Theos-Talk Archives (September 1997 Message tl00388)

Jerry Schueler wrote:
> 
> >... I reply: I believe you are
> >mistaken, Jerry.  Karma does (and must) account for everything that
> happens.
> >But personal karma, being much more limited in scope, does not (and often
> >can not).  ...
> 
> Dennis, my whole point with "collective karma" is that it is virtually
> indistinquishable from "God's will."  If you don't think so, then
> please try to tell me the difference. When you say that karma
> covers everything, then you are echoing the Christian idea that
> every leaf that falls is in God's loving hands. What's the difference?
> We have no control over either God's will or collective karma, and
> so I refer to both as the Chaos Factor, because I have to
> acknowledge that *something* is there, but I don't really know what
> it is. Personally, the notion that I did something wrong in a past
> life that I am unconsciously suffering for now is anathema to me
> (all animal and child training agrees that punishment or reward
> must be immediate and consistant in order for learning to take
> place--no damn wonder we have been evolving for so many eons).
> Also, the idea that God is in full control of what I see going on
> in this world is anathema to me (I think I could do a better job).
> 
This post strikes a cord with me. The Torah was called the book of
blessings and curses by Moses himself, so I don't see Karma as anything
else but a twist on blessings and curses. As a child I was aware of
having three past lives, which came to me as innate knowledge and also
some visual recollections. I have never found any true evidence that my
life is ruled by those past lives. However, I did have an experience
that was 'structured' by Karma, I think. 

While I was studing computer science there was another student at the
school who appeared at the classroom door during the breaks of a long
programming course. He was very overweight and was also muscular. He
would stand leaning on the doorjam listening to the light conversation
all the while watching me intently. When converstation turned to me and
he heard me speak a few words, he would blurt out his question. His
question was simply "What did you say?" which was delivered in an angry
tone. After asking the question he would suddenly gain control of
himself and walk quickly away from the door down the hallway. This
fellow went through this performance in exactly the same way at the same
time of day on three consecutive days. After the incident on the third
day he did not disappear down the hall but rushed into the room, stood
before me and confessed to me. 

Well, I supose I won't go into detail, but he was able to identify
himself to me as someone who I had encountered in a past life, and his
simple vehement question was a partial reinactment of a very Karmicly
important event from that lifetime. 

This is a disturbing feature of "Karma"; that emnity from past life
events can be echoed in the present, and in this mans case he was nearly
complelled to repeat his complete actions. 

The moral of the story is that our thoughts and actions in this life
have the upperhand.

TTFN

Vincent
-- 

vincent@dmv.com

http://home.dmv.com/~vincent/