Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosphy and Oriental Occultism
by Yogi Ramacharaka
Lesson 13
Spiritual Cause and Effect
LIFE is the constant accumulation of knowledge - the
storing up of the result of experiences. The law of cause and
effect is in constant operation, and we reap what we
sow - not as a matter of punishment, but as the effect
following the cause. Theology teaches us that we are punished for
our sins, but the higher knowledge shows us that we are punished
by our mistakes instead of for them. The child who touches the
hot stove is punished by reason of the act itself, not by some
higher power for having "sinned." Sin is largely a matter of
ignorance and mistake. Those who have reached the higher plane of
spiritual knowledge have borne upon them such a convincing
knowledge of the folly and unwisdom of certain acts and thoughts,
that it becomes almost impossible for them to commit them. Such
persons do not fear there is some superior being waiting to
strike them to the earth with a mighty club for doing certain
things, simply because that intelligence has laid down an
apparently arbitrary law forbidding the commission of the act. On
the contrary they know that the higher intelligences are
possessed of nothing but intense love for all living creatures,
and are willing and ready to always help them, so far as is
possible under the workings of the law. But such persons
recognize the folly of the act, and therefore refrain from
committing it - in fact, they have lost the desire to commit
it. It is almost exactly parallel to the example of the child and
the stove. A child who wants to touch the stove will do so as
soon as he finds an opportunity, notwithstanding the commands of
the parent, and in spite of threatened punishment. But let that
child once experience the pain of the burn, and recognize that
there is a close connection between a hot stove and a burnt
finger, and it will keep away from the stove. The loving parent
would like to protect its child from the result of its own
follies, but the child-nature insists upon learning certain
things by experience, and the parent is unable to prevent it. In
fact, the child who is too closely watched and restrained,
usually "breaks out' later in life, and learns certain things by
itself. All that the parent is able to do is to surround the
child with the ordinary safeguards, and to give it the benefit of
his wisdom, a portion of which the child will store
away - and then trust to the law of life to work out the
result.
And so the human soul is constantly applying the test of
experience to all phases of life - passing from one
incarnation to another, constantly learning new lessons,. and
gaining new wisdom. Sooner or later it finds out how hurtful
certain courses of action and discovers the folly of certain
actions and ways of living, and like the burnt child avoids those
things in the Future. All of us know that certain things "are no
temptation to us," for we have learned the lesson at some time in
some past life and do not need to re-learn it - while other
things tempt us sorely, and we suffer much pain by reason
thereof. Of what use would all this pain and sorrow be if this
one life were all? But we carry the benefit of our experience
into another life, and avoid the pain there. We may look around
us and wonder why certain of our acquaintances cannot see the
folly of certain forms of action, when it is so plain to
us - but we forget that we have passed through just the same
stage of experience that they are now undergoing, and have
outlived the desire and ignorance - we do not realize that in
future lives these people will be free from this folly and pain,
for they will have learned the lesson by experience, just as have
we.
It is hard for us to fully realize that we are what we are
just by the result of our experiences. Let us take one single
life as an example. You think that you would like to eliminate
from your life some painful experience, some disgraceful episode;
some mortifying circumstances; but have you ever stopped to think
that if it were possible to eradicate these things, you would, of
necessity, be forced to part with the experience and knowledge
that has come to you from these occurrences. Would you be willing
to part with the knowledge and experience that has come to you in
the way mentioned? Would you be willing to go back to the state
of inexperience and ignorance in which you. were before the thing
happened? Why, if you were to go back to the old state, you would
be extremely likely to commit the same folly over again. How many
of us would be willing to completely wipe out the experiences
which have come to us? We are perfectly willing to forget the
occurrence, but we know that we have the resulting experience
built into our character, and we would not be willing to part
with it, for it would be taking away a portion of our mental
structure. If we were to part with experience gained through pain
we would first part with one bit of ourselves, and then with
another, until at last we would have nothing left except the
mental shell of our former self.
But, you may say, of what use are the experiences gained in
former lives, if we do not remember them - they are lost to
us. But they are not lost to you - they are built into your
mental structure, and nothing can ever take them away from
you - they are yours forever. Your character is made up not
only of your experiences in this particular life, but also of the
result of your experiences in many other lives and stages of
existence. You are what you are to-day by reason of these
accumulated experiences - the experiences of the past lives
and of the present one. You remember some of the things in the
present life which have built up your character - but many
others equally important, in the present life, you have
forgotten - but the result stays with you, having been woven
into your mental being. And though you may remember but little,
or nothing, of your past lives, the experiences gained in them
continue with you, now and forever. It is these past experiences
which give you "predispositions" in certain
directions - which make it very difficult for you to do
certain things, and easy to do others - which cause you to
"instinctively" recognize certain things as unwise or wrong, and
to cause you to turn your back upon them as follies. They give
you your "tastes" and inclinations, and make some ways seem
better than others to you. Nothing is lost in life, and all the
experiences of the past contribute to your well-being in the
present - all your troubles and pains of the present will
bear fruit in the future.
