karma, free will and yoga

[Guest guest]

I just started reading about and (vaguely) understanding karma this

year. However, I still have some questions. From my understanding,

karma is essentially re-action from action. Whatever you do (or

think) to someone or something will be done to you at some point in

the future, not necessarily in the same life time. Like the 'eye for

an eye' from the old testament. From what I've read, karma cannot

be 'skipped'. You must experience (reap) whatever you yourself sow.

Also, karma is not necessarily bad, correct? There can be good karma

as well. But basically its cyclical. Whatever you do, will come back

to you (good, bad or indifferent). Do I have this correct thus far?

 

If so, how does karma affect free will? I was always taught that each

person has free will. So if the soul chooses a life in which it must

pay back 'bad' karma, what happens if, upon incarnation, the person's

choices through free will avoid the karma? Which 'supercedes' the

other, karma or free will? And how do other soul's free will affect

the karma of others? For instance, let's say that a person's karma is

to be shot. Who shoots that person? How does karma 'make' someone

shoot the person? What if the person doing the shooting decides at

the last minute (through free will) not to shoot. Are there then re-

curring 'attempts' of others to complete the person's karma of being

shot?

 

How does yoga, or other spiritual practice play into karma? Using the

example above, let say that the person in that lifetime began yoga.

The Ganputi mantra/kriya in ky was designed to eliminate karma. So if

the person completes that kriya through dedication and sincerity,

does that mean that their karma for this lifetime of being shot is

now 'erased'?

 

Also, I've read in various places that karma can be linked to health

issues. I'm not completely convinced on this point. Is it also karma

if someone 'accidentally' contracts a deadly virus from someone else?

 

As I'm writing this, perhaps free will and karma are not opposing

forces but rather complimentary ones. Maybe my understanding of free

will is not correct. If free will was not the will of the

physical/ego part of a person, but rather the will of the soul, then

the soul would know and accept the karma and make the choices needed

to fulfill the karma??

 

But I keep coming back to the implications of yoga on karma. When one

does ky and dredges up all of these emotions and feelings and starts

to deal with them. And as the kundalini rises, doesn't that process

also 'deal' with karma associated with those feelings?

 

I know I'm rambling here, but I'm just curious on how you all view

these things. There's part of me that intuitively believes in karma.

And there's part of me that's confused (right brain stuff trying

to 'logically understand'). And I'm not real clear in either half of

my brain what the impact of yoga (or other spiritual paths) are on

it.

 

Also, when does karma end? The bad karma part makes perfect sense to

me. But generating karma from 'good' actions is still fuzzy. From

some books that I've read, a soul will get to a point when they don't

create any karma from their actions, and that's one of the goals. But

how do you achieve that? Doesn't the 'good' that you do through

service to others create karma? I'm confusing myself the more I think

about this.

 

And if this isn't really related to ky, sorry about that. If it is

off topic, anyone with any insights into this can just reply to my

email address.

 

Thanks!

 

Christa