2-21-93

                 KARMA 3: INTRODUCTION


     Karma is often spoken of as a rope, a
rope of many strands.  These strands are
woven so tightly together that at times it
is difficult to separate them.  They are
composed of our thoughts, desires, actions
and latent tendencies of our personality,
some of which are left over from past
incarnations.  In classic Hindu teaching
these left over tendencies are SAMSKARA
and are said to be deposited in our
subconscious mind.

      It is taught that there are there are
three kinds of karma:

1.   Samchita Karma, the whole bunch that we
have not yet worked out, the entire unpaid
balance of our credit and debit account.

2.   Prarabdha, or beginning karma, the
amount proportioned to us at the beginning
of each life.

3.   Kriomana Karma, that which we are now
generating for the future by our actions
in this present life.


     It is also suggested that the second
type, the Prarabdha Karma is the only one
that an astrologer might foretell.
     To escape from the rope of karma we
must gain knowledge, knowledge of the
world, our self (with small "s") and our
Self (with capital "S"), our God Self, the
Spirit of Truth within.  In Sanscrit,
knowledge is "vidya."  "Para" is beyond,
thus pare-vidya is knowledge from beyond
our ordinary world and our ordinary self.
Aparara-vidya is knowledge that is not
from beyond.  Most of our knowledge is
apare-vidya, obtained from the external.
Only para-vidya, knowledge from beyond
will lead to enlightenment and liberation.
     Much of what we have learned from the
external world has a disturbing effect on
our mind, not all, but quite a bit.  In
yoga tradition the mind is thought of as a
pond or a lake and disturbing thoughts as
pebbles dropped into this pond.  The first
thing a yoga must learn is to still the
mind.  When this has been accomplished,
one is then able to seriously begin to
eliminate the imperfections and travel the
path to perfection... "Be ye therefore
perfect as your Father in heaven is
perfect.
     In Revelations it is the lamb that
opens the seven seals.  The lamb is
symbolic of the perfection of humility,
not pride of perfection.  The wolf
symbolizes pride.  Isaiah 11:6 says: "The
wolf and the Lamb will lie down together."
What a beautiful allegory.  The perfection
of humility and the perfection of
pridefulness joined together.