“
Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you.
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”
Randy Pausch
“
Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles. Whether we believe in God or karma, ethics is the foundation of every religion.
”
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Dalai Lama XIV
“
You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards...You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever - because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.
”
”
Steve Jobs
“
Karma will always follow us close behind....There is no escaping it.
Question is do you want good or bad karma following you???
”
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Timothy Pina (Hearts for Haiti: Book of Poetry & Inspiration)
“
we must follow our own path, and sometimes that path can be laden with bumps and curves and rivers to cross. but we cannot block the paths of our neighbors, for that is not our place. we can only seek to groom and shape our own.
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Jessica Brody (The Karma Club)
“
When we cling to a thought or follow its track, we are performing a mental karma, and that, in turn, is the seed of all physical actions.
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Om Swami (A Million Thoughts)
“
Mari [Mary Magdalene] possessed a remarkably coherent understanding of what following The Way [Rahasya] meant. She believed that this spiritual philosophy taught that the world represented Man's mystic school from whence each person ultimately graduated by reaching the Enlightened State. Therefore, according to this spiritual discipline, human suffering is very subjective and manifested itself according to every person's personal karma or attitude to life. This meant that every life a person experienced imparted a certain number of spiritual lessons that may not have been experienced before in other lives. Ultimately, every experience could be relived and bring about spiritual growth, assisting the individual to move continually closer to the Enlightened State.
”
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Anton Sammut (The Secret Gospel of Jesus, AD 0-78)
“
A new beginning done right," she said out loud, because everyone knew that saying it out loud made it true. "You hear that, karma?" She glanced upward through her slightly leaky sunroof into a dark sky, where storm clouds tumbled together like a dryer full of gray wool blankets. "This time, I'm gong to be strong." Like Katharine Hepburn. Like Ingrid Bergman ."So go torture someone else and leave me alone."
A bolt of lightning blinded her, followed by a boom of thunder that nearly had her jerking out of her skin. "Okay, so I meant pretty please leave me alone."
-Maddie
”
”
Jill Shalvis (Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor, #1))
“
I taped this quote above my sink: 'What does it matter if an influencer gains all the followers in the world only to lose her soul?
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L.R. Dorn (The Anatomy of Desire)
“
Whatever you do is what you are supposed to do; you are following your own karma.
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Vincent Bugliosi (Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders)
“
Before you act, find your center. Ground yourself in Spirit. Set ego aside. Ask yourself, “How do I want to be about this? What would love do?” Then do that. With good intention and inspired action, good results follow. It’s karma.
”
”
Annette Vaillancourt (How to Manifest Your SoulMate with EFT: Relationship as a Spiritual Path)
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There is no such thing as 'bad luck', only bad people and their karma that follows...
”
”
Robert Juarez
“
For a considerable portion of humanity today, it is possible and indeed likely that one's neighbor, one's colleague, or one's employer will have a different mother tongue, eat different food, and follow a different religion than oneself. It is a matter of great urgency, therefore, that we find ways to cooperate with one another in a spirit of mutual acceptance and respect.
In such a world, I feel, it is vital for us to find genuinely sustainable and universal approach to ethics, inner values, and personal integrity-an approach that can transcend religious, cultural, and racial differences and appeal to people at a sustainable, universal approach is what I call the project of secular ethics.
All religions, therefore, to some extent, ground the cultivation of inner values and ethical awareness in some kind of metaphysical (that is, not empirically demonstrable) understanding of the world and of life after death. And just as the doctrine of divine judgment underlies ethical teachings in many theistic religions, so too does the doctrine of karma and future lives in non-theistic religions.
As I see it, spirituality has two dimensions. The first dimension, that of basic spiritual well-being-by which I mean inner mental and emotional strength and balance-does not depend on religion but comes from our innate human nature as beings with a natural disposition toward compassion, kindness, and caring for others. The second dimension is what may be considered religion-based spirituality, which is acquired from our upbringing and culture and is tied to particular beliefs and practices. The difference between the two is something like the difference between water and tea.
On this understanding, ethics consists less of rules to be obeyed than of principles for inner self-regulation to promote those aspects of our nature which we recognize as conducive to our own well-being and that of others.
It is by moving beyond narrow self-interest that we find meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in life.
”
”
Dalai Lama XIV (Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World)
“
Destiny and desire, karma and kama, are the two forces that propel the world. Destiny is a reaction, an obligation that follows an action. Desire is an aspiration that forces the world to transform in a particular way. Destiny creates fate. Desire is based on free will. We have the freedom to accept life as it is or to make it the way we want it to be. That is what makes us Manavas or humans.
”
”
Devdutt Pattanaik (The Book of Ram (Book Of... (Penguin Books)))
“
The law of karma states unequivocally that though we cannot see the connections, we can be sure that everything that happens to us, good and bad, originated once in something we did or thought. We ourselves are responsible for what happens to us, whether or not we can understand how. It follows that we can change what happens to us by changing ourselves; we can take our destiny into our own hands.
”
”
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (The Bhagavad Gita)
“
No matter how far or farther you go, KARMA follows
”
”
Rohit Omar
“
Life will throw all kinds of obstacles our way. It's our job to scramble over them and hunt for the little miracles tucked away, then leave some reminders for the people that follow behind us.
”
”
Emily Page (Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too)
“
Following the Universal Way means practicing selflessness and extending virtue to the world unconditionally. In this way one not only eliminates the heavy contamination accumulated throughout many lifetimes but may also bring about the possibility of restoring one's original divine nature and become an integral being of the multi-universe.
