Question:

Dear Ektaji, I just keep wondering about karmas. About 9 years ago we took medicine to end my pregnancy. I was completely against it but my husband said it is his responsibility & his karma. This action never really pinched me as I  felt I was not responsible for it until few years back when I had a life threatening ectopic pregnancy for which I had to undergo a surgery. Somewhere I now feel I have added it to my baggage and may be that’s why I had the ectopic! I feel bad & guilty & I ask for forgiveness to nature & that soul whose life we ended at merely 4 weeks . Please guide me how I get rid of this impression & karma.

Answer:

JGD Dear, Karma is not created by action. Karma is created by attachment to the action. Now what does attachment mean?

• Attachment means constantly thinking about something before the action AND after the action
• Attachment means feverishly craving for something
• Attachment means feverishly averse to something
• Attachment means not being able to let go despite knowing it not good for you
• Attachment means not being able to commit despite knowing its good for you
• Attachment means constantly reacting to emotions like greed/jealousy/hatred/anger/regret/passion,etc.
• Attachment means not being able to distinguish right from wrong

And a lot more……

How to get out of attachment?

Step 1] Recognize and accept that there is attachment – Ego will not let you accept it easily. Just gather the courage and make the Ego stand naked in front of the mirror of the Self! See things as they are, not as you would want them to be!

Step 2] Self-education – Educate your intellect with the laws of ‘Karma’. Talk to your intellect and explain – If you continue with your ‘attachment extravaganza’, you are always going to land up in misery. Misery means getting caught again and again into the cycle of birth-death-birth-death and not knowing what is the purpose of life and what is supposed to be done and what is not. To get out of this misery, stop creating new Karma. How? Go to the next step…..

Step 3] Let go off the past – Drop thinking about what happened and what you did and what you did not do, etc. This might be the hardest part but meditation and the Knowledge point ‘Live in the present’ will help you. Keep chugging! This will help fade away the impressions of the past Karma.

Step 4] Drop reacting to emotions – Emotions of greed/jealousy/hatred/anger/regret/passion/etc are all temporary. Do not react to something that is temporary, as it will only bring up regret. Wait for the temporary clouds to pass. When they pass, then decide if you need to respond to a particular situation/person. This will help you not create new future Karma.

Final Step] Just BE – Life will keep bringing ups and downs, pain and pleasure, just be with what is. Do not create Karma by getting attached to whatever comes. Just BE!

This needs sincere practice. You must apply these principles again and again until the wild mind gets tamed. Keep working on your mind, this is Purushartha!