Karma

Originating from Hindu's most ancient text, the Rigveda, and later extended into the Upanisads, Karma is a Universal law. Each action has a consequence, based on the action's intentions. It is believed by Hindus, that each cause governs an effect. What is given is fundamentally received. There is a difference between karma and fate, where we choose to make our actions according to our free will, which shapes our destinies. We receive good karma, based on our dharmic paths. We become content in life, in happiness, as long as we continue to save ourselves from the suffering and degradation of adharmic paths. As long as we remain succumbed to the moral law, spiritual discipline, and guiding our lives in a positive manner, we will remain unchained by the clutches of suffering, caused by the material world, with compassion remaining to be the roots of dharma. Karma determines the state of our next incarnations, with achieving moksha as the prerequisite in order to be free from the cycle of death and rebirth. Going against norms generally results in negative consequences. Anything that helps an individual attain a relationship with God is dharma, and anything that hinders a person from reaching God is adharma. There are four basic principles of dharma, austerity, purity, compassion, and truthfulness, with three vices for adharmic paths, being unrighteous life, pride, contact, and intoxication. Ten rules of Dharma are patience, forgiveness, piety, self-control, honesty, sanctity, control of senses, reason, knowledge, and learning. The most essential are truthfulness, non-violence, non-coveting, having a pure mind and body, and controlling the senses. The sole purpose of dharma is to attain a Union with our spirit, and the Supersoul. It's a strict code of conduct, in order to attain worldly joys and bliss. Hinduism focuses mainly on attaining the highest reality, eternal bliss, and love here on Earth. It is much different than most religions, which focus on attaining that feeling somewhere in Heaven. 10 virtues are to renounce killing, protect the lives of others, renounce taking what isn't given, practice generosity, give up all sexual misconduct, practice discipline, tell the truth, abandon harsh words, speak pleasantly, and give up all discord, with 10 non-virtues being killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, harsh words, slander, gossip, coveting, cruelty, and holding wrong-views. In order to clear our karma, we must accept the source of where it all began, and identify what still is continuing. We need to respond differently to our bad behaviors. We will only remain frustrated with ourselves, as long as we remain in familiar behavior. We must break our bad habits. We also have to change our environments and find places that are more positive, leave our old memories behind us, and forgive in order to regain control of our karma. In order to generate good karma, we must follow the Golden Rule and treat others as to how we'd like to be treated. We must cleanse our energies, and realign with higher vibrations.