The third spiritual law of success is the Law of Karma. Karma is both action and theconsequence of that action; it is cause and effect simultaneously, because everyaction generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. There is nothingunfamiliar about the Law of Karma. Everyone has heard the expression, What you sow is whatyou reap. Obviously, if we want to create happiness in our lives, we must learn to sow theseeds of happiness. Therefore, karma implies the action of conscious choice-making.You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we arein that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices. Some of thesechoices are made consciously, while others are made unconsciously. But the best way to understand and maximize the use of karmic law is to become consciously aware of the choices wemake in every moment.Whether you like it or not, everything that is happening at this moment is a result of thechoices youve made in the past. Unfortunately, a lot of us make choices unconsciously, andtherefore we dont think they are choices and yet, they are.If I were to insult you, you would most likely make the choice of being offended. If I were topay you a compliment, you would most likely make the choice of being pleased or flattered. Butthink about it: its still a choice.I could offend you and I could insult you, and you could make the choice of not beingoffended. I could pay you a compliment and you could make the choice of not letting that flatteryou either.In other words, most of us even though we are infinite choice-makers have becomebundles of conditioned reflexes that are constantly being triggered by people and circumstancesinto predictable outcomes of behaviour. These conditioned reflexes are like Pavlovian conditioning. Pavlov is famous for demonstrating that if you give a dog something to eat every timeyou ring a bell, soon the dog starts to salivate when you just ring the bell, because it hasassociated one stimulus with the other.Most of us, as a result of conditioning, have repetitions and predictable responses to thestimuli in our environment. Our reactions seem to be automatically triggered by people andcircumstances, and we forget that these are still choices that we are making in every moment ofour existence. We are simply making these choices unconsciously.If you step back for a moment and witness the choices you are making as you make thosechoices, then in just this act of witnessing, you take the whole process from the unconscious17 The law of Carma or Cause and Effectrealm into the conscious realm. This procedure of conscious choice-making and witnessing isvery empowering.When you make any choice any choice at all you can ask yourself two things: First ofall, What are the consequences of this choice that Im making? In your heart you will immediately know what these are. Secondly, Will this choice that Im making now bring happiness tome and to those around me? If the answer is yes, then go ahead with that choice. If the answeris no, if that choice brings distress either to you or to those around you, then dont make thatchoice. Its as simple as that.There is only one choice, out of the infinity of choices available in every second, that willcreate happiness for you as well as for those around you. And when you make that one choice,it will result in a form of behaviour that is called spontaneous right action. Spontaneous rightaction is the right action at the right moment. Its the right response to every situation as ithappens. Its the action that nourishes you and everyone else who is influenced by that action.There is a very interesting mechanism that the universe has to help you make spontaneously correct choices. The mechanism has to do with sensations in your body. Your bodyexperiences two kinds of sensations: one is a sensation of comfort, the other is a sensation ofdiscomfort. At the moment you consciously make a choice, pay attention to your body and askyour body, If I make this choice, what happens? If your body sends a message of comfort,thats the right choice. If your body sends a message of discomfort, then its not the appropriatechoice.For some people the message of comfort and discomfort is in the area of the solar plexus,but for most people its in the area of the heart. Consciously put your attention in the heart andask your heart what to do. Then wait for the response a physical response in the form of asensation. It may be the .faintest level of feeling but its there, in your body.Only the heart knows the correct answer. Most people think the heart is mushy and sentimental. But its not. The heart is intuitive; its holistic, its contextual, its relational. It doesnthave a win-lose orientation. It taps into the cosmic computer the field of pure potentiality,pure knowledge, and infinite organizing power and takes everything into account. At times itmay not even seem rational, but the heart has a computing ability that is far more accurate andfar more precise than anything within the limits of rational thought.You can use the Law of Karma to create money and affluence, and the flow of all goodthings to you, any time you want. But first, you must become consciously aware that your futureis generated by the choices you are making in every moment of your life. If you do this on aregular basis, then you are making full use of the Law of Karma. The more you bring yourchoices into the level of your conscious awareness, the more you will make those choices whichare spontaneously correct both for you and those around you.What about past karma and how it is influencing you now? There are three things you cando about past karma. One is to pay your karmic debts. Most people choose to do that unconsciously, of course. This may be a choice you make, also. Sometimes theres a lot ofsuffering involved in the payment of those debts, but the Law of Karma says no debt in theuniverse ever goes unpaid. There is a perfect accounting system in this universe, and everythingis a constant to and fro exchange of energy.The second thing you can do is to transmute or transform your karma to a more desirableexperience. This is a very interesting process in which you ask yourself, as youre paying yourkarmic debt, What can I learn from this experience? Why is this happening and what is themessage that the universe is giving to me? How can I make this experience useful to my fellowhuman beings?The Seven spiritual laws of Success¶18By doing this, you look for the seed of opportunity and then tie that seed of opportunitywith your dharma, with your purpose in life, which well talk about in the Seventh Spiritual Lawof Success. This allows you to transmute the karma to a new expression.For example, if you break your leg while playing sports, you might ask, What can I learnfrom this experience? What is the message that the universe is giving me? Perhaps the message is that you need to slow down and be more careful or attentive to your body the next time.And if your dharma is to teach others what you know, then by asking, How can I make thisexperience useful to my fellow human beings? you may decide to share what you learned bywriting a book about playing sports safely. Or you may design a special shoe or leg support thatprevents the kind of injury you experienced.This way, while paying your karmic debt, you will have also converted the adversity into abenefit that may bring you wealth and fulfillment. This is the transmutation of your karma intoa positive experience. You havent really gotten rid of your karma, but you are able to take akarmic episode and create a new and positive karma out of it.The third way to deal with karma is to transcend it. To transcend karma is to becomeindependent of it. The way to transcend karma is to keep experiencing the gap, the Self, theSpirit. Its like washing a dirty piece of cloth in a stream of water. Every time you wash it, youtake away a few stains. You keep washing it again and again, and each time it gets a littlecleaner. You wash or transcend the seeds of your karma by going into the gap and coming outagain. This, of course, is done through the practice of meditation.All actions are karmic episodes. Drinking a cup of coffee is a karmic episode. That actiongenerates memory, and memory has the ability or the potentiality to generate desire. Anddesire generates action again. The operational software of your soul is karma, memory, anddesire. Your soul is a bundle of consciousness that has the seeds of karma, memory, and desire.By becoming conscious of these seeds of manifestation, you become a conscious generator ofreality. By becoming a conscious choice-maker, you begin to generate actions that are evolutionary for you and for those that are around you. And thats all you need to do.As long as karma is evolutionary for both the Self and everyone affected by the Self then the fruit of karma will be happiness and success.APPLYING THE LAW OF KARMA OR CAUSE AND EFFECTI will put the Law of Karma into effect by making a commitment to take the followingsteps:(1) Today I will witness the choices I make in each moment. And in the mere witnessing ofthese choices, I will bring them to my conscious awareness. I will know that the bestway to prepare for any moment in the future is to be fully conscious in the present.(2) Whenever I make a choice, I will ask myself two questions: What are the consequences of this choice that Im making? and Will this choice bring fulfillment andhappiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?(3) I will then ask my heart for guidance and be guided by its message of comfort ordiscomfort. If the choice feels comfortable, I will plunge ahead with abandon. If thechoice feels uncomfortable, I will pause and see the consequences of my action withmy inner vision. This guidance will enable me to make spontaneously correct choicesfor myself and for all those around me.