”
”
Lao Tzu (Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu)
“
At all times, do not lose courage in your inner awareness; uplift yourself, while assuming a humble position in your outer demeanor. Follow the example of the life and complete liberation of previous accomplished masters (siddha). Do not blame your past karma; instead, be someone who purely and flawlessly practices the dharma. Do not blame temporary negative circumstances; instead, be someone who remains steadfast in the face of whatever circumstances may arise.
”
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Dudjom Rinpoche (Wisdom Nectar: Dudjom Rinpoche's Heart Advice (Tsadra))
“
Even though there is no certainty that the expected results of our work will manifest, we have to remain committed to our work and duties; because, even if the results are slated to arrive, they cannot do so without the performance of work. This should be the spirit of a follower of the way of action, that is, Karma Yoga.
”
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Nihar Satpathy (The Puzzles of Life)
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Trouble follows me like a loyal dog.
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Trel W. Sidoruk (The Alien Club)
“
Life consists of millions of thought and mind follows them to build a future. Thoughts come from daily work and I call it Karma. It is upon you how your life to be built
”
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Lokesh Umak
“
What are we really perceiving in trances? When we are watching a person cross a cobble-stone road and enter a tavern in the 16th Century, we are following the thread of life, the Akashic Records. Akasha is the Sanskrit word for "sky, atmosphere" or "aether". Just as a camera can catch a moment in time on film, or a video captures movement and action, so is it with the akasha … we leave traces in time and space, in the aethers. Consciously or not, when perceiving past lives we are looking back into time, and finding the records on the akasha.
Time. And Space.
”
”
Stephen Poplin (Inner Journeys, Cosmic Sojourns: Life transforming stories, adventures and messages from a spiritual hypnotherapist's casebook (VOLUME1))
“
The law of karma states unequivocally that though we cannot see the connections, we can be sure that everything that happens to us, good and bad, originated once in something we did or thought. We ourselves are responsible for what happens to us, whether or not we can understand how. It follows that we can change what happens to us by changing ourselves; we can take our destiny into our own hands.
”
”
Eknath Easwaran (The Bhagavad Gita)
“
Those who ignore or belittle karmic cause and result are followers of the nihilist heretics. Those who base their confidence only upon the view of emptiness will plunge lower and lower toward the extreme view of nihilism. Those who catapult into this negative direction will never find freedom from the lower states of existence and will be far removed from the higher realms. They say that doctrines emphasizing conventional meanings such as cause and result, compassion, and meritorious accumulations will not bring buddhahood, whereas the uncontrived definitive meaning that resembles the sky is what the great yogis must meditate upon. Among nihilistic views, that is the epitome; and among lower paths, that is the lowest of all. How amazing to claim that, by blocking the cause, a result can be accomplished.
”
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Longchen Rabjam (Dudjom Lingpa's Chöd: An Ambrosia Ocean of Sublime Explanations)
“
I don't believe in these customs and rituals, as it's like manufacturing culture-fits on the graveyard of diversity. But then I haven't yet found any other alternative to this prevalent system, which doesn't have its fair share of drawbacks. So if following a custom means being courteous to someone, why not?
”
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Anurag Shrivastava (The Web of Karma)
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The Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of the Buddha, tells us: “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday…. If a man speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart…. If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow.
”
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Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Karma and Reincarnation: Transcending Your Past, Transforming Your Future (Pocket Guides to Practical Spirituality))
“
But the mighty course of human destinies proceeds: like the change of season, with measured pace: great designs ripen slowly; stealthily and hesitantly the dark suggestions of deadly malice quit the abysses of mind for the light of day. and, as Horace, with equal truth and beauty observes, "the flying criminal is only followed limpingly by penal retribution.
”
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August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature)
“
Gita mentions supreme goal of humankind is moksha, the realisation with supreme spirit. The Gita Way conceptually blends it to the supreme purpose of life. Hence, to stay on the path of the supreme goal, one has to behold supreme goal in heart and achieve the same by following means: 1. Mediation with a Sharp Intellect 2. Discipline of Knowledge 3. Discipline of Action (Karma Yoga)
”
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Shweta Chandra (The Gita Way: Secret recipe to achieve the purpose of life)
“
You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something. Your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart. Even if it leads you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference.
”
”
Steve Jobs
“
He tried to be a good man, to do the right things, to make the
world a little better than it had been before he had put his stamp
upon it. You could be generous with the love you gave, with the
care you took with others. You could follow all the command-
ments that made sense to you and still the world could sideswipe
you. There was no cause and effect. There was no karma. The
truth was that he wasn't so sure he understood how the world
worked anymore.
”
”
Caroline Leavitt (Pictures of You)
“
According to the law of karma, souls reincarnate in environments befitting their spiritual attainments. Good people (even those who have veered from the spiritual path) go, when they die, to the heaven of those who do good deeds. They dwell there for a number of years and then take birth again, this time into a home that is pure and prosperous. A few of them will be born into a family that is spiritually advanced, but such births are difficult to obtain. When this happens, the good environment draws out their latent spirituality and leads them rapidly toward liberation.
The ones born into the pure and prosperous houses have the opportunity at first to enjoy the relatively tame desires they held in their former bodies. But as soon as those pleasures are done they feel irresistibly drawn to spirituality by the force of the good habits they strove for in the previous life.
Even those who showed only a faint interest, merely inquiring about spiritual matters, progress further than the ones who merely follow the rites and ceremonies of their belief systems unthinkingly, and thus stall their true spiritual advancement.
