Yes, this can definitely happen…

When the time is right, the previous bad karma, by nature, arises, manifests and dissolves. Such is the law of Nature. But whilst we have ignorance of our real form, we believe to be the owner of the name, body, and the ego; and thus continue to charge new karma simultaneously, when the discharge of the old karmas is taking place.

Furthermore, we continue to hold opinions that lead us to charge new karma, very similar to the previous bad karma, for the next life too. Eg. If someone insults us, we may harbour a negative opinion for the person, situation or occasion in our mind, and harness bad or vengeful feelings in our heart. This leads to charging of new karma, not only similar to but also in multiplication of the amount of previous bad karma.

Aatma Dhyan – Meditation of the Self

Our past life karmas can easily dissipate by knowing our real form, meaning Self Realization, after which, meditation of the Self (Aatma-Dhyan) becomes possible. This dhyan leads to the nirvikalp samadhi (the egoless state). In this effortless egoless state, karmas of our previous life dissolve accurately and perfectly.

Once you are Self-realized, you gain the right vision and the right understanding, which helps dissolve every karma. Through the vision of the Self, you See and Know each unfolding karma, without becoming affected by it because you have the understanding that all of these effects belong to the body, name and ego; but not to the Self that I really am.

In your daily life, when the past life karma unfolds, you learn through the right vision, to maintain a deep inner intent to resolve every situation with equanimity. For example, if someone insults you, you do not harbour bad or vengeful feelings; you rather maintain equanimity. You instead maintain the awareness that these are my previous life karmas which I had sown in my past life and hence no one is to be blamed but myself. Through your pure vision, you see the pure Soul within the person rather than them being the initiator for your suffering or misery.

Dharma Dhyan – Religious Meditation

Owing to previous bad karma, if you continue to have a negative feeling for some person or situation, or out of that negative feeling, you have said or done acts that are regretful, you ask for forgiveness through pratikraman.

Pratikraman is a religious meditation whereby we see our mistakes and apologize for each of them before God, with repentance in our heart, “Oh God, I have made this mistake and I seek forgiveness for the same. Please forgive me and grant me strength so that I do not repeat this mistake.” This meditation not only destroys our present bad karma but also helps reverse our opinions that were causing continuous repetition with multiplication of our previous bad karma.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, the founder of Spiritual Science, has said,

“Once you come into the nature of the Self, no new karma will bind. This happens when the Gnani Purush makes you aware of your True Self. After that, new karmas do not bind and old karmas continue to discharge. When all the karmas have discharged, you will attain final liberation.”

So, without acquiring the knowledge of the Self, the cycle of karma will continue. Other types of meditation help calm the mind for a while, but do not bring a permanent solution to karmas. Moreover, the subtle support of ‘I am doing the meditation’ in turn charges further new karmas. However, after Self-realisation, you develop the right understanding of ‘who is the doer and who am I’, and thus become free from doership.

To conclude, throughout the entire day we are lost in meditation of one thought or another, through which we are constantly charging karmas as the previous life karma unfolds. It is only after being Self-realized that one can experience freedom from the past karma as well from charging future karmas.