The Law of Destiny
The law of destiny determines what forces
influence our lives to ensure we encounter the life experiences
that we require for our continued development. Destiny is
essentially a series of opportunities that enable us to learn
lessons, acquire new abilities, develop our consciousness and
help others.
Destiny is commonly regarded as fate; a fixed
timeline of events that is inevitable and unchangeable. Although
the words are often used interchangeably, fate and destiny have
quite different meanings:
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Fate is usually seen as "set
in stone" and often has negative
connotations, e.g. the jury decided his fate. Fate is an
agent that predetermines and orders the course of events. It
means that events are "meant to be"
and are set in motion by an external force or intelligence.
-
Destiny is more of a likely outcome and often
has a positive feel, e.g. he is destined to become a star.
Destiny guides us towards a specific goal, but without our
wilful participation we will not achieve our destiny.
Put simply: destiny is opportunity and fate is
karma. We are in control of our destiny but have no control over
our fate. Destiny cannot be forced on us; if we are forced then
it is our fate. Destiny gives us an opportunity to turn a
situation to our advantage and accomplish something great
through our own efforts. It is designed to give us the best
opportunities for the development of our consciousness, but it
is only an outline – not an exact script. It doesn’t detract
from our free-will in any way, because we decide exactly how we
want to act in any situation.
The basic outline for our life was planned
(pre-destined) before we were born to give us the right
opportunities for growth. But we don’t have to follow the
pre-destined route if we don’t want to. A life plan can be
compared to a maze, and our life’s purpose is to complete the
maze. We don’t know where we are going or where we will end up,
so all we can do is make our way through life using our best
judgment. Every wrong turn leads to a dead end and every correct
turn leads to progress. A correct turn may not correspond to
success in the physical sense, for example: failing to get a
promotion may not seem like the best outcome from a financial
perspective, but it might actually be the best outcome for the
development of your consciousness. We all occasionally make what
appear to be bad decisions, but if we learn from those seemingly
wrong decisions we eventually discover that they were in fact
right decisions. If we deviate from our life’s plan we may need
to be coaxed back on to the right track, and the further we
stray from the optimal path the harder the lessons get. Every
choice we make affects our future and therefore our destiny.
Right now we are experiencing the destiny (and the karma) that
arose from choices we made in the past.
Collective human destiny is largely decided by
the planetary hierarchy, especially the Manu and the
Maha-Chohan. Individual human destiny is largely decided by our
guardian angels, who stand-in for our higher selves (2nd
triads or souls) until we become fully conscious and enter the
fifth kingdom. The more evolved we are the more input we have in
deciding our destiny, and the more important it becomes to our
development. Our guardian angels can only guide our destiny to
the extent that we allow them. The sensible option is to give
them complete control because they are far more advanced than we
are and they know what is best for us, but most people are
egotistical and think they know better. Mankind is not developed
enough to determine its own destiny – that much is evident from
the state of the world today.
Henry T Laurency wrote in The Knowledge of
Reality: "The great cosmic
evolution does not work according to a predetermined plan. Only
the final goal is laid down: all monads acquiring omniscience
about the whole cosmos... The evolution itself creates the
conditions and possibilities of its growth. These conditions,
however, depend on the individual character of every being, from
atoms to planets, solar systems, etc... The past thereby limits
the possibilities of the future. A rigid plan would set aside
the law of freedom, according to which every monad has the right
to the freedom (depending on insight and ability) it has once
acquired and continues to apply lawfully. Evolution feels its
way forward along every conceivable path in order to find the
one most purposeful for each and all."
The Law of Karma
Karma is a Sanskrit word meaning
"action",
but is generally understood to mean the consequences of one’s
actions. The word "karma"
is commonly used to indicate bad karma, and the word
"merit" is
often used to indicate good karma. The law of karma is best
described as "cause and effect"
because every action (or cause) has a corresponding consequence
(or effect). If you plant good causes you will reap good
effects, and if you plant bad causes you will reap bad effects.
