How Free Are We?

Recently at a satsang someone asked us, “How much free will do we have, and how much is predetermined by our past karma?” This question has troubled people down through the ages. Now in Dwapara Yuga our line of gurus have given us new understanding of how to find freedom from karmic bondage.

The law of karma states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Due to our own past actions, thoughts, and desires, we have created tendencies and energy patterns that have become part of our astral body.

For example, if we have stolen money in the past, we will, in turn, have our own wealth stolen from us. This cycle of action and reaction can create a tendency to take from others once again, and such patterns of behavior move with us from lifetime to lifetime. What we have done in the past, however, we can undo in the present by putting out enough energy to neutralize the karma.

Here is what Yoganandaji recommends to overcome our karma:

1) Use of Will Power. Master has said that every test in life is a test of our will power. If you are going through a difficult period, don’t passively shrug and think, “It’s just my karma,” but resist the energy that is pulling you down. Yoganandaji looked at his astrological chart and determined which periods had the most adverse influences. During those times he put out intense energy, and was able to accomplish everything he set out to do.

2) Meditation and Kriya Yoga. The energy patterns from past actions take the form of vrittis, or whirlpools, that reside in our astral (subtle) spine. With the practice of Kriya Yoga, we draw a powerful current of energy up the spine, which eventually dissolves these vortices of locked-up energy. Master said, “Seeds of past karma cannot germinate if they are roasted in the divine fires of wisdom [deep meditation].”

3) Make the Choice to Think of God. How much free will do we really have? Yoganandaji said, “Our free will exists to this extent: to think of God or not to think of God.” But in that seemingly simple choice lies the path to inner freedom: The more we attune our individual will to God’s will, the more we free ourselves from karmic compulsions.

In The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Explained Master wrote: “In karma’s realm, karma rules supreme. Yet human beings have the power to withdraw to another realm altogether, by attuning themselves with the infinite wisdom behind karmic law.”

Let us choose to be spiritual warriors and vanquish the foes of past bad karma. Then our souls will rise once more in freedom.

With joy in God,
Nayaswami Devi