Understanding Karmic Bondage

Remember the game of ‘Snakes and Ladders’?A game that most of us would have played in our childhood. It was one of the favorite games for most of us. But there is much more to this game. Our life is just like this game of ‘Snakes and Ladders’. If we compare this game with our life, snakes are the wavy lines that pull us down and ladders are the straight lines that take us to the top, up on the board of life.

In this article let’s understand what these lines are that lead to the rise or fall in life.

As a matter of fact, these lines have turned our life into a game of joy and sorrow, hope and despair. The board signifies life itself – the existential experience of Consciousness. Every time we entertain impure and negative feelings for someone, a karmic line gets drawn on the board of pure Consciousness, linking the two of usin karmic bondage. This is a snake that brings down our level of consciousness. The board gets tainted with these impressions. When one holds thoughts of prayer, blessings, and forgiveness for others, a ladder is drawn and the level of consciousness goes up.

Suppose you spoke angrily with a colleague in your office, “You’re always late to the office. When are you going to learn to be on time?” By speaking to him rudely, you bind yourself to him through a karmic line. Holding onto negative emotions causes blocks in energy pathways within the body-mind mechanism. We unknowingly place an order for even more resentment that rebounds back on us, multiplied many times over. The converse is true for positive thoughts as well.The karmic line of bondage binds you not just when you say or do something that creates negative feelings in people, but even when you just think or feel negative about people.

People believe that karma happens only as speech or external actions. But the truth is different. Every thought and feeling is karma. Speech and actions are only the external manifestation of your thoughts and feelings. So the real karma happens within the mind. Your thoughts and feelings create lines of bondage. Hatred, guilt, anger, ego, and jealousy – all of these create lines of bondage.

In fact, when we feel resistance in a situation, our feelings serve as seeds to create lines of bondage and shape our future. As a result, a series of events are orchestrated in our future. If we react to those events unconsciously, we create even more bondage and this cycle goes on forever.

People are under the impression that feelings and thoughts are their private property, and they are free to feel and think the way they want. People are very upfront in their reactions. When somebody does not act in the way they want, they immediately comment on it without thinking how it gets perceived. What is more important are the lines of bondage created within them through the way they think and feel about other people. If someone is saying something hatefully to you, it creates a line of bondage within him. But let’s talk about you. If you are hurt by someone’s words or behavior, then that hurtful feeling creates a line of bondage within you. A lot of times, many of us suppress our feelings instead of letting them out. We may also curse our fortune. Many of us seethe within and grumble mentally. This creates more lines of bondage, which can create complications within and cause physical ailments too.

Some people are obese, they don’t get overweight overnight; it’s a gradual process. Only after they are diagnosed with heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes do they realize they have a problem. The same is true with mental lines of bondage. As long as they are frail lines, they are ineffective. Gradually, they form bundles and gain strength. Then their impact becomes noticeable and they begin to become aware of them at the physical plane. It’s better to be aware of them when they are frail lines. For that, one needs to be constantly aware of their intentions, feelings, inner self-talk, and reactions.

Culturally, we’ve been taught since childhood to see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil. We have been taught that we reap whatever we sow. All religious tenets guide us to avoid malevolent deeds and encourage us to perform virtuous ones. In short, we have been taught to keep distance from all forms of evil.

We have never been taught that the feelings and self-talk that goes on in our minds are the real deeds. One might behave nobly while having wicked intentions or act unpleasantly while having the best of intentions. It is the intentions and feelings that we entertain within that produce results.

The intention behind your action, not the external action, determines whether your karmic lines are good or bad, thick or thin. Let’s understand this with an example.

A hermit was sitting under a tree and meditating. He heard rustling behind the tree and saw that a rabbit was hiding there. A while later, a hunter came by and asked, “Did you see a rabbit coming this way?” The hermit said “No,” and the hunter went away. A person who watched all this from a distance went up to the hermit and asked, “You are a hermit seeking spiritual progress. Why did you lie?” The hermit answered, “A lie for the sake of saving someone’s life is not a lie.”

Even though the action itself seemed negative, the intention behind it was pure and positive. The hermit wanted to save the rabbit, so this action does not result in a negative karmic line.

Imagine an elderly man comes to you seeking donations. You give him some money but internally, you grumble, “These people don’t have any sense of time. They don’t value others’ priorities. They just come whenever they feel like, and ask for donations.” Outwardly, your action is positive but the intention and your self-talk is negative. In such a case, a negative karmic line is formed.

Even when you tend to put people down in your mind, you create a karmic line of bondage. These lines of bondage are so subtle that we are unaware of them. This happens when we get caught up in the daily happenings of life. We tend to go to war with the world around us and torment ourselves.

Lines of bondage impact all spheres of life. Mental illnesses like hatred, jealousy and guilt invite physical diseases. When we can’t let go of the events of the past or the bitter words spoken by someone and find it difficult to forgive them, we suffer.

Lines of bondage affect us to such an extent that we lose our inner strength and get trapped in a vicious cycle of karmic lines which create more karmic lines. Victimized, we behave against our own best interests. People get hurt by our behavior and it creates disharmony in our relationships.

In drawing negative lines, we actually resist the flow of life through our body. Negative, hurtful memories, bitterness, and ill-will choke the free flow of life within us. This creates challenging circumstances, limitations and sorrow. We aren’t open to the abundance of life and may even face money problems due to this lack.

Serious truth seekers cannot persevere through their spiritual practice properly, as karmic lines distract their attention. In order to be immersed in the spiritual practice, it is essential to first cleanse and lighten the mind.

You just need to be aware. When you understand how karmic lines are formed and when they grab your attention, it becomes easier to cleanse them. When the lines of bondage are erased, you feel as if something different has happened. As your mind lightens, you feel as if the entire atmosphere has become light, open and cheerful. You become free of diseases and mental habits and swiftly tread on the path of liberation. You experience an unimaginable joy and peace. But first, you need to erase all karmic lines.

The most important and significant aspect of the science of karmic lines is that old lines can be erased and new lines can be stopped from appearing. Complete freedom from karmic bondage is possible – this is liberation or Moksha.

Summary:

Every time you entertain impure and negative feelings for someone, a karmic line gets drawn on the board of pure Consciousness, trapping you in karmic bondage. Holding onto negative emotions causes blocks in energy pathways within the body-mind mechanism. If you are hurt by someone’s words or behavior, then that hurtful feeling creates a line of bondage within you. Lines of bondage impact all spheres of life. The most important and significant aspect of the science of karmic lines is that old lines can be erased and new lines can be stopped from appearing. Complete freedom from karmic bondage is possible – this is liberation or Moksha.