Meditation Support

The Daily Meditator: October 2007

How to Transcend Your Karma

By Bharat Cornell; and excerpts from the book Karma and Reincarnation by Paramhansa Yogananda.

In his book Karma and Reincarnation, Paramhansa Yogananda shares the following story to show how we can free ourselves from the laws of karma:

“Once upon a time a powerful emperor of a country got drunk. Disguised, he went into a tavern belonging to his estate and in a quarrel broke another man's leg. The innkeeper took him to a judge who had been appointed to his post by the king. As the judge was about to pass sentence, the king suddenly threw off his disguise and exclaimed, "I am the king who appointed you as the judge, and I have the power to throw you into prison. How dare you convict me?"

Our first reaction upon hearing this story might be to say, “Who does the emperor think he is?! How arrogant of him to feel he is above the laws of society and of human decency.” But Paramhansa Yogananda said we can escape the law of karma by identifying ourselves with God. As children of God, our birthright is much more exalted than an emperor’s lineage. We are Divine Light. Let us awake to this wondrous truth.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “Practice the meditation techniques; I can help you through them.” Meditation withdraws our consciousness from outwardness and limitation and offers it into Spirit. Sri Yogananda said, “To know God is to love Him.” The more we know God, the more we will experience the luminous beauty of our soul. Fully awake to our divine nature, we will be finally free from the laws of karma and creation.   

Read the following excerpts from Karma and Reincarnation to gain a deeper understanding of how you can transcend the law of karma through meditation.

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“Who would not like a reprieve from the consequences of his own wrong deeds? Few people, however, are willing to do what is necessary to win such a reprieve. For it is not pleading that can free us from the grinding wheel of justice. Cosmic Law is mathematical in its precision. The way to escape its decrees is to live in divine consciousness.”

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“The more we live guided from within, the greater our control over outer events. For when we live at our own center, in superconsciousness, we live in the only true freedom there is. In soul-consciousness we are no longer helplessly controlled by habits and desires. To the extent, then, that we develop soul-consciousness, we free ourselves from karmic slavery.”

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“The Divine is above the law. The closer we live to God, the less His law will be able to affect us.”

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“Instead of accepting fatalistically the decrees of karma, follow the inner way to freedom. Meditate daily. Commune deeply with God. Learn from Him, through the silent voice of intuition, the way out of soul-degrading serfdom to habits.”

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“Make it a point always to keep your most important of all engagements: your daily appointment with the Lord. Twice daily, enter the inner silence.”

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“Life is glorious; life is beautiful, if you will only find God beneath the debris of matter. God is hidden behind the moon and the sun and the stars. There is no other way to uncover God except by real devotion and meditation.”

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“Blissful soul-expansion brings with it increasing dominion—not only over one’s own self, but over all matter.”

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“Every day, resurrect yourself in meditation. Let your evil habits, indifference, and restlessness die daily. Resurrection means relaxation, to relax your awareness from your body and mind in meditation.”

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“You do not know what joy lies beyond the screen of the subconscious mind. If you do away with the restlessness and sensations of the body, sit quietly, and say: “In the Heaven of Silence, O God, be born within me,” then on the altar of silence He will come.”

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“The joy of God is indescribable—joy that no changing dream of life and death can ever take away from you.”

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Many of you know I am the author of the Sharing Nature Book Series, which applies Paramhansa Yogananda’s teaching to nature education. My wife and I recently returned from Japan where we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our work there. We were thrilled to see how the Japanese are embracing these teachings on such a broad scale.

Read about it here

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