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Life is a great school for the learning of lessons. It has many
grades, many classes, many scales of progress. And the lessons must
be learned whether we will or no. If we refuse or neglect to learn
the lesson we are sent back to accomplish the task, again and again,
until the lesson is finally learned. Nothing once learned is ever
forgotten entirely. There is an indelible imprint of the lesson
in our character, which manifests as predispositions, tastes, inclinations,
etc. All that goes to make up that which we call "Character" is
the workings of the Law of Karma. There is no such thing as Chance.
Nothing ever "happens." All is regulated by the Law of Cause and
Effect or Karma. As a man sows so shall he reap, in a literal sense.
You are what you are to-day, by reason of what you were in your
last life. And in your next life you will be what you are making
of yourself to-day. You are your own judge, and executioner--your
own bestower of rewards. But the Love of the Absolute is ever working
to lead you upward to the Light, and to open your soul to that knowledge
that, in the words of the Yogis, "burns up Karma," and enables you
to throw off the burden of Cause and Effect that you have been carrying
around with you, and which has weighted you down.
In the Fourteen Lessons we quoted from Mr. Berry Benson, a writer
in the _Century Magazine_ for May, 1894. The quotation fits so beautifully
into this place, that we venture to reproduce it here once more,
with your permission. It reads as follows:
"A little boy went to school. He was very little. All that he
knew he had drawn in with his mother's milk. His teacher (who was
God) placed him in the lowest class, and gave him these lessons
to learn: Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt do no hurt to any living
thing. Thou shalt not steal. So the man did not kill; but he was
cruel, and he stole. At the end of the day (when his beard was gray--when
the night was come) his teacher (who was God) said: Thou hast learned
not to kill, but the other lessons thou hast not learned. Come back
tomorrow.
"On the morrow he came back a little boy. And his teacher (who
was God) put him in a class a little higher, and gave him these
lessons to learn: Thou shalt do no hurt to any living thing. Thou
shalt not steal. Thou shalt not cheat. So the man did no hurt to
any living thing; but he stole and cheated. And at the end of the
day (when his beard was gray--when the night was come) his teacher
(who was God) said: Thou hast learned to be merciful. But the other
lessons thou hast not learned. Come back tomorrow.
"Again, on the morrow, he came back, a little boy. And his teacher
(who was God) put him in a class yet a little higher, and gave him
these lessons to learn: Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not cheat.
Thou shalt not covet. So the man did not steal; but he cheated and
he coveted. And at the end of the day (when his beard was gray--when
the night was come) his teacher (who was God) said: Thou hast learned
not to steal. But the other lessons thou hast not learned. Come
back, my child, tomorrow.
"This is what I have read in the faces of men and women, in the
book of the world, and in the scroll of the heavens, which is writ
with stars."
Under the operation of the Law of Karma every man is master of
his own destiny--he rewards himself--he punishes himself--he builds,
tears down and develops his character, always, however, under the
brooding influence of the Absolute which is Love Infinite and which
is constantly exerting the upward spiritual urge, which is drawing
the soul toward its ultimate haven of rest. Man must, and does,
work out his own salvation and destiny, but the upward urge is always
there--never tiring--never despairing--knowing always that Ultimate
Victory belongs to the soul.
Under the Law of Karma every action, yea, every thought as well,
has its Karmic effect upon the future incarnations of the soul.
And, not exactly in the nature of punishment or rewards, in the
general acceptation of the term, but as the invariable operation
of the Law of Cause and Effect. The thoughts of a person are like
seeds which seek to press forward into growth, bud, blossom and
fruit. Some spring into growth in this life, while others are carried
over into future lives. The actions of this life may represent only
the partial growth of the thought seed, and future lives may be
necessary for its full blossoming and fruition. Of course, the individual
who understands the Truth, and who has mentally divorced himself
from the fruits of his actions--who has robbed material Desire of
its vital force by seeing it as it is, and not as a part of his
Real Self--his seed-thoughts do not spring into blossom and fruit
in future lives, for he has killed their germ. The Yogis express
this thought by the illustration of the baked-seeds. They show their
pupils that while ordinary seeds sprout, blossom and bear fruit,
still if one bakes the seeds their vitality is gone, and while they
may serve the purposes of a nourishing meal still they can never
cause sprout, blossom or fruit. Then the pupil is instructed in
the nature of Desire, and shown how desires invariably spring into
plant, blossom and fruit, the life of the person being the soil
in which they flourish. But Desires understood, and set off from
the Real Man, are akin to baked-seeds--they have been subjected
to the heat of spiritual wisdom and are thus robbed of their vitality,
and are unable to bear fruit. In this way the understood and mastered
Desire bears no Karmic fruit of future action.
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