”
”
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
“
opting to complain, life gives you things to complain about
this vicious circle ensures your happiness drought
life responds to us according to our actions and belief
thus reinforcing those beliefs to no relief
there is no first cause—still, break the cycle
abide in peaceful Silence or experience an inner hell
“others” are often a reflecting mirror shining back
revealing to us what loads are left to unstack
what are friends for but a means to practice kindness
and for fortifying the ego’s belief in disconnectedness
people cater to me according to my own nature
so they are me—there is no individual self, rest assured
tweak your thoughts about her and she then treats you thus
all minds are one, and all is illusory, as priorly discussed
she is you, and you, her
the shroud of separateness shall now henceforth wither
look back at your life’s recurring patterns and themes
and the façade of the ego will start to crack at the seams
untranscended mindsets follow wherever we go
the common denominator is what your mind has sown
that which supports life is automatically supported
the get-gain-obtain mentality can be safely aborted
”
”
Jarett Sabirsh (Love All-Knowing: An Epic Spiritual Poem)
“
As the traditional chapter titles put it, the Gita is brahmavidyayam yogashastra, a textbook on the supreme science of yoga. But yoga is a word with many meanings – as many, perhaps, as there are paths to Self-realization. What kind of yoga does the Gita teach? The common answer is that it presents three yogas or even four – the four main paths of Hindu mysticism. In jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge, aspirants use their will and discrimination to disidentify themselves from the body, mind, and senses until they know they are nothing but the Self. The followers of bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, achieve the same goal by identifying themselves completely with the Lord in love; by and large, this is the path taken by most of the mystics of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In karma yoga, the yoga of selfless action, the aspirants dissolve their identification with body and mind by identifying with the whole of life, forgetting the finite self in the service of others. And the followers of raja yoga, the yoga of meditation, discipline the mind and senses until the mind-process is suspended in a healing stillness and they merge in the Self.
”
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Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (The Bhagavad Gita)
“
To understand hardware and software (as applied to the human brain) perform the following meditation. Sit in a room where you will not be disturbed for a half hour and begin thinking, “I am sitting in this room doing this exercize because . . .“ and list as many of the “causes” as you can think of. For instance, you are doing this exercize because, obviously, you read about it in this book. Why did you buy this book? Did somebody recommend it? How did that person come into your life? If you just picked the book up in a store, why did you happen to be in just that store on just that day? Why do you read books of this sort — on psychology, consciousness, evolution etc.? How did you get interested in those fields? Who turned you on, and how long ago? What factors in your childhood inclined you to be interested in these subjects later? Why are you doing this exercize in this room and not elsewhere? Why did you buy or rent this house or apartment? Why are you in this city and not another? Why on this continent and not another? Why are you here at all — that is, how did your parents meet? Did they consciously decide to have a child, do you happen to know, or were you an accident? What cities were they born in? If in different cities, why did they move in space-time so that their paths would intersect? Why is this planet capable of supporting life, and why did it produce the kind of life that would dream up an exercize of this sort? Repeat this exercize a few days later, trying to ask and answer fifty questions you didn’t think of the first time. (Note that you cannot ever ask all possible questions.) Avoid all metaphysical speculations (e.g., karma, reincarnation, “destiny” etc.). The point of the exercize will be mind-blowing enough without introducing “occult” theories, and it will be more startling if you carefully avoid such overtly “mystical” speculations.
”
”
Robert Anton Wilson (Prometheus Rising)
“
Baldly put, the law of karma says that whatever you do will come back to you. No one, of course, has the omniscience to see the picture fully. But the idea of a network of connections, far from being occult, is natural and plausible. The law of karma states unequivocally that though we cannot see the connections, we can be sure that everything that happens to us, good and bad, originated once in something we did or thought. We ourselves are responsible for what happens to us, whether or not we can understand how. It follows that we can change what happens to us by changing ourselves; we can take our destiny into our own hands.
”
”
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (The Bhagavad Gita)
“
The root being there, the fruition comes (in the form of) species, life, and experience of pleasure and pain. The roots, the causes, the Samskaras being there, they manifest and form the effects. The cause dying down becomes the effect; the effect getting subtler becomes the cause of the next effect. A tree bears a seed, which becomes the cause of another tree, and so on. All our works now are the effects of past Samskaras; again, these works becoming Samskaras will be the causes of future actions, and thus we go on. So this aphorism says that the cause being there, the fruit must come, in the form of species of beings: one will be a man, another an angel, another an animal, another a demon. Then there are different effects of Karma in life. One man lives fifty years, another a hundred, another dies in two years, and never attains maturity; all these differences in life are regulated by past Karma. One man is born, as it were, for pleasure; if he buries himself in a forest, pleasure will follow him there. Another man, wherever he goes, is followed by pain; everything becomes painful for him. It is the result of their own past. According to the philosophy of the Yogis, all virtuous actions bring pleasure, and all vicious actions bring pain. Any man who does wicked deeds is sure to reap their fruit in the form of pain.
”
”
Vivekananda (Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)
“
One important aspect of the Gita which remains is that even though it presents to us some diverse paths as a way of life, such as action, devotion, knowledge and meditation, it does not impose any of these paths on an individual. Rather, it leaves the choice to the people, because the followers of all these paths are essential for the smooth functioning of the world, and any en masse inclination towards only one of them would jeopardize the society by causing an imbalance in its system. The Gita also recognizes that the path that one should follow is determined primarily by the free choice of man as well as his inherent nature, which can be interpreted as a genetic inheritance he is endowed with.
