Freedom From The Bondage of Karma

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Karma-the activity of doing and being-is traditionally symbolized as a rope of many strands, holding the human self in the bondage of suffering. In the eight lectures included in this volume, Swami Rama analyzes the mechanisms of karma and the functioning of mind in order to demonstrate the kind of self-study each person must undertake to gain liberation, to attain freedom from the bondage of karma.

Swami Rama, one of the greatest masters from the Himalayas, is the founder of the Himalayan Institute. Born in India, he studied in both India and Europe and received his spiritual training in the Himalayan cave monasteries and in Tibet. His best-known work, Living With the Himalayan Masters, reveals the many facets of this singular adept and demonstrates his embodiment of the living tradition of the East.

Swami Rama's lectures on Freedom from the Bondage of Karma were delivered in a seminar sponsored by the Center for Higher Consciousness in Minneapolis. In this edition of those lectures a conscious attempt has been made to preserve as closely as possible the spontaneity and directness with which they were presented originally. It is a mark of the true teacher that as much of profound spiritual truth is conveyed through subtle and personal influence as through words. The lessons are presented here in written form to stimulate deeper reflective analysis by all serious students who seek to understand the meaning of the circumstances and actions of their lives.

In the eight lectures included in this volume, Swami Rama offers a series of perspectives on man's most signifi-cant responsibility-that of self-understanding. Karma, the activity of doing and being, is symbolized as a rope of many strands, holding the self in the bondage of suffering and necessitating many reincarnations. The strands of the rope of karma are actions, thoughts, desires and the latent tendencies of personality which lie hidden in the depths of the subconscious mind. The effect of these constituent aspects of karma is to keep the mind in a state of constant agitation and outward-directedness in search of appeasement. The result is enslavement to the many objects, ideas, fantasies and pleasures which vie for the mind's attention.

As long as the mind remains in this scattered and dissipated condition there can be no hope of freedom from karma. But in the pages of this book, Swamiji analyzes the mechanisms of karma and the functioning of mind in order to demonstrate the kind of self-study each student must undertake to free himself from bondage.

In this process of self-liberation three stages are shown to be essential. First, it is clearly shown that the desire for the results or "fruits" of our actions is the root of our slavery. Thus, we must learn to cultivate the practice of non-attachment and of giving the fruits of our actions to the welfare of others. Good or bad actions alike are enslaving; we must learn to live selflessly.

The second essential state of self-enlightenment is shown to be the purification of the conscious and sub-conscious mind of those desires, thoughts and tendencies which are like a dark veil that keeps us from perceiving the Real. Mind is shadowed by illusion, and freedom is not possible as long as we mistake the non-real for the Real, the non-eternal for the eternal. Yogic techniques are introduced which enable the aspirant to begin the task of self-purification and discrimination.

Finally, it is shown that freedom from karma is to be attained only when one passes beyond the limitations of mind to the highest state of super consciousness known as tranquility or samadhi. From this state alone, achieved through the practice of meditation, the seeker of Truth receives the intuitive awareness of the Supreme Self and passes into freedom. It is the freedom of per-forming action selflessly, the freedom of genuine love.

Karma is of our own making. What we experience today is the result of what we have created in our past. So, too, is our future of our own making. It is to assist us in the creation of a future that will bring liberation to all who aspire to freedom and Truth that this book is written.

Special thanks is given to Professor Roger Jones, Department of Physics, University of Minnesota, and to his wife for the taping, transcribing and first draft of these lectures. Thanks also to Janet Zima for the cover design and to Theresa O'Brien for typesetting the manuscript.