Wednesday, December 27, 2023
The apostle Paul was once a Pharisee who tortured, murdered, and imprisoned early believers. But the church gives Paul a medal of honor and voids his past. Claim rehabilitation today, and I think you’d have a hard time. Do you think Ted Bundy or Adolph Hitler would have ever been given such a chance?
Karma is a Sanskrit word that means “something that is done.” The law of karma states that even if we can’t see the connections, we’re implicit in everything that happens to us, good and bad. Indian philosophy compares a thought to a seed. A thought is a very tiny seed that can grow out of control, and spread like a cancer. Karma begins in the mind. In Western philosophy, this would be comparable to the reap and sow parables of Jesus.
Karma may be a bitch, but she’s not punitive. The world permanently convicts sex offenders, murderers, and adulterers. We all want forgiveness, but no wants to give it. To be free from this karmic bond, we must accept that those who do harm don’t fully know what they do.
The best way to break free is to realize that maybe you don’t know the harm you’re causing. But once you do, you’re free. Even from prison, Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord.” To rejoice is to rejoin, or re-joist. A joist is a bridge. Karma is educative, and connects you to what the Indians would call dharma – your true essence. The true essence of a human is not to be evil.
Thoughts can get out of control, and the battle is in the mind. That’s the entire premise of the Bhagavad Gita. Liberate yourself from the compulsive mind. People must be given a chance to change. Once you see the light, help this educative process unfold in everyone. Guilt is not a virtue. The so-called good news is about freedom to take charge of your destiny. It all begins with the seeds you plant in your mind and many individuals have a minefield in their mind field.