Commentaries by Vee Jay Attri during the Book Study – Secrets of Karma
Welcome to the session of study and Great Invocation. Atma Namaste to all of you. How are you all keeping, super happy, super healthy, super strong, yes! Are you smiling? Wonderful!
Before we proceed for the study from the secrets of karma book, we will take up two questions. One question has come this morning in response to the study that we had. “It is in giving that you receive.” The more you give, the more you receive. So, the question is, “I’m a student and not earning, how do I give?” Well, giving is not just only monetarily or materially.
Giving is also through the time and resources. For example, in the Foundation, we have the karma exposition. Many students have been trained to explain the banners. So, you can be a part of this golden team. Of course, you need a training over a period of 4 to 6 weeks.
That will help you to develop not only communication skills, but will help you to explain the banners and also address questions that might come up during the exposition. If you have not gone through a training for the karma exposition, it will be a wonderful opportunity. You may check when it is going to be next session.
So, you can definitely share your resources, your time. So, that is also a very powerful way of giving. In the Foundation, we shall be having a permanent karma park exposition. The exposition will not only be covering the subject of karma. It will cover the tree of life, reincarnation and many important aspects of our existence.
So, in a matter of about 30 to 40 minutes, the person coming for the exposition will be exposed to the most important aspects of his or her existence and that will be a very transformative experience. This, we have been witnessing in the past, where people who have been coming to expositions have said that their life is transformed, sometimes very miraculously.
I remember, there was this person who had come to the exposition and said, “Had I not come to this exposition, I would have committed suicide.” And even in the last exposition, there was a couple who were in tears. The volunteer was sharing, they were able to relate their lives with the banners.
So, it’s a very profound experience to be able to create the awareness of karma among people. So, be a part of this team. You will be very happy.
The second question is a rather unprecedented question. It is good, it is very important to ask. It’s from a student who has read the Teen Edition of the Secrets of Karma book. She has asked me, “Why did you change your name to Vee Jay Attri?”
Well, I did not change my name to Vee Jay Attri. It is my pen name and there is a reason why my pen name is Vee Jay Attri. You know, my teacher Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui with whom we have been associated for long years, of course he is not in the physical body now. He had difficulty in calling me Vijay. He used to call me Vee Jay. So, I adopted this as my pen name “Vee Jay.” “Attri” is basically because of the Gotra that I belong to.
So, in the eastern tradition, we have the Gotras or the lineage. It talks about your lineage with great rishis. So, my family belongs to Attri Gotra. It means, we are the descendants of the great rishi called Attri, who happened to be one of the Saptarishi or seven rishis, also called the Manasputras.
Manasputra means, manas is mind, putra is son. So, they are the mind-born sons of Brahma. That is what the scripture says. So, rather than connecting your lineage with the monkey as per the Darwin’s theory, the eastern tradition connects your lineage with that of a great rishi and I found it to be very meaningful.
Of course, each and every one of us have got a grand lineage. That is the reason why, studying the process of involution is very important. We did talk about that a few months back, but certainly I would like to take up this subject once again and also, cover the subject of life after death.
These are all very important subjects that can bring instant awareness and together with awareness, you are empowered and empowerment is healing. We shall see when we can start these topics again. So, these are the two simple questions that I wanted to take up today. Let us proceed with our study.
Look At The Whole Picture
This is a very important topic. The quotation of Sage Iamblichus itself is amazing, extraordinary.
“What appears to us to be an accurate definition of justice does not also appear to be so to the Gods. For we, looking to that which is most brief, direct our attention to things present and to this momentary life, and the manner in which it subsists. But the powers that are superior to us know the whole life of the soul and all of its former lives.”
Sage Iamblichus
Very extraordinary profound teachings. Read the life of Sage Iamblichus, very profound understanding of the life of the great masters. Also, read the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. All these readings will really help you a lot to understand the nature of the spiritual path.
