Isn’t the western world sceptical of the theory of Karma and rebirth? *The Bible states very clearly “As you sow, so shall you reap” and that is Karma. In Christianity, there was definitely a belief in rebirth;however there was a conference in Constantinople, in the fourth century CE, when the hierarchy of the Christian church decided that they will eliminate the concept of rebirth from Christianity. Jesus had said ‘This is Elijah come again,’ and this is direct reference to rebirth.But if someone is a hardcore Christian, I don’t try to convince them of rebirth.But karmically,’ As you sow so shall you reap’ has no controversy about it at all. It also fits in with external science of action and reaction, cause and effect. So when someone says that ‘I only believe in body and brain,’ he can work on realising the essential goodness of human beings. If someone says that ‘I believe in God’ then he should remember that God is the parent of all and is a being of light accepted in most religions. If someone says that ‘I don’t believe in rebirth,’ we say that you don’t have to. Karmic cycle becomes evident in one birth itself. If today, I gossip about you, tomorrow you may gossip about me. The important thing is that a person should start looking inside and begin the journey of reflection and awareness. What kind of questions do people ask?
*They want to know why their habits are so strong. Drugs, alcohol and cigarettes – all of these addictions are considered normal by a lot of people, but when they start meditating,they realise that these are not good. Then they want to know how to deal with them. We tell them,’Keep meditating, continue to take power from God,one day your willpower will increase to a point where you will say ‘no more drinks, cigarettes.’ It has to come from you.
Another thing that comes up is about relationships and usually that is because of lack of tolerance, inability to adjust with each other. Meditation develops inner capacity to be not just tolerant but also be appreciative and see the goodness in other human beings. We have high expectations from the other and we don’t realise our own responsibility. A relationship can’t be just – ‘take, take, take.’ Meditation changes this because ‘my needs are
being fulfilled because of my connection with the Divine. Happiness is my core value, love is my core value, I don’t need to ask for it.’ (B K Jayanti is
director of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organisation, based in London). ?
(Concluded)