In each incarnation we acquire some bad karma and
some good karma. In each incarnation we suffer the consequences
of some of our previous bad karma and reap the benefits of some
of our previous good karma. During the early stages of our human
evolution we all acquired large amounts of bad karma which must
be gradually worked off. Because many people still have much
more bad karma than good, seemingly favourable circumstances
often have a sting in their tail. This is evident from the
tumultuous lives of some celebrities and the people whose lives
have been ruined by winning the lottery.
Think of your karma as being two bank accounts –
one for good karma and one for bad karma. Good karma can either
be "spent"
on pleasurable life circumstances or it can be used to
"pay off"
some of our bad karma. Less-developed people nearly always
choose the first option; whilst more-developed people usually
choose the second. This explains some of the iniquities of life
where honest and hardworking people live in poverty whilst
selfish and corrupt people live a life of opulence. When a
less-developed person chooses to spend all their good karma in
one go they will enjoy wealth, power or fame for few years or
perhaps an entire lifetime, but once their good karma is used up
they will be relegated to many lives of poverty and suffering.
The real sting is that an undeveloped person usually generates
more bad karma in a prosperous life than they do in a
poverty-stricken life because the money, power or fame goes to
their head and makes them more egotistical and unpleasant.
According to some in the Christian Church, wealth
and abundance are gifts from God – signs that he is pleased with
us and has blessed us. This belief is completely wrong; God does
not have favourites and our financial status is of no concern to
him. Wealth is the result of good karma or merit; the result of
"good investments"
we made in previous lives. The Bible describes karma in Ezekiel
18:20: "The righteousness of the
righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the
wicked will be charged against them".
Galatians 6:7 simply states: "People
reap what they sow". And let’s not
forget the stories of Saint Peter standing at the pearly gates
weighing our good deeds against our bad ones.
Karma exists to protect us and to guide us back
on track when we go astray. But karma is often slow to respond
and, because of its intimate relationship with destiny, often
waits until a future incarnation. The delayed effect of karma
explains how non-smokers can end up getting lung cancer. They
were probably smokers in a previous incarnation but their good
karma or destiny in that incarnation prevented them from
suffering the consequences at the time. We never know how long
ago we acquired the karma that is manifesting in our lives
today, and we never know how or when the karma we create today
will manifest its consequences. This is because karma works
behind the scenes – we only see the effects in the physical
world and have no idea of the causes that are operating out of
sight in the subtle worlds. Karma and destiny are woven into the
very fabric of our lives to the extent that the average person
barely notices their effects.
Wilfully and knowingly transgressing the laws of
life generates a lot more negative karma than unintentional or
ignorant transgressions. The more developed we are the more
responsibility we have, so the consequences of abusing the laws
of life are more severe. Although bad karma usually results in
suffering it is not a punishment for punishment’s sake; nor is
it divine retribution. Karma is simply an opportunity to make
good – it neither punishes nor rewards; it simply guides. The
law of karma is not the cause of suffering; it is merely the
agent. 99% of all human suffering originates from the simple
fact that we cannot and do not want to control our subtle
bodies.
Karma is self-balancing divine justice; it is
100% fair and absolutely infallible. It doesn’t matter if a
criminal seems to "get away with it",
because there is no getting away with it – karma will eventually
catch up with him. If we are honest with ourselves, wanting
justice is just a nice way of saying that we want revenge. If we
suffer as a result of someone else’s wrongdoing we want them to
suffer in return. But we need to learn that vengeance is not the
same as justice, and that an act of vengeance will result in bad
karma for ourselves. Even holding onto vindictive thoughts, self
pity or grief prolongs our own suffering and generates more bad
karma. If something unpleasant happens to us we should realise
that we caused it, not the person who was instrumental in
manifesting it. This not to say that people who do bad things or
cause accidents should not stand trial for their offences. The
Lords of Karma always see to it that both people who are
involved in an unfortunate incident have a related karmic debt
to repay, although not necessarily to each other. As long as
both parties reap the appropriate effects it matters not whether
their original transgressions were against each other.