”
”
Nihar Satpathy (The Puzzles of Life)
“
Life does not offer gifts or rewards, but opportunities. Nobody is entitled to anything. Only behavior and labor defines us and what we have. Whenever you make a choice, you follow one path and move apart from another. If your job occupies more importance in your mind, time and actions, than your dream, then you will not accomplish your dream but maybe receive a raise in your salary instead and be happy with that loss. If you look at relationships as a toy store, if you look at your companion as easily replaceable, then you will very likely lose the one you have. If you rather enjoy life with your friends than with your companion, you will end up alone. If you insult the wise, you then end up surrounded by fools. If you neglect your wealth, you will likely end up poor. If you destroy love, you will end up feeling unloved. If you destroy the good that comes to you, you will end up experiencing evil. Life will always reflect your actions, words and thoughts. You are what you spend most of your time doing, saying and thinking. Your life is always a reflection of your priorities. If you spend your time partying, insulting and occupying your mind with nonsense from social media, music with degrading lyrics, and movies that promote antisocial values, you get zero from life.
”
”
Robin Sacredfire
“
My former girlfriend said: ‘You don’t deserve the house you have; it’s too good for you.’ I replied: “I found a house that matched all your criteria, to make you happy. If you lost it, and ended up sleeping in a filthy room in a shared apartment, is because you don’t deserve me, I was too good for you, you disappointed me by trying to find a guy that matches you better, and you made me very unhappy. Your priories were wrong.’ Life does not offer gifts or rewards, but opportunities. Nobody is entitled to anything. Only behavior and labor defines us and what we have. Whenever you make a choice, you follow one path and move apart from another. If your job occupies more importance in your mind, time and actions, than your dream, then you will not accomplish your dream but maybe receive a raise in your salary instead and be happy with that loss. If you look at relationships as a toy store, if you look at your companion as easily replaceable, then you will very likely lose the one you have. If you rather enjoy life with your friends than with your companion, you will end up alone. If you insult the wise, you then end up surrounded by fools. If you neglect your wealth, you will likely end up poor. If you destroy love, you will end up feeling unloved. If you destroy the good that comes to you, you will end up experiencing evil. Life will always reflect your actions, words and thoughts. You are what you spend most of your time doing, saying and thinking. Your life is always a reflection of your priorities. If you spend your time partying, insulting and occupying your mind with nonsense from social media, music with degrading lyrics, and movies that promote antisocial values, you get zero from life.
”
”
Robin Sacredfire
“
These questions are closely related to one of the Buddha’s main interests: how to lead a virtuous life. Every spiritual tradition is concerned with virtue, but what does virtue mean? Is it the same as following a list of dos and don’ts? Does a virtuous person have to be a goody-goody? Is it necessary to be dogmatic, rigid, and smug? Or is there room to be playful, spontaneous, and relaxed? Is it possible to enjoy life while at the same time being virtuous? Like many spiritual traditions, the Dharma has lists of positive and negative actions. Buddhists are encouraged to commit to some basic precepts, such as not to kill, steal, or lie. Members of the monastic community, such as myself, have much longer lists of rules to follow. But the Buddha didn’t establish these rules merely for people to conform to outer codes of behavior. The Buddha’s main concern was always to help people become free of suffering. With the understanding that our suffering originates from confusion in our mind, his objective was to help us wake up out of that confused state. He therefore encouraged or discouraged certain forms of behavior based on whether they promoted or hindered that process of awakening. When we ask ourselves, “Does it matter?” we can first look at the outer, more obvious results of our actions. But then we can go deeper by examining how we are affecting our own mind: Am I making an old habit more habitual? Am I strengthening propensities I’d like to weaken? When I’m on the verge of lying to save face, or manipulating a situation to go my way, where will that lead? Am I going in the direction of becoming a more deceitful person or a more guilty, self-denigrating person? How about when I experiment with practicing patience or generosity? How are my actions affecting my process of awakening? Where will they lead? By questioning ourselves in these ways, we start to see “virtue” in a new light. Virtuous behavior is not about doing “good” because we feel we’re “bad” and need to shape up. Instead of guilt or dogma, how we choose to act can be guided by wisdom and kindness. Seen in this light, our question then boils down to “What awakens my heart, and what blocks that process from happening?” In the language of Buddhism, we use the word “karma.” This is a way of talking about the workings of cause and effect, action and reaction.
”
”
Pema Chödrön (Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World)
“
Karmic Cause and Effect It is very important to contemplate the connection between our mental states and our actions. Our karmic patterns are formed and sustained by the intentional actions of the “three gates” of body, speech, and mind—everything we do, say, or think with volitional intention. Our actions and reactions form the cause and effect of action (Skt. karma; Tib. las) that in turn determines the kinds of experiences we have. As such, our mind has the potential to transport us to elevated states of existence or to plunge us into demeaning states of confusion and anguish. Our actions are not like footprints left on water; they leave imprints in our minds, the consequences of which will invariably manifest unless we can somehow nullify them. As the thirteenth Karmapa, Dudul Dorje (1733–97) states: In the empty dwelling place of confusion, Desire is unchanging, marked on the mind Like an etching on rock.13 The thoughts and emotions we experience and the attitudes and beliefs we hold all help to mold our character and dispositions and the kind of people we become. Conditioned existence is characterized by delusions, defilements, confusions, and disturbances of all kinds. We have to ask ourselves why we experience so much pain, while our pleasures are so ephemeral and transient. The answer is that these are the karmic fruits of our negative actions (Skt. papa-karma; Tib. sdig pa’i las). Jamgön Kongtrül says: The result of wholesome action is happiness; the result of unwholesome action is suffering, and nothing else. These results are not interchangeable: when you plant buckwheat, you get buckwheat; when you plant barley, you get barley.14 This cycle of cause and effect continues relentlessly, unless we embark on a virtuous spiritual path and learn to reverse this process by performing wholesome actions (Skt. kusala-karma; Tib. dge ba’i las). It is our intentions that determine whether an action is wholesome or unwholesome, and therefore it is our intentions that will dictate the quality of our future experiences. We have to think of karmic cause and effect in the following terms: “My current suffering is due to the negative actions, attitudes, thoughts, and emotions I performed in the past, and whatever I think, say, and do now will determine what I experience and become in the future. So from now on, I will contemplate the truth of karma, and pursue my spiritual practices with enthusiasm and positive intentions.