We do not always learn a lesson at one trial, and we are sent
back to our task over and over again, until we have accomplished
it. But not the slightest effort is ever lost, and if we have
failed at the task in the past, it is easier for us to accomplish
it to-day.
An American writer, Mr. Berry Benson, in the Century Magazine,
of May, 1894, gives us a beautiful illustration of one of the
features of the workings of the law of Spiritual Evolution. We
reprint it, herewith:
"A little boy went to school. He was very little. All that he
knew he had drawn in with his mother's milk. His teacher (who was
God) placed him in the lowest class, and gave him these lessons
to learn:
[missing text]
is seen to be well worth even the great price paid for it.
If you ask the Yogis what is one's duty toward God (meaning
God in the grandest conception of Him) they will answer "Love
Him, and the rest will be made clear to you - and to know him
is to Love him, therefore learn to Know Him." And ii you ask them
what is one's duty toward his fellow-men they will answer,
simply: "Be Kind - and you will be all the rest." These two
precepts~ if followed, will enable one to live the Perfect Life.
They are simple, but they contain all that is worth knowing
concerning one's relations with the Infinite Power and with one's
fellow-men. All the rest is froth and sediment - time
worthless rubbish which has accumulated around the Divine Flame
of the Truth. We mention them in this place, because they sum up
the idea of the consciousness which all the race is striving hard
to acquire. If you are able to make them a part of yourself, you
will have made great progress on the Path - will have passed
the Great Examination.
The doctrine of Spiritual Cause and Effect is based upon the
great truth that under the Law each man is, practically, the
master of his own destiny - his own judge - his own
rewarder - his own awarder of punishment. That every thought,
word or action, has its effect upon the future life or lives of
the man - not in the nature of a reward or punishment (as
these words are generally understood) - but as the inevitable
result of the great Law of cause and effect. The operation of the
Law in surrounding us with certain sets of conditions in a new
birth, is influenced by two great general principles:
(1) The prevailing desires, aspirations, likes and dislikes,
and longing of the individual at that particular stage of his
existence, and (2) By the influence of the unfolding Spirit,
which, pressing forward eagerly for fuller expression and less
restraint, brings to bear upon the reincarnating soul an
influence which causes it to be governed in its selection of the
desirable conditions of its new birth. Upon the apparently
conflicting influences of these two great forces rests the whole
matter of the circumstances and conditions surrounding the
rebirth of the soul, and also many of the conditions surrounding
the personality in the new life - for these conditions are
governed greatly all through life by these conflicting (or
apparently conflicting) forces.
The urge of the desires, aspirations, and habits of the past
life, is strongly pressing the soul towards incarnation in
conditions best fitted for the expression and manifestation of
these likes, tastes and desires - the soul wishes to go on
along the line of its past life, amid naturally seeks
circumstances and surroundings best fitted for the freest
expression of its personality. But, at the same time, the Spirit,
within the soul, knows that the soul's unfoldment needs certain
other conditions to bring out certain parts of its nature which
have been suppressed or not developed, and so it exerts an
attraction upon the reincarnating soul, drawing it a bit aside
from its chosen course, and influencing that choice to a certain
degree. A man may have an overpowering desire for material
wealth, and the force of his desire will cause him to choose
circumstances and conditions for a rebirth into a family where
there is much wealth, or into a body best suited for the
attainment of his desires, but the Spirit, knowing that the soul
has neglected the development of kindness, will draw it a little
aside, and cause it to be brought into the sweep of circumstances
which will result in the man being made to suffer pain,
disappointment and loss, even though he attain great wealth in
his new life, to the end that he may develop that part of his
nature.