Karma is usually played out on the same stage as
the original transgressions occurred, i.e. physical crimes
usually result in physical punishments. But supposing a Nazi
murdered a hundred Jews in World War II, there would be no point
in him being murdered in a hundred different lifetimes. In this
sort of situation some of the bad karma would need to be worked
out between incarnations – in hell (the lowest subplane of the
emotional world).
It is not just serious offences such as theft,
violence or murder that generate bad karma, even small things
like a harsh word or a judgemental thought generate negative
energy which contributes to the contamination of the subtle
realms. You might not think that one bad thought would have much
affect, but think how many negative or harmful thoughts you have
each day, multiply it by several billion and you have some idea
of the amount of negative energy we put out into the world each
and every day! This negative energy accumulates and can manifest
itself as hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, floods, plagues,
earthquakes, etc. This is known as collective karma because it
applies to an entire town, region, country or planet. The
effects of collective karma are sometimes allocated individually
so that diseases, afflictions or "accidents"
can be the result of our allotted portion of mankind’s
collective karma. Animals are subject to collective karma but
not individual karma because they don’t have individual souls.
They are subject to the collective karma of all the monads in
their group soul and of the animal kingdom in general.
Karma is not justice for justice's sake, and it
is not necessarily "an eye for an eye".
Karma provides situations that will best help us to learn from
our mistakes. This may involve experiencing the other side of
our original transgression, e.g. a racist white person may be
black in their next incarnation, or it may be seemingly
unrelated. It is impossible for us to understand the intricacies
of karma because it is controlled by intelligences that are far
superior to us. Karma is managed by three hierarchic groups of
highly developed cosmic beings who record every thought,
emotion, word and action that occurs within their respective
sphere of responsibility:
-
The Devarajas of the Seven Planes administer
cosmic karma and destiny within the solar system.
-
An intermediate group, associated with our
planetary chain, manages the collective karma and future
destiny of the human race.
-
The Guardians of the Four Directions (four
worlds of the Earth) deal with individual human karma,
primarily administering the effects of our past karma.
These Lords of Karma are known by a variety of
different names, including: the Lipika Lords (Lipika is Sanskrit
for scribe), the Angels of the Presence (Christianity), the Book
of Life (Christianity), the Recording Angels (Kabbalah), the
Assessors of Amenti (Egypt), Devarajas (Hinduism) and the
Guardians of the Four Directions (Hinduism).
Administering karma involves allowing the
"forces of darkness"
to act upon those who transgress the laws of life. Demons and
black magicians are the agents who administer bad karma. Karma
is the one of the main reasons why "evil"
exists – as long as individuals break the laws of life there
will always be evil to administer the karmic consequences. Evil
can do us no harm if we obey the laws of life. Members of the
higher kingdoms who incarnate among humans (e.g. Christ) have no
karmic debt yet they are often persecuted and suffer greatly.
This is because they become part of the collective human
consciousness when they incarnate into a human body, and as such
become liable to a share of our collective karma. This is the
real truth behind the belief that Christ died for our sins!
The best way to deal with bad karma is to accept
our fate and let it work itself out. We should accept the hand
that life deals us and go with the flow, because if we resist
life and try to wriggle out of our karma we will only make
matters worse in the long run. Karma will always catch up with
us, and when it does we will have incurred an extra penalty for
trying to escape. It is a bit like a prisoner who gets caught
trying to break out of jail – he is sure to have his sentence
increased. Please don’t confuse accepting karma with fatalism,
i.e. don’t see everything as pre-ordained and give up at the
slightest obstacle. We need to use our intuition to guide us
when to stand up for ourselves and when to just accept things as
they are. If we are honest with ourselves and put our egos to
one side we will know. Our egos don’t like giving in and
accepting the consequences when we can see a way out, but we
have to show our egos that we are bigger and braver than they
are.
There is a way that we can not only avoid
incurring more bad karma but actually free ourselves from the
debts we have already incurred, and that is through a life of
service – putting the needs of others before our own. Living
with less concern for individuality and more concern for unity
shows that we are evolving and the Lords of Karma will show us
some grace. A little self sacrifice now will save us a lot of
suffering in the future.