In fact, there is a film on Saint Francis of Assisi. If I remember it correctly, the title of the film is, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” This film, I happened to see it with our group of Arhatic Yogis when we visited the Ashram in Pune, India. Very, very beautiful film!
So, such kind of studies really help us to understand the spiritual path at a deeper level. Let’s continue with our study!
What you see or perceive could often be just a part of the reality. So, when your action is based purely on appearance or demand of the situation, that is just a reaction and not a wise action. To act wisely, you must know the whole truth and to know the whole truth, you must see the whole picture.
So, many at times, we have a tendency to judge anything from the way you see or hear things. Many a times, we are unable to see the deeper level of the reality. For an effect to happen, there need to be a cause. So, irrespective of the appearance of the effect, you have to pause for a moment and ponder upon what could be the cause of this.
I recall a very profound teaching by Swami Rama, from his book “Living with the Himalayan Masters.” If you have not read this book, please read it as quickly as possible, “Living with the Himalayan Masters.” It’s a very beautiful, enchanting book. You would love to read it, stories after stories.
It is so enlightening and very, very simple to understand. So, in this book, Swami Rama narrates a very important incidence:
He and his guru were living in a cage and they were coming out of the cage and Swami Rama happened to see a huge elephant which was stung by the mountain scorpion. The scorpion was still clinging to the elephant and the elephant was dead.
So, Swami Rama was very upset. He wanted to smash the scorpion for killing such a huge mighty animal and his Guru instantly stopped him. He said, “You do not know what kind of balancing is happening between them, just let it go!“ That is wisdom!
So many things happen due to reasons beyond our understanding. So, from the point of spiritual understanding, there is always justice, that nothing ever happens without justice, without a cause.
Of course, there are times when you have to take the right action. You are not going to contemplate what could be the cause and then, let it go. From your side, whatever that you can, you should do all the time. After having done whatever you could do, then you detach yourself!
That is exactly why, we keep reminding you to be an observer, doing the best you can and leaving the rest. Let’s continue!
Five blind men were asked to describe an elephant. The man who held the trunk said: “The elephant is like a snake.” The one who held the leg said, “The elephant is like a pillar.”
But the man who examined the ear protested that, “The elephant is like a hand fan,” while the one at the back observed that, “The elephant is like a brick wall.” Finally, the man who held the tail disagreed with all the others and stated that “The elephant is like a rope!”
This is the story of the elephant and the five blind men. If you have eyes, you can simply look at the elephant and say it is an elephant but in the absence of your ability to see the total picture, when you start analyzing it only partly. That is exactly where is the problem.
That means you have to see everything in its totality. You see the whole picture. So, rather than reacting immediately, take a pause for a moment and analyze the situation. Anybody can react, anybody can get angry and frustrated, seeing the total picture alone can bring greater awareness.
To live well in the present, you must look at the past that has brought you to your present, and plant good seeds to harvest the kind of future you wish to have. Therefore, be willing to learn the lessons of the past, check and change your present actions and create a strong base to build a grand future.
Check and change and even if you find challenges one after the other, happily, cheerfully and fearlessly face them. Every challenge that you successfully pass through, will make you a better person and progressively you become better and better.
And once you have learned the lesson connected with that particular situation, that challenge will not come back again. That is the law! It comes because you did not learn the lesson fully. Also, many at times I hear from people, “I don’t like this environment!” Whether it is home or whether it is a working environment, never leave a place when you are unhappy.
Yes, challenges will be there but learn the lesson that is hidden in that particular situation. Check what is the purpose of you being, for example, posted in a very unconducive environment, such as a school that you do not like for teaching. Your light is required where there is more darkness.
So, nature is helping you to evolve rapidly by giving you an opportunity to serve in difficult places. You have to pass through the test successfully. You have to pass through every situation in flying colors. That is exactly how you will progress rapidly!
Further reading, Secrets of Karma, Page 146