We may see illustrations of this last mentioned occurrence in
some of the very rich men of America. They have been born into
circumstances in which they have had the freest expression of the
desire for material wealth - they have possessed themselves
of faculties best adapted to that one end, and have managed to be
surrounded with circumstances best calculated to give the freest
manifestations of those faculties. They have attained their
heart's desire, and have piled up wealth in a manner unknown to
former ages. But yet they are most unhappy and dissatisfied as a
rule. Their wealth is a weight around their neck, and they are
tormented by fears of losing it and the anxiety of attending to
it. They feel that it has brought them no real happiness, but has
on the contrary separated them from their fellow-men, and from
the happiness known to those of moderate means. They are feverish
and restless and constantly on the search for some new excitement
which will divert their minds from the contemplation of their
real condition. They feel a sense of their duty toward the race
and although they do not quite understand the feeling behind it
all, they endeavor to balance matters by contributing to
colleges, hospitals, charities, and other similar institutions
which have sprung up in response to the awakening consciousness
of the race to the reality of the Brotherhood of Man and the
Oneness of All. Before the end comes, they will feel in the
depths of their soul that this success has not brought them real
happiness, and in the period of rest which will follow their
departure from the physical body, they will "take stock" of
themselves, and readjust their mental and spiritual affairs, so
that when they are again born they will no longer devote their
entire energies toward the piling up of wealth that they cannot
use, but will live a more balanced life, and will find happiness
in unexpected quarters and will develop more spiritually. This is
not because they have been impressed with the sense of any
special "wickedness” in abnormal money getting, but because
the soul has found that it did not secure happiness in that way,
and is seeking elsewhere for it, and because it has lived out the
desire for wealth, amid has turned its attention to other things.
Had time Spirit not exerted its influence, time man might have
been born into the conditions tending to produce wealth, and yet
not have been made to see the one-sidedness of such a life, in
which case it would have continued to be possessed of such an
abnormal desire for wealth that it would have been born again and
again, with increasing power each time, until it would have
become practically a money demon. But the Spirit's influence
always counteracts abnormal desires, although sometimes several
incarnations have to be lived through before the soul wears out
its desire, and begins to be influenced by the Spirit to a marked
extent. Sometimes the Spirit's influence is not sufficiently
strong to prevent rebirth into conditions greatly favoring old
desires, but in such cases it is often able to manage affairs
during time life of the man, so as to teach him the lesson needed
to call a halt upon his unbridled desires, by bringing him into
the sweep of the Law of Attraction and causing certain pain to
befall him - certain disappointment - certain
failures - that will cause him to realize the pain,
disappointment, failures and sorrow of others, and to bring upon
him a course of living which will help to unfold his higher
faculties. Many of the sudden strokes of "misfortune" are really
brought about by this higher principle of the man, in order to
teach him certain lessons for his own good. It is not necessarily
a higher power which makes a man realize these lessons of life,
but it is generally his own higher self - the Spirit within
him - which brings about these results. The Spirit knows what
is really best for the man, and when it sees his lower nature
running away with him, tries to swing him from his course, or to
bring him to a sudden stop if necessary. This is not as a
punishment, remember, but as the greatest kindness. The Spirit is
a part of that man, and not an outside power - although it is
of course time Divine part of him - that part of him in
nearest touch with the great overruling Intelligence which we
call God. This pain is not brought about because of any feeling
of righteous indignation, revenge, impatience or any similar
feeling on the part of the Spirit, but is akin to the feeling of
the most loving parent, who is forced to take from the hands of
the little child some dangerous thing which may injure the little
one - it is the hand which draws back the child from the
brink of the precipice, although the little one screams with rage
and disappointment because its desires are frustrated.
The man or woman in whom the Spiritual Mind is developed, sees
this condition of things, and instead of fighting against the
Spirit, yields himself or herself to it without friction, and
obeys its guiding hand, and is thus saved much pain. But those
who know not, rage and rebel at the restraining and guiding hand,
strike at it, and attempt to tear away from it, thereby bringing
upon themselves bitter experience made necessary by their
rebellion. We are so apt to resent outside influence in our
affairs that this idea of restraint is not pleasant to us, but if
we will only remember that it is a part of ourselves - the
higher part of us - that is doing this directing, then we may
see the thing in a different light. And we must remember this:
That no matter how adverse circumstances or conditions seem to be
for us, they are exactly what we need under just the
circumstances of our lives, and have for their only object our
ultimate good. We may need strengthening along certain lines, in
order to round us out - and we are apt to get just the
experiences calculated to round out that particular part of us.
We may be tending too much in one direction, and we are given a
check and an urge in another direction. These little
things - and great things all mean something. And then our
interests arc bound up more or less with those of others, owing
to the laws of attraction, and our acts may be intended to
reflect upon them, and theirs upon us, for our mutual development
and ultimate good. We will have more to say on this subject a
little later on.
