Yes, this is true! It is because of our karma that we have to experience problems, hurdles, obstacles and bad luck in life.

And what karma is that? The karma whose underlying intention had been to hurt or torment others. When we give pain, cause misery, or are obstructive to any living being through our mind, speech, and body, we bind demerit karmas, which will naturally yield negative effects in our future life. On the other hand, if our intent has been that of helping others, giving joy to others, making a difference in the life of someone, any good deed done so binds merit karma, which will bring happiness into our life.

Let us now gain a deeper understanding of karma.

• Karma is nothing but an echo. For example, if you shout out the words ‘You are a thief’ to a mountain, the same words will echo back to you, won’t they? And if you say, ‘You are a king’, so are the words you receive. The law of karma works on the same principle, and hence whatever we sent out in our previous life, we receive the same back in our present life. If we’ve given happiness, we get happiness; and if we’ve hurt or harmed others, we get the same pain and misery in return. This is how in our current life, we experience the effects of our past life.

• So, everything which is happening in our current life is an effect of our past life deeds. For example, when you submit your examination paper, it is the cause and what you receive is the result, the effect. Likewise, the causes that were created in your past life bear fruits to you, in this life.

• The intention of giving happiness to others binds good karma and the intention of hurting others will bind bad karmas. The bondage of karmas is through inner intent. The external actions as well as effects that we see in life are all a result of these intentions.

• To support any action with the belief of, ‘I am the doer’ is called binding karma. “Claiming ‘doership’ of any action binds karma”, says Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an Enlightened being.

Is there a way to minimize the effects of our past life bad deeds?

Yes, there certainly is!

• Every morning, recite the following sentence five times heartily: ‘May no living being be hurt, even to the slightest extent, through my mind, speech, and body.’ By reciting this sentence, we are sowing a positive deep inner intent of ours, that of not hurting anyone.

• Recite the Trimantra, the most powerful mantra in the world, for overcoming any kind of obstacles. By saying Trimantra, you are paying obeisance to the  highly elevated beings. Hence, it takes us higher, when recited with proper understanding.

Moreover:

• This mantra gives us divine protection.
• Reciting it properly alleviates all our worries.
• Also, it eliminates all conflicts and clashes from one’s home.

• Do pratikraman i.e. ask for forgiveness.  Every time a bad thought occurs or a wrong word that could hurt someone gets spoken, seek forgiveness from God through the following three steps:
  • Alochana – confessing the mistake to the Lord within.
  • Pratikraman – asking for forgiveness for that mistake.
  • Pratyakhyan – making a firm resolve to never repeat the mistake again.

Through this process, we are reversing the effects of the aggression caused. This proves to be a very powerful tool in changing our inner intent from bad to good!

We hope we now have a better understanding of why we have to experience problems, hurdles, obstacles and bad luck; and what to do to help minimize the effects of these.