”
”
Traleg Kyabgon (The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind)
“
Following Pythagoras, Plato, the great Grecian philosopher, taught the old-new doctrine of Rebirth.
”
”
William Walker Atkinson (Reincarnation and the Law of Karma A Study of the Old-New World-Doctrine of Rebirth, and Spiritual Cause and Effect)
“
You could be generous with the love you gave, with the care you took with others. You could follow all the commandments that made sense to you and still the world could sideswipe you. There was no cause and effect. There was no karma.
”
”
Caroline Leavitt (Pictures of You)
“
The only golden rule a good defence advocate follows is that there is no rule.
”
”
Vish Dhamija (Deja Karma)
“
What distinguishes us above all from Muslim-born or converted individuals—“psychologically”, one could say—is that our mind is a priori centered on universal metaphysics (Advaita Vedānta, Shahādah, Risālat al-Ahadiyah) and the universal path of the divine Name (japa-yoga, nembutsu, dhikr, prayer of the heart); it is because of these two factors that we are in a traditional form, which in fact—though not in principle—is Islam. The universal orthodoxy emanating from these two sources of authority determines our interpretation of the sharī'ah and Islam in general, somewhat as the moon influences the oceans without being located on the terrestrial globe; in the absence of the moon, the motions of the sea would be inconceivable and “illegitimate”, so to speak. What universal metaphysics says has decisive authority for us, as does the “onomatological” science connected to it, a fact that once earned us the reproach of “de-Islamicizing Islam”; it is not so much a matter of the conscious application of principles formulated outside of Islamism by metaphysical traditions from Asia as of inspirations in conformity with these principles; in a situation such as ours, the spiritual authority—or the soul that is its vehicle—becomes like a point of intersection for all the rays of truth, whatever their origin.
One must always take account of the following: in principle the universal authority of the metaphysical and initiatic traditions of Asia, whose point of view reflects the nature of things more or less directly, takes precedence—when such an alternative exists—over the generally more “theological” authority of the monotheistic religions; I say “when such an alternative exists”, for obviously it sometimes happens, in esoterism as in essential symbolism, that there is no such alternative; no one can deny, however, that in Semitic doctrines the formulations and rules are usually determined by considerations of dogmatic, moral, and social opportuneness. But this cannot apply to pure Islam, that is, to the authority of its essential doctrine and fundamental symbolism; the Shahādah cannot but mean that “the world is false and Brahma is true” and that “you are That” (tat tvam asi), or that “I am Brahma” (aham Brahmāsmi); it is a pure expression of both the unreality of the world and the supreme identity; in the same way, the other “pillars of Islam” (arqān al-Dīn), as well as such fundamental rules as dietary and artistic prohibitions, obviously constitute supports of intellection and realization, which universal metaphysics—or the “Unanimous Tradition”—can illuminate but not abolish, as far as we are concerned. When universal wisdom states that the invocation contains and replaces all other rites, this is of decisive authority against those who would make the sharī'ah or sunnah into a kind of exclusive karma-yoga, and it even allows us to draw conclusions by analogy (qiyās, ijtihād) that most Shariites would find illicit; or again, should a given Muslim master require us to introduce every dhikr with an ablution and two raka'āt, the universal—and “antiformalist”—authority of japa-yoga would take precedence over the authority of this master, at least in our case. On the other hand, should a Hindu or Buddhist master give the order to practice japa before an image, it goes without saying that it is the authority of Islamic symbolism that would take precedence for us quite apart from any question of universality, because forms are forms, and some of them are essential and thereby rejoin the universality of the spirit.
(28 January 1956)
”
”
Frithjof Schuon
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Destiny and desire, karma and kama, are the two forces that propel the world. Destiny is a reaction, an obligation that follows an action. Desire is an aspiration that forces the world to transform in a particular way. Destiny creates fate. Desire is based on free will. We have the freedom to accept life as it is or to make it the way we want it to be. That is what makes us Manavas or humans. Kaikeyi
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Devdutt Pattanaik (The Book of Ram (Book Of... (Penguin Books)))
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By not following their paths and by not accomplishing their journeys, people create more karma than they finish; and this is why karma received its negative denomination.
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Charbel Tadros (The Destined Journey)
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It is such a shame that being evil , It Is fashion these days.
Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that whatever you sow. You shall reap. Either you are using fake or real account to spew hate and being vile. Creating fake narratives that doesn't exist or lying about something or someone. Spreading rumors. Speaking bad about others. Sharing their personal Information, downfall, secrets and struggles. It is either you are expressing yourself or you are doing this for clout, because you want to Increase your fanbase or number of followers or you want attention. You want engagement. You want to look cool to others. You want to trend. Whatever reason it maybe . Remember you shall reap, whatever you are sow.