If we will stand still, and calmly consider our past life (the
present life, we mean) we will sec that certain things have led
to certain other things, and that small things have led to great
things - that little turning points have resulted in an
entire change in our life. We may trace back the most important
thing in our life to some trifling incident or occurrence. We are
able to look back and see how the painful experiences of the past
have strengthened us, and have brought us to a larger and fuller
life. We are able to see how that particular thing in the past,
which seemed needlessly cruel and uncalled for, was the very
thing which has brought us to some great thing in the present.
All that is needed is the perspective of years. And if we get so
that we are able to see this, we ~vil1 be able to bear with a far
greater degree of philosophy the pains and disagreeable
occurrences of the present, knowing that they mean ultimate good.
When we cease to think of these things as punishment, or a wanton
interference of some outside power, or the cruelty of Nature, and
begin to see them as either the consequences of our own past
lives, or the result of the Spirit's directing hand, we will
cease to protest and struggle as we have been doing in the past,
and will endeavor to fall in with the working of the great Law,
and will thereby avoid friction and pain. And no matter what
pain, sorrow or trouble we may be undergoing, if we will open
ourselves to the guidance of the Spirit, a way will be opened out
for us - one step at a time - and if we follow it we will
obtain peace and strength. The Law does not heap upon a back more
than it can bear, and not only does it temper the wind to the
shorn lamb, but tempers the shorn lamb to the wind.
We have spoken of our interests being bound up with those of
others. This also is a principle of the law of Spiritual Cause
and Effect. In our past lives we have attached ourselves to
certain others, either by love or hate - either by kind
action or by cruelty. And these people in this life have certain
relationships to us, all tending toward mutual adjustment and
mutual advancement and development. It is not a law of revenge,
but simply the law of cause and effect which causes us to receive
a hurt (when a hurt is needed) from the hands of some one whom we
have hurt in some past life - and it is not merely a law of
reward for good, but that same law of cause and effect, that
causes some one to bind up our wounds and comfort us, whom we
have comforted and helped in some past life. The person who is
caused to hurt us, may have no intention of doing so, being a
perfectly innocent party, but we are brought into conditions
whereby we receive pain from the acts of that person, although he
be unconscious of it. H he hurts us consciously, and still in
obedience to the law, it is because he is still on that plane,
and is willing to hurt us, and is brought by the Law of
Attraction into a condition whereby we may receive hurt from him.
But even that hurt is calculated to benefit us, in the end, so
wonderful is this law of cause and effect constituted. 01 course,
if we once reach the position where we see the truth, we do not
need so many of these lessons, and their necessity having passed,
the law allows us to escape that which would otherwise have given
us pain.
The above mentioned condition of affairs may be illustrated by
the case of one who in a past incarnation deliberately won the
love of another, for selfish reasons, and then having gratified
the desire willfully threw aside the other one, as one would a
worn-out toy. While not pretending to explain the exact working
of the law in any particular case, we have been informed by those
who have watched these matters from a higher point of view, that
in such a case as above mentioned, the betrayer would probably in
this life, fall violently in love with the person who was the
victim in the last life, but the latter would be utterly unable
to return that affection, and the former would suffer all the
pain that comes to one who loves in vain, the result being that
he would be brought to a realization of the sacredness of human
affection, and the unkindness of trifling with it. It will be
noticed in this case that the person causing pain in the present
life is a perfectly innocent party to the whole thing and thereby
does not start new causes and effects.
Those whom, we have loved and have been friendly to in past
lives are very apt to be connected with our present life, being
kept near us by the law of attraction. The people who are brought
into close relations with us are, in all probability, those with
whom we have been close in past lives. Sudden likes and dislikes,
so often observed between people, may be accounted for on this
theory of rebirth, and many of the occurrences of our every day
lives come under this law of spiritual cause and effect. We are
constantly bound up with the lives of others, for pain or
happiness, and the law must work out its course. The only escape
from the complete working out of the law is the acquirement of
the knowledge of the truth on our part, and the consequent
modeling of our lives on the lines of this higher truth, in which
case we are relieved of the unnecessary lessons, and we ride on
the top of the wave, instead of having it submerge us.
Let us beware how we start into operation this law of cause
and effect by Hate, Malice, Jealousy, Anger, and general
Unkindness toward others. Let us be as Kind as we can, in all
justice to ourselves and others, and let us avoid feelings of
Hate and a desire for Revenge. Let us live on, bearing our
burdens with as much grace as we can summon, and let us always
trust in the guidance of the Spirit, and the help of the highest
Intelligence. Let us know that all is working together for good,
and that we cannot be deprived of that good. Let us remember that
this life is as but a grain of sand in the desert of time, and
that we have long ages ahead of us, in which we will have a
chance to work out all our aspirations and high desires. Be not
discouraged for God reigns, and all is well.