Interesting Interpretation of Karma

[effilang]

[goldenfox]

Interesting. Check this out as well. Its a Kabbalistic take on karma and how it relates to reincarnation. If you can get it, you get the complexity yet simplicity of it at the same time:

 

REINCARNATION

 

This weeks Torah portion Mishpatim begins, "And these are the laws." Just as the preceding words (the Ten Commandments) were received from Sinai, these following laws were also received from Sinai.

 

"These are the laws" means “these are the orders (the foundations) of Gilgulim (reincarnation).”

 

Zohar Parshas Mishpatim

 

And then there was the time that the saintly Rabbi Dov Ber (successor to the Baal Shem Tov and later known as the Mezritcher Maggid), asked his teacher and Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov, "Rebbe, would you teach me the sod (spiritual foundations) of reincarnation?"

 

The Baal Shem Tov took him to his study room and told him to close his eyes. Suddenly, in a dream-like vision, Rabbi Dov Ber saw a handsome prince and a friend approach a river for a picnic and a swim. The only other person there was a border guard on duty as the river separated two countries. After a pleasant afternoon of swimming, the Prince and his friend changed to their regular clothes and left. But, unbeknownst to the Prince, his wallet fell out of his pocket while he was changing from his bathing suit.

 

Later that day, a man on horseback came riding by and noticed the wallet on the ground. When he picked it up and saw a large sum of money, he decided not to mention it to the border guard who was still there.

 

When the Prince returned to his palace and realized that his wallet was missing, he thought back to the last time he remembered having it his possession. "That's it," he thought, "it was by the river. The only other person there, besides my friend, was that border guard. I'll take care of him!" So he took a few of his father's soldiers and arrested the border guard. Of course, the border guard denied seeing, much less taking, the wallet. But the Prince was a bit arrogant and didn't believe him. "Punish that thief," he ordered. The border guard received thirty lashes.

 

When the dream vision was over and Rabbi Dov Ber opened his eyes, he exclaimed, "That just wasn't fair at all! Why,” he asked the Baal Shem Tov, "did the Prince lose his money? Also, why did the border guard get lashes when he didn't do anything? It's just not right!"

 

"You asked me to teach you the sod (spiritual foundations) of reincarnation. Now close your eyes again," replied the Baal Shem Tov.

 

Then, as before, Rabbi Dov Ber saw a dream- like vision. This time, he saw a first man approach a second man and say in an angry tone, "It's been a long time and I want you to pay me back the money I lent you."

 

The second man answered, "Listen, I already told you, I never borrowed any money from you."

 

The first man replied, "You're such a liar. How can you look me in the eyes and say 'I never borrowed any money from you'? You leave me with no option, I'm taking you to court before a judge, you miserable creature."

 

Then in the dream vision, Rabbi Dov Ber saw the second man go to the judge and give him a sack of money as a bribe. The second man said to the judge, "Now you understand that no matter what proof that man brings, I didn't borrow any money from him."

 

The judge opened up the sack of money and while he counted out the gold coins that spilled out, he answered, "You have nothing to worry about." Later, during the trial, the first man, the Plaintiff, brought written proof that the second man, the Defendant, had borrowed the money. But the judge wasn't convinced and ruled, "I find for the Defendant (the second man) and hold that the Plaintiff (the first man) didn't lend him any money.

 

When the dream vision was over and Rabbi Dov Ber opened his eyes, he exclaimed, "That just wasn't fair at all. Why," he asked the Baal Shem Tov, "how could the second man get away with not paying his debt? It's just not right!"

 

"My dear Reb Dov Ber," said the Baal Shem Tov, "this is the sod of reincarnation. The first man that lent the money and didn't get it back in the second dream vision was the the border guard in the first dream-like vision and so it really wasn't his money anyway. The second man that borrowed the money and refused to pay it back in the second dream- like vision was the prince and so it really was his money. And the crooked judge in the second dream- like vision was the man on the horse in the first dream -like vision and so he really did deserve the thirty lashes."

 

And so it was.

 

Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story heard directly from Rav Sholom Ber Chaikin.

Edited May 5, 2012 by goldenfox

[Chang]

And the crooked judge in the second dream- like vision was the man on the horse in the first dream -like vision and so he really did deserve the thirty lashes.

 

I get the jist but unfortunately it was not the crooked judge/man on the horse who received the thirty lashes, it was the border guard?

Edited May 6, 2012 by Chang

[effilang]

Yeah, someone got mistreated in that story

 

Anyhoo. I have a question. Does your karma really begin to get cleared when the Qi goes up the spine?

