, “A-KARMA MUST BE PERFORMED”

• Good and bad karma are both binding

• Good and bad karma do not cancel each other

Contd… Preliminary knowledge of the LAW OF KARMA

LIFE IS A PREPARATION

DEATH IS THE EXAMINATION

DIFFERENT TYPES OF KARMA

TYPE ACTIVITY

Karma As per scriptural (‘PIOUS’) directions

Vi-karma Against scriptural directions (‘SINFUL’)

A-karma For which one does not suffer any reaction

Eg. Soldier fighting on behalf of the country