Flagellants believe that mistreating their
physical bodies pays off karma and pleases god, but they
couldn’t be more wrong. Rather than working off their karmic
debt they are actually generating more bad karma because they
are causing suffering to another living being (the physical
being). Flagellants often reincarnate with the physical defects
that they themselves caused in their previous life. For example,
those who drag themselves around on the floor and refuse to use
their legs may be born with a physical disability or be
paralysed in their next life. Karma is only made good by bearing
the trials of life in an honourable and accepting way.
Bad karma can affect our physical lives in a
variety of ways, including: disease, disability, ugliness,
abuse, miscarriages of justice, lack of intelligence, poverty,
low social standing, etc. We should never blame our parents for
a disease or disability that we inherited from them because our
own karma and destiny determine such matters. Children should
never say to their parents "I didn’t
ask to be born", because they did – no
one is forced to incarnate against their will.
Whilst it is generally true that those who suffer
deserve to suffer, it is a great mistake to think that we should
not show compassion and help them out. We must do everything we
can to alleviate all suffering because every good deed
contributes to a better world for everyone. Relieving another
person’s suffering not only helps them; it generates good karma
for us and sends out good vibrations into the world. Sitting
back and letting people suffer is selfish and vindictive, and
will result in bad karma. This does not mean that we should give
to every beggar who asks us for money, because many of them will
spend the money on drugs or alcohol. We need to let our
intuition guide us to help only those people who are willing to
help themselves.
We all make mistakes and do stupid things from
time to time – even enlightened people. These out of character
aberrations are the karmic effects of their action from previous
incarnations. We must all clear our karmic debt before we
graduate from the human kingdom, so it is not uncommon for
highly advanced people to have difficult lives or suffer from
ill health. We must continue to reincarnate in the human kingdom
until our karmic debt has been fully repaid, which shows we have
learnt all the lessons karma had to teach us in this kingdom. We
enter the fifth kingdom with a clean karmic slate but we do not
escape the law of karma because it applies to every being in
existence. The effects of karma in the higher kingdoms are far
more subtle than they are in the human kingdom because there is
no suffering (as we see it) in the higher kingdoms – that alone
should be sufficient motivation for us to actively begin working
at our own evolution.
The Law of Attraction
The phrase "like
attracts like" sums up the law of
attraction. Our minds are like magnets that attract whatever we
give our continued attention to. Everything that comes into our
lives is attracted by the thoughts and images we hold in our
minds. Our thoughts influence our lives, so whatever we think
about most will eventually manifest. It doesn’t matter whether
our thoughts are positive, negative or neutral; the law of
attraction operates blindly and will respond to them. However,
the law of attraction can be strengthened, weakened or postponed
by laws of karma and destiny, so not everyone who dreams of
winning the lottery or becoming a rock star will achieve
success.
The law of attraction is currently being
exploited as a "get rich quick scheme"
or a means of "manifesting your
desires". We always get what we wish
for, although usually not as soon as we would like or quite as
we expected. Every granted wish must be paid for out of our
reserve of merit (good karma); otherwise it will add to our
already large karmic debt. This consequence is overlooked by the
ignorant advocates of "cosmic ordering"
and the like. Yes it works, but it can be compared to spending
all your wages in one day when the money needs to last you all
month! Make use of the law of attraction by all means, but don’t
misuse it.
The best way to utilise the law of attraction is
to adopt a positive outlook and just allow life to unfold
naturally – trust life rather than resisting it. Don’t dwell on
your past mistakes or worry about what might happen in the
future because that will attract negativity into your life. When
you are unconcerned about what life deals you, you will probably
find that you achieve success effortlessly.
The Christian concept of abundance is related to
the law of attraction, but the teaching does not come from God.
Do they really think that God wants us to become even more
materialistic than we already are? Nobody needs anything in
abundance (in excess), we only need a sufficient amount –
anything more is greedy and wasteful. The Earth’s resources are
incapable of providing everyone with an abundant life but they
are capable of providing everyone with a sufficient life, so it
is up to those who have a lot to share their wealth to those who
only have a little. Thankfully many Christians and humanitarians
are doing just that.
Remember this: The universe
gives you everything you need, but you have to
pay for everything you want!
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