Galatians 6:3 - 7
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D.J. Kyos
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The snake was an ancient symbol of the traditions which honored the Goddess and the Divine Feminine. You will see Her in ancient forms of the uroboros, a symbol of a snake that looks like it chases its tail or eats its tail. It is a symbol of the ability of the Divine Feminine to give birth and to be reborn like the snake that sheds its skin. She recreates herself for ever. The circular form of the uroboros symbol implies the interminable nature of many cycles. That was part of the Divine Feminine's wisdom, knowing the life cycles, being informed by them and living in harmony with them. Some of the Divine Feminine's mysteries were understood to be impenetrable, and it was only by the Goddess ' grace that one could enter the mysteries, that darkness, and acquire direct knowledge that the ordinary mind and ordinary words would never illuminate or touch. The Goddess gave the fruit from the tree of knowledge, and this did not like the dominating form of a male god! As a quintessential form of the Divine Feminine power of consciousness, Goddess Kundalini has been touched by those dominating modes that have influenced the development of yogic traditions. In the yogic traditions, there have been approaches that try to dominate Kundalini, forcefully push Kundalini to do this or do that by prescribing endless exercises of forced breathing and body postures that are meant to bind and force Kundalini to go in a direction that the yogi wants Her to go. Not surprisingly, these traditions are also the ones that often say Kundalini is dangerous and must be controlled. Those were also the kinds of descriptions that patriarchal dominator approaches applied to the Divine Feminine. But this power of Consciousness is indomitable, it will not be suppressed; it will always have its ways out. Through respect, love, and loyalty, the wise try to follow Her, and then they receive the good graces of this force. Devotees who consider Kundalini as the Great Goddess have a completely different experience with their caring devotion. They gain their boons, their gifts of enlightenment, without having to fear what some forceful, dominant practice may provoke. That mentality is key to understanding how we accept the blessings to be given by this remarkable inherent force of consciousness. It doesn't mean our karmas experiences in flames might not be intense. But with eager egotistical mentality there is no need to escalate issues. We are living in a time of the Goddess's return. We need her experience to educate and encourage mankind to relive cooperatively if life is to exist on this planet. We need her vision clarity, her deep compassion and her steadfast patience to live in harmony with each other and the environment. We need Kundalini Shakti's awakened state of selflessness, empowering people to reinvent culture, social structures, industries, and economic systems on a cooperative model rather than the dominant mode that brings about destruction and conflict. The more people She awakens, the more individuals there will transform the collective consciousness of families, groups, cities, businesses and countries. We are her perceptive and acting organs. We may see clearly, encouraged by Her, and act accordingly.
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Adrian Satyam (Energy Healing: 6 in 1: Medicine for Body, Mind and Spirit. An extraordinary guide to Chakra and Quantum Healing, Kundalini and Third Eye Awakening, Reiki and Meditation and Mindfulness.)
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Had I lost my culture? I felt like I was constantly reminded that I was Indian—at work, at a store, when talking to white friends—some part of me was always aware that I wasn’t like the other people around me. It crept into every facet of my life, whether it was someone mispronouncing my name and me grinning and acting like it didn’t bother me, or people assuming I knew every other person with the last name Desai and not understanding it was as common as Smith and in a country far more populated than America. It followed me as I moved about my day, mentally tallying whether I was positive or negative on the karma scale, because while I wasn’t sure what the afterlife entailed, in the event reincarnation was our fate, I wanted to make sure I was on the right end of it. I still understood our native language, wore the clothes when needed, and ate the food mostly without complaint. I certainly never felt like I had “lost” it, but I wondered what made my mother think I had.
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Mansi Shah (The Taste of Ginger)
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Some people who are overcome by their attachment to emptiness seem to negate the interdependence of action and effect. This represents great nihilism, which is totally wrong.
They should remedy this by seeking a definite understanding and a clear vision of the subtle aspect of interdependent karma and its effects. In short, it is essential to realize the following two concepts simultaneously: a perfect understanding of the unfailing consequences of one’s action and a definite awareness of the emptiness and essencelessness of all things. This is described as the object of wonderment by the Bodhisattvabhūmivṛtti: Being fully aware that all things are intrinsically empty,
One abides by the principle of karma and its consequences.
This is wonderful, supremely wonderful!
This is marvelous, supremely marvelous!
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Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (Mahamudra: The Moonlight -- Quintessence of Mind and Meditation)
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A man must be prepared to give 100 percent to his purpose, fulfill his karma or dissolve it, and then let go of that specific form of living. He must be capable of not knowing what to do with his life, entering a period of unknowingness and waiting for a vision or a new purpose to emerge. These cycles of strong specific action followed by periods of not knowing what the heel is going on are natural for a man who is shedding layers of karma in his relaxation into truth.
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David Deida (The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire)
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For instance, if you keep taking on others’ feelings, inserting a 1 into your emotional boundary will help you put yourself first. Following are some of the meanings of the numbers 1 through 10, plus some powerful numbers above 10: 1:Initiates and begins; invokes the Creator; brings your needs to a conclusion and puts yourself first. 2:Represents pairing and duality; balances relationships; creates healthy liaisons; shares power. 3:Reflects optimism; the number of creation, it brings a beginning and an end together; ends chaos. 4:Signifies foundation and stability; provides grounding; achieves balance. 5:Promotes and progresses; creates a space for decision-making; provides the ability to go in any direction at will. 6:The number of service; indicates the presence of light and dark, good and evil, and the choices made between these. 7:Represents the divine principle; opens us for love and grace, erasing doubts about the divine path. 8:The symbol of power and infinity; establishes recurring patterns and illuminates karma; can be used to erase old and entrenched patterns or syndromes. 9:Represents change and harmony; eliminates the old and opens us to a new cycle; can erase evil. 10:Signifies building and starting over. The number of physical matter, it can create heaven on earth. 11:Represents inspiration; releases personal mythology; opens us to divine powers; erases self-esteem issues. 12:Signifies mastery over human drama; accesses own divine self, but still encompasses humanity; excellent for forgiveness. 22:For success in anything you do. 33:For teaching and accepting our own wisdom; invokes bravery and discipline.
