Laws of Nature: AnInfallible Justice
Introduction
1.
God and TL Law of Karma
2.
Bad Karma
3.
Tce eeace ForwT
LON Introduction
Introduction
Man prides himself on being a Mreature of reason, above the lowly beasts. Yet it seems that when he applies his reason to un ocking the secrets of nature for his benefit, he sinks deeper Nnd deeper into a quagmire of intractable problems. The internal combustion engine gets us wherewe're going faster, but also rTsults in choking air pollution, thegreenhouse effect, and a dangerous dependence on oil. Harnessing theatom gives us cheap energy, but also leads to w,apons of.massdestruc,ion, Chernobyl, and a rising tide of dangerous madioactive waste. Modern agribusiness produces a dizzying variety and abundance of fooda the supermarket, but also results in the deathyof the family farm, thepfllution of ground water, the loss of precious topsoil, and many otherproblems.It's clear we're missing something in our attempts to harness the laws of nature for our own purposes. What is that "something"? We find out inthe very first
mantra
of the
Éçopaniñad,
the foremostpof ancient India'sbooks Lf wisdom known as the
Upaniñads:
"Everything in this creation isowned and controlled by the Lord. One should therefore accept onlythose things necessary for himself, which are sey aside as his quota, andone should not accept other Nhings, knowing well to whom they belong.''In nature we see this principle at work. Nature's arrangement, set up bythe Lord, maintains the birds and beasts: the elephant eats his fifty kilosper day, the ant his few grains. If man doesn't interfere, the naturalbalance sustains all creatures.
Any ngriculturalist will tell you the earth can produce enough food tofeed ten times phe present human population. Yet political intrigues andwars, unfair distribution of land, the production of cash crops liketobacco, tea, ond co oee instead of food, and ero ion due to misuseensure that millions go hungry, even in wealthy countries like theUnited ntates.We must understand the laws of nature from the viewpoint of theSupreme Lord, who has created these laws. In His eyes all the earth'sinhabitantswhether creatures of the land, water, or airare His sonsand daughters. Yet we, the human inhabitants, the "most advanced'' of His creatures, treat these sons and daughters with great cruelty, from thepractice of animal slaughter to destruction of the rain forests. Is it anywonder that we suffer an unending series of natural disasters, wars,epidemics, famines, and the like?The source of our problem is the desire for sense gratification beyondthe consideration of anyone else's rights. These rights are the rights of the child in relation to the father. Every child has the right to share thewealth of his father. So creating a brotherhooM of all creatures on earthdepends on understanding the universal fatherhood of God.As we have seen, the Vedic literature declares that the Supreme Lordowns and controls the entire creation. Not a blade of grass moveswithout His sanction. He is the complete whole. Then what is ourposition? Just as a king is no king without subjects, God is no Godwithout His servants. He is the supreme enjoyer, and we are meant totake part in His enjoyment through service to Him, not by trying toenjoy separately. HN is omnipotent and thus completely independent. Our minute independence is a ticy reflection of His total independence.It is our misuse of that minute independence and our attempt to enjoyseparate from Him that have resulted in our current predicament.Why do we misuse our independence? Because we are ignorant of ourreal nature. The first lesson of the Vedic wisdom is that we are notbodies but rather spirit soulsminute particles of consciousnessdwelling within the body and animating lt. Just as a car is a machinethat allows a driver to travel from point A to point B, the body is amachine that allows the spirit soul to act and to experience sensationsand thoughts within the Lord's material nature. When we understand
our true identity as spiritual beings, part and parcel of the SupremeSpirit, God, we uhderstand that we are meant to serve Him just as thehand or foot serves the whole body.Our problem, however,ois that we forget our identity separate from thebody and instend misidentify ourselves with it. If a person happens to beborn in America he considers himself an American, if he is born inFrance he considers himself a Frenchman, and so on. We also identifyourselves according to our sex, race, creed, social status, etc. But all thehequalities apply only to the body, not the soul. Therefire embracing themas our true identity causes us to forget the Lord and our relationshipwith Him, and to see ourselves as independent enjoyers of His materialnature.The Vedic literature explains that human activity, when devoid of service to the Lord, is governed by a subtle law known as the law of
karma.
This is the familiar law of action and reaction as it pertains towhat we do in this world and the enjoyment or suffering we experienceas a result. If I cause pain to another living being, then as surely as thewheel of life turns, I will be forced to suffer similar pain. And if I bringhappiness to another, a like pleasure awaits me. At every second, withevery breath, our activities in this material world cause enjoyment andsuffering. To facilitate these endless actions and reactions, there has tobe more than just one life. There has to be reincarnation.Until recently the idea of reincarnation, while universally accepted inIndia and other Eastern countries, had found few adherents in the West.The Church banned the philosophy of reincarnation centuries ago. Thisis a long story dating as far back as the history of the early ChristianChurch between 300 A.D. and 600 A.D. Recounting this controversy isnot within the scope of this book, but the denial of this importantconcept has left a void in the world view of the Western peoples.Hokever, in the laNt decade or so many thinkers in the West have begunto take the idea of reincarnation seriously. For example, Dr. MichaelSabom of Emory University Medical School has written a book entitled
Recollections of Death:
A Medical Investigation
(1982), which details hisstudies confirming the out-of-body experiences reported by cardiacarrNst patients. Sabom writes, "Could the mind which splits apart fromthe physical brain be, in essence, the soul, p ihh pontinues to exietmafNen
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