We do not free ourselves from our past until we have completed a life cycle or manifested our true purpose, says Vastushastri Khushdeep Bansal
In the Yoga Sutras (Aphorisms), Sage Patanjali has very rightly said, “Until and unless we have completely manifested our core desires, we will be born again and again”. That is the reason why we refer to mostly all our Karmas (doings) as a reflection of our past life Karmas: this is the basic Hindu Philosophy regarding Reincarnation (Punar Janam). It is also believed that we do not free ourselves from our past (or attain Nirvana) until we have completed a life cycle and lived our lives completely; in other words — until we have manifested our true purpose.
We create a new birth because alternate life situations are always present as “possibilities in space”. Now when we talk of “life situations” — we find two ways to cope up with these situations — one by putting life into it, that is, by putting right Karma into right directions, and second with Karmas not in the right directions. In the second case, we are likely to face the same situations again in the same life or carry forward in the next life. This way we create situations, similar to frames in another parallel universe in the parallel state of time in our next birth.
The Hindus know of the Karmas as Sanchit (accumulated), Prarabdha (of the past) and Agami (of the future) Karmas. People who become aware of their past births like Gautam Buddha (who is believed to have had visions of 24 past births) propounded that the only one target of his life was to manifest its “purpose’. To escape this cycle of birth and death and rebirth, two methods were adopted — one was through the original Buddha philosophy which propounded the practice of not desiring anything so that no future situation that would require rebirth would occur. According to the original Buddhist Philosophy, “In life there are pain” and the root cause of these pains are desires (khwahish). To curb these pains one must practice ‘non-indulgence’.
The second method is (sankhya darshan) in which Maharshi Patanjali and lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita disagree with the idea of non-desire and advocated non-attachment. We always respond to any situation. We should learn to react in a Yogic (sage like) way; where in the response springs from a different layer of existence the Vigyanmaya or Anandmaya Koshas: which puts Prarna (breathing life) into response. Reacting in a negative way may create another reason to be born again in a rebirth (punar janam). On the other hand, reacting to the situation positively, gives us a new dimension, a new shape, and thus ensures not creating any new Karma — and so we move to fulfilling our purpose in life.
Reactions always come from the lower two and a half koshas (annamaya, pranmaya and lower half of the manomaya koshas), typically, from the annamaya kosha. Reactions are always physical, but response always comes from the upper two and a half koshas (upper-half of the manomaya kosha, vigyanmaya kosha and anandmaya kosha). The response to a situation comes from the anandmaya kosha. The moment we respond to a situation, our soul or self comes into play.
Now, because the space where we live in decides whether we respond or react, the nature of that space becomes a determining factor and critically important. If our space does not allow us to connect to our upper two and a half koshas, we will always react to situations. We will create the same situation again. However, we need to respond instead of reacting. In order to achieve this, we must work from our upper two and half koshas. The response is always beautiful; it always moves you and touches your soul. It is pleasant, peaceful and beneficial.
Just a few years ago, a lady from one of India’s most powerful political families, forgave the person who murdered her husband, the late Prime Minister of India. He was a young dynamic, attractive Prime Minister who brought a great, modernising influence to India. His wife appealed to the President to pardon her husband’s murderer. This was a response, not a reaction. Reaction would have been, had she retaliated against the family of her husband’s murderer; for her it would have been just like crushing a mosquito. She responded. To respond is not just rising above compassion or sympathy but the practice of ‘power’.
likewise, war is a reaction. It is not at all like forgiving, but sometimes, even war may be a response. Krishna’s war was a response. It was not reaction; because Krishna was ready to avoid the Mahabharata war if the Kauravas gave only five villages to the Pandavas. The war was a response to arrogance and injustice — the reaction of Kauravas. These beautiful stories clearly differentiate between forgiveness and war. Reaction always loses while response always wins.
The ability to respond appears only when we are connected with the vigyanmaya or anandmaya kosha, which our space defines. In the succeeding pages, there is further clarification of this phenomenon — how to respond with actions, to get closer to the purpose of life. The ‘purpose of life’ is the manifestation of the real, core desire for which each of us is here on this planet. Every response is in reality, a root that will make manifestation quicker. Every reaction causes a hindrance and builds Karma.
To know how reactions and responses are created in your built-up space, we need to understand the practical aspects of Space Alchemy, like the analogy of directly riding the bicycle. Then we learn what balance is and then we maintain it. When we look at the space where we live, through the perspective of vedic Space Alchemy, we realise how we can control our manifestations, our future and our lives. So respond to life, instead of reacting to it, in order to get freedom from the Karma cycle.
The writer is a Delhi-based vastu expert