Redemption and Karma.

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

There has been two subjects that frequent my mind lately... Redemption and

Karma.

 

On the topic of redemption, I am not speaking of the literal, stereotypical

Christian idea of accepting a savior, but the general principle of truly feeling

remorse for misgivings and then truly making effort to not repeat such

misgivings. I mean the concept of turning from not caring who we harm to

becoming someone more kind and considerate of every action they take.

 

And even more, I have been contemplating on how the construct of redemption ties

into karma.

 

Would one say that continuing to do good alone is what must be done, or would

one say that the intention to be a good person means more? Is there such a

thing as redemption when karma is concerned, or are they not considered related

all together?

 

I am going to guess that this post will have a lot of differing opinions, which

is why I wanted to inquire on these two concepts. It seems normal for both

Easterners and Westerners to throw these terms around loosely, but do we truly

know what they mean? What do they mean to you?

 

Jai Ma!

 

Sincerely,

Christina

[Guest guest]

Christina:

 

I believe that karma is like an act of nature. When you act, there is a

reaction. Redemption is where a person finally understands that he/she must take

steps to find meaning in life or to change his/her life. This may be a slow

painful process. The person finds he/she needs to change this small thing, and

then another and another.

 

The karma that one is born with also has tendencies. Let's say you have a

tendency to drink too much liquor. You keep that in the next life. Now as we

move toward redemption, we must fight the tendencies that we are born with. That

is why it is usually a slow, and sometimes painful process. It is not an

overnight sensation, but a long, long walk in the desert.

 

I am speaking strictly from experience here. I'm also assuming that the karmic

tendencies are slowly destroyed through this process of reflection, service, and

spiritual practice.

 

Just my two cents,

Shankari

 

--- On Mon, 6/2/08, IlluminatedCelestial

& lt;IlluminatedCelestial & gt; wrote:

IlluminatedCelestial & lt;IlluminatedCelestial & gt;

Redemption and Karma.

 

Monday, June 2, 2008, 8:53 PM

[Guest guest]

Ladies,

 

Your conversation reminded me of something I'd read

recently, that refers to the " washing away of sins " :

 

" Smarana or remembering the divine name--Mahaa paapa

naashini--washes away all our greatest sins, whatever

they may be--all 63,000 sins that a human can commit.

If one has committed a heinous crime; if a person is

under the influence of a dosha, negativity caused by our

astrological charts; if we have committed sins because

of avidya, ignorance, or in spite of being shown the

light--if we chant the Khadga Mala Stotra all these will

be washed away. "

 

A longer selection follows:

 

Khadga Mala Prayer Shlokas

From a discourse by Sri Karunamayi

 

[....]

Sri Vidya also gives a lot of importance to the Khadga

Mala. The subtle secrets of the Vedas will be revealed to

us like flashes of energy and light when we chant the

Khadga Mala daily.

 

Om taadrsyam khadgam aapnoti yena hasta sthitena vai

Astaadasa mahaadvIpaa saamraad bhoktaa bhavisyati

 

Taadrishyam khadgam aapnoti: There is nothing equal

to the Khadga Mala in this world.

 

Yena hasta sthitena vai: The Khadga Mala itself is light

and energy, and burns away samskaras.

 

We want to experience akhanda Brahmananda, supreme

Bliss, and be established in that state forever. The

sadhaka who reaches the state of maha nirvana will have

no rebirth at all. This state can be attained while still in

the body. Once we reach that state, we will be

completely unattached to whatever we do. The sadhaka

becomes a knower of sarva agama rahasya, that is, the

mysteries contained in the revealed scriptures.

 

Ashtaadasa mahaadwipa: All the planets, galaxies, all

creation. One who is immersed in the consciousness of

Sri Vidya will be totally absorbed in the consciousness

of that divine Energy and will see the entire world as the

Light. We will see this light in ashtadasa mahadwipa-

in all beings, insects, planets, in all creation.

 

Even an innocent, illiterate person like Kalidasa became

a king among poets just by chanting the single

bijakshara, Aim. When we recite the Khadga Mala daily,

each and every name we pronounce assumes a form.

These shaktis approach us, coming to us as radiant light.

They surround us and reveal to us all the secrets of Sri

Vidya. In this way, Khadga Mala gives us intuition and

instruction in Sri Vidya. After being taught by these

shaktis and light, we can then reveal Sri Vidya to the

entire world.

 

Smarana or remembering the divine name

Mahaa paapa naashini

 

washes away all our greatest sins, whatever they may

be-all 63,000 sins that a human can commit. If one has

committed a heinous crime; if a person is under the

influence of a dosha, negativity caused by our

astrological charts; if we have committed sins because

of avidya, ignorance, or in spite of being shown the

light-if we chant the Khadga Mala Stotra all these will

be washed away.

 

Sri Vidya is like a vast ocean; it is used for many

purposes. In ancient times, when the rishis practiced Sri

Vidya upasana, they only used the Khadga Mala for the

welfare of the world. Even ordinary people can help

relieve the problems of the world by chanting this sacred

stotra.

 

There is a beautiful shloka, the first line of which says

that anytime you travel on a boat and encounter storms,

when you feel helpless and anticipate a great disaster,

chant this Khadga Mala stotra and it will control the

storm.

 

The second line of the same shloka says that during war,

when a lot of people lose their lives, the energy created

by chanting this shloka travels to the place where the

war is occurring and controls the violence.

 

When we consider the whole universe, our solar system

is very tiny. There are innumerable stars and planets;

innumerable galaxies put together make up this vast

universe. How is it that the planets rotate with their own

gravitational forces? There is a systematic way in which

everything happens, a reason for all aspects of creation

in the universe. [....] After learning about the glory of

Sri Vidya, and receiving the greatest gift of the Khadga

Mala in these classes, whoever chants this sacred

Khadga Mala will find their life completely changed.

There will be a new fragrance, energy and strength to

our life because we are starting a new life with this

Khadga Mala.

 

From

Sri Vidya: Divine Radiance Within

Retreat Discourses

Pgs 156-158

Karunamayi Bhagavati Sri Sri Sri Vijayeswari Devi

2005 (discourses given in 2002)

McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., Michigan

Note: the transliteration in the text is more

detailed than my plain-text rendering.

 

 

, Shankari Kali

<shankari_kali wrote:

>

> [....] I'm also assuming that the karmic tendencies are

> slowly destroyed through this process of reflection,

> service, and spiritual practice.

>

> Shankari

>