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The Journey Back Home

I will now suggest that it seems improbable to me that after all of past eternity there was one big bang all of a sudden - never to be repeated.  One has to wonder what conditions changed at that very moment to set it off all of a sudden??  I would argue that - as we see in particle accelerators every day - energy is constantly changing to matter, and vice versa, so while there may have been a single beginning to the specific universe we currently sense that we are in, it seems likely to me that this is one of many universes that have existed.  And will exist.  Another of nature's numerous cyclic patterns.  Remember the Gnostic symbol of the cosmos, with everything around us rotating in a constant, but limited, motion??  Motion round same!!

For those who would tend to grant consciousness and intelligence to the highest Good, creating a world all of a sudden is a violation of the eternal and unchanging nature of that highest Good.  Therefore, I must again insist that, following the ubiquitous pattern of cycles within nature, the process of creation, preservation, and destruction is an ongoing one.  “As above, so below” it is said, and from the solar system to the atom, the pattern of the cycle is repeated.  Motion round same!!

Another characteristic of the highest Good, that is not found in our earthly realm, is total independence.  One may argue that the world was "created out of love", but the fact remains that for this highest Good to be any kind of "god", there must be something to be "god" of!!  This, of course, is not total independence.  A cyclic creation-preservation-destruction pattern resolves that issue in the sense that periods without a universe demonstrate total independence: similar to someone going without ice cream - which they might otherwise consume on a daily basis - for a time, just to prove they can.  Motion round same!!

Imagine the top of the chain, where pure energy/spirit spills over to the next level down, and from there to the next, and so forth down to pure matter.  The only way that changelessness and independence is maintained is for that process to eventually reverse until everything is re-absorbed back into its source.   Motion round same!!

This brings about the realization that, being a part of this cosmic universe, and hence this grand cycle, we are therefore all on a path back to whatever this highest Good is.  I compare this to rivers and the ocean where the water from the latter evaporates, and a little is rained down into hundreds of individual rivers.  Each one has its own identity…some are straight and some very crooked, some have certain flowers growing along them and others have different flowers, or none at all.  Some have steep banks, but many are shallow.  However, in the end, they all return to the ocean. 

Sometimes it takes more than one lifecycle of rain and evaporation to reach their destiny, but the course is ultimately fixed.  

And this brings us to the subject of karma, which is intimately intertwined with this journey back home.

From the outset, let us dispel any notion that karma refers to any misfortune in life that is due to some evil that was previously committed.  An excellent overview of the concept of karma is presented in The Seat Of The Soul, which states that "Karma is not a moral dynamic.  Morality is a human creation.  The Universe does not judge."

Rather, it is simply the immutable churning of the wheel of nature that we sometimes call cause and effect.

This is emphasized by the author when he continues:

"Every action, thought, and feeling is motivated by an intention, and that intention is a cause that exists as one with an effect.  If we participate in the cause, it is not possible for us not to participate in the effect...

Every cause that has not yet produced its effect is an event that has not yet come to completion.  It is an imbalance of energy that is in the process of becoming balanced,.  That balancing of energy does not always occur within the span of a single lifetime."

This author refers to an individual who has achieved enlightenment as a "multi-sensory" human, as opposed to those of us who are only aware of the normal five senses, and uses the terms "personality" and "soul" instead of the terms "self" and "Self".  Regarding the idea of reincarnation, he argues that:

"The multi-sensory human, too, understands that nothing of its self lasts beyond its lifetime, but is also aware of its immortal soul...

For each incarnation, the soul creates a different personality and body...unique and perfectly suited instruments of a particular incarnation, with its own special aptitudes and lessons to learn, consciously or unconsciously, to the evolution of its soul...

The personality and its body are artificial aspects of the soul.  When they have served their functions, at the end of the soul's incarnation, the soul releases them.  They come to and end, but the soul does not.  After an incarnation, the soul returns to its immortal and timeless state...

The soul chooses, voluntarily, to undertake this experience in order to heal.  The personality is those parts of the soul that require healing, along with those parts of the soul, such as compassion and love, that the soul has lent to the process of healing in that lifetime."

We have learned something very important here!!  While the Self may be identical to the Highest Good as far as substance goes, there are a couple of very striking differences.  Not only is the former only a spark compared to the bonfire of the latter, but because the Self (called Atman) has become immersed in the physical world, it has acquired baggage (samskaras).  One might either say these must now be "burned off", or that the soul requires "healing" experiences in order to proceed on its journey home. 

Since the average person cannot know what is being healed or what karmic debts are being paid by another being, this is why one cannot judge simply by what is seen.  We are therefore reminded that when one encounters another person who is currently in some unfortunate situation "it is appropriate that we respond to his or her circumstance with compassion, but it is not appropriate that we perceive it as unfair, because it is not."  More on this on my page covering the Bhagavad Gita.

Furthermore, judging creates negative karma because it is a function of the ignorant self.  "If we act upon these feelings, not only do we increase the karmic obligations of our soul, but we also are not able to enter into these feelings and learn from them."

As a personal example, I believe that once one learns the abuses of the coffee industry, if one cares about the eco-system, the workers, and the growers, then one would without doubt purchase only shade-grown fair-trade coffee.  To me, that goes without saying.  However, there was an occasion where I told someone that they "obviously didn't care" because if they did then they would not continue to support the store-bought brands (or Starbucks).  I immediately thought about a case where a conservation chair of the Sierra Club was told they were negligent for moving to the country, which exacerbated urban sprawl, instead of taking up less green space in the city.  This chair not only spent hours of his time leading our committee, sending letters to the editor and offenders of the environmental cause, arguing for our wetlands and forests and other at city council meetings, and so forth.  Unlike many others, he sought to preserve nature, and did not move to the country and then want a Walmart built nearby for his convenience.  The person that criticized him had no clue regarding his reasons for moving to the country, just as I had no clue in what ways this other person may have acted in a much more eco-friendly manner than I did.  Of course, I immediately apologized.  In the end we must all learn that one person may use cloth bags and another may not, but that other person may consume far less goods and donate time to a group that works towards change.  So while we all should seek to move closer to the ideal, each of us is at a different spot on that path, has different things they are presently working on and are currently capable of doing or "giving up".

That does not mean one should not act in accordance with our situation.  For example, if one is hit by a drunk driver in traffic, that driver needs to be held responsible through the courts, but we should not allow our actions to be motivated by "feelings of indignation, righteousness, or victimization."  The reader might find it useful to practice a technique called "the witness", whereby one looks down upon oneself and simply watches what is going on as an observer without passion.

Without knowledge of the true Self and the nature of the karmic cycle, it becomes impossible for a person to fully understand the meaning of unpleasant events that occur in their life, and they may react to them from a personal point of view and become angry or vengeful or depressed.  One who knows the Self, is said to realize that every experience actually provides an opportunity to move either further along - or backwards on - their spiritual path, depending on how they react.  To quote the author: 

"Every experience, and every interaction, provides you with an opportunity to look from the point of view of your soul or from the point of view of your personality."

Now, we have spoken a good bit about karma here without actually defining it, so let us correct that omission in the final chapter.

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This page was last updated on February 12, 2023

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