[goldenfox]

I get the jist but unfortunately it was not the crooked judge/man on the horse who received the thirty lashes, it was the border guard?

 

The border guard didnt take the prince's money, but the prince thought he did and punished him for it. That meant the border guard had to demand money from the prince in the future life and persecute him unjustlly (thats why the prince in future life had to be taken to court, as a recompense for the unjust persecution he was responsible for from the earlier life, even though he didnt take money in that future life).

 

Even though the border guard never took the princes money, he was embroiled karmically in the affair due to the actions of the prince. The thief on horseback had to be involved in the future life too because hes the one who actually took the money, thereby causing the border guard to be unjustly accused and punished.

 

The reason the roles were reversed between the prince and border guard, in terms of who accused who unjustly and punished them for it, is because that karma was between those two souls. One perceived and acted unjustly to the other so the roles had to be reversed for that karma to be payed back. Whereas, the thief on horseback, hes the one who actually got the money both times because he was a fringe player in the whole thing. The first time he found the money by accident, and chose to do a wicked thing by not asking the border guard if it were his or if he had seen who dropped it (thereby getting it crookedly), so he set himself up to receive payment from the prince in the future life again and to receive it crookedly then too.

 

I think the overall message in the story is that we dont always see the hidden causes behind events, and thats how karma gets the better of us. The prince and the border guard had no clue their respective travails were caused by the calumny of the horseman, but it didnt prevent them from having to reverse karmic roles in a future life. And the horseman, being the true culprit and making off with the princes gold, was destined to receive the same again from the prince in future life because that was his karma with the prince. He also had to be the agent of the border guards injustice in both lives, because that was his karma with the border guard. The prince had to be an agent of injustice for the border guard as well in both lives, but the roles with the horseman were reversed because, in the first vision the horseman was the initial cause of the injustice by crookedness, whereas in the second vision it was the prince.

 

In both cases the border guard was the victim of injustice, in that the first time he was flogged unjustly by the prince, and the second time in that he was swindled out of justice by the crookedness of the prince, even though the second time around it was the border guards turn to accuse the prince unjustly. In both cases the horseman got the princes money by crookedness, even though the second time around the crookedness was initiated by the prince. In both cases the prince acted unjustly as well as lost his money, albeit the second time he acted unjustly and lost his money because of that, whereas the first time he acted unjustly because he lost his money.

 

Picture a sphere of oneness with a nucleus. All souls have dealings with each other through that nucleus and that nucleus gives to each one the results of actions they perform based on the way they perceive events.

 

To put it more clearly, in both lifetimes, all the protagonists receive the same result even though their respective roles with each other are reversed.

Edited May 6, 2012 by goldenfox

[goldenfox]

Yeah, someone got mistreated in that story

 

Anyhoo. I have a question. Does your karma really begin to get cleared when the Qi goes up the spine?

 

Yes it does. I can tell you from experience that once your third eye wakes up, the invisible barrier between you and the world dissolves. Like an insulated wire cant shock you when you touch it, remove the insulation and you will get the shock. In the same way the insulation gets removed, and all the subtle impressions in your conscious and unconscious come alive. The mechanism by which this happens is the mind. When you see for real in every moment how your thoughts and feelings are creating your reality, or in other words how the world is responding to you based on what you are projecting from within, and not really based on what you do or say (but rather what youre thinking and feeling), then you actually understand what karma really is and not before then. It is just an intellectual concept until then. For me the karma clearing can get so intense sometimes that i just want to run away from it all. It can seem like the ultimate curse rather than a blessing. Yet the fact is the oneness actually reveals the underlying reason why one needs to behave according to spiritual law, so in that respect it is ultimately for your own good.

 

There is physical karma in the form of effects that come to you seemingly by their own power, events that happen to you in daily life that appear imposed on you from outside. Then there is astral and causal karma in the form of your perceptions, impressions and basically all the vrittis or currents in your chitta.

[Chang]

To put it more clearly, in both lifetimes, all the protagonists receive the same result even though their respective roles with each other are reversed.

 

Again I get the jist of it but it is complexity upon complexity whereby karma comes close to Gurdjieffs idea of eternal recurrence.

[goldenfox]

Yeah, it does recur. Then again it also gets altered over time depending upon various factors; how the person reacts to the situation and so on. Each time we learn a lesson that also gets stored as an impression which goes towards having a greater wisdom to act from the next time around. So i think, although the recurring dynamic is always there, it is also an eternal flux due to the impact of actions upon consciousness and vice versa.

Edited May 6, 2012 by goldenfox