How to clean your Karma

While Karma literally means action, it is mostly used to refer to the Law of Karma. The Law of Karma is a universal law, and no one can escape it. It is the Law of Action and Reaction. The Law of the Boomerang. As you sow, so shall you reap. What we give, we get. If we do good deeds, good will come to us. If we do badly, we will accordingly have to suffer. Can mangoes grow on an apple tree? No, of course not. Just as the seed we plant determines the fruits on the tree, our deeds determine our destiny.

Life is nothing but the unfolding of Karma, twin Karma - our past Karma, deeds that have already been done, either in the past or even in a previous life, those that we cannot change and our current Karma - the deeds we are doing in the present. Therefore, we are responsible for what happens in our lives. There is no such thing as luck or chance. Bad things can never happen to good people. If somebody is suffering, it’s because of their own Karma. We must, however, understand that Karma is not punitive, it is reformative. We neither go to a heaven nor a hell to pay for our actions, good or bad. Heaven and hell are not physical, geographical places in the sky. We experience heaven and hell on earth when we are reborn. If we are born in a loving family, in happy circumstances, it is heaven. If we are born with a disability, with challenges, in poverty, if our life is full of struggles, it is hell.

Many of us wonder, can we clean our Karma? Can we undo the wrongs that we have done? We must realise that what is done is done. If we have hurt someone or done something terrible, we cannot wipe it away or erase it. It’s already done. What we can do, however, is to do good Karma and keep on doing good Karma to negate our bad Karma. It must be noted that a bad thought or a good thought is not Karma. Karma means action. If a bad thought becomes a bad action, it is a bad Karma. Just as a good thought is not a good Karma unless we translate it into action.

The cycle of Karma goes on and on. We are born, live, do Karma, die, and are reborn again to settle our deeds. If our life is full of good deeds, and we die with much good Karma, we will be born again and inevitably suffer. While our life may be full of blessings, we will still experience negativity, misery, and sorrow in some form or another. This is how the world is. There is suffering around us. There are diseases and there is decay. The question that arises then is — can we be free from Karma, from the Karmic cycle of death and rebirth? What if we don’t want to be reborn again? How can we clear our Karma or completely clean our Karma? Is there a way out?

The answer to this question is, yes. But no can take over the load of our Karma. It is not that a Guru can take over our Karma and free us from our Karmic debt. We can be free from Karma, from the cycle of death and rebirth if we realise the truth of who we are. We are not the body that does Karma, driven or directed by the Mind and Ego, ME. The body dies. People say that we passed away. Who passed away? We are that. We are not the Mind and Ego, ME. The Mind doesn’t exist, and the Ego is an illusion. So, who are we? We are the Soul, a Spark Of Unique Life. We are a part of the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. This is what Enlightenment is all about. It is about overcoming ignorance. Realisation of the truth liberates us from all misery and suffering on earth and the Karmic cycle of death and rebirth. It leads to Moksha — we become one with the Divine at death. We are no longer born again and again. This is the ultimate goal of life and the ultimate clearing or cleaning up of Karma. To attain this, we must go on a quest, ask questions, investigate our findings and seek the guidance of a faithful Guru.

(The writer is a Spiritual Leader and Founder of AiR Institute of Realization)