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Cyndi Dale (Energetic Boundaries: How to Stay Protected and Connected in Work, Love, and Life)
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The Purānas, which are encyclopedic repositories of traditional wisdom, including everything from cosmology to philosophy to stories about kings and holy men. They contain many yogic legends and teachings. The following are especially important: the Bhāgavata-Purāna (also known as Shrīmad-Bhāgavata), Shiva-Purāna, and Devī-Bhāgavata-Purāna (a Tantric work). The so-called Yoga-Upanishads (some twenty texts), most of which were composed after 1000 C.E. and include three extensive works: the Darshana-Upanishad, Yoga-Shikhā-Upanishad and Tejo-Bindu-Upanishad. The texts of Hatha-Yoga, such as the Goraksha-Samhitā, Hatha-Yoga-Pradīpikā, Hatha-Ratna-Avalī, Gheranda-Samhitā, Shiva-Samhitā, Yoga-Yājnavalkya, Yoga-Bīja, Yoga-Shāstra of Dattātreya, Sat-Karma-Samgraha, and the Shiva-Svarodaya, which are all available in English. Vedāntic scriptures like the voluminous Yoga-Vāsishtha, which teaches Jnāna-Yoga, and its traditional abridgment, the Laghu-Yoga-Vāsishtha, both available in English renderings. The literature of the bhakti-mārga or devotional path, which is especially prominent among the Vaishnavas (worshipers of Vishnu) and Shaivas (worshipers of Shiva). There is a considerable literature on bhakti in both Sanskrit and Tamil, as well as various vernacular languages. In particular, I can recommend Nārada’s Bhakti-Sūtra, Shāndilya’s Bhakti-Sūtra, and the extensive Bhāgavata-Purāna, which is a detailed (mythological) account of the birth, life, and death of the God-man Krishna, with many wonderful and inspiring stories of yogins and ascetics. This beautiful work contains the Uddhāva-Gītā, Krishna’s final esoteric instruction to sage Uddhāva. Goddess worship from a Tantric viewpoint is the core of the Devī-Bhāgavata-Purāna, which should also be studied. In addition, sincere Yoga students should also read and ponder the great yogic texts associated with the different schools of Buddhism and Jainism. To encounter the world of Yoga through its literature will challenge the practitioner in many ways: The texts, even in translation and with notes, are often difficult to comprehend and demand serious concentration and perseverance. Yet we do not have to become scholars, but our study (svādhyāya) will show us what it takes to be a real yogin and what magnificent tools Yoga puts at our disposal. It will also further our self-understanding and strengthen our commitment to practice. In his Treasury of Good Advice (1.6), Sakya Pāndita, who was one of the great scholar-adepts of Vajrayāna Buddhism, wrote: Even if one were to die first thing tomorrow, today one must study. Although one may not become a sage in this life, knowledge is firmly accumulated for future lives, just as secured assets can be used later.
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Georg Feuerstein (The Deeper Dimension of Yoga: Theory and Practice)
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You have the potential to create something truly wonderful when you fully commit yourself to what you love. Do not be afraid to dream big and follow your dreams.
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Shree Shambav (Twenty + One - 21 Short Stories - Series II)
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You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.
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Steve Jobs
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The question of Karma, or the Law of Cause and Effect, expressed in the formula “as you sow, so shall you reap,” is rarely taken into account when analysing one event or another, but it is strictly followed by the Masters of Wisdom. The Masters do not have the right to violate by means of supernatural powers the free will of human beings and interfere with problems created by humanity itself.
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Helena Roerich (The Secret World Government: Cosmic Guidance for the Leader (Sacred Wisdom Revived))
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The idea of reward and punishment also springs from this law. Whatever we sow, we must reap. It cannot be otherwise. [...] If a person spends all his life in evil-thinking and wrongdoing, then it is useless for him to look for happiness hereafter; because our hereafter is not a matter of chance, but follows as the reaction of our present action. [...] We should, however, never lose sight of the fact that all these ideas of reward and punishment exist in the realm of relativity or finiteness. No soul can ever be doomed eternally through his finite evil deeds; for the cause and effect must always be equal. Thus we can see through our common sense that the theory of eternal perdition and eternal heaven is impossible and illogical, since no finite action can create an infinite result. Hence according to Vedanta, the goal of mankind is neither temporal pleasure nor pain, but Mukti or absolute freedom ; and each soul is consciously or unconsciously marching towards this goal through the various experiences of life and death.
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Paramananda
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All the thoughts you have thought, all the words you have spoken, all the actions you have done with your body—these are your karma that follows and continues you. Everything else you leave behind. Here we are speaking of inheriting not our parents’ savings, but the fruits of our own actions. What we have thought, said, and done is called karma, which in Sanskrit means action. What we do, say, and think continues on after the act is done, and its fruits follow us.
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Thich Nhat Hanh (Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm)
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The human organization and its inner engineering are cornerstoned and based on the indispensable foundation of collected deeds, which invest energies and outfit actions in their psychological nerves, constantly configuring their functioning updates. Placed and compiled in selected agilities and activities through the goal's stages, they perform mandatory feedback on the scale of upshots and are notified for conviction dimensity.
If they crop, demonstrate, and abridge their correct updations and pointed efficiencies amid frequent interoception. The purpose of their acquired doings and all the liabilities will not be wrong and misgiving reinvestment but will be energetic, abridged, controlled, and outfitted with categorised methods at the right pace without any base of inalienable sequel to prequel.
There will be accurate introspection in tends of apprehension; that's ultra-rigour, exactly following the aspirant aims of the Karmas evolution and its amenableness path. It will announce the rightness root of the widest sense, not a narrow sense, after wanting outgrown confirmations and the arrival of the unabstract from subsided dogma, quandary, and dread.
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Viraaj Sisodiya
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Debts?” “Surely you know that even with rebirths, the current life carries the legacy of previous lives. It’s called karma. If you screwed someone over, you’ll pay in full during the following life.
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Rina Kent (Reign of a King (Kingdom Duet, #1))
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Mrs. Howard insists on giving me a tour of the house...As I follow the older woman upstairs, I feel ill. I wish Mason were with us -- I feel lost in this enormous house. I'm worried that if I get separated from Mrs. Howard, they'll find me days later, trapped in a closet somewhere.
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Freida McFadden
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Jesus taught his followers to think of God as Father. In India it is more common to speak of God as Divine Mother. Saints of various persuasions have successfully communed with God by similarly idealizing other human relations — such as Friend or Beloved. It makes no difference. When I feel the gravity of wisdom, I speak of God as the Father. When I feel unbounded, unconditional love I call God Divine Mother. When I feel God as the nearest of the near, supporter and confidant, I call Him Friend. Thus, it is a misnomer to refer to God always as "He." It is equally appropriate to call God "She." But in the ultimate, God is Spirit, neither masculine nor feminine. Spirit is above any human correlation. Similarly, the soul is neither male nor female, though karmic inclinations cause it to incarnate either with the body of a man or a woman.
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Paramahansa Yogananda (The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You (2 Volume Set) 1St edition by Yogananda, Paramahansa published by Self-Realization Fellowship Hardcover)
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Om ah hung vajra guru padma siddhi hung.
I see no realm of hell, only that of the pinnacle pure realm, the basic space of phenomena.
I see no Yama Dharmaraja, only the dharmakaya Samantabhadra.
I see no hosts of wrathful minions, only the peaceful and wrathful deities of the mandalas.
I see no fair and dark children of karma, only the self-appearing dynamic energy of transcendent knowledge and skillful means.52
I see no laypeople, monks, or nuns, only the pure realm of the entire vast range of cosmic purity. I see no end results of virtuous and harmful acts, only the dynamic energy of intrinsic awareness adorning the true nature of reality.
I see no distinction between those with a connection or those without,
only that all are connected implicitly in the basic space of phenomena.
I see no higher and lower realms of being, only the pristine purity of conditioned existence and of the state of peace.
Quickly, quickly, everyone—follow me!
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Gyurmed Dorje
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the threat today is not western religions, but psychology and consumerism. is the Dharma becoming another psychotherapy, another commodity to be bought and sold? will western Buddhism become all too compatible with our individualistic consumption patterns, with expensive retreats and initiations, catering to overstressed converts, eager to pursue their own enlightenment? let’s hope not, because Buddhism and the west need each other. despite its economic and technologic dynamism, western civilisation and its globalisation are in trouble, which means all of us are in trouble. the most obvious example is our inability to respond to accelerating climate change, as seriously as it requires. if humanity is to survive and thrive over the next few centuries, there is no need to go on at length here about the other social and ecological crisis that confront us now, which are increasingly difficult to ignore [many of those are considered in the following chapters]. it’s also becoming harder to overlook the fact that the political and economic systems we’re so proud of seem unable to address these problems. one must ask, is that because they themselves are the problem? part of the problem is leadership, or the lack of it, but we can’t simply blame our rulers. it’s not only the lack of a moral core of those who rise to the top, or the institutional defamations that massage their rise, economical and political elites, and there’s not much difference between them anymore. like the rest of us, they are in need of a new vision of possibility, what it means to be human, why we tend to get into trouble, and how we can get out go it, those who benefit the most from the present social arrangements may think of themselves as hardheaded realists, but as self-conscious human beings, we remain motivated by some such vision, weather we’re aware of it or not, as why we love war, points out. even secular modernity is based on a spiritual worldview, unfortunately a deficient one, from a Buddhist perspective.
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David R. Loy (Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution)
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they are notoriously difficult to understand, which is why they are respected more than they are actually studied
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David R. Loy (Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution)
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Those who are weaponizing America (with weapons of war) are accumulating great karma beyond their understanding. They do not follow Christ's teachings or the teachings of any religion.
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Leland Lewis (Random Molecular Mirroring)
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Karma is a loaded word. Karma is popularly used to describe a sort of “divine plan” that includes its own system of punishment and reward. But the Sanskrit word karma simply means activity. What is the activity we are describing here? It is the activity of objectification. There is no Dr. Evil sitting in a large chair petting his cat and controlling our karma. There is no judge, no wise old man with a long white beard, no list of ethical “rights” and “wrongs.” Karma doesn’t predetermine anything. In fact, karma is just the movement of objectified experience. Karma is the natural, impersonal law of cause and effect. As long as we objectify things, we will continue to live in a world that follows the dictates of karma.
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Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel (The Power of an Open Question: A Buddhist Approach to Abiding